Riding rides with two adults and three littles

[MusicManD]

We're going to WDW in June. We have three kids, ages 3, 7, and 9. We're watching a video of Slinky Dog Coaster, and I got to thinking...

How on earth are we going to ride some of these rides that only have two seats in a row? Our 9yo is pretty independent, but she's still not comfortable riding by herself.

I thought for sure somebody else has dealt with this, so how did you do it? Will Disney let you do "rider swap" when all you need to do is ride again with another kid?

 

[sequoia 14]

You could always ask, but you likely won't get a rider swap for that reason.

Could the 7 & 9 year old sit together?

Would the 7 year old feel comfortable sitting on their own? Disney allows kids to sit on their own once they are 7.

There is also the possibility that the 3 year old will not want to ride once they see the ride in person (mine didn't), which would then allow you to take turns with the older kids.

 

[MarkS2112]

Your 3 year old won’t be able to ride some of the bigger rides due to height restrictions and just they aren’t the right age. So you should be able to do a ride swap if you ask because they won’t make the young one wait alone.

 

[MusicManD]

Your 3 year old won’t be able to ride some of the bigger rides due to height restrictions and just they aren’t the right age. So you should be able to do a ride swap if you ask because they won’t make the young one wait alone.

She's tall enough for things like Mine Train and Slinky Dog (she's 39 inches right now). Slinky Dog, so far, is one of the big things she's said she's excited for.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I would have the 7 and 9 year old ride together, one parent with the 3 year old, and one parent rides alone.

 

[MusicManD]

You could always ask, but you likely won't get a rider swap for that reason.

Could the 7 & 9 year old sit together?

Would the 7 year old feel comfortable sitting on their own? Disney allows kids to sit on their own once they are 7.

There is also the possibility that the 3 year old will not want to ride once they see the ride in person (mine didn't), which would then allow you to take turns with the older kids.

I hadn't thought about the 7 and 9 year old riding together on some of these bigger rides. That's a good idea. I think all three kids will be nervous- excited and, frankly, I won't be surprised if any of them opt out at the boarding station (two summers ago our then-7yo pushed herself to ride a coaster in our local park that was a little too much for her; she's now very nervous about any new coaster. Luckily, she rode Mine Train when she was 4 on our last WDW trip and loved it, so hopefully that will be a good way to make her comfortable).

It will, of course, terrify DADDY for two of his babies to be in a big scary roller coaster without sitting next to them. Lol. Tame as most of the Disney coasters are, they're a huge step up from watching them ride the Wacky Worm! #TheyGrowUpSoFast

 

[Betty Rohrer]

We're going to WDW in June. We have three kids, ages 3, 7, and 9. We're watching a video of Slinky Dog Coaster, and I got to thinking...

How on earth are we going to ride some of these rides that only have two seats in a row? Our 9yo is pretty independent, but she's still not comfortable riding by herself.

I thought for sure somebody else has dealt with this, so how did you do it? Will Disney let you do "rider swap" when all you need to do is ride again with another kid?

as others have said your middle one has reached the magic age of 7 and can ride with the 9 year old if 9 year old wants then it is an adult without a partner. and daddy can ride right behind them

 

[DisneyElite4]

3 kiddos here! We’ve always had two of our kids ride together, the other kid with an adult, then one adult alone. The CMs have always let our kids ride together when they were as young as 6 and 4 on both Mine Train and Slinky, so I don’t think you need to be 7. A parent always had to be in the ride vehicle directly behind the two kids riding together. It’s always terrified me too, but all my kids have always wanted to ride everything that were tall enough for. Last summer they were 7, 5 and 5 and wanting to ride Everest. We made it, but I did not enjoy either of those rides as I was constantly worried about the two who ride together without a parent. If my children hasn’t desperately wanted to ride all the coasters we would have skipped them, so I understand your worry. It’s doable!

 

[Jmljasmine]

3 kiddos here! We’ve always had two of our kids ride together, the other kid with an adult, then one adult alone. The CMs have always let our kids ride together when they were as young as 6 and 4 on both Mine Train and Slinky, so I don’t think you need to be 7. A parent always had to be in the ride vehicle directly behind the two kids riding together. It’s always terrified me too, but all my kids have always wanted to ride everything that were tall enough for. Last summer they were 7, 5 and 5 and wanting to ride Everest. We made it, but I did not enjoy either of those rides as I was constantly worried about the two who ride together without a parent. If my children hasn’t desperately wanted to ride all the coasters we would have skipped them, so I understand your worry. It’s doable!

I was wondering too since when we go next (assuming we go), ours will be 6,4,3,1. The middle 2 are similar heights. I'm not sure the oldest will be brave enough though without mom or dad...

 

[dez1978]

We went last month and my 9 yr old who is plenty tall enough for RNC chickened out at the last minute. They let me do rider swap with him, no problem. So even tho it might not be the conventional reason for rider swap (kid is too small) don't automatically think they won't allow you to do it.

 

[MusicManD]

We went last month and my 9 yr old who is plenty tall enough for RNC chickened out at the last minute. They let me do rider swap with him, no problem. So even tho it might not be the conventional reason for rider swap (kid is too small) don't automatically think they won't allow you to do it.

That's good to know. We are generally a pretty brave roller coaster family, but our 3yo has never ridden one (everything shut down the summer she was 2 and she was too young even for a Wacky Worm when she was 1). Her question every single time is "does it have loops." Apparently, so long as there are no inversions, she's ready. Our 7yo rode everything she was tall enough for two summers ago (which included a pretty intense spinning coaster at our local park), but even she is showing some hesitation.

We're hitting Universal, Epcot, and MK (plus a resort day) before getting round to Studios, so maybe we try Woody Woodpecker or Goofy's Barnstormer first, just in case. Who knows? They all might decide coasters are better left for Daddy. ;-)