Scared kids on rides!

[tlovesdis]

I was horrified yesterday on Tower of Terror!

We were in line and a little ways behind us was a little girl about 6 or 7 and her mom. The girl was crying and saying she didn't want to go on. The mom was practically dragging her and the farther we went the worse the girl got. Once inside where you are almost getting on the girl was now screaming at the top of her lungs and hysterical. The mom kept saying to her if she went on she'd buy her something at the gift shop.

I felt so bad for this little girl as did everyone around who couldn't believe what was happening.

I don't have kids but i'm pretty sure if i did i would never do that to my kid!!!

Fyi... Later in the day we went on again and a CM recognized me and told me the mom finally gave up and didn't make her go. He said he felt bad too but they can't do anything in a situation like that!

It was crazy!!!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I agree, I have 3 kids--and two of them are afraid to go on certain rides. Our family philosophy is that Disneyland is our happy place, and no one goes on rides they are terrified of! As they get older, sometimes they decide themselves to try rides (especially with youtube where you can see what will happen--that helps my kids a lot) as the years go by. Both of my daughters use to be terrified of Pirates, but now have grown into it and it is both of their favorite rides now.

One other aspect is that a screaming, begging, terrified child ruins the ride experience for other riders. We have experienced this first hand, and actually left a line once because we just couldn't take it. It was heartwrenching to hear that little boy crying about going on Matterhorn, and I certainly wasn't going to be a bystander to it. I knew I could do nothing about it, but I wanted to help the little guy so much!

 

[Huff]

I've never forced the kids on any ride, just not worth it. Problem is kids are afraid of the unknown and I do try to calm their fears by explaining the ride the best I can. Often they don't start screaming until the ride starts and its then too late to get off. They scream through the entire ride but as soon as its over they almost always say 'that was fun, lets do it again'.

Tower of Terror isn't scarey for most kids I've taken once they do go. They always want to ride it again. But they are scared before riding because of the name, the preshow and the overall suspense buildup before even getting on. I just see no point in forcing a crying screaming terrified kid on a ride. I wait till they decide they want to go which sometimes is same trip, other times not until they get a little older.

Sometimes I get confused as to why a child is scared of certain rides but not others. Sometimes one child is terrorfied to go near Haunted Mansion but loves Tower. Go figure!

 

[pyrxtc]

I would MYOB since you don't know the details of that family. My DS cried at the beginning of each new ride but once he got off, he loved it. you almost had to make him go on it but it never ended badly. Once on RNR at DW he really freaked out and they came and took him off and he waited at the exit for us. He did it a few days later and it is one of his favorite rides.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I would MYOB since you don't know the details of that family. My DS cried at the beginning of each new ride but once he got off, he loved it. you almost had to make him go on it but it never ended badly. Once on RNR at DW he really freaked out and they came and took him off and he waited at the exit for us. He did it a few days later and it is one of his favorite rides.

I agree. It could've been anything from fear, to exhaustion, to a tantrum that spilled over into a ride queue and became a power struggle between mom and child...you don't know so you shouldn't judge.

My middle daughter went on TOT one October without incident and loved it. But cried all through the line two months later (I felt horrible but I knew she'd really liked it before). She again liked it afterwards but at that point decided she didn't like the line and didn't want to go again. I respected that decision since it was made right after the ride and not because of nerves before getting in line. This is also a child that LOVED BTMRR but would "not want to ride" EVERY TIME WE GOT IN LINE! She'd love the ride and want to go again and again, and we would once again have issues in line. The anticipation in line was a bit much for her nerves. It took 6 days riding several times a day before she was actually okay in line.

 

[tlovesdis]

I would MYOB since you don't know the details of that family. My DS cried at the beginning of each new ride but once he got off, he loved it. you almost had to make him go on it but it never ended badly. Once on RNR at DW he really freaked out and they came and took him off and he waited at the exit for us. He did it a few days later and it is one of his favorite rides.

