what happens if your kid melts down

[jann1033]

my girls were older when we first went to wdw ( 6 and8) so not afraid but gbaby will be 30 months and wondering what happens if you are on something they hate and start screaming....from many posts it seems it could be hard to knwo what could trigger the problems so what "outs" are available? do they just scream the whole ride


thought the idea on the toddler rides thread about the glowing braclets was good but any other tips to forstall the fears?

 

[WendyMichaelJohn]

I've been wondering the same thing.

Thanks

Shel

 

[YourMajesty]

my girls were older when we first went to wdw ( 6 and8) so not afraid but gbaby will be 30 months and wondering what happens if you are on something they hate and start screaming....from many posts it seems it could be hard to knwo what could trigger the problems so what "outs" are available? do they just scream the whole ride


thought the idea on the toddler rides thread about the glowing braclets was good but any other tips to forstall the fears?

We found that when our boys were under two they did not seem to be as frightened. Our three year old set the tone very quickly by freaking out on Winnie the Pooh. They will let you know and then you can adjust to what they will tolerate. If they are freaking out before the ride do not go it!!! DS did this for Peter Pan. DH stayed off while I rode with older DS. You will find many exciting activities that will not frighten small children. Good luck.

 

[meghan74]

My daughter is the one who is happy on the rides as long as she has her bracelet - sort of like Dumbo with his feather. Anyway, the only times I have seen a child get so scared that they needed to leave a ride was in the waiting area for Pirates and the stretching room in Haunted Mansion. In both cases, castmembers showed the parents to the nearest exit.

As a ride chicken myself, I have waited in line with the brave members of my family at Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, etc. and I have always been able to exit at the last minute. It seems like kids will be scared in the waiting area if they are going to be scared on the ride.

If the worst happens and a child just can't handle a ride, I think all you can do is hold them tight and try to distract them until the ride is over.

 

[nliedel]

If you're on the ride gut it out. If you are not get out of line. Try to determine if it is hunger, overstimulation or tired. Good luck cause I am on number 4 and I can't figure it out all the time. Usually I just keep tossing solutions at the situation till it stops.

 

[scanfield]

If you're on the ride gut it out. If you are not get out of line. Try to determine if it is hunger, overstimulation or tired. Good luck cause I am on number 4 and I can't figure it out all the time. Usually I just keep tossing solutions at the situation till it stops.

Duct Tape.

 

[addicted2disney]

LOL scanfield.. I was going to say.. Put them in the locker??? LOL

We have made 11 trips since 1999 with my kids being anywhere from 3 months up. They are now 12, 10 & almost 4. The closest thing we have ever had to a meltdown, was this past January when my Ds 3, freaked out when we were bording Splash Mountain. He just started screaming that he didnt want to ride it. We got off, and he was fine. That was the ONLY time in all those trips, with out ever having to go back for naps and rests, that any of my kids cried like that. We have always had awesome trips. This might be because we go off season ( and Thanksgiving) and the weather isnt hot, and the lines arent long, and the parks arent open until midnight. They have never complained of being tired, they dont whine ( unless of course the want me to buy them something which is constantly). I guess Im lucky!!

 

[tink too]

When DD was 13 months old, she was afraid of the characters up close. They were very good with her - they would back off and play peek-a-boo & wave - but it didn't change her mind!

Our last trip - she was 3 - and wasn't afraid of them at all! We were in a queue to see Scooby-Doo & Shaggy at US where she had a mini-meltdown though! Just as we got the the front of the line, she threw down her autograph book and pen and said she didn't want to get her photo with them. This was a complete surprise as this was all she'd talked about while at US. Anyway, she ran to DH and I tried to grab everything up from the ground and make a fast exit. A very nice CM stopped me and said that I should atleast get their autographs for her, which I did. I explained that she loved them, but was just a little bit tired and Shaggy was excellent - he stayed completely in character and said "Well, we're a lot bigger here than we are on T.V!"

We returned a couple of days later and she ran right into Scooby & Shaggy's arms - I'm not sure what Shaggy said to her (it was the same guy we'd seen previously), but she was all smiles!

 

[dreamscometrue47]

When my kids were little, say 3 or younger, they always brought their favorite "blankie" or stuffed animal (usually a new Minnie or Donald!) with them to the parks. Believe it or not, the first time my DD rode Small World at 18 months, she freaked out and asked for "blankie!". thank goodness we had it with us. She calmed down and actually wanted to go on another time.

Think I'll bring my "blankie" for next January's TOT ride.....

 

[jann1033]

Duct Tape.

actually the blue painters tape might be a little gentler on the mouth

so if there is not a baby swap area and we are in line and the little princess decides against riding can we do a baby swap type thing or do we have to get in line again?

we are ( and always do) going off season since i can't take the heat and crowds

she is just starting to get "stranger fear" and is umm very "vocal" about it so i'd hate to ruin the fun for the entire crowd on the ride as her bellows echo through the building and drown out the it's a small world song

 

[jorodopo]

actually the blue painters tape might be a little gentler on the mouth

so if there is not a baby swap area and we are in line and the little princess decides against riding can we do a baby swap type thing or do we have to get in line again? ......

We found in Aug that the baby swap only worked when fastpass was open, if not there isn't much of a line anyway. The second round goes on the fastpass line. Our kids loved it because with the baby swap 3 people can go the second round, so hubby would go with them while I waited with dd2 and then I would go with them while he had fun with the baby. Twice the ride for once the wait.

 

[Pedler]

One FYI on the chicken exits. We found out that DS6 did not like "dark scary" rides at MK. Admittedly we should have realized it after Snow White but what the heck we thought we would try POTC. When we got to the loading point there was no way DS6 was going to get on and I didn't see the need to force the issue. So I asked the CM how to exit and he pointed me back through the line that was waiting to get on the ride. We had to go by those people going in the opposite direction. It was a bit of a pain.

