Thrill rides and young children

[needabrk]

We're leaving in a week and I've been studing the books. But I have no clue as to whether my kids ages 7, 4 1/2, and 2 will enjoy some thrill type rides. I know my 2 year old will not measure up to most. I don't want them to freak out during a 3-D movie or fast ride, but I do want them to enjoy the fun and thrills that they can handle.

How do you judge whether your kids are ready for an attraction?
Do you go on the ride first to judge? That would be fine if the lines aren't too long, but I'm expecting big crowds. I hate to make all the kids stand in line only for me to say no. I know we will skip Snow White's Adventure, Extra Terrorestrial Alien Encounter, the Dinosaur ride at Epcot, and Tower of Terror (my kids are definately NOT into scarey stuff). But there are many questionable rides like Test Track, Big Thunder Mountain RR, Splash Mountain.

I could use help here. What did your kids think of these rides (and others). Thanks!

 

[jacksonsmom]

I am very curious what others have to say, my son will be almost 4 yrs old when we go in June & already he is 42" so height won't be a big factor on most rides.

He is already very into thrill rides though. I have already said no to Alein Encounter (I think he is too short anyway).

I am very curious about Dinosaur though, he really wants to go in it (we watched a special on Animal Kingdom) but everything I read, I don't think it is a good idea.
I am also questioning Tower or Terror. He likes those drop type rides, but the pre-show is what I am wondering about.

Also "It's tough to be a bug" He is alittle scared of bugs so I don't know if it would be a good idea to take him in there, although he loves the movie "It's a Bug's Life"

 

[shafke]

You know your kids best.

Explain the rides to them (what they do, are they in the dark) and let them decide what they want to ride.

Don't rule out a ride because you think it may be too scary. As an example, out DS, 4, did not like the Dinosaur ride in AK but his cousin,5, who loves disnoaurs, loved the ride. On the other hand, DS LOVED Test Track where has his cousin would not ride. The only ride I would not even consider taking DS on, even if he were tall enough is Alien Encounter.

If you child decides the he does not want to go on a particular ride do not force them. It just makes a bad time for everyone.

 

[HM]

Here's my experience --
When we first visited my kids were 4 and 6. At that point they were willing to try most everything. We found that some were winners and others they didn't want to do again (for a long time).

They really enjoyed BTMRR and Splash Mountain of the MK thrills. We did not do Space Mountain or Alien Encounter. They did not like Snow White at all (still don't ....the witch scares them) and the skeletons in Pirates of the Caribbean scared them as well (they have to close their eyes in that part). And they also don't like Haunted Mansion.

At the time DD (4) was too short for Dinosaur (they've since changed the hieght) but my DS (6) did not want to do it twice (baby swap) as it was too dark and bumpy.

Neither has been brave enough in the last 4 years to do ToT, though DS (now 9) says he might this time. DD tried RnR at age 6 last year and it was a bit much for her though she didn't hate it.

DD has never like the 3D movies. She watches without the glasses on. DS watches but closes his eye a lot. If you want to do the 3D movies......start with Muppetvision first, it is the least "scary" of the three and see how it goes before trying the others.

Test track is a hard one to judge. They did it and really didn't want to do it again.

-HM

 

[Dagny]

Jacksonsmom: DS won't be able to ride Dinosaur as it has a 46" height requirement My son is nearly 4 also and has been asking to go on it too.... I have been preparing him advance so he won't be too dissapointed when we get there.

 

[RescueRanger]

Alot of the rides have kid swap. This is where one adult rides while the other waits with the children who do not want to ride or are not big enough to ride. After that adult gets off the ride, the other adult is then allowed on the ride without waiting. Also, if you believe the ride is OK for any of your kids that did not ride, they may ride at this time as well. This way you can check the ride for scare factor without having to wait twice in line. Everyone gets in line at the same time and you have to tell a CM when you enter the line because different rides have different procedures. Just ask any CM when you get to WDW and they will probably be able to explain it better than I have. Hope this helps.

 

[era710]

When our friends went to WDW in March, I asked them to bring me back new park maps(ours were 3 years old). I just looked on the AK map and the height req. for Dinosaur is 40".

 

[Paris]

Right, Dinosaur is now 40 inches -- it was 46 inches only during the park's first year.

My best advice would be to recognize that every kid is different. My 4 year old son is a bit on the fringe because he loves Dinosaur but won't ride Pteranadon Spin (the Dumbo-esque ride closest to Dinosaur). But I wouldn't feel right recommending Dinosaur to any parent of a 4-year-old. Ours was just so adamant on riding that after we had experienced it first we explained how dark it was inside, how the ride gets bumpy and how these aren't the cute dinos he plays with at home. Knowing that he still wanted to ride and he now knows the entire ride script by heart and loves it.

You can narrow down the questionable rides into two camps -- those that scare you (Snow White, Haunted Mansion, Alien Encounter, Dinosaur, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, It's Tough to be a Bug) and those that thrill you (the Mountains, Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Dinosaur (too), Body Wars, Rock n Roller, Primeval Whirl).

