Stop Forcing Children On Scary Rides!!!

[kakiegirl]

Now I personally do not like to see people trying to force young children to go on thrill rides when they are obviously terrified. However, my dd is not a dare devil in any shape or form and I have to use my judgment some times on whether a ride would scare her or not and then try to talk her into riding it. I would never purposefully take her on something I knew would scare her. Now just my personal opinion for my family is that at 6 years old she is too young for most of the thrill rides anyway. But I have had to really coerece her to ride some rides like Haunted Mansion and Snow White which I knew from her personality would not scare her, she was just nervous about not knowing what to expect, now she loves both of those rides. I didn't carry her on kicking and screaming but she was really nervous the first time. I have even resorted to bribery before, if you just try this ride we will buy you a treat afterward. And I must confess when my dd is in a store and get her mind on something alot of times the only way to get her attention is to say Bye, I am leaving. She knows I will not and have not ever left her but it gets her attention that I am serious about being ready to move on. So if you are at disney next week in a gift shop and hear a mother telling her child that It might be me.

 

[meandtheguys2]

The outside and ambiance of the HM are scary. My older 2 didn't like the mansion until they were older. The 5 year old loved it...go figure! None of them really care for the jumpy-up behind the tombstone guys!

 

[guyzmom]

When I was nine years old (I'm 35 now - ouch), my parents took me to WDW. It was the one BIG vacation we were ever able to go on. We drove from Ohio, and what happened when we got there? Of course, me being the chicken that I was, screamed and cried and didn't want to go on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the Haunted Mansion, Snow White, etc. My parents, knowing my personality, "cruelly" forced me on - and of course I loved each ride and wanted to get right back in line. We still joke about it to this day! They told my husband the story, and so when we went on our first trip together, the first thing that he wanted to ride was Mr. Toad (and the whole way through the ride he teased me about all the scary stuff)! It was hilarious! In retrospect, I'm glad my parents "forced the rides". Of course, one of my 6-year-old twin boys is exactly the same way I used to be. We took the boys to WDW when they were three, and nothing bothered him when he was that little - but now, everything is approached by him with great trepidation. We had to force him to go down the slide of our pool (even though he's learning the backstroke in swimming lessons). Of course after the first slide, he now goes down about 50 times a day. We're going in October, so I can only guess that I'll be forcing him on a few rides. I could never do justice in expressing my love for my children (and I know that my parents love me the same way). I'm fairly overprotective (we've never even had a babysitter). You never know what's really going on when you're observing strangers.

 

[DisneyTeasers]

Thanks! I only wish I had said it!!

BTW, I've never had a turkey leg, but I think this time I'll just have to try one. You made it sound too yummy!!

 

[JodyLynC]

I am a 38 yo woman who is terrified of roller coasters, any ride that goes upside down or drops, etc. I even get nervous on the teacups. Getting on a plane is a horrific deal for me as well. Why? Because my parents forced me to ride thrill rides no matter how much I begged and cried not to go on them. To this day, I get horrible flashbacks. Only until I learned how to throw up on them (my parents) did they stop forcing me.

Parents, please don't use the excuse "but they liked it last time. They will enjoy it. I know they will." Don't force them. If they want to ride it, they will. If not, leave them alone. You ride it and tell them what you enjoyed about it and what you didn't.

 

[tn_disney_addict]

If you go the first week of October and see some horrible mother ushering her blonde haired blue eyed girl through the que's, that's me! My 8 yr old (she'll be almost 9 when we go) cries over everything. She cries at the drop of a hat, if you look at her wrong, she cries. She cries every morning when getting ready for school and every afternoon when she gets home. Sometimes for no reason at all. She will cry the first time we go on any big ride and the next time around, she will be first in line.

So if you see me, wave ! I'll wave back and if you see us after the ride too, you'll see my DD giggling away asking to go again. If I didn't insist she try it once, she would never do anything.

I think our daughters might be twins...

Okay, to avoid the dirty looks from other people when we are standing in line and she is acting crazy (even though she loves every ride and wants to ride it over and over again once she is on it)...I PAY HER! Yep! My daughter LOVES the dollar, ladies and gentleman!

Granted, what she doesn't realize is that it is money that she would be spending on souvenirs, etc anyway...I offer to add money to her "spending fund" if she will try a ride!

I know what alot of you are thinking...unethical...immoral..blah blah blah...but hey... it works!

