Upside down rides

[gardeniaz1964]

We are finally getting to take our daughter to Disney World and I'm so excited. She will be turning 9 and getting to spend her birthday at Magic Kingdom...The only thing I kinda worry about is that I know she is going to want to ride all the rides no matter how scary and I just can't handle roller coasters and rides that drop real fast or go upside down... Do alot of the rides go upside down?? Hopefully her dad will ride the scarier ones with her without me but I'd kinda like to know what are some of the scarier rides..We're going to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom
Thanks
C.C.

 

[LadyAurora]

At the MK and AK, none of the rides go upside down.
At MK, you will be worried about the three "mountains". Space Mountain is an entirely in the dark coaster, with lots of little ups and downs to make your tummy float up to your throat. The top speed is about 30 mph. Splash Mt. has only one big drop, which you can see from the outside to judge how scary. There may be one little drop inside, I can't remember. Big Thunder Mt. is supposed to resemble a runaway train...it is not very scary. Our boys rode it when they were 7.
At AK, there aren't really any coaster rides to worry about. The effects are the scary part of the Dinosaur rides, not the actual motion. Unless they have built a new ride since I was there last (2001) your have nothing to worry about at AK.
I suggest you check out a guidebook like "Walt Disney World with Kids" by Kim Wright Wiley, she does a pretty good job describing the "scare factor" of the different attractions. Have a great trip!

 

[goofy4tink]

In the MK you might want to avoid Splash Mt. I know there are others on these boards that think it's no big deal, but it just horrifies me. That drop does me in every time. And yes, we do it every trip just to be able to say that we've 'done' all three mts. Big Thunder is a family fave. No big drops. Space Mt. looks worse/sounds worse than it is. I avoided it for quite awhile. But have done it and would rather do that than Splash!! Other than those, you should be safe at MK. MGM has Rockin' RollerCoaster. It is fast!! Has three inversions but they are soooo smooth you only realize you're upside down when your shoulders hit the restraints! I don't like 'regular' coasters, but I love this one. No big drops. Tower of Terror I can't speak to since I'm too chicken to do it!! And in AK I think Primevil Whirl might be iffy. (am I remembering the name right??) No upside down, but lots of spinning around while you dip and do crazy corners. Have fun tho. That's the beauty (in my opinion) of WDW...no huge thrill rides like at Islands of Adventure.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

in the Mk there are no rides that go upside down - my seven year old was only spooked by one "ride" it is more a show...space alien encounter - I had to remind her several times that this was just "pretend" that it was not "for real" that it was all just computers generated or mechine special effects. There is a cute creature that gets fried in a machine...and this greatly saddened my little one - so I got her the doll after the show of this cute little creature... trying to remember its name....hmmm... anyway other then that as for Rides...roller coaters and stuff they are all pretty tame... my seven year old daughter not only loved space mountain but wanted to make sure she got in the front car so she up front so "she could drive the spaceship"... she went 5 times... splash mountain was too tame for her... she does a ride here in albuquerque that makes splash mountain seem rather weak... when we got to seaworld she was very disapponted she did not get to go on Kraken.... which is a huge upside down, inverted, spin you around kind of thing...

if your kid is going to be 9 I would not worry about anything in MK except maybe alien encounter if she cannot differentiate between real and pretend yet... and if you or your daughter are raised fairly fundamental christian then maybe the Haunted Mansion would not be good... my daughter lives with her mother and step father and step father is very fundamentalist... she won't even watch "Harry Potter" because "mommy says they are evil"... in that case the haunted house kind of upset my daughter ... I again explained it was all pretend... just an illusion at which time she thought it ws pretty cool.

 

[campingcorgi]

Originally posted by nataliesdaddy
There is a cute creature that gets fried in a machine...and this greatly saddened my little one - so I got her the doll after the show of this cute little creature... trying to remember its name....hmmm...

Skippy turns into Scruffy.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

skippy - yeah thats right - thanks

 

[gardeniaz1964]

Wow, thanks for all the info...I feel better knowing they're not these major scary rides...Now to get packing...
Thanks again
C.C.

 

[missypie]

A few months ago I was at DLR with my kids 12, 10 and 7. I told myself that I would ride everything that they were willing to ride...even the coaster that went upside down. Now I don't think I have been on an upside down ride since 1976 or so...when we got ready to go upside down I just shut my eyes and it was a breeze...and on the FOURTH time I was able to do it with my eyes open!

 

[Safari Steve]

Rock 'n' Rollercoaster at MGM is the only ride at WDW that goes upside-down.
Splash Mountain has one very big drop.
Alien Encounter is sensory and mainly psychological.
Tower of Terror is only scary if you have a fear of heights or don't like the feeling of falling.
Mission: Space at Epcot has very intense G-forces and should not be attempted if you are claustrophobic, have a heart condition, or experience motion sickness easily.

 

[donna in Oz]

gardeniaz1964, I don't handle this type of ride well, either. That's one of the main things that keeps me coming back to WDW year after year after year . . . . . That, and of course, the magic!!

I think you'll find that there are few things that you will not be able to enjoy. And be sure to try Big Thunder Mtn Railroad; it looks much worse than it is. Ask to sit up front, it makes for an easier ride. Lots of fun things to see during your ride.