 

[Eyore4Ever149]

Okay, I guess I read the title wrong because I was thinking of the children I see who just melt down in the park- not on a ride.

In May I was sitting, enjoying my Dole Whip, no one was around us and then this young couple stops right next to us because their kid was screaming in the stroller, the older of the 2 boys they had. apparently he stuck candy up his nose- and they were lamenting about it in detail, I finally had to get up and leave. it was ruining my enjoyment of my Dole Whip. Part of me felt so awful for the kid/family, the other part of me was like, geeze, theres no one around, you had to stop 2 feet away. I look back now and laugh and hope the little boy is okay.

I saw plenty of other children who really should have had a nap and a shady spot for 40 minutes, they looked so tired. My best advice to parents is dont try to do everything, even if the kids are dying to do "one more ride" tell them they can come back, but its snack/nap time, or whatever your rest period is called.

Its all about having fun and creating memories, not "doing it all!"

 

[HillPete]

When my ds was 3 1/2 he seemed a bit scared of the pre-show in HM. I just knelt down next to him and pointed out all the cool stuff in the room and kept him busy looking around (we couldn't get to the chicken exit from the stretch room). By the time the doors opened, he was calm and ready to ride. He really liked it and still talks about the 'time Mama hid the scaries before the ride'. Good luck.

--H

 

[Ride Junkie]

When my niece was 5, she wasn't too keen on dark rides. In the HM, she clung to me in the stretching room, and when it came time to board the doom buggy, all four limbs shot straight out -- like trying to get a German shepherd through the bathroom door to give him a bath. There was an exit right there, so no big deal.

However...when she freaked out after the drop on POTC, there was no turning back - and she screamed the whole ride. I felt bad for the other passengers. We have the whole episode on video, and she thinks it's funny because she will ride any mammoth upside-down ride now (she's 10). I would say if there's any hint that they might be scared, probably best not to push them. Wait until they're a little older. It's not fun going through a 10+ minute ride with a screamer!

 

[SB in KY]

I spent a lot of time talking to mine when they were 2 and 3 about what each ride would be like....we spent time before the trip practicing the difference between real and pretend....then before each attraction I would talk about anything that might be dark or loud or scary and remind them that it was "pretend" not "real". that seemed to help my oldest a lot (the little one never cared....the kid would ride anything and beg for more!!)

There was a Disneyland Sing Along Songs video/DVD that they watched a lot before we went and we would talk about each attraction and the name of it, etc....then it all seemed familar to them when they visited.

I think anyone deals better with the familar than they do with the unknown and at 2 and 3 years old they don't have a lot of past experiences to compare things to.... so the more prepared they are the better it will go.

I would never "talk" a little one into doing something they did not want to do...in our case DD#1 often sat on the bench with me while DH took DD#2 (the adrenaline junkie!!) on the ride and then when they came back and her little sister had such a glowing report of how fun it was DD#1 would be ready to try it (nothing like using your little sister for a guinea pig!!)

21/2 is SUCH a magical age... I think it is just about the best time to introduce a child to WDW....you will have a ball I know.

 

[bopper]

If you are in a show/movie attraction, please do leave if your little one is screaming!
I understand if you are on a ride and you can't get out, but if you are in a theater, do step out. I wish some of the people that were near us at Mickey's Philarmagic would have done that!

About taking little ones on a ride who are reluctant...you have to know your kid. My DD8 would always be saying "I am not going on that roller coaster! You can't make me" and then afterwards "That was awesome! Can we go again?". But she always does that so I know she can handle it even if she doesn't.

 

[safaulk]

I'm going to tell ya - that's a difficult situation, being on a ride you can't get off of and having a screaming child!! I ended up having to cover my daughter's mouth to muffle the screams a few times because there was no easy exit that I could find. I remember my 2 1/2 year old (at the time) would say "I just want to go outside okay? I just want to go outside." Either that or she would start screaming. She didn't do this with every ride, but it was horrible.

 

[jann1033]

obviously if she doesn't want to go on something we wouldn't all go at once. i was more wondering if there are any "alternatives" to an surprise attack of the heebee geebees. it's hard cause i really don't know where we could take her before hand to see how she'll react.

my youngest was the daredevil also and would usually talk her older sister( gbaby's mom) into going on things . eldest ( in her 20s) still hates things like ae. hoping it's not like mother like daughter in that case or we are in trouble( hehe)

thanks for the tips!

 

[YourMajesty]

obviously if she doesn't want to go on something we wouldn't all go at once. i was more wondering if there are any "alternatives" to an surprise attack of the heebee geebees. it's hard cause i really don't know where we could take her before hand to see how she'll react.

my youngest was the daredevil also and would usually talk her older sister( gbaby's mom) into going on things . eldest ( in her 20s) still hates things like ae. hoping it's not like mother like daughter in that case or we are in trouble( hehe)

thanks for the tips!

My suggestione would be to take her to the movies. I took DS at 2 1/2 to see Spirit (rated G animated movie) and he completly freaked out. He started shaking and before I could leave he had fallen alseep. The darkness and noise level was way too much. I found this experience to hold true for many of the Dinsey rides/shows when he was three. He is five and we went to a couple of movies and did pretty well until I took him to Charlie and Chocolate Factory. He really freaked out again but this time it was the theming...he could not separate fantasy from reality. I can explain until I'm blue in the face but sometimes unitl they mature they just aren't ready for certain experiences. They will let you know! My Ds (8) was cautious but not as fearful....I still had to be careful. He has not been on HM and was scared of POC when he was 6. Start with a ride that is on the shorter side and see how it goes.