what age for Matterhorn Bobsleds?

[SnowWhite12]

I know the height requirement is 35 inches. My dd will probably be that when we go in April (right before her 3rd birthday). I have never been to DL before; so I don't know how intense the ride is. Do kids as young as her really ride this? Is it not too fast or too frightening/intense?

 

[DLR29]

I'm going to say it might be a bit intense for a just 3 year old; however it really depends on the kid and you know her better than us.

Just a few warnings you might want to consider:
-There are two tracks, one (Fantasyland) is slighly less intense "ride wise" than the other (Tomorrowland)
-The yeti (animatronic) shows up twice, once with strobe lights and it is quite loud
-At the beginning two lights that look like the yeti's eyes suddenly appear
-The beginning is very dark

Kids do ride it everyday, but that's not saying they like it. You can see the bobsleds speeding around on the outside at certain points around the mountain, so I'd recommend you have her watch it before riding and warn her about the darkness and possible scary things.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have read of many 2 year olds going on it.

I considered it when DS was 2 but the fates decided for us, and it was not working then.

He went on it in September, just under 3.5, and he didn't like it. He now tells us "you can go on the yeti ride, and I wait for you". We don't take him up on that offer, but he makes it. He says it was too bumpy. The yeti (as we call him, thanks to backyardigans) doesn't bother him but the bumpiness does.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

He says it was too bumpy. The yeti (as we call him, thanks to backyardigans) doesn't bother him but the bumpiness does.

I feel your son! That ride is bumpy for me! And I LOVE thrill rides, I could imagine the bumpiness on a baby 3 year old's tummy..

 

[Disneyluvr2]

I think it totally depends on the child. I went to DLR with my 4 year old niece and she rode everything! She loved space mountain and the Matterhorn. I've also gone with my 12 year old stepson who was afraid to go on Peter Pan! Every kid is different. I'd say try out some of the tamer rides first and she how she reacts. Have her ride the roller coaster in Toontown...not that you can compare it to the Matterhorn...but it might give you an idea of how much she likes that type of ride. Just don't scare the pants off her right off the bat or you might have a hard time getting her to go on ANYTHING! You can always go back when she's a little older and try the "scarier" rides. Have fun!

 

[squidmo]

I know the height requirement is 35 inches. My dd will probably be that when we go in April (right before her 3rd birthday). I have never been to DL before; so I don't know how intense the ride is. Do kids as young as her really ride this? Is it not too fast or too frightening/intense?

I took my DL on the Matterhorn last year when he was 2.5 yr, and he absolutely LOVED it- he was laughing the whole time. But, I think it's going to depend on the kind of kid your DD is. My DS is the kind of kid who loves Grandpa to throw him up in the air and spin him around and things, so I was pretty confident that would at least do OK on the ride.

 

[DangerMouse]

The scariest part for my youngest dd has always been the Yeti. What finally helped was the story we created about "Harold the Yeti." He's not a bad Yeti, he's actually very nice and is offering you snow cones (much like the Yeti in Monsters, Inc.), and he's saying "Hi" in his language, which just comes out as a loud roar. We tell our kids the polite thing to do is roar back. So it helps that we all roar back at Harold when he says "Hi" to us.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

My son rode it twice last year...he was 3 at the time. I warned him about the "snowman" (as we call him)....we see who can growl "yell" at him the loudest. He thinks he'll be louder than the snowman next time he goes to Disneyland. He really surprised me though his first time on it...he giggled the entire time.

 

[Anater]

We were there in December, DS turned four on the trip. He did BTMRR and loved it (even throwing his arms up in the air), so when he said he wanted to go on it we decided to let him try it. We watched a few times, like the other rides, and he definitely wanted to go. He loved it and laughed the entire time. We told him beforehand that there is a Yeti on there, and we even reminded him of the "Yeti Yeti Yeti" from Backyardigans to ease his mind. He wasn't fazed at all. I on the other hand was terrified. We went on it at night and it seemed more intense with the cold air and darkness. I ended up closing my eyes through most of the ride. The next day when we had EE DH and he went on it three times back to back because there was no line. I agree with the other posters that it totally depends on each kid. Mine is a total thrill seeker so I think that helped. But be warned - No Snow White! I ignored all the other posters on this board and went on it anyways. DS totally freaked when the Witch turned around and tried to climb out over my lap.

 

[SnowWhite12]

Thanks everyone! We will probably make her skip this ride. She is very skiddish about somethings that we thought she shouldn't be, (went to WDW in June) and she was terrified of the carousel and Dumbo. But she didn't mind Snow White, and love POC. I'm kind of thinking that even the "baby" roller coaster that was mentioned may scare her too bad.

 

[gboiler1]

I would agree that she may be too young. Try Gadget's Go Coaster in ToonTown and see how she does.

Our DD was 7, almost 8, at WDW when she finally did Big Thunder and I would compare the Matterhorn closest to Big Thunder.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

My DD was riding Splash Mountain and BTMRR at 3 years old. However, I couldn't get her on the Matterhorn until this year at 7. She said the sound of "the monster" scared her. After we got her on, all she wanted to do was ride it over and over again.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

It was very strange that my son wanted to do the Matterhorn twice but wanted NOTHING to do with the Go Go Gadget Coaster in TT. I think, ok I know it has to do with watching the go go coaster and sees how fast it goes. Watching the Matterhorn it doesn't seem that fast.

 

[kkheburn]

My daughter is 5 and we will try SM, POTC, and M. She wants to ride them but a little scared. We have yet to ride these rides together. Cross your fingers for us.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

duplicate

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

My daughter is 5 and we will try SM, POTC, and M. She wants to ride them but a little scared. We have yet to ride these rides together. Cross your fingers for us.

Youtube is your friend, at least for everything but Space. I let my DS5 watch them on there and then he knew what to expect. It was much easier to show him beforehand. We had lots of discussions and he did great on all of them. He rode Space but, told me he never wanted to ride it again. Fine by me. I was just so proud that he tried it.

 

[kkheburn]

Good idea! thanks.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

My dd was 3 when she rode the Matterhorn & loved it. My ds was 6 or 7 before he would try it.

If your little one isn't ready for coasters yet, go on Casey Jr Circus train. That one might give them the thrill without the fear.

 

[DirkLogan]

When my DD was 4, she wasn't interested at all. Now that she is 5 she loves it. I did have her watch it on youtube and that helped convince her to give it a try.

 

[garate55]

We went in November and my son was 2YO (birthday in October) he held on tight the whole way but at the end he turned to mom and asked "fun?" and mom said "Yes Corbin it was fun."
He did have more fun than it looks in the picture, I think the sun was in his eyes.

This is him riding Matterhorn with mom. He did it 3 more times that trip, same every time hold on tight and have fun. He even did it at night, kinda had no choice.