Tips Wanted - Riding with Toddlers!

[flortlebap]

Hi all

I am taking my DD1 to the world later this month. She's 13 months so a very young 1.

I was wondering which rides you took your children of this age on? What should I avoid? How do you keep toddlers in their seats, and are there any rides in which she can sit on my lap?

Any strategies for making her not be scared on POTC and Haunted Mansion?

Thanks

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Well I'd start small with rides like Space Mountain, and EE. Just kidding! Anyway- she can go on just about everything. The way we made our kids not afraid was to make a joke out of it. For example- the lady's head in a bowl on HM we laugh and ask them how she got her head in that fish bowl! On POTC we point out all the stuff like the chickens, the people waving and we sing the song. If you make it fun, chances are that she won't think of it as scary. There are some rides that my DD won't ride that she has in the past (she's currently 2) like Snow White. She hated it 2 trips ago and would not ride it on our last trip. No biggie. Samewith Winnie The Pooh. She did however like POTC this time where in the past she was scared. So you never know. We just make everything funny and it seems to work. HTH.

 

[nicolemomof4cuties]

We have always taken all of our children on any ride that they were able to ride. We have never had any melt downs or nightmares afterwards. My children do not scare easily however. For instance, we took all 4 children to POTC2 and not one of them moved from their seat. Their eyes were glued to the screen. When we left my 2 year old said "pirates awesome!, mommy". Actually, I just remembered this, when my oldest DD was in her early 2's we took them to WDW and she was really freaked out about the Haunted Mansion the first time. My other DD was only about 15 months old and she wasn't scared at all. We took them all on it last November when they were 6,4,3, and late 1 and noone was scared. I think that if you hold her hand or hold her close to your body and make it seem kind of silly that she will be fine.

Nicole
Mom of 4
Ages 7, 5, 4, and 2

 

[LAL77]

Hi. Last year we took our DD2 and our DD1 to DW for the first time. We skipped the Haunted Mansion and the POTC because we know our girls would have been scared to death. We still went on SO many rides. We went in January and there were no lines for anything so we rode (many times over) the Jungle Cruise, Dumbo, Peter Pan.... Peter Pan.... Peter Pan..... (again and again and again and again), the flying carpets ride, Cindy's Carousel, Small World, Pooh, etc. there were many many rides we did. They loved the smooth train that runs over tomorrowland (sorry... I forget the name), they loved Pooh's playful spot, and the hit of the day was Goofy's Barnstormer. (My two year old was just barely tall enough to ride and she loved this roller coaster!).

I would go with your gut on what your kids want to do and can handle. I didn't feel the need to spend every minute trying to convince my kids that the haunted mansion isn't scary. I also felt strongly that if that went badly they could possibly be afraid to try any ride/attraction the rest of the day.

Good luck! You'll find so much for your toddler to do!
Lesley

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Thanks for the posts! I just happened upon this thread. We are taking our almost 3 year old son in 2 weeks to WDW for his first time (getting a trip in while he's still free!) and it's good to know what other kids his age thought about the rides. I understand no two kids are alike, but our son has no fear (as of right now) so I'm thinking he'll do anything he can. He went on Dumbo a few times when we lived in CA and went to Disneyland and loved it. He was only about 15 1/2 months at the time. We took him on other rides there too and never had a problem with being frightened. He was just fascinated.

Apr 1986 - offsite
Sept 2002 - POR
Apr 2003, Aug 2003, Mar 2005 - Disneyland (daytrips)
Sept 2006 - offsite

Only 15 days until our WDW Trip!!!!

 

[bgirl29]

We too have tried to make rides funny for the kids so they would not be afraid. As a back up since some of the rides are so dark we have always had a small toy that lights up that they can keep in their pocket and take out if they become scared. My daughter has a small cinderella necklace that lights up that she will be wearing in October.

Also I think at 13 months my kids were easily distracted from anything scary in the rides. Like the haunted mansion could be a good time to hold them and let them take a drink from their sippy cup, I know my daughter would always close her eyes then and not notice what was going on around her.

My youngest just turned 6 but I will never forget when we took her at 15 months and she noticed Pooh and Tigger on the Pooh ride she was SOOOO excited!

Good luck with whatever you decide. Just pay attention to how your child reacts to whatever rides you start with and adapt accordingly.