Tall 5 y/o - any rides I should rule out?

[Mmw37]

My 5 y/o son is 45" tall, and will be taking his third trip to WDW in Jan. He doesn't have any articulated fears (heights, dark, etc.), and has done well on most rides in the past. On our last trip, his favorite ride was TT with Splash a close second. He loved Soarin', ST, and BTMRR. He rode 7DMT twice, but said it was too scary. He's liked Barnstormer since he was 2. He randomly freaked out on a raft ride at the state fair this summer, but it wasn't hot out and he may not have been adequately prepared to get wet. Didn't like PP when he was 2, but was fine on our last trip.

We haven't tried ToT, Mission Space, or Space Mtn yet. He's still too short for RnRC, and I think we're skipping AK this trip but I think we'd hold off on EE regardless (DH and I rode it last year). We're planning to go every year as long as the kids are willing (we have a toddler as well), so there's no need to ride everything this trip. He will get a vote, but sometimes he's afraid to try new things and then loves them when he gives them a chance.

Thoughts??

 

[ajwolfe]

At that age my kids were riding everything they were tall enough for. The only one that comes to mind was my oldest refused to try TOT until our trip this May (he was 12 then) and it was more of me pushing him to do it. We did have a 6 year old in our group that did TOT (her very first ride at WDW!) and she loved it. She also loved EE (made us ride it like 6 times that day) and did RnRC.

I think I would show him videos on line ahead of time and let him just make the decision on his own but I wouldn't necessarily skip any just because of his age.

 

[FigmentFinder]

I just took my 5 year old DD last month. She's 47 inches so tall enough for everything but RnR. (although the CM at the entrance was willing to let her through) She rode everything including ToT, Space Mountain and EE. She loves every ride and went on them more than once. I don't think any of the rides a child over 44 inches can ride is too intense for a 5 year old.

 

[AZMermaid]

My son was 5 and right at 48" with shoes in DL last summer. He went on everything he was tall enough for except Screamin' (upside down roller coaster- he was intimidated) and Space Mt (he doesn't like the dark and isn't that into Star Wars that it would be enough to convince him). Now- 4 months later and a big mature kindergartner- haha- he probably would go on and love it! I'd let him go on whatever he is interested in.

 

[kollerbear]

I think Space Mt. can be especially intimidating because its in the dark and you have to sit alone. If 7DMT was scary (but the others weren't?) I'd maybe save SM for the end of the trip to see how all the other coasters go first. Its also a very long ride for a scared kid. (ETA I rode it at the end of a long day and my back hurt a bit at the very start of the ride due to some twist or turn. I was thinking, ok, just get through it, its short, it'll be ok, but the anxiety I'd really hurt myself built. And that's why I say its a long ride. It felt VERY long and you couldn't tell what was ahead of you. I've ridden it dozens of times and love it but it is intense. Not as a track relative to other coasters but as an overall experience.)

 

[kollerbear]

And Mission Space-- start with the green side? I know a lot of kids love it but the issue there is the tightness of the space. I rode it once green and will be happy never to experience either side again. Its a cool ride but a little claustrophobic on the green side and, I'm sure, intense on the red side. And I'm someone who loves hyper coasters and the like!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Not sure what you want our thoughts on.
You know your child better than we do.
Let him go on whatever he wants as long as he's tall enough. If its something he's iffy about but you are pretty sure he can handle it then have him go on.

My opinion has always been that if you think the child can handle it then have them try it.
If they hate it don't make them go on again.

 

[wilkeliza]

I think if you think your kid can handle it then go for it. The only thing I might say no to is Mission Space. I don't get sick often from rides but that one always makes me sick or gives me a headache. So much so that I don't ride it very often any more.

 

[Kerriowl]

It totally depends on your child so you will probably have to make the call. My DS was 4 turning 5 on our last trip. He was honestly more scared of the dark rides than the thrill rides. TOT, TT, Dinosaur, Space Mountain didn't really phase him, but I talked him through some of the dark rides and by the end of the trip he could talk himself through them - these are not real, they are animatronics, that means they are animated electronics. It was amusing to hear him repeat that under his breath to himself by the end of a week. He still hasn't made it through It's Tough to be a Bug and probably wont on our next trip in May either.

 

[Mmw37]

Just curious about others' experiences with our FP window approaching soon. We probably need to watch some ride videos together and see what he thinks. It's just hard to know when he's grown up so much since our last trip!

 

[jvz82]

My 5 year old is very tall and we'll bring her on everything she is tall enough for. She has never had any fears on any rides before though.

 

[kohlby]

I have a timid child who is older than that and we had to wait on Space Mountain. My concern was that if he started getting upset then I couldn't reach him to touch him or put my arm around him. On the flip side, my mature dare devil did Space Mountain and was in tears partway through telling me she didn't want to do it anymore. I had to talk her down. When the ride was over, I turned to her - her face red and wet from tears. I told her she didn't have to do it again (we were doing rider swap with her little brother). She said she wanted to do it again! That now that she knew what to expect, she was fine! And she did it again and loved it. So - you never know. That same dare-devil kid did ToT at 3 years old. It totally freaked her out. Her little behind was way off the seat. She recovered enough to do other rides that day - but she wasn't willing to try ToT again until 7 years later - at 10 years old. She really liked it then.

Mission Space didn't phase any of my kids. We did green first, as I get motion sickness so that's the only side I was willing to do anyway. Even my super timid kid did fine on it. The dare devil kid did do the orange side with her dad and prefers the orange side since she says the green is boring. I think the green is perfect.

 

[nursejackie]

If you are ever concerned about the surprise of new rides causing problems check out the POV's on youtube. Almost every ride you want to go on is on there, it's a great way to show them what the ride entails if they need to know in advance to convince them to go on.

 

[Crystal824]

We took our 5 year old last year. She rode everything she was tall enough for, which was basically all the big rides except RnRC. She loved everything except ToT. She hated it. I really think that was more the theme than the drop. She loved EE. It is now her favorite attraction, which had once been Soarin. SM she said was ok. She isn't a big fan of the dark. She said she would do it again.