Thunder Mountain??? Haunted House????

[sara969]

Do you think these rides are suitable for a 3yr old???

My daughter is extremely confident and not scared of anything!!!
She has been on rides at Chessington Theme Park, and been going on rides since she was 22 months and loves them.
She has been on mini childrens rollercosters before and been on the Ghost train etc...
She isnt afraid of the dark either.
Just worried about Thunder Mountain, incase it is very fast and also does it drop down steeply and make your belly feel funny or is it quite thame???

The ride does give a age limit of 3yr onwards, (ive not checked the age on the Haunted House)

She will have only just turned 3 though??

Any advice or experiences of these rides with Little ones with be appreciated

 

[dgutte]

mmm.... not sure. Can't speak for Haunted House but Thunder Mountain....

It has a couple of steep drops but not too bad (I hate steep drops on rollercoasters but this ride is fine). However, I am not sure its suitable for a 3 yr old. I think the biggest problem will be getting past the CM's that are staffing the ride.

Also, its a fast and shaky ride that could frighten little ones.

 

[EeyoretheDonkey]

Personally, I would absolutely not take a 3 year old on Thunder Mountain (although I am far off being a parent!) and when we went over Xmas I wouldnt say I saw any children who looked to aged under about 6 in the line (which was looooooooooong).

Secondly, I'm not sure what the height requirement is, but they were checking pretty rigorously when we were there so you might want to check that out on the website, as there's only a lap bar and I would have thought you'd need to be taller than an average 3 year old for it to safely restrain you, but that's only my opinion.

Best, unbiased advice would be to look at the website

http://parks.disneylandparis.co.uk/...erland/attractions/big-thunder-mountain.xhtml

 

[sara969]

Personally, I would absolutely not take a 3 year old on Thunder Mountain (although I am far off being a parent!) and when we went over Xmas I wouldnt say I saw any children who looked to aged under about 6 in the line (which was looooooooooong).

Secondly, I'm not sure what the height requirement is, but they were checking pretty rigorously when we were there so you might want to check that out on the website, as there's only a lap bar and I would have thought you'd need to be taller than an average 3 year old for it to safely restrain you, but that's only my opinion.

Best, unbiased advice would be to look at the website

http://parks.disneylandparis.co.uk/...erland/attractions/big-thunder-mountain.xhtml

Thanks for your advice.... i havnt been on the ride so i wouldnt know, but you have obviously been on it and from what you are saying i will definately give it a miss then.... sounds like it goes at some speed....
Are there plenty of nice rides for 3yr olds there????

What about the Star Trek Similator thing??? and the Honey i shrunk the Audience??? are they ok to go on with a 3yr old???

 

[dgutte]

Star Tours throws you around a bit, and I have seen adults crying on it, so give that a miss too.

 

[sara969]

Star Tours throws you around a bit, and I have seen adults crying on it, so give that a miss too.

Oh dear!

 

[bigAWL]

I took my 3 1/2 year old and 5 1/2 year old girls on Big Thunder Mountain RR. They had just been on Casey Jr, and I think they were feeling brave. We took a look at it from across the water and they got really excited and insisted we ride it. My little one JUST passed the height restriction by a hair.

I kind of knew what would happen, but also kind of wanted to see it (is that a little evil?). From the moment we entered the dark tunnel under the water until 5 minutes after the ride stopped, they were both in hysterical and in tears, poor things.

So I think it would be a rare 3-year-old who truly enjoys that ride. But hey, what's the worst that can happen?

 

[Leanne1977]

I think its a very personal choice. My son has been riding it since he was 3 and he loves it. He went on the Tower of Terror at age 4 at WDW.

If she makes the height restriction and she wants to ride then you should let her. You will only make her scared of the rides if you tell her she can't ride even though she is allowed.

Haunted Mansion has never been a problem for either of my boys.

