Test Track and a 3.5 year old..???

[ThreeMusketeers]

My dd would I am sure love this ride, as she would many others that we are choosing not to let her ride..She is a 45" tall 3.5 year old..so she can ride many I am sure she isn't ready for. However Test Track I have heard some parents putting their little ones on. What is this ride. And is it safe for kids this age?? What are some other rides that you would reccomend NOT putting a preschooler on?

Thanks..

 

[DawnM]

I think it really depends on your child. (she is 45" tall? wow, my 5 year old isn't even that tall!)

Anyway, my 5 year old rode it in May and loved it. He didn't think it was scary at all.

Dawn

 

[Mersmom98]

I think this ride would be fine for her. It is a "test" car with room for 3 people in the front seat and 3 in the back. This is nice because she can sit right in the middle. The ride puts you through a series of obstacles that a test car might run through like how it handles on bumpy roads, braking and then finally opening up and going around a race track. We watched the speedometer and I think the car got up to around 65 mph. My 7 yo dd LOVED it, and I am sure yours even at 3.5 will, too.

 

[disneygeek]

Do it. She'll love it. My son rode it over and over at age 3years

 

[Inside Ball]

My ds was just 4yrs when he rode test track and loved and very pleased we had done a baby swap so he got to go twice, I think it depends on the nature of your child some love the thrill rides others don't. Even though he loved test track we still couldn't get him to go on Jaws even though he's 2yr old sister loved it.

 

[jacksonsmom]

My son is also tall for his age and he rode test track at 3 yrs old and that is still one of his favorite rides (he is 6 now).
He had a blast on it at 3 yrs old and wanted to ride it again and again.
We had him in the middle between us. I say if she wants to ride it let us. It is pretty tame for a thrill ride.

 

[susykt4]

My wimpy, scared DD4 loved this ride I'm hoping DS3 will grow half an inch by January so he can go. I know he'll love it.

 

[melk]

My dd, 4, loved Test Track. We used Goofy's rollercoaster as a test for the "fast rides." She LOVED it, so from there we did Thunder Mountain (fine, just noisy). She did Test Track, we just explained it would be fast like the other rides. She wouldn't do Splash Mountain though, just looking at the drop scared her.

 

[MazdaUK]

my DS(5) was very keen to go on test track. He didn't enjoy the actual experience much - didn't like the HOT bit, thought it was too fast outside. But in retrospect he said he did enjoy it and wants to go again!

He thought Goofy's Barnstormer was too fast - he's just a wuss like me, even wailed on Legoland's "baby" dragon ride!

I would avoid Snow White ride - way too scary!

 

[shafke]

At 45" there is probably only two rides she cannot go on... RnR in MGM and Dinowhirl in AK - both 48" requirement. As far as I remember the tallest height requirement in MK and Epcot is 42". The only ride in MK that I would probabl not do with a 3.5 year old is Space Mountain only for the reason that you will not be able to sit with your child... she would be in a seat by herself with you sitting behind her.

As for the rest of the rides... build up to them...

Start off on Goofy's Barstormer then Thunder Mountain then Splash Mountain.
TT should not be a problem in Epcot although I would bypass Mission Space.
In AK I would not take her on the Dinosaur ride if she scares easily.
In MGM she is tall enough for ToT but you will need to use your best judgement for that. When our DS had just turned 4 he rode it three times and after the third time did not want to go back on only because the ride temporarily stopped and it was in a totally dark part of the ride.

 

[HappyMommy2]

My 3-year-old went on Test Track and loved it. It is a pretty mild ride really--there are a few jerky movements and then there is the fast part at the end but there are no big dips and there is nothing "scary" (nothing jumps out, etc.).
DS was a little unsure about the "hot" part of Test Track but otherwise he laughed through the whole ride.
BTW the seatbelts on Test Track feel very secure even on a small child. On some rides (Thunder Mountain) I felt like I needed to hang on tight to DS when he was 3 and very little and the restraint didn't seem to hold him as securely as I'd have liked.

 

[Bugsmom73]

DD was 3.5 and LOVED Test Track. She though goofy's barnstormer was okay but Loved Test Track. SHe was okay with Splash Mountain. DS will be able to ride most rides when we return in Dec of 06. He is already almost 36inches tall and is not even 2 yet.

