tower of terror with 4 year old?

[sha_lyn]

DD rode it at 4 1/2 and loved it, but she is a little thrill seeker. She has her heart set on being tall enough for the mummy at US this June. she jsut missed the line by under 1/2 an inch in Jan and was heart broken.

Travel Channel often runs specials about WDW. There is one that shows a good bit of TOT. There is also a TOT movie. We used both to prepare DD when she said she wanted to ride. She just saw today the special with Mummy on in and wants to ride it more than ever.

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

I say take her on it. She said she wants to and even if she is scared at first that is only natural. Sure she might scream her head off, but it's better to help a child get over their fears of things while they are young. I grew up just outside of Cedar Point which is one of the worlds premier amusement parks. Honestly I think the rides at Disney World are very unextreme and rather boring in comparison to Cedar Points, but the theming on the rides is great so I of course, go on every single one. My point is, that when I was 7 I had finally reached the height to go on the worlds tallest rollar coaster at the time, the Magnum XL2000. And let me tell you, I kicked, complained quietely, and wanted NOTHING to do with it. My parents quite literally dragged me on and told me to suck it up. Sure they could have placated me, but I'm glad they didn't. I have a serious problem with heights but they helped me overcome that by forcing me on it. (By forcing I mean they picked me up, slung me over their shoulder, and took me through the empty line and onto the ride.) The only thing I would suggest is that if your daughter freaks out, wait until there is no one in line so her possible shrieks do not bother anyone else. The end result will be that she has bragging rights for the next year or so. She'll think "WOW! That was either terrifying or amazing but I did it!" Its truly tragic when I meet people in their 20s who have never been on a ride like that b/c of a simple fear. Better to let her go on it once, get the inital terror over with while she is little, and from here on out its smooth sailing. If she hates it after that first time then you'll at least know to keep her away from rides like that. But she has older siblings to "show up" so chances are she'll pretend to love it at least. Have fun!

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

I was also wondering the same thing. I dont think DS4 will do it. One day he says he wants to do it then another day he says he doesnt want to. I think once he sees it he will not do it. DS5 (will be 6 one week after our trip) I'm not so sure about. He wants to do it but I think it will scare him. He is afraid of the dark, sleeps with a night light on. I told him he can wait til next year when we go to Disneyland but he says he wants to do it this year. So I'm up in the air on this ride.

Hey there shelleyz, I just wanted to add that a fear of a ride is very different from a fear of the dark. I was a rollercoaster fiend after my parents forced me on the Magnum at Cedar Point. (They did this at night mind you.) Now if you've ever seen that thing its one huge drop for a 7 year old (It has a much heigher height requirement than the Tower of Terror I believe so I wasn't tall enough until then.) but after that I loved it. And mind you I slept with the lights on and was a wimp about some things until I was about 13! Just wanted to throw that perspective in there. You can let him make his own decision but I'm glad my parents made my decision for me. I had freaked at the idea of a rollercoaster but after going on it found that I loved it. A child may or may not say no to rides forever, but after going on them may like them.

 

[roscodog]

My 5 yr old rode it and got scared. Refused to ride it the following year and I don't think that she will have the courage for a couple of years. It was the darkness that got to her, not the falling.

 

[DisneyWisher]

The first time my youngest rode ToT she was a month shy of her 4th Birthday (she's now 11). Its still one of her favorite rides. I admit that was the last time I rode it. I'll wait in the basement while she rides now. I should also say that her sisters are 8-10 older than she is, so at the time of her first time they were 11 and 13 and she will do anything to keep up with them. All my daughters are fearless and will ride anything (I mean anything skycoasters, blenders, they'd probably ride that slingshot ride if we could find where it is) they don't get it from me while I love Disney rides and will ride anything once I no longer ride ToT or Mission Space. Oh yeah nor the Teacups. LOL

 

[shelleyz]

Thanks for everyones input.

 

[zurgswife]

My dd did it when she was 4....she enjoyed it...but the following year decided to opt out...no problem...but the following year...she is back doing it...I would let the child decided....they can opt out up until the end...if they make it that far...my guess is that they would enjoy the actual ride..