Notice I left out Test Track because it is really a fun, harmless ride. Your 2-year-old won't make the cut at 40 inches but the baby swap area is cool (indoors, A/C with a bunch of late model GM cars to play in). Folks may get thrown off by the sound of the cars driving around the building at 65 miles per hour but I don't think I've ever met anyone -- adult or child -- who went on it and was terrified after getting off. Then again, I haven't met everyone of course.

 

[DISNEYWORLDBORN2SHOP]

Both of our DSs have always enjoyed all the thrill rides with the exception of AE. My youngest was tall enough for ToT at 3 yrs. old and thought it was the best thing.

We have always explained to them before they rode any new ride what the ride was like, what the story behind the ride was, that it was just pretend and Disney would never have a ride that you could get hurt on.

During the ToT preshow we would also distract them and tell them that they could close their eyes and ears if they wanted too.

 

[Dancind]

OK, my 11 year old DD developed an irrational fear of Splash Mountain, at the same time she loved Hulk at IOA. So it's hard to predict how they will react until they try it. The attraction that you hear the most screaming, terrified little kids in is Tough to be a Bug. I wouldn't try that one on them, even without glasses. Diana

 

[jacksonsmom]

Wow! There sure is a lot to think about.

See, I think my son will do OK on most of the rides. He even wants to go on the Batman ride on Six Flags (has to wait a long while for that! LOL)
He keeps asking me if he can go on Space Mountain. I tell him no (I believe you have to be 44" so he will miss it be 2") He thinks he might get tall enough by the time we go to Disney! LOL

How is Body Wars? My son is very into the human body & how it works & what the inside looks like. Is Body Wars a 'tamer" ride?

I am just so unsure about the Dinosaur ride, but he keeps begging me to let him go on it. I will definetily tell him what it is going to be like before we get on. Then let him make his decision. I guess if worse comes to worse he can close his eyes?
So what is "Dinosaur" really like, besides dark & bumpy?

 

[carone0318]

I think if you have been to other amusement parks like Six Flags, you know what your child can handle. My dd is a thrill seeker, she loves all the thrill rides. She is 6 and just last yr, she made the 40" mark. She couldn't wait to ride all the rides. She loved them all. Of course, I was nervous because to me she is still so small. I made dh ride all the rides with her first. The first time I rode BTMRR with her she decides that she doesn't want to hold on and has her hands in the air the whole time, same with SplMtn. She loved ToT, but I thought that I was going to have a heart attack. I thought that she was going to fall out. She is dying to ride RnRC, but luckily she isn't tall enough yet. In May we are hoping she is tall enought for SpaceMtn. I would not let her go on Alien Encounter. If you are not sure, go on it first by yourself and decide if your child could handle it. I went on Alien Encounter and I felt so bad for the small children in there. There they are waiting to go in and they are laughing and such and then you get in there and I would say at least 80% of the time it is pitch black and the once smiling kids are screaming their heads off and there is nothing that you can do. If you are unsure, see for yourself first then decide if you want to bring your kids....

 

[Jordan's MOM]

You are getting some great advice. My theroy has always been to let them try it once and then decide if they like it are not. Make sure you explain that ALL the rides are safe and he can not get hurt on any ride. Explain however that some rides try to scare you because lots of people like to be scared. I would let him try anything he is willing to try that he meets the height requirment for. The one exception is AE. I have discourage my DS from this ride though have agreed that he is ready for it this year.He will be 11. One idea is to work your way up. Start with the barnstorm , then BTM and then up to space mountain. Like wise if your child can't handle Snow White, don't try TOT. The 3-D movies have the advantage that you can leave if they become frightened. I say let them decide what they want to try. Praise them for thier courage to try something new and respect thier decisions as to do it again or not. Have fun and don't stress!!

Jordan's mom

 

[sha_lyn]

DD was 2 1/2 on our first trip. I have several pointers on how to prepare them. The frist ones should be done at home, startign several weeks ahead of time.

First I told her about Mickey's Magic, and how sometimes Mickey turns out the light to get a suprise ready for us. I followed this by going into a room wiht her and turning the light out and talking to her about how the dark is not scary.

We watched every special on the travel channel, the WDW vacation planning video (and before our second trip) the Disneyland Sing along video. It has HM, POTC,BTMRR etc on it.

I think MGM is the best park to start at.When we arrived we started with the great movie ride. I've found that it is a very good first ride to test your child. IT get a little dark wihtout getting pitch black, and the scary parts are short. The little mermaid show was a little scary with hte noise and lasers, but DD did fine. Muppets is the least scary of the 3D movies. Taking the glasses off gets rid of most of the scare factor.

at MK DD really liked Snow White and HM. She was too small for the others.

At Epcot she loved HISTA. She sat up straight in her seat and kept the glasses on the whole time. The snake freaked DS out (10 at the time) but DD just said "cool snake". She also loved the dinosaurs in Ellen's energy adventure.

AK ... She loved TTBAB too. Have your kids watch A Bug's life before going to WDW. For this one, taking the glasses off and putting thme in an adults lap (to avoid the special effect built into the seats) gets rid of most of the scare factor.


AT 5 1/2 she was really "Strange". She loved TOT, SplM and Dinosaur. She cried because she couldn't ride SpM. However she refussed to ride BTMRR and Goofy's Barnstormer. She still loved the 3 D movies, and rode Pirates for the first time (it was in rehab the first trip).