 

[3littleHalls]

My DS was just weeks shy of his 3rd b-day and was 40" and he rode Test Track. As we were getting off he said, "That was crazy driving like Daddy!" He is not my thrill seeker of our 3 kids, but he really liked TT. It is basically a road test(cold, hot, brakes, turns, accelerate) He could ride most anything he wanted. He has been riding Goofy's Barnstormer since he was 23mos old. he liked Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder RR. Next trip he will be tall enough for Space Mountain, but I don't think he will ride it since it is so dark. My DD(5 at the time) rode Mission Space and doesn't want to again, it was a bit too intense for her and she loves thrill rides!

 

[Colinsmom]

As for the rest of the rides... build up to them...

Start off on Goofy's Barstormer then Thunder Mountain then Splash Mountain.
TT should not be a problem in Epcot although I would bypass Mission Space.
In AK I would not take her on the Dinosaur ride if she scares easily.
In MGM she is tall enough for ToT but you will need to use your best judgement for that. When our DS had just turned 4 he rode it three times and after the third time did not want to go back on only because the ride temporarily stopped and it was in a totally dark part of the ride.

Don't know if I agree with this list. My DS went to WDW for his third birthday, and LOVED Test Track. He liked Splash Mountain a lot, too, but didn't care for the Barnstormer (too bumpy, I think). Thunder Mountain is very fast and jerky, and is a much harder ride for a young one than Splash Mountain. We didn't even try it after getting DS's mixed reviews on Barnstormer.

 

[DisneyTeasers]

Our then 3 year old loved TT in 2003, and again last July... it was still his favorite ride. It isn't scary at all. BTW, he also rode TofT back in 2003, and it was the only thing he would NOT ride on our most recent trip!

 

[AlexTina]

My DD just turned 4 last month and we took a trip for her birthday. She loved Test Track and since we used baby swap because of DS she got to ride it several times, she also absolutely loves Splash Mountain I swear we went on that about 50 times, and BTMRR we went on that at least 10 times. The only things she couldn't ride were Rockin Roller Coaster at MGM and Space Mountain at MK. She probably could have gone on Space Mountain and she wanted to but I'm just a little leary since I cannot sit next to her (maybe next year). The one ride that she did go on but would not go again with DH to use the baby swap was Tower of Terror, she was fine with the drops and actually enjoyed that part but the rest of the ride scared her, I think it will be a few years before I get her on that one again. Then there's Dinosaur at Ak I tested this one in May before I would take her on it and it is definately a no no, it would have terrified her and then I probably wouldn't have gotten her on another ride. So we'll just skip that one for a few more years.

Tina

 

[glass slipper girl]

I would say it depends on the child. On our last trip my youngest was 3 months shy of 3 and was exactly 40 inches with his shoes on. As in if you got him to stand with his fee together his head *just* bumped the bar but if he stood with his feet apart there was enough room to slide a finger between the bar and his head. He LOVED Splash...rode it over and over. Loved Thunder. I carried him off of it with him screaming at the top of his lungs. We walked out with people looking at me like "that horrid woman forcing that poor child on such a scarry ride" when it wasn't that he was screaming b/c I made him ride it, he was screaming because I made him stop riding it! He thought Test Track was fantastic. LOVED it. On the other hand 4 year old felt like Goofy's Barnstormer was "too fast for me," consented to go on Splash only b/c his little brother loved it (and SURPRISE! he liked it too once he gave it a chance) but flat out refused Thunder. We were planning to have him skip Test Track but when his brother was going for the 3rd time he wanted to try it too. Poor guy spent the whole ride worried about when we would get to the fast part. He handled the fast part fine but started crying once we stopped.

I would not let my little ones ride Space Mtn., because you can't sit next to them; Mission Space, too intense, my oldest won't do well on ToT or Dinosaur because he doesn't do well with dark. My youngest REALLY wants to do Dinosaur b/c he's a dinosaur fanatic. I am thinking he's still too young for that. I would also avoid RnR but I think the height requirement on that is a fair amount higher.

 

[lovesdumbo]

My DS rode TT last Oct at 3 3/4 and again in August at 4 1/2. He loved it except the "stinky" part. And he really LOVED the GM showroom after the ride.

He HATED Star Wars (too loud and bumpy) and wouldn't try ToT, Splash or BTM. Loves Goofy's Barnstormer.

 

[stschaefer]

Depends on the child, but my DD loved all the rides her 41" body could get on. Loved TT, ToT, Soarin, BTMR, HM, PoC, all the Fantasy land rides, etc. She loved ToT and TT - asked to do them again. TT will be no problem - only part is the accelleration at the end to 65 mph - but it is safe. Have fun and feel her out for what she wants to do.