Soarin' for 4 year old?

[mrswh]

My DD is finally over 40" tall - a whole new WDW has opened up for her! I know she won't want to go on any coasters or Splash Mountain, but I'm torn about talking her into Soarin'. I've been on it myself several times but still can't decide whether she'd love it or be freaked out. Has anyone taken their 4 year old on Soarin'? I'd love any reviews from kids!

 

[Nicolepa]

My son loved soarin when he was 4. That was by far his favorite ride that year.

 

[princess&her4princes]

Got back 2 weeks ago and our (almost- he turned 4 on Christmas) 4 year old did Soarin' twice and LOVED IT!! He's normally a little timid and nervous about rides but really enjoyed it. He's still talking about it...it was our families favorite ride!!!! Enjoy!!

 

[5 for WDW]

Our daughter went on Soarin for the first time when she had just turned 4. She got a little nervous as they were raising us up to the screen but, she loved the ride.
I just held her hand and she was fine. We were there two weeks ago (she is 5 now) and she couldn't wait to get back on Soarin!

I always tell my kids if they don't like a ride we don't have to do it again. That has only happened with one ride and one show in WDW. Dinosaur and Its Tough To Be A Bug. Not that I can blame them with either of those, lol.

 

[ms_missy66]

We got back on 12/20 and our 4 year old DD rode Soarin'. She loved it until the fireworks at the end...but she's, in general, not so thrilled about fireworks. If your little one doesn't have an issue with them, take her! Mine even pulled her feet up at times so she wouldn't get them wet or hit a tree. How cute!

 

[mrswh]

I like all these positive reviews so far! My DD loves fireworks, so no problem there. Do you take your kids on rides you think they will like even if they are apprehensive about it? My DD might say no to Soarin' if I ask, but I think she probably would love it - it's just a matter of whether to push her or let it go.

 

[ms_missy66]

To be honest, we push a little bit, but I think it depends on the kid. My older DD (5 1/2) tends to easily opt out of things we KNOW she'll love just because she gets intimidated. She did that with Thunder Mountain Railroad, even though she had been on it already on a previous trip.

We gently insisted. She went on, loved it, raved about it, listed it as her favorite ride of the whole trip, then got nervous about it on our last day there and another opportunity to ride. That's just her. If she was seriously scared and on the verge of crying, I would definitely let her opt out.

With Soarin', we described it as a ride that's like a swing with a movie. The 5 1/2 year old was apprehensive. The 4 year old was so excited. They're so different!

 

[jenb1023]

My DD also rode Soarin at age 4 and loved it. Maybe ask to be in the lowest row the first time so it doesn't go up so high.

As for the new question of taking an apprehensive child on rides...
Our daughter loves rides and has been a rider practically since birth - based on this the rule in our family is you ride everything once and if you don't like it you don't have to ride it again. However, any rides that are potentially scary we explain clearly ahead of time and any rides I know will terrify her are exempt from the rule. I think some kids do need encouraged or talked into riding - - but I do have a problem though when people drag an obviously terrified, hysterical and screaming child and try to force them to ride.

 

[RobinFabulous]

My tiny almost 3 year old rode Soarin' (She's TALL, but thin) and LOVED it. She was also big enough to ride test track and almost everything else (40 and a tall hairbow inches)

 

[all4fun]

My DD is finally over 40" tall - a whole new DW has opened up for her! I know she won't want to go on any coasters or Splash Mountain, but I'm torn about talking her into Soarin'. I've been on it myself several times but still can't decide whether she'd love it or be freaked out. Has anyone taken their 4 year old on Soarin'? I'd love any reviews from kids!