Just for reference, it cost me $5 to get her to ride Goofy's Barnstomer, which she then road at least a half dozen times by herself while DH and I waited on the bench in the exit area (and yes, we walked her back to the entrance)....we were just tired of riding it....
but it cost me $20 for the Tower of Terror

 

[spoon full of sugar]

There is a HUGE difference between Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, etc. and Mission Space. Mission Space actually creates two gees more gravity pressing on your body. That does not occur naturally anywhere on earth. The human body has evolved (or was created) to deal with the gravity of this planet. When you go on this ride you are particapating in an enviroment(albiet artificial) that is completely alien to your body. This is why people with heart conditions or who are pregnant, etc. are told not to ride. Yes this is a mild ride and there may be roller coasters that create as much gee force i don't know,but i do know that it is a situation that the human body was not designed for. So it is not just a matter of talking a child into going on a scary ride. By the way i loved this ride, and so did my DS11. But I would never let a young child ride it, and why should anyone want to?What's wrong with being a toddler, being amazed at a giant mouse, or Peter Pan's ride?Why do people want little kids to act like theyr'e 12?So you can have a "cool" kid? Make up for what a dork you were? Kids are only kids for a short time,PLEASE don't steal that from them.They will have to be adults for the rest of their lives(except when they're at Disney ) SO LET THEM BE FOUR WHEN THEY ARE FOUR!

 

[chrisn]

Having said that, I'm 36 and MS is WAY too intense for me and I LOVE coasters! I will say that I think it's a fantastic ride but I HATED every moment I was on it. I'm glad I rode it once but NEVER AGAIN in life! Gravity forces that are trying to peel your face off just doesn't blow my dress up ya know! Not a fun and comfortable feeling. My 7 1/2 year old did ride it and liked it. He was also scared of Haunted Mansion at 5 1/2 but now begs to ride it alone! Give me TOT any day. Now that's a great ride! Best ride at WDW IMHO! No more MS for this girlie, I found that earth is just fine thank you.

 

[Chris]

Maybe we should start a theard asking people to stop passing judgment on others. Go on your vacations, enjoy your trips, and learn to mind your own business.

If someone wants to put their 10-year-old in a stroller, that's their choice.

If someone wants to use a leash to keep up with their child, their choice.

If someone wants to encourage their child to ride a ride they are nervous about, their choice.

If someone wants to feed their children ice cream, burgers, fries, soda... during their trip, that's their choice.

If a people want to walk around eating turkey legs, more power to them.

We complain about so many things that don't have anything to do with us.

We all go to WDW to enjoy ourselves. We shouldn't have to worry if we're going to do something that will piss someone off so much that they just have to start a thread about it on the DIS.

My son and I are returning to WDW September 29-October 5. I'm sure we'll give the busy bodies, plenty to talk about.

I'm a far cry from a size 4 and I can't wait to get my hands on a turkey leg. ( and several other yummy snacks)

I'm sure my son will force me ride TOT at least twice during our trip.

My son's birthday is the last day of our trip, but I plan to celebrate the whole time we're there.

I think we should all just enjoy our trips and not worry about what the next family is doing.

ITA 1000x!

 

[dcgrumpy]

A couple of years ago DS complained on every line that he didn't want to go it was too scary...Since this was his 4th or 5th trip and we know him better than anyone else we made him go on anyway. Every time he would say "that wasn't scary at all"

I'm sure I looked like a mean mom forcing my crying kid on a scary ride. Guess what, I don't care. We wouldn't have gone on a single ride that trip if we left it up to him

 

[swincha]

i agree with not forcing children on scary rides. my teen couldn't believe some parents yelling, humiliating their young children and making them ride on rides they were afraid of. we were going to take my 5 year old into the honey i shrunk the kids show and he said there is the exit and i don't want to see the show so my teen waited outside with him. some parents need not to be so selfish and not force kids on rides.

 

[tazleiten12]

How about Kids not trying to force their parents onto rides!
Thats right no matter how much my son trys to get me on TOT, im NOT going!

 

[Nicks2Angels]

Disjunkie read my mind completely, but articulated it much better than I could.

 

[dvcmember]

If you go the first week of October and see some horrible mother ushering her blonde haired blue eyed girl through the que's, that's me! My 8 yr old (she'll be almost 9 when we go) cries over everything. She cries at the drop of a hat, if you look at her wrong, she cries. She cries every morning when getting ready for school and every afternoon when she gets home. Sometimes for no reason at all. She will cry the first time we go on any big ride and the next time around, she will be first in line.

So if you see me, wave ! I'll wave back and if you see us after the ride too, you'll see my DD giggling away asking to go again. If I didn't insist she try it once, she would never do anything.

