roller coasters & young kids

[PineapplePrincessCA]

We're taking our kids to DL & DCA for the first time next week.

My girls are 4 years old and 5 1/2. They old loved the fastest roller coasters at Legoland. They're excited about riding the "roller coaster in the dark" (Space Mountain), but the more I think about it.... even though they're tall enough, it might just be *too* intense for them. Legoland rides are aimed MUCH more towards little kids.

I'm looking at the rides at both parks (not very familiar w/ DCA, though) and trying to figure out how we can eaaase up to the bigger rides.

Start off w/ the roller coaster in Toontown?

Then next step up is the Matterhorn?

If they do OK on the Matterhorn, how much more of a "step up" is Space Mountain?

Is there a roller coaster-type ride at DCA that they would be tall enough to go on? 46" and 43".

(Big Thunder will be down while we're there next week.)

I want them to go on the "bigger rides" if they're really up to it, yet when they ask to go on Space Mountain... they really have no idea what they're in for! LOL

Any advice?

thanks! Getting soooo excited!!

 

[basketballmom]

i have always told my kids to try it once, and if you don't like it, you don't have to do it again. when my dd was 5 we did matterhorn first. she really didn't like the yeti but the "fast was good, mom." she also rode space mountain many times and mulholland madness in DCA. space mountain is in the dark but it doesn't have HUGE drops. i am not sure about the height requirements.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

mulholland madness in DCA.

Ah. I haven't looked into this one yet. I just saw a video on YouTube. Doesn't look too scary/fast.

They should be able to go on all of the rides except for Indiana Jones, CA Screamin' and Rocket Rods.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

IMO I would start off with Gadget's Go Coaster (that is what I did with our daughters). I think it's a little deceiving though because it does go pretty fast. When I took DD2 on it, she didn't like it the first time. I would not start off with the Matterhorn though because it's so dark and of course has Harold.

When my oldest turned 4 she started on Gadget's (loved it) and then went on BTMRR. (Matterhorn was down). She LOVED BTMRR. She went on Splash next and wasn't real sure of it because of the big drop. As soon as she got over the drop, it became her favorite ride. So after Gadget's, I would either take them on Matterhorn or BTMRR.

IMO Mullholland Madness can be pretty scary too because it jerks you around some pretty tight corners at the top and it looks like you are just going to cruise right off the edge! My oldest loves that ride though (since she was about 5 or 6 she has been riding that one).

DD8 didn't go on Space Mt until last year when she was 7. I would put them on all of the previous mentioned rides and see how they do before trying them on Space. My daughter loved it, but she couldn't work herself up to try it until she was 7 (she went on TOT first, a few trips prior and that traumatized her for quite a while!). I think that Space is a pretty big step up from Matterhorn.

With my youngest, it's been a little different, she has been going on Gadget's and Matterhorn since she was 2. She didn't like Gadget's the first time, but now likes it, as well as Matterhorn. Her first ride on the Matterhorn I sang the Tiki Room song to her the entire time!

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

Gadgets is the Toontown rollercoaster?


Big Thunder will be down next week.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Gadgets is the Toontown rollercoaster?

Yes

 

[94bruin]

Big Thunder will be down next week.

I don't know how long you will be there, but BTMRR is supposed to be back up on Friday.

DD1 went on Matterhorn on our last visit. While we were in line, we kept asking her if she really wanted to go on it because we had her wait with my parents. Like you said, I don't think she really knew what in store for her. In the middle of the ride, she shouted, "This is NOT fun!" But DD1 is kinda a chicken when it comes to rides. Needless to say, she won't be going on Matterhorn for a while.

We didn't get a chance to ride BTMRR last time; I'm thinking of trying it next Friday.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

I don't know how long you will be there, but BTMRR is supposed to be back up on Friday.

May 10th, 11th, and part of the 12th. (Mon, Tues, Wed).


Well, we're buying annual passes so that'll just give us something to look forward to next time.

 

[letthembelittle]

On our last trip our 5 yr old dd LOVED Space Mountain, she didnt like Matterhorn or Splash Mountain (I think it had more to do with getting wet, then the ride itself, though). I guess Gadgets might prepare your child but its a really short ride outside, not quite like Space Mountain to me. I would just make sure she is okay on dark rides like Peter Pan, tell her its a roller coaster in the dark and go for it!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

My DD's favorite rides for the last 2 years has been Splash & Thunder ~ she was a little nervous about Space for a while but now she likes it well enough. She loves Mullholland Madness ~ I keep my eyes closed the whole time! I say if they're tall enough try and get them to ride it once, if they love it great, if they hate it whoops!

 

[chrissiecutie]

To the OP, it sounds like you've got a good plan. Definately start with Gadgets in Toontown because if they can't handle this one, then all the others are out. However, if they do like rollercoasters and have done Legoland no problem, then most likely they can do this one too.

Personally, I would do BTMM (if it's going to be open at all) before I would do Matterhorn. Only because Matterhorn is a bit more bumpy, has the yetti which might scare them and I think it goes in reverse at some point. Can't remember...

My other piece of advice is to try Haunted Mansion before Space Mtn. It's obviously not a rollercoaster but it is in the dark so this will give you an idea of how they handle being 100% in the dark.

I would also look at pictures of the seats for all the rollercoasters. Check out allears.net for lots of awesome pictures and more! Will you be able to hold on to your children so that all of you feel safe while riding? This was a big issue for me...