Soarin', Splash Mtn, BTMRR, ToT and Dinosaur all have a 40" minimum & DS has ridden all of them at 4yrs old. Just to give you an idea of his temperament: He likes Soarin a lot - never scared him at all, Splash he loved until the big drop, ToT he was shaking like a leaf (I was sorry we did that one), Dinosaur was a little too intense at that stage but he's fine with it now @ 5-1/2yrs, BTMRR was a winner from the beginning. As others have said, it depends on the kid. This past trip, we took ds on Expedition Everest. We didn't even tell him what he was getting on until he was in the seat . good thing he loved it and wanted to do it again! LOL

 

[disneytriplets]

My four year olds loved Soarin' and rode it twice! I always try to prep my kids for new things so, I explained the ride as best as I could and showed them a video from youtube.

They also rode Splash Mountain. Though, I'm not sure they would choose to go back on that again.

 

[3_disprincesses]

Took DD 4 yrs old 3 months ago. When we first got on Soarin' she giggled and loved it...until the fireworks. She rode it again that afternoon but the anticipation of the fireworks was too much. She didn't want to ride it again. I just asked her did she like Soarin' and she said "NO" when asked what she didn't like she said "Just the fireworks".

 

[miksilver]

My 3 yr old DD loves Soarin'. It's her favorite ride and would ride it all day long if I let her.

 

[DumboPrincess]

My 4 y/o DD loved it--esp. Tink!

 

[tanyaandallie]

OK, my dd was scared on Soarin. She was not shaking like a leaf but she was scared. She was 4.5 when she rode it. She is not a thrill seaker at all, though. She refused to ride BTMRR, Splash, etc. She rode Test Track and was terrified. Poor kid.

I would take her on it again, though. She was nervous and scared but she was not terrified like she was on Test Track.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

DS just turned 5 of the 17th and we took him to WDW back in April. He rode BTMRR and LOVED it. He wanted to go on it again and again.

Didn't get to do many more thrill rides that trip as the lines were long and we ended up cutting the trip short due to my terrible illness

Went to DL in October and DS rode ToT at night, no less and loved it. He wasn't sure about it even after he got off - I'm sure that whole being in the dark thing was part of it but when we asked him what he liked most at DCA, he said ToT. He rode several other thrill rides. He rode BTMRR at DL and loved it just as much as the 1st time at MK. At DL it was his 1st time on Soarin' and he wasn't really sure what was going to happen and I was more nervous than he was because we were the 2nd row up and I was worried about him falling out. I'm so paranoid about my child! But when the ride ended he wanted to sit there and do it again.

I think it just depends on the kid. Both DH and I love thrill rides and I think our DS just takes after us although what's funny is that when we rode HM in April he wanted nothing to do with it again. He enjoyed it at DL because it was decorated in the Nightmare Before Christmas theme.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I say go for it!!!!!! I think my son was 3 when he went on it the first time. 4 is a great age for it! Have fun!

 

[cmaee]

We took my DS (4) and DS (6 - who was 5 at the time) on it in March and they loved it. It was my first time riding it as well, so I didn't know what row to shoot for for first timers and kids. We were in the very first row and my boys loved it. They got off it wanting to go right back on it. They went on it with their Dad later in the day and were on the last row and both commented that they liked being up high and in the front better. When asked about what is their favorite rides from WDW, they both always say Soarin and Test Track.

 

[puffkin]

DS was 2 1/2 in October and rode Soarin'. He liked it a lot and we did it twice with him. He is tall for his age.

He also rode Splash, Big Thunder, Dinosaur, Test Track and Star Tours during that trip and loved them all. He really wanted to do ToT but the line was always too long and/or no FP's when we were in that area during the week.

The ride he still remembers and talks about even today is Snow White. He HATED that one

 

[mom22bless]

OK, my dd was scared on Soarin. She was not shaking like a leaf but she was scared. She was 4.5 when she rode it. She is not a thrill seaker at all, though. She refused to ride BTMRR, Splash, etc. She rode Test Track and was terrified. Poor kid.

I would take her on it again, though. She was nervous and scared but she was not terrified like she was on Test Track.

Why would you take her if she was scared? Isn't that why they have the child swap thing?