Too young for Splash Mountain?

[Annadesu]

My niece and nephew will be almost 5 years old when we get to Disney this May, and they're abnormally tall for their age (Thanks to their 6' 8" Father).

They've gone on Pirates, and all the other gentle rides, without incident. I was trying to talk my sister into giving Splash Mountain a go with them. I remember loving it to death when I was 5 years old, and it's still my favorite ride.

However, my sister thinks the final drop is to "dramatic" for them.

Thoughts?

 

[daaasmith]

My son is 5 and loves a flume ride very similar to this one at our local amusement park, it also a the big drop at the end. I am definitely letting him ride this on our WDW trip this month. I have a feeling Splash Mountain will probably be one of his faves. SM is not a scary ride; it is actually very cute with the music and scenes, and the drop is over quick. Hope it works out!

 

[Pookasaurus]

My son was 3 on our last trip (and very tall for his age) and loved splash mountain! Let her watch the ride a few times go down the last drop and have her decide for herself but I don't think its too bad.

 

[PHXscuba]

I have 4 kids. They all rode Splash Mountain for the first time at about 4 1/2. They all liked it. Just be sure to explain they don't go "underwater" at the end -- I guess that's how it looks to some kids.

Ultimately though, it's up to their mother (who may not want to ride it herself). She know her kids best and what would freak them out.

PHXscuba

 

[dmccarty]

It really depends on the person/kid. The ride certainly is not scary but some people do have a problem with heights. The ride drama does build up to the drop. How it effects the kids is hard to say.

Our youngest, on her first visit to Tom Sawyer Island, got very scared in one of the tunnels because of the music. It really scared her and she was about 5.

Later,
Dan

 

[Disney Addicted]

I have read many posts from people whose children are 5 or 6 and they loved it. The drop is quick.

I worried I would give myself a heart attack and never braved it. Then about 3 weeks ago I let my 7 year old drag me onto the flume/drop ride at Ontario Place (40' drop) and was surprised that it was fun. I startled my son (and myself!) by screaming at the top of my lungs mind you , but I rode it a second time!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Our DS when on it at 4, he is normally pretty timid and a ride chicken but he loved it. One of the advantages of being that young and short is you don't really notice the drop b/c you can't see much over the front/top of the log. I wouldn't hesitate to take any child that is tall enough to go on it.

 

[Hannathy]

No 5 is not to young! It is a very tame ride with 1 fairly small drop at the end. Until we got lawyer crazy it never even had any restraint system, doesn't that tell you something?

 

[DisneyFive]

I learned the hard way not to take a kid on Splash Mountain before he's ready. I took our 3 1/2 yr old son on it last year on our first full day at the parks. He is a very energetic kid who loves to play, tumble around and be thrilled, so I thought he would really like it. He was terrified of rides from then on. The problem with SM is that it starts off very timid and gentle, then ends with a huge drop. So any ride after that, even if it was gentle, my son was waiting for the big drop at the end. It took 4-5 days of him crying and kind of panicking at the beginning of rides before he finally came around a little.

My advice, speaking from experience. IF IN DOUBT, DON'T DO IT! There are plenty of other fun rides to thrill a 4 yr old at WDW. Granted, my son was a full year younger than you are referring to, but I'm still doubting we'll take him on it this year and he'll be 4 1/2. I just don't want to risk it, knowing what happened last year. There are SO many other things for him to enjoy. Not going on SM isn't going to impact his trip.

Dan

 

[jcarwash]

For some kids (and this big kid) it's not so much the drop, it's about getting wet. Some kids don't like the ride because of the splash. Similar going into Kali River Rapids at AK. Last year we did both rides, this year we didn't, and for us it was about whether you feel like getting soaked or not that day.

 

[christie_megansmom]

My daughter (who will be 4 in November) was tall enough this trip, and we decided to take her on it. We didn't really tell her anything about it except that there are some "slides". She is scared of EVERYTHING, so I knew if I told her about it, she would never go on it. She was 100% OK through the entire thing until the big drop. Even when that was over, she whimpered a TINY BIT and said "Mommy, this ride is really scary!". But there was no screaming or crying. We explained that only big kids get to ride it and she was SUCH a big kid, which I think helped ease her fright. The drop is over SO QUICKLY that they really don't have time to register the fear before it's already over.

She DID ask not to go on it again, which is absolutely fine. I'd never make her do a ride that she was scared to do. And, for the rest of the trip, she asked "Does this ride have big slides?" before we rode anything. But again, it was never paralyzed fear or anything, just slight apprehension/curiosity.

ETA: She also told EVERYONE that she rode Splash Mtn. Even the princesses when we met them. She's told everyone since we've been back, too, and swears she's going to ride it again the next time we go "because she'll be EVEN BIGGER". She is definitely proud of riding it!

 

[christie_megansmom]

For some kids (and this big kid) it's not so much the drop, it's about getting wet. Some kids don't like the ride because of the splash. Similar going into Kali River Rapids at AK. Last year we did both rides, this year we didn't, and for us it was about whether you feel like getting soaked or not that day.

We were in the 3rd and 4th rows and none of us got wet at all. My daughter was so short that she didn't even get a tiny splash on her.

 

[DisneyWithMyBoyz]

My dd was finally tall enough to ride just before her 5th birthday (she turned 5 in July). I wouldn't say she loved it...but she tolerated it. She wants to go back on this weekend.

My 3yr old is tall enough to ride now too and he's excited to go on. So we'll see how that goes.

 

[RachaelA]

My niece went on it right after she turned 4 and loved it. She went on everything she was tall enough (she couldn't go on Space Mountain, EE and RnRC). She loved everything except Tower of Terror.

 

[raven69david]

My DD has been on it since the age of 4 as soon as she met the ride height. She's now 6 and we FP it daily.

 

[providence]

We took a 4 year old (tall for her age) and she loved it

 

[kathyell]

The drop, as you witness it from the bridge, is deceptive. It looks much more extreme than it actually is. The slope is only a 45 degree angle in reality. That's not really that steep. It also goes quickly.

My daughter is also tall for her age (same reason as your niece and nephew, tall father.) She rode Splash and everything else she was tall enough for as soon as she was able to ride it. (She's not all that scared by anything and seems to trust the rides and trust us if we tell her she'll be safe as long as she follows the rules. I would not have done this with a fearful child.)

 

[discnewbie]

It really does matter on the child.

My 7 year old would love it, but she loves all kinds of thrill rides. My ds who is 5 would be terrified -- he loves gentle, calm rides (trains etc).

 

[Jamie77]

In 2009 we decided to ride SM without my 4-year-old niece thinking that she was too young and would be traumatized by the drop. Fast forward a year later and she's talking up this ride so much we had to let her do it. We found out she's a thrill ride junkie! She kept talking about riding it again, which we never got to do, but then she goes on to mention that she was ready SINCE LAST YEAR. But since she was afraid of dark rides, we thought it was best for her to skip it. So I would say, if your niece and nephew are talking it up despite how scary the drop looks from the bridge and they are not afraid of dark rides, go for it.

 

[brockash]

Both my kids went when they were 3- that's when they both hit the 40 inch mark. They both liked it, and had no issues. I imagine the average 5 year old, would be more than ready for Splash.