My DS loved BTMM, Gadgets and Splash and Haunted Mansion. However, he was 3 1/2 at the time and while he was tall enough for Matterhorn and Space Mtn., I choose to skip those on the 1st trip. I felt that Space Mtn. especially just wasn't appropriate for a child this age even though Disney felt he was "tall enough", as his mother- I felt he wasn't ready for this ride. Heck, sometimes I'm not ready for this ride!

I would say, do what feels right- you know your kids best and what they can handle. Also, keep in mind that they will ALWAYS remember the "scary" ride and it could put a huge damper on the rest of the trip. I've heard some kids get so scared that they won't go on any more rides the rest of the day/trip. If in doubt, just skip it. There's lots of other great rides they can enjoy!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Only because Matterhorn is a bit more bumpy, has the yetti which might scare them and I think it goes in reverse at some point. Can't remember...

Matterhorn only goes forward......

 

[DSNY4ever]

Matterhorn only goes forward......

Yup, I think Chrissie is thinking of Everest in the Animal Kingdom- it has a scary Yeti and goes forward and backward! It's awesome

I went on all of the roller coasters (including space mountain) as soon as I reached the height limit and I loved them! My sister was a little more timid. If they are willing to try it, I say go for it!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

DD2 loved Gadgets and matterhorn last year.

ODDs went on Space, Splash, etc. at 4 and loved it. (though the younger one loved the rides, she'd get hesitant EVERY TIME we got back in line). It took her until day 6 to not get nervous in line....and she rode it at least once every day on days 1-5!!!

 

[Brady's Mom]

My sister has a little different take on this issue. She took her kids to DLR last year and they were 10, 8, 6 and 4. The 4 yr. old was too short for a lot of stuff - but for the bigger kids this is what they did.

She took them on ToT first and they were nervous. She and her hubby told the kids they only had to ride it once and if they didn't like it they didn't have to ride it again. After that, any ride the kids seemed scared of they told them it wasn't as scary as ToT. Then they would ride the ride and discover it wasn't as scary. It worked for her kids - I would never have done it with mine. But the nieces and nephews still talk about how great their trip was - so I am pretty sure it didn't scar them for life.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

My sister has a little different take on this issue. She took her kids to DLR last year and they were 10, 8, 6 and 4. The 4 yr. old was too short for a lot of stuff - but for the bigger kids this is what they did.

She took them on ToT first and they were nervous. She and her hubby told the kids they only had to ride it once and if they didn't like it they didn't have to ride it again. After that, any ride the kids seemed scared of they told them it wasn't as scary as ToT. Then they would ride the ride and discover it wasn't as scary. It worked for her kids - I would never have done it with mine. But the nieces and nephews still talk about how great their trip was - so I am pretty sure it didn't scar them for life.

That is a different approach! If it worked for them, that's great though! If I did that to my DD she never would have gotten on another ride ever again. She wouldn't try Space Mt for almost 2 years after going on TOT for the first time, no matter how much I told her it wasn't as scary!

 

[gollal]

This is more important than it seems. My DS are 10 and 9 respectively. They've been to DW 4 times and DL and DCA at least 6 times that I can recall off-hand. I started them off with the easier rides first, and we just slowly worked up to the larger rides. Start them off in Fantasyland & see how they do on all of the dark but Disney Themed rides like Peter Pan's Wild flight. The same goes for anything in Toon Town. If they're still doing just fine, try the POTC followed by HM. If they're still having a great time after all of those rides, start with Splash. It has all of the cute "Brear Rabbit" theming so it balances out the roller coaster feel. If they're still O.K. progress on. If not, you can try to go on the other rides the next trip.

Why I started out with saying how important this is, was because my DS and DD both have friends their ages that are absolutely terrified of rides because people forced them on rides when they were younger. My DS's BFF won't go on any dark rides or even go into 3D movies because he was frightened of HM at a young age. My DD's friend won't ride any coasters, because she went on them too young as well. It doesn't make for much fun when we try to even go to carnivals or local boardwalks together locally.

If you force them, or frighten them too much, chances are you won't be able to ever get them on rides like that again. I respectfully disagree with the people on this forum saying to have them try them once. If they are not ready yet, they aren't ready yet. You can still have an awesome time on the milder rides & slowly build up to the rest. My DS and DD ride ANYTHING now, since we took the building it up approach.

 

[pixiewings71]

I never made my girls try any ride. In fact DD10 was 6 our first visit and she wanted to do ToT but DD13 (then 10) and I didn't so we just didn't...we just waited while DD and DBF went. It took us a couple trips but we worked up to it and now we love it. I just let them chose what they wanted to try and that's what we did.

FYI there are no rocket rods at DLR any longer, which is fine because it was a sucky ride. LOL

 

[stevejanelle]

Our approach last year for our 3 year 11 mo old son was to two fold.
1) We watched ALL the YouTube videos we could of the rides. This allowed him not to be as surprised as he would otherwise.

2) We would talk before, during, and after the rides about how they were pretend (he is really good at that). He loved all the rides (even wanted to go on Space Mt. twice).

One thing we didn't do was put him on TOT. We thought that would be a bit much. Thought we are trying it this year.

Steve

 

[Canadian Traveler]

I have always gone on space mountain...Last year we went after the referb and I screamed, cried, and was terrified for hours after. However my kids 9 and 16 at the time and they loved it....