Soaring for 5 year old?

[WDWstu]

Last year we took my 5 year old daughter on the Thunder Mountain Rail Road and it was too much for her. When we go back in May should we stay away from Soarin' with her?

We were building her up. Starting with the barnstormer and then Pirates of the Carribean. She loves Pirates! We talked about and watched Thunder Mountain and she said she wanted to try it. Though as the line got closer she said "are you sure this is going to be fun?" Guess I should have known then! She made it through fine but afterward said she never wanted to go on that again!

Anyway, Soarin' whats the deal with it as far as kids go?

 

[fan_of_small_world]

Soarin' is a very gentle ride. My DD-then-4 loved it - it was her favorite ride. DS-then-7 who refused to even get on BTMRR loved it too!

 

[WDWstu]

Great! Thanks! I think we'll give it a try.

 

[Heluvsme]

Soarin' is a mild ride. We took our son on it when he was just barely 5 and he loved it! I thought that the sensation of his feet dangling and being so high up in the air might bother him but he absolutely loved it. He is not the adventurous type either, he's easily bothered by loud noises and scary things, so this was nice that he liked it. We hopped back in line and rode it a 2nd time!

 

[CampbellScot]

from a sensory standpoint Soarin can be a lot, but not in a bad way. It's really all in how you present it. If you are fretting about her freaking out, even internally she is going to pick up on it. Just say "It's going to be fun!" and leave it at that. Perhaps reminding her that you would never take her on something that would hurt her...this is just watching a movie basically. Keep it light, don't keep reassurring her that it's going to be "okay". If you are fine, she'll be fine. It's a fun ride and I'll bet she'll really enjoy it.

My step daughter really avoids things she hasn't done before. She has this fixed idea of what is "scary". As she is about to be eight we've really started talking to hear about what scary really is...is it a ride at Disneyworld? No, not really. Is it a flushing toilet at the mall? Not so much...

Fear is all in perception. My step son who is four, LOVES Soarin and Space mountain and all those other "scary" rides. He says it's b/c "Boys are brave!"

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I took my son on it when he was 3. He loved it! He still hasn't rode any of the mountains because he's a little nervous about it. He rides Soarin' everytime with me because that is my favorite ride.

 

[MeetingMickeyin2006]

Just wanted to say thanks to the OP for asking, as I was wondering the same thing!

 

[DawnM]

My kids went as soon as they were able to. They loved it. We lived in CA at the time so this was before the one in FL.

Dawn

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

Dd did Soarin´a couple of days after her 4th birthday, and she has not yet ridden Pirates of the Caribbean.

What I did was request the third row, since I had read here on the disboards that that one is the lowest. This worked for us, because we could still see the edge of the screen, I guess this takes something from the experience to other people, but I really wanted my dd to feel safe.

 

[Parla]

My DD was 3 and didn't care for TMR because it was a pretty rough ride. But she LOVED Soarin'. She insisted we ride it again and says it was her favorite.

 

[zeph317]

We took our 4.5 yo dd and our almost 6yo dd on Soarin, and they both hate loud noises, etc., but they both LOVED Soarin. We just made sure our 4.5yo was tall enough (she wore her "tall" tennis shoes that day ), and she loved it. There are fireworks at the end, so that startled her a bit, but neither of them can wait to do it again. It is very gentle, too.

 

[WAHMto5]

We took our very shy 4 year old on Soarin and she loved it! She was a bit nervous at first, but really enjoyed it!

 

[clownchk]

my just turned 4YO LOVED Soarin'! SHe also loved just about all the rides at MK EXCEPT Haunted Mansion! (BTRR Was a hit with her, she was a tad too short for Space Mountain!) Upon exiting HM, she promptly burst into tears! SHe is VERY excited that HM will be closed for refurbishment for our upcoming trip! LOL!

 

[paper1225]

Our son hates splash mountain(the final hill) and will probably never go back on thundemountain-but really likes soarin! I think she should be fine, they do not seem to realize they are up in the air!

 

[MrsPMC00]

Our then 3 1/2 year old went on it twice last year when we were there. She is already talking about doing it again when we are there in the fall! I think you should be pretty safe. Have a great trip!

 

[CTDisneyFan]

Just looking at the feedback. Thanks for all the great comments. I was not sure about my youngest one.

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

DD experienced Soarin' on her fifth birthday. She loved it so much, she got to go on it FOUR times! (Thanks to parent swap and a fast pass later in the day.) We all thought this was the best ride of the whole trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

Just wanted to mention that there is a short period of total darkness as your 'hang glider' is lifted forward and up into the air. The sensation of that happening is very gentle and the reason for the darkness is so that you don't see the movement. I have never heard any little kids upset with that happening. At the end, there are fireworks on the screen as you go down, so it's totally dark for a shorter time.
Here's a review of Soarin' with some pictures so you can see what the hang gliders look like.

 

[Elmo888]

We went when DD was 6 and 1 month away from turning 7. She HATED Soarin', but she loved Big Thunder.

I suspect that she has an issue with heights (like her mother), but I haven't said that to her. I road Soarin', and I was the only one gripping the handle bars (and there were kids on the ride). I liked it, but I had some anxiety from the feeling of height.

 

[catherines_mama]

Soarin is an easy ride to coast them into because the seat itself remains stationary. If they become unhappy, you can simply have them cover their eyes since there is no real motion to it.

Although DD said NO after Thunder, you just might get her back on it. We went in June was DD was JUST 5 and she didn't like it. And refused to try Test Track and covered her eyes through Soarin (NO I'm not a bad mom she said she wanted to try it). BUT in December, she was closer to 6 and LOVED thunder mtn (made me ride it 10+ times) LOVED Test Track (made me ride it about 4 times) and LOVE LOVE LOVES Soarin.

SO sometimes you just need to gauge your child and give them some time to emotionally and mentally grow into the ride.