Kind of hard to MYOB when it's ruining the experience for everyone waiting!

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

My DS cried at the beginning of each new ride but once he got off, he loved it. you almost had to make him go on it but it never ended badly.

My DD is the same way. She is ALWAYS terrified of new rides...and she always wants to ride them over and over and over again after she has done it once. She is a daredevil with a fear of the unknown. To make it worse, she will ride a ride 5 times in a row one day and be scared to do it the first time the next day.

I will say though that she has never been wailing and screaming - she might cry silently or just look really nervous or apprehensive. I wouldn't let her ruin other people's experience, but if I didn't push her go on rides she was scared of, she wouldn't have as much fan as she ends up having. The next time through the line, she will happily tell everyone around her how great the ride is, and if there are other kids around, she will reassure them that it isn't too scary.

 

[DahliaRW]

Our rule is if you want to go on the ride no crying. If they're crying we get out of line. It's not fair to anyone else in line or on the ride. My ds2 didn't want to do tower or any of those rides when we went last. And even though we knew he'd probably love it once he was on, we weren't going to force it, just not fair to him or anyone else. We did finally talk him into space at least. Common courtesy, IMO, to not have a hysterical child ruining the experience for everyone else if you can help it.

 

[Funball]

my parents dragged me on rollar coasters with me kicking and screaming when i was at the age i could ride, and i am glad they did otherwise i probably would not of become such a fan of those rides.... i feel that if a kid experiences a ride once then they might like it, but if they don't after they have been on it they don't have to do it ever again. just trial and error really..

 

[Heymy]

Before kids, I would have had a similar reaction. Two kids later and one with Sensory Intergration that is just learning how to control her tantrums at nearly 6 years old, I have come to the conclusion I can't judge without knowing other's situations. People have looked at me like I'm a mad woman when dealing with my daughter, but I take it in stride. And yes I've often bribed with toys, candy, whatever to get her to settle down. What's kinda funny is she has never had a tantrum in line, just once we're actually seated. And we have a similar rule to most, try it once, you don't like, you don't have to go back until you're ready. She's usually ready by the next trip.

 

[dmked]

My hubby would probably make DD go, if she is tall enough, he makes her try each ride once (not just at DL, every park) ToT is actually her fav. ride and she was only 4 last time we went. But she has liked every ride she has tried, even if she was scared at first. If they try it and don't like the ride then fine you don't have to ride again. Honestly if I saw a 6 or 7 year old screaming that she didn't want to go on a ride, I would think that the kid is WAY too old to be throwing tantrums, I don't think I would think the parent is being mean, JMO.

 

[NewbieMouse]

Before kids, I would have had a similar reaction. Two kids later and one with Sensory Integration that is just learning how to control her tantrums at nearly 6 years old, I have come to the conclusion I can't judge without knowing other's situations.

I agree - judgments of what another parent should do if you don't have kids yourself is almost laughable. I always say, I was the kindest, gentlest, most wonderful parent... before I became a parent!

My daughter's favourite ride when we went in June was Indy, and come December she made a huge fuss about going on until she actually got on the ride and was like, "Oh yeah - this one's fun!" - you never really know.

 

[The Orchid]

This thread reminds me of when my daughter went on Haunted Mansion the first time. She was seven and was so scared that I took her out of the building before we could get on the ride. She was so mad at herself for chickening out and talked nonstop about how she was going to ride it next time. Nine months later, she rode and it was her favorite ride ever. I kinda regretted not trying harder to get her to ride because I knew she would have been fine. This is the same kid who rode the Zipper at age five! So yeah, I knew she'd be ok on the HM, but I felt bad when she started to cry and kinda worried what other people would think if we pushed her to ride.

 

[Briarrose1306]

I agree, you never know the circumstances of the other family. I remember going to Great America and being terrified of riding the stand up roller coaster, so much that I had tears streaming down my face. Not only did my mother make me ride it, she made me ride in the front. I got off and wanted to go again. I don't have kids, but there is an 11 year age gap between me and my brother, so it's a bit of a different dynamic. I took him to Great America and was forcing him to get over his fear of riding a ride and the ride operator told me I couldn't force him to go on it. I was pissed, I know that had my brother rode it, he would've loved it.