 

[KLAIT]

My son was 4 when he first did this...he is a little leary at first...but was determined to do it...we watched the planning video, watched the clip on the Disney site, then watched the ride from outside.

He got a little spooked in the preshow and the boiler room (this is where I saw a lot of little kids change their minds) and once he did it, we could not convince him to try anything else...he loved it!!!

 

[pdarrah]

As many have said already - it depends on the child!

My DS first rode it when he was 4 1/2 (he wanted to ride sooner, but he is small and just barely made the height restriction at 4 1/2!) and LOVED it.

This is the only WDW ride I have never been on and will NEVER go on, but my DH and DS go on it over and over and over... At 4, ToT would have been MY worst nightmare My DS goes around telling everyone it is his favorite ride and trying to talk me info going on it.

DS is now almost 6 and is asking us to measure him every other day - he is still 1" short for the 44" rides (i.e. Space Mountain!) and is hoping to grow before our trip next month .

pdarrah

 

[roxwithears]

My 7 year DD didn't mind the fall - it was the preshow and the complete darkness that made her freak out.

 

[BrinxFam]

ToT was the first ride of our first trip to WDW and our DD (then 5) was traumatized! She still tells everyone that it is the most horrible thing she has ever been on. It was funny at the time but if I could do it all over again I definately would not let her go. She ran from the ride to my mother, who was waiting outside for us, screaming "Nana, they made me do it! They made me do it!" with her arms outstretched. You would not believe the looks we got from people! We tried to talk her out of it but we couldn't! We couldn't have made that memory anywhere else!

 

[magsmom]

DD was 5 on her first trip on ToT. It was her favorite ride on that trip and now she wants to go on 2-3 times PER VISIT to MGM (she is now 8). We can't keep her away from it. She absolutely loves it.

On the other hand, this is the one ride that presses my buttons. I will only go on once a year and only if DH is unavailable. I get uneasy in the dark just before the fall.

 

[mommytutu]

My ds is 7 and I'm not sure if he'll ever ride it again. He was looking forward to ToT more then anything else. I ride it with him. I looked over at him and I swear he looked like he stopped breathing...poor kid was so scared. Although, he go on it again immediatly with his dad...we did baby swap...and after that second trip he thought he was going to puke. He was so disappointed that the ride he looked forward too he ended up not liking. I told him that when we go back he'll be 9 and asked if he thinks he'll ride it again he said "no, it's too scary". I asked if it is too scary for 9 year olds and he says he'll have to see then.

 

[MommytoPayton&Max]

Our DD was just barely 3 when she rode it last May. She loved it. When we were back in Feb. she wanted to ride it again, but we didn't have time. I expect she will be anxious to ride it next time.

Have fun!

 

[doodlebug]

I have been wondering the same thing about my almost 5 yr DD... We have never been to WDW but she has loved the Matterhorn since she could first go on it and just did Splash Mtn on our last visit and absolutely loved it.. So I think she will want to do this one but we will wait and see.. I'm not too sure I will be up to it though!

 

[jkjjhuddle]

My DS was 4 and road it last year with no problems. In line (his 2nd time) people kept asking me if I thought he should be riding and he told them it was nothing to be scared of it was just a ride. He loved the "Tower of Terrier" as he called it! He still talkes about it one year later!

Kristy

 

[moopdog]

This is just my opinion, but sometimes I feel like if they "don't" see it or know what they're getting themselves into the better off. We all know that it's the anticipation that is half the fun, but that same anticipation can also really FREAK a kid out. I plan on taking my DS4 on any ride he's tall enough for and if he doesn't like it, then we know it's "not for him" for next time. If we downplay the ride... "it's a spooky elevator that goes up and down really fast" it is enough that they know what to expect but not too much information to scare them away from at least trying it. By the way, my DD13 will not even consider these rides so my biggest challenge will be getting her to keep her opinions/comments to herself about each potential ride and not try to deter the ones away from anything... teenagers!!