Thrillers and my 6 year old....should I let him ride?

[bkerney]

I've got a little daredevil boy. He 6 years old, but fairly small for his age. He will barely meet the 44" requirment for most of the thrillers. I'm having a hard time deciding whether to let him ride some of the thrillers or not. What have some of you with "experience" done?

 

[bowlesx3]

Our son was 5 last yr. he barely missed some of the height requirements and they would not let him on. We were very glad he wasn't able to---well, after we got off and realized that he would have been scared.

I dont remember which requirement is for which ride, sorry. I think a small 6 yr old would not be good for space mtn, as you ride alone. The "runaway railroad" (sorry, its been a long day and I can't remember the real name) is great, you are close by and it's a thriller for a child of that age.

I am sure you will get plenty of advice, but there is my tidbit.

 

[Miller1412]

If he's up for it, definitely let him do it!! Many of the thrill rides are 40", and a couple are 44" and 48" respectively. My DD was 4 when we went last year and did ToT and all of the mountains that she was tall enough for. She was disappointed that she couldn't do Space Mountain and Mission Space. She's looking forward to doing those in October, and my son can't wait either!!

By the way...ToT was her favorite ride! We did it several times.

 

[mmeb144]

As the previous poster, I would try BTMR (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad). Maybe try Goofy's Barnstormer. It's smaller and shorter than the other coasters. Try to nail it first thing, the line can get long for this really short coaster ride.

IMHO, I would let him ride whatever he is brave enough, and tall enough, to ride. My son really liked Splash Mountain at that age, but it took him a couple of years to get brave enough to try Space Mountain. On the other hand, my DD, at 11, still hasn't ridden anything but BTMR (hated it!).

Marie

 

[ADisneygirl]

I may be in the minority here, but I personally would not agree with taking a small child who barely met the minimum requirements for size onto some of the big, scary rides. I definitely wouldn't want my little kids' bodies and brains all shook up on MS, RnR, ToT, or SM. I would wait until they were a bit older and bigger.

 

[shafke]

DS managed all of the 40" rides when he was 4. We let him decide if he wanted to go on the ride or not. His least favorite ride that trip was Haunted Mansion.

Let your child decide what he wants to ride on. Even if you wait on the line and he decides at the last minute not to ride then so be it. Do not force the issue. Space Mtn is the only ride where you will not be able to sit with your child. You have to determine if you are comfortable with this.

 

[mommyintn]

We had our 1st trip to WDW not long ago and our 6 year old who asked me if Dumbo was fast went on Space Mountain twice. He's also pretty tall at 53 1/2 inches so he was quite a bit above the requirement. The only thing I'd think about especially with BTMRR is that we took him on at Disneyland when he was 4 and he met the height requirement and my husband had to hold onto him because the restraint didn't fit him good and his head was knocking around. He felt like he really could've come out.

 

[scrappinmom]

I think it depends on your son. You know him best. We have one scared 11 yr old and one daredevil 6 yr old. My rule has always been if they met the ht requirement it was ok with me for them to ride, but it was up to them. I never believed in wearing the 3 inch platform shoes or anything like that. Ok that being said...went in October with my girls...my 6 year old went on everything...except RNR & Mission Space. Her choice! I explained Space Mountain to her & she said as long as her sister & I were in front & back she was fine...we ended up riding Space Mountain 10 times, TOT 6 times, and Thunder Mountain about 20 times! She was laughing all the way down on TOT and had a great time! NOW my 11 yr old, when she was 6 there;s no way she would have ridden any of those! She was more of the Its a small world crowd....now at 11 she loves them, but she was a different story at 6. You could buy your son the kids passporter thing read the ride descriptions to him and let him decide.

 

[Yensid_MD]

I agree that you should let them pace themselves. I would hold off on Space Mountain until they have a few others under their belt so that you will know how they will react. My five year old was tall and able to do most rides first time we went. He wanted to do them all over and over, except Space Mountain. That one he came off and said "We dont have to do that one again" Of course now that he is 11 he loves it. But it was tough for him to sit by himself at that age.

 

[kimkarli]

My DD6 is also a daredevil. We are going in July. Her five year old friend just went last month and rode TOT, RnRC,& EE. My daughter wants to ride them all. I will ride with her and let her ride them all, if she still wants to when we get there! We are both very excited!!

 

[BeckWhy]

I'd stick to the "if he wants to, let him." My parents always let me ride rides since I was little. I'm a pretty rough gal though. But if you take my sister (may she rest in peace) we talked her into going on a wooden coaster at a local theme park and she hated it. I mean, if he can handle Mission:Space none of the other trill rides compare. Almost all the thrill rides at WDW are TAME (Try going to Cedar Point and riding Millenium Force, once the tallest rc in the world and now Dragster I cant even explain that one) Mission: Space is the wildest I will comment. I liked it though.

 

[Tam1067]

My oldest was 6 when he went on Tower of Terror twice in a row and loved it. I'll never go again, but he's 9 now and can't wait to go back. If yours wants to, you should let him try. Now my same son is afraid of Dinosaur--hasn't been on it, mind you, but when I described it to him, he felt uneasy about it. My younger son is 7 and wants no part in thrill rides beyond Test Track (which isn't a thrill ride at all), so it just depends on the kid. I let mine decide those things.

 

[scoolover]

My son had just turned 3 on our last trip. It had never occurred to me before the trip that he might be big enough for the thrill rides. As we walked through frontierland my ex said "lets see if he is tall enough for TM. Sure enough he was and liked it. SM was next and he was fine. I was shocked because it never occurred to me that we would go on those rides. Space M was the only ride he could not go on. A year later he still lets us know about it. Take care

 

[Evil Queen]

Both my son's first trips where when they were 6. My youngest had the opportunity to do more (more rides offered and he was taller at that age than his older brother was at 6). If they wanted to ride something and met the height requirements I let them ride.

They could decide for themselves. Many rides they are glad they did "once" at that age but didn't go on again.