 

[Cyrano]

Would you be able to go on the ride first and check it out

I know my DS was 5 before he would go on Phantom Manor yet on coasters he is a thrill seeker

You know your child better than anyone else so would then probably be able to judge how they would react

 

[dgutte]

On a slightly different note, my 3 yr old cried when she saw me on Thunder Mountain because she could see me screaming and thought I was terrified - I love it though!

 

[MinnieMouse73]

My daughter has been riding Thunder Mountain since she made the height requirement at 3 and she absolutely loves it. It was her favourite ride until she went on Star Tours (I think she was 4 by then - for some reason we didn't fit it in to the previous trip), and now they're joint favourites.

Haunted Mansion - she's been going on since she was a baby and loves that too - it's my husband's favourite ride so we do it a lot.

She isn't scared of anything though - my favourite ride is Tower of Terror and she's been riding that with me since she was 3 as well.

She's just turned 6 and is about a centimetre off the height for Rock'n Rollercoaster, so she's desperately trying to grow!

It really does depend on the child, so if she wants to try it I'd let her.

 

[J Marley]

my little boy just scraped through the height requirement at 4 years old...the height requirement for BTM is 1.02m and they are very strict about it.

He loved it ...his favourite ride which we had to do 12 times in 4 days .....he is a thrill seeker.

It just depends on your own child and you know her best.

 

[Pinkradleygirl]

Have to agree with everyone - it all depends on your child and what they like. DH,DD and DS are all thrill seekers! I feel ill on the tea cups!

First time DD went on Thunder Mountain she was 5 screamed her head off all the way round and then demanded to go on it again straight away as it was the BEST ride ever according to her.

The next trip is the first time DD can ride RocknRoll Coaster and she can't wait for that and ToT. Her all time fave rides are Thunder mountain and Phantom Mansion.

Me - I think I'll stick to having a wander round the shops and just soaking up that Disney magic!

You know your own little one best so wait till you get there and see what they think about the rides then.

 

[sara969]

Thanks for your advice everyone.....
Will see how it goes when we are there...

What is the Tower of Terror Ride??? What does it do??

 

[BRobson]

Thanks for your advice everyone.....
Will see how it goes when we are there...

What is the Tower of Terror Ride??? What does it do??

Imagine sitting in an elevator- it climbs 13 storeys and then it falls

 

[sara969]

Imagine sitting in an elevator- it climbs 13 storeys and then it falls

ooooh NO NO NO!
NOT FOR ME

 

[BRobson]

ooooh NO NO NO!
NOT FOR ME

It is great fun

 

[poppyolivia]

It is great fun

I love fast/scarey rides but I swear to God that one was a cracker!! I near cried, I couldn't walk right after it...tried a second time to make sure it wasn't in my head....it wasn't..but you know what? I reckon I could go that again!! Mind over matter and all that!!!!..The first time I went to see the photo they take when they drop you...I had one hand up grasping thin air screaming...yeah as if that was going to save me!!!

 

[LJH77]

I agree with everyone else - see what you think when you get there and you know your child best and how she would react. If she isn't scared of things or the dark, I would say let her have a go.

BTM isn't by far the most extreme roller coster in fact it is quite tame. There aren't any big drops, you'll tend to find in most Disney roller coasters that the drops are done gradually as it takes you round a corner and then speeds up, there are a few small dips that you loose your tummy slightly on but nothing major. Also a really good tip if you aren't sure is to site as far to the front as possible as that is the slowest area of the train. You'll find that as the train is starting to go downhill it is still dragging the back carriages up so you are halfway down the slope before you feel any real speed - which obviously in turn makes the back the fastest as you get the drag as the train gets pulled round.

If you can imagine a roller coaster like The Big One at Blackpool where there is a huge drop - it's nothing like that.

As for the HM I think that it's a bit creepy but hey thats the whole point. In the American parks it is described as having 1001 happy ghost as your guides and the song that they sing as you go round the ride "Grimm Grinning Ghosts, come out to socialise.." is quite jolly so it's not out for big scares but it so well done and so atmospheric.