thrill rides for 3 1/2 year old?

[Minuet888]

Hi all,
My son is 3 1/2 years old (he will be 4 on August 2nd). We are leaving for Disney this Saturday.
He is 41 inches tall.
My hubby and I are debating which rides are ok for him and which ones we should skip.
my son is autistic (but not severly autistic), and he is a daredevil.
So I wanted to hear from other parents out there about rides they would take or wouldn't take their child on:
Matterhorn
Tower of Terror (can't believe he is tall enough for that)
Star Tours
Space Mountain (I think it is too dark for him and he might get scared)
Soarin (the height off the ground makes me nervous)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Splash Mountain

Thanks everyone!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

My oldest had just turned four when we took her on Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. She wasn't sure of the drop on Splash Mountain at first, but quickly decided she had liked it. Both of these are her favorites. She also went on Soarin' at this age and liked it. She has not tried Space Mountain yet. She tried TOT earlier this year (she is 7) and HATED it.

My youngest is almost 2 1/2 now. We took her on Matterhorn a couple of months ago and she said "done" about half way through the ride. But throughout the rest of the day she said she wanted to go on it again.

Suggestion -- show him some of the rides on youtube so he can get an idea of what it will be like. Also, you can start him off on something a little more tame, like Gadget's Go Coaster in Toontown or the Matterhorn (if you don't think it will scare him) and see how he does on that before trying something like Space Mountain.

 

[DLR29]

Although I'm not a parent....

Definitely try Soarin. It's really gentle and you don't notice the height off of the ground. You're more focused on the movie. This is a yes for sure.

Big Thunder is probably the next tame ride on that list, but it is pretty zippy. My 3yo cousin went on it and loved it and he's a daredevil.

Splash Mountain has a few drops, but a lot of show scenes and stuff to look at in between, so it's not constantly going fast like some of these other rides.

Then Space Mountain. Although it is dark and seems fast, the ride is silky smooth compared to some of the other rides.

Star Tours is rough, but I think he'd enjoy it. Matterhorn is also bumpy and rough and the Yeti can be slightly intimidating. Tower of Terror is dark, scary, and intense. If he loves thrills maybe, but it could be a bit overwhelming.

Obviously, you know your child the best, but my theory is: If they are tall enough to ride, they:
a) Are definitely safe enough
b) Should still watch the ride first before riding (not possible for Space, Star Tours, or ToT)
c) Should be warned about any "scary" things (like the Yeti or loud noises and stuff like that)

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

Your DS & I share a b-day!

My DS was also 3.5 when we went - he was just starting to really talk of monsters so I was NOT going to go on any "scary" rides. The dark ones in FL, more specifically. But we had the time during EE...soooo...we did it. And he LOVED it!

Splash Mountain he loved, Thunder Mountain RR he loved. We would've tried THe Matterhorn but we weren't willing to wait the line & Space Mountain we didn't try. I wish we had now.

Splash scared the poo out of him!!! But he recovered quickly & talked excitedly about it the rest of the day.

I guess it's knowing your DC more than anything. My DD was so timid & shy, DL was very overwhelming for her at 4.....but DS took it all on like a trooper! So I think most rides depend on the child. THAT being said......when my sis was 4 & I was 13......the only ride she WASN'T scared of was the carousel. Yeah. Fun times.

 

[karylrocks]

I would think in terms of what he would enjoy rather than what he can endure. I would skip Tower of Terror and Space Mountain. Start with Gadget's and Matterhorn and if he likes those try BTMRR. Splash would probably be OK as well, but the story line can get a bit scary for little ones. Soarin should be fine. Star Tours is kind of intense and bumpy and he might not enjoy that, but then again he might (depends on the kid).

Remember that until a certain age, kids really can't distinguish between "real" scary and "pretend" scary, no matter how much you try to explain it to them. They will get scared even if they "know" it isn't real, so you just need to know your own kid and where they are in that process. I took my DD on Matterhorn when she was 4 and all she remembered was the monster with the red eyes. That same trip she wanted to go on Alice over and over again, and she got a little nervous with "off with her head" but I think that helped her accept the "pretend" scary feeling.

Splash scared the poo out of me the first time I went on it as well (I am afraid of heights) and after that I about had a panic attack just before the drop every time, but I have done it repeatedly and now I can sometimes go down with my eyes open. At 50+ I am still working on the "real" vs. "pretend" scary!

 

[IBLarsen]

Our dd was right at 3.5 years old during our trip last Oct, and tall enough for all of those rides. I however did not think she would go on most of them, and had planned on sitting them out with her while DH and DS went. Boy was I wrong! She insisted on going on everything. Her favorite was the matterhorn, we went on that several times during the week. She went on Space, the look on her face made me think she wasn't impressed with that one, but she said it was fine. We did not take her on ToT however, because mommy refused to go on that She was not afraid of the dark rides at all. I did however make sure to tell her what to expect, ie: This ride will be dark, or the Yeti will try to scare you, or this ride will have a big drop, or will be bumpy. I wanted her to understand what to expect. We of course made the rides sound fun at the same time, didn't just try to scare her. She loved Soarin' also.

Every child is different of course, I however was really suprised at how much of a daredevil my dd was.

One other good suggestion I got from these boards was to show my children the rides on youtube before the trip to give them an idea of what to expect.

Have a happy trip! I wouldn't be afraid to try a few rides with your child and get a feel for his reaction and take it from there.

 

[mousireid]

Its funny, my three year old is a daredevil and loves all the big rides but my high functioning autistic son who is 7 likes some only and may or may not want to ride them! We try everything once and usually the 3 year old wants to go again but not my son. Perhaps as they age they get a little better understanding of fear?! Dunno! I will say I wouldn't bring my daughter on ToT though because I personally think she would be scared it even seems rather real (although perhaps she would chime in that she wants to do it again if I did bring her on it.) She rode the matterhorn twice in a row without getting off during Magic Morning and wanted to do Splash again. Each child is different, so only you can gauge how they would react. Trying the matterhorn would be a good way to tell how they do in darkened areas and hurtling around! Have fun!

 

[bumbershoot]

Star Tours: DS loves it. With little kids, keep a hold on them. They tend to slide around, and then they can't see the "view" b/c they're practically on the seat of the seat, LOL. So keep a hold on them.

Matterhorn: it's bumpy. "Harold" bugs DS, but the bumps bug him more.

TOT: DS didn't mind the up/down part at all, but right before the ride really starts, you're "electrified" and turn blue (in a mirror?) and disappear. DS HATED that. He won't do it because he doesn't want to disappear.

Soarin: Don't be nervous about any height. You can always ask them to put you in the lowest seats. But it's not bad at all.

 

[disneynerd420]

I've said it before on these boards and I will say it again... I wish my parents had forced me to go on the scarier rides as a child. If they had, I probably would not have developed an unnatural fear of roller coasters and thrill rides that I am now just learning to get over as a 23 year old man. I say go for it. I'm a very big believer in the fact that what does not kill you, will make you stronger... except for polio.

 

[Minuet888]

Thanks everyone for your help. We just got back today. I think Star Tours was his favorite He calls it the robot ride. We took him on everything he was tall enough for except Space Mountain (he is scared of the dark so we didn't think that would work out well) His TOT photo is hilarious he looks confused!
The rides he did not like were Honey I shrunk the Audience (too close, too scary) and the swinging gondolas of death (my husband didn't even go on it).
His other favorite rides or kid like (Buzz Lightyear Bam Bam as he calls it) and he loves trains so of course we rode the train (and monorail) 40,000 times!