My 8 yo dd must be related to yours. She always cries about going on rides and everyone looks at us. Then she begs to go back on .
Barb

 

[epcotfan]

I rode the TOT in January with a little girl (about 8) who absolutely FREAKED out prior to the elevator doors closing. She was screaming and crying hysterically. Her chaperones weren't speaking english so I don't know if they were this girl's sister and mother or what. I'm surprised the cast member didn't pull her off the ride prior to starting the ride cycle. I've never seen ANYONE that freaked out before.
On another trip I overheard parents trying to cajole their children into riding Mission Space. One of them offered the children $10.00 to ride it. Good Grief. Do you think $10 is worth is when your kid might puke or totally freak out on you in the ride???

 

[ksoehrlein]

DD5 absolutely INSISTS on going on Snow White every time we're at MK -- and then hides her face for the entire ride (even the non-scary parts). I think she's ridden it 5 times now -- her choice each time, without ever actually seeing any of it. This last time, I was the horrible mommy, telling her, "If you don't at least look at the ride, we're NEVER going on it again." She looked, she was brave, she survived the experience but she needed the proverbial kick in the butt first. (So I guess we're stuck going on it again the next time we're at MK.)

Anyway, that's why I try not to judge parents of crying children in line for thrill rides. You never know the back story. The child may be a repeat rider, who insists on going on the ride again and again, but then cries about it in line for whatever reason. Heck, I've been on ToT several times, but if I wasn't a proud adult, it would probably make me feel better to cry the whole time in anticipation of the drop, too.

 

[epcotfan]

This wasn't just weeping. This child was beyond hysterical. She was freaking out the other passengers. Arms flailing about. Screaming. Total panic. She should not have been riding in that state.

 

[mmiller711]

tazleiten12 I'm with you!!! I don't like anything that drops at all. I have a hard time making myself go on Pirates!!! I also hate to fly just can't hardly make myself get on a plane. And just for the record I was never forced to ride anything as a child!!! Now, my children. One is a total "will ride every ride ever created" kind of person. The higher the faster the better. Other DD is ok with most stuff at Disney like RNR, TOT etc... but won't ride some of the bigger coasters at Cedar Point. Obviously I never forced them into riding anything cause I didn't ride it.
If everyone were forced to use my fears as a gage for what they were allowed to take their children on, Small World would take all day to ride and then they would have to leave the park. lol
I think everyone has a right to decide what their child can and can not handle. That may change if my grandson wants to start riding some of these things with his thrill seeking mother. lol

 

[meandtheguys2]

How about Kids not trying to force their parents onto rides!
Thats right no matter how much my son trys to get me on TOT, im NOT going!

I did it once for them...bought the darn picture....because I am never doing it again! They have proof that I was cool once!

 

[gary4jenn]

I guess you missed the part of Pyrxtc’s post that said her daughter cries when going onto the ride, but is giggling and ready to ride again when it's over. I think she knows her child better than we do.

I did the same thing with my son when he was 9. He was afraid of many of the rides, and would have passed them all up had I not pushed him to try them. Of course he loved them all.

I'm sure some nosey, busy body saw us going on the rides and may have had plenty to say about me "forcing" my son onto a ride. I'm willing to bet the person wasn't around at the end when he was begging to do it again or to see him happily ride the same rides several more times during our trip.

Maybe we should start a theard asking people to stop passing judgment on others. Go on your vacations, enjoy your trips, and learn to mind your own business.

If someone wants to put their 10-year-old in a stroller, that's their choice.

If someone wants to use a leash to keep up with their child, their choice.

If someone wants to encourage their child to ride a ride they are nervous about, their choice.

If someone wants to feed their children ice cream, burgers, fries, soda... during their trip, that's their choice.

If a people want to walk around eating turkey legs, more power to them.

We complain about so many things that don't have anything to do with us.

We all go to WDW to enjoy ourselves. We shouldn't have to worry if we're going to do something that will piss someone off so much that they just have to start a thread about it on the DIS.

My son and I are returning to WDW September 29-October 5. I'm sure we'll give the busy bodies, plenty to talk about.

I'm a far cry from a size 4 and I can't wait to get my hands on a turkey leg. ( and several other yummy snacks)

I'm sure my son will force me ride TOT at least twice during our trip.

My son's birthday is the last day of our trip, but I plan to celebrate the whole time we're there.

I think we should all just enjoy our trips and not worry about what the next family is doing.

RIGHT ON!