 

[Funball]

I agree, you never know the circumstances of the other family. I remember going to Great America and being terrified of riding the stand up roller coaster, so much that I had tears streaming down my face. Not only did my mother make me ride it, she made me ride in the front. I got off and wanted to go again. I don't have kids, but there is an 11 year age gap between me and my brother, so it's a bit of a different dynamic. I took him to Great America and was forcing him to get over his fear of riding a ride and the ride operator told me I couldn't force him to go on it. I was pissed, I know that had my brother rode it, he would've loved it.

Exactly, with a little force and pushing that is sometimes how kids get over their fears of certain rides, it was done to me and I thank my parents for it! I am sure that your brother would of loved it if he had been able to go on it..

 

[Briarrose1306]

I'm sure he would have too. He will be coming with us to DL in May and I really hope we don't have any repeats of this kind of thing as he is now 15, but you never know. My only thought of this would occur on ToT, but we'll see.

 

[TripHHH]

I'm definitely in the "only ride if you really want to" club. My daughter apprehensively decided on her own to ride Tower of Terror at age 9 ... and loved it. I would never had made her ride it though. We've been going to Disneyland every year since she was 2. We always try to keep the happiest place on earth at its happiest.

I guess every parent knows their child the best though, so I wouldn't fault another parent for "forcing" the issue.

 

[Jynxed]

My sister is a big roller coaster wimp, in think stemming from the days of the large crickety wooden coasters near my home. So after I tried BTRR and SM, I told my sister how tame it was... She still freaked in line going in ( at the age of 24 no less). I double dogged dared her, I even told her I would buy her a GreyGoose slush in Epcot the next day... Wouldn't you know it, she dried off her tears, went on, loved it and now takes her kids on the Disney coasters! Sometimes you know what your kids (or sisters) can handle and most fear comes from the unknown!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We were in line for Rock N Rollercoaster once where this boy was being dragged by his mother. He was terrified....I still cringe when I think of his crying and wailing.

We were about to board and this mother puts the boy in the seat. He is screaming at the top of his lungs. The only thing louder is his mother who is yelling at him. People start to speak out...it was a very stressful scene.

A CM comes over and tries to talk to the mother. She gets in a screaming match with the CM. They unlock the shoulder bar system and the boy raises the lap bar enough to squeeze out and starts running in the boarding area. The mother chased after him and finally cornered him and carried him out as the crowd shouted insults at her.

I totally understand how a parent knows their child. I'm sure she was confident that he would love it, if he gave it a chance. I've been known to bribe my hesistant children with promises of ice cream or churro. The mother should have considered the guests around her as well. She held up the ride for a good 10-15 minutes with her drama.

 

[luvsmickey1968]

I have to say that in these cases you may know your child and that once they go on the ride they will love it but you do have to be considerate of the other people around you. If your child is hysterical, it may cause a lot of the other children in the line to be scared when they were not scared before.
I know that we were once in line for Buzz Lightyear and a boy was absolutely hysterical and did not want to go on the ride. The mother continued to drag him through the line. My son then became very anxious although he had been on the ride many times. I assured him that he had already been on the ride many times and he knew there was nothing to be afraid of. I mean, it was Buzz Lightyear which you would never think of as a ride that would instill fear. However, in his mind if the other boy was that scared, then maybe something had changed and he had a reason to be scared too. Other children around us were reacting in the same way. What about the children in line that had never been on the ride and now don't want to go on it because they think there is something to be afraid of?
In addition, it really takes the enjoyment out of a day at Disneyland when you have to listen to a child who is obviously terrified even if I know that there is nothing to be scared of. I still remember the child's screams in the line up for Buzz Lightyear and was very relieved that the mother finally took him out of the line.