Toddlers on HM

[talie95]

But, you know your own kids best, so I'm sure you'll make the right judgment. Just telling you how I felt about Haunted Mansion when I was a kid!

It's funny b/c I was born and raised in So. Cal so we went to DL at least once a year growing up and I don't ever remember being afraid of HM. It was always one of my favorites. I do remember thinking it was a little spooky but nothing that freaked me out. I guess everybody reacts differently.

 

[bjakmom]

Even my DNephs(8,31) and I were a little caught off guard in HM at DL - we've never heard the 'level' of screaming in WDW that we did there !!
I'm taking DGrD(3) to WDW and she is fascinated by the 'ghost' ride in the videos, loves to watch the Boo to You parade we took her to, and begs to listen to grim grinning ghosts over and over when we're riding in the car - she knows every word!! She keeps talking about going on the ride and holding my hand so I won't be scared. I'm a bit worried about the first room, so I think I'll make it part of the game and tell her to cover her ears when the lights go out and scream like all the other HM fanatics - maybe she'll be so intrigued by being allowed to scream out loud in public that she won't be as scared - we'll see !!

 

[katerkat]

I'm here with my 18 month old and I don't think I'd take him on HM if it was open....he's been pretty nervous during Pirates and some of the other dark rides, so the HM would send him over the edge! His first trip to DL was when he was 6 months old and he didn't have a problem with any of the rides.

 

[ter-moo]

When my oldest son was that age, I had the same concern. He solved it for me by FALLING ASLEEP on the ride. I guess the combination of sitting down, and the dark did it for him!

Maybe try going during naptime...

 

[SilverCeladon]

Great idea about letting him hear the music to the Haunted Mansion-I never thought about that! So, if I do take him on the ride I'll definitely make sure I cover his ears during the stretching part!

 

[dizzyami]

Ok, maybe I am cruel - but I have taken both of my kids on this ride many times. DD went when she was 10 months old (not like she remembers), and since then she has gone when she was 3 and 4, and DS was 1 and 2. She was a little scared of the lightning, but we warned her ahead of time what the ride would be like - and that she would get to see herself in the car and she loved it - we usually hit the ride at least two times every trip!!! (DS was completely unfazed even at 2 and 3)

 

[molarman]

We have 3 kiddos, 6, 4, and 2. They have all been on HM every trip we have been (usually go 2-3 times per year). They all have been somewhat afraid of the stretch room (probably because of the moment of darkness and the screams). Now, we just bury their head in our chest, cover their ears in the stretch room and they are fine with the rest of the ride once we get on the doombuggies.

 

[MadfordaMouse]

Hello everyone! This is my first post and I thought I might be able to help. I've been taking my girls, now 8 and 12, on the HM ride since they were 2yr old, but had to use a lot of prep work! We also watched the videos (well, back THEN they were all videos -ha) and learned the HM song by heart so we could sing and clap on the ride together. Since my husband and I grew up in CA and have been going to Disneyland since we were kids in the 70's (geez, I'm dating myself again ), we were very much aware of the screaming in the stretch room that has become a tradition over the years. We did the old "earmuff" trick with our hands (to be honest, I do it for myself sometimes too) and told our girls when to expect it by constantly saying "here it comes!" and letting them chime in if they wanted to. I haven't met a toddler or preschooler yet who wouldn't love the chance to let out a yell with a mommy's permission! They literally grew up thinking the screams were just part of the ride. The best advice I can give you is the game my girls and I would play when they were little while on the ride in the graveyard, we would point our fingers and pretend to shoot the ghosts that would pop up behind the tombstones to "make" them go back down again like a shooting gallery game (since that can be scary to some toddlers and pre-schoolers). They loved it and couldn't wait to go back on again! Now that they are much older, its still a tradition in our family chant along with everyone in the stretch room that "there are no windows...and no doors!" and to play "shoot the ghosts" in the graveyard! The only draw-back is that we ended up having to go on the ride multiple times at their request, but luckily for my I love it so no problem there

 

[twinsmom2]

We started our 2 year olds out in the smaller dark rides and when they got used to them we went to HM. We have a sing-along-song video that has Donald as one of the ghosts and it sings the Grim Grinning Ghosts song so when they got to the HM they recognized where they were. They got a little nervous, but we talked about how it was all pretend so they could relax and enjoy.

 

[jocotter]

It probably depends on the child. We took our granddaughters to Disneyland last November and one was 18 months and one was 3. We tried Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Peter Pan first. After the second dark ride, the 3 year old told us that she didn't want to ride any more rides in the dark until she was 55. (However, she did ride the Pooh ride later.) The younger one would have ridden just about anything.