small kids and scary attractions

[southjerseymom]

Just back from 7 days at Disney. My kids 2 and 4 loved it - but - nobody can scare the little ones like Disney. 5 days into the trip my 4 year old was a quivering mass of fear. The Philarmagic was the attraction that finally put him over the edge. The loudness and all the beginning tricks just scared him silly. I finally had to drag him out screaming. Poor kid. We spent the rest of the trip doing things like Indy speedway, tea cups, railroad etc. With the little ones sometimes the Disney "good vs evil" theme can get to be too much. I heard more than one mom asking their kids if they were going to spend the rest of the time at Disney in their stroller. My son was perfectly happy to do so. The things that really scared him were Voyage of Little Mermaid, Philarmagic, and Goofys Barnstormer. He loved Imagination with Figment and Spaceship Earth and Festival of the Lion King. When he went when he was 2 1/2 he loved everything - but at 4 the poor little guy was scared. He assures me he will be ready to go back in "a little while". I did explain each ride before we went on - but sometimes the little guys just get scared. PS my two year old made it through everything she just huddled a little closer when things got rough

 

[lovethattink]

We had the same thing with my 1st son. He was 4 and was deathly afraid of thunder. Do you realize how many shows and attractions use thunder effects??? By the time he was in kindergarten he began to understand the difference between real and fantasy. And everytime he heard a loud bang, he'd ask us if it was real. By age six, he was tall and on Rock N' Roller and loved it. We told him if he can handle that, he can handle any attraction

 

[dcmbshafe]

It is amazing how much they change just from trip to trip. We will be going in March and it will be the 4th visit for DD5 and 5th for DS4. Not only have they had different reactions to the same attractions on different trips, they've had different reactions within the same trip! A lot of it has to do with their mental state at the exact moment they experience an attraction. Philharmagic was a great example - last May we just happened to hit it when they were both fresh and in good spirits and they absolutely loved it. DW and DS were there 3 weeks ago and he wouldn't go anywhere near it.

WDW attractions provide the pinnacle in intense visual stimulation and sometimes the wee ones just can't handle it, particularly if they're a little tired or hungry or already overstimulated. This is one of the reasons that we've always tried to take afternoons and even whole days off from the parks so that they can recharge their little batteries. We struggle with this every time because we want to get as much "value" out of park days as possible, but we tend to avoid a lot more frustration if we take it easy rather than going "commando".

You're right though, no matter what you do and no matter how much preparation you go through ahead of time, sometimes they still get scared. All you can do then is what you did, give them a hug and find the next thing that makes them smile.