What is the youngest age your children have been on the BIG thrill rides?

[SandraC]

Hi ~ my ds will be 4 year and 3 months old during our next WDW trip. He isn't afraid of anything. If he is tall enough for the thrill rides, I would like him to try them. But when I think of a 4 year old on ToT, I get nervous. He has been on ride like Splash Mtn before when he was only 2.5 years old and did great. He loves the Tea Cups too! He enjoys fast rides.

So how young were your children on the thrill rides, thanks! S

 

[Michelemouse]

My daughter was 4 yrs, 6 mo when she first rode Tower and hasn't looked back since.

 

[mad4themouse]

My DS is a daredevil and has been one since the moment of birth. He rode ToT on our first trip to WDW when he was all of 4 years 1 month old. It's not as bad as it looks. You don't even wear a seatbelt! If your son is a thriller-seeker like mine, he'll love it!

 

[MrsMud]

You don't even wear a seatbelt!

Actually, according to some recent posts, TOT is now fitted with seat belts instead of the lapbar.

 

[CRCrazy]

At 5, my daughter's favorite ride was Space Mountain - she was dying to try Rock N Roller Coaster, and made it just as she turned six - she LOVED it!!

That said, she did Tower of Terror at 5, and did not like it at all! The ride portion was no trouble - but she did not like the theming - it scared her! She does like Haunted Mansion, but that is due to listening to the song for days on end! She is a little afraid of dark things and fire.

 

[beattyfamily]

Unfortunately, because of my not even thinking she was tall enough or old enough our DD missed those 'mountains' at 4 but the following year when she was 5 she went on TOT (4 times), Splash Mountain (2), and Thunder Mountain (1). She liked TOT (except the ghost scene), Splash Mountain (except getting wet and she ducks everytime!), but she really didn't like Thunder Mountain because of the cave with the bats!

This past year at 6 she tried Space mountain and had to hold my hand the first 2 times (boy, did that hurt my arm reaching back to hold her hand!) but then she loved it even though she's not crazy about the darkness. She went on 4 times!

For this coming Nov/Dec trip she's measuring herself everyday hoping to be tall enough for RnR!!! Right now with shoes on she's 47 1/2 so we just may make it. She'll be 7.

She also wasn't tall enough for Primeval Whirl at AK which I couldn't believe...that is a pretty tame ride. But hopefully this November she will be!

 

[KathyFP]

My five year old is a thrill seeker (just like her mom)

She rode ToT, TMRR when she 3 yrs 10 months
She finally rode Space mountain when she 4 yrs 9 months.

She wants to go on and on and on. At Busch Gardens she rode a coaster that went upside down 11 times in a row. (I love off peak times) Finally mommy was getting tired.

 

[tjmw2727]

My dd rode Tot with the old sequence and pre-show and loved it, also did btmr, splmt and space mountain.

This February when she was 6 she rode tot again with the new preshow and drop sequence and was VERY scared.

This April she really wanted to ride again and told me she loved the "Frog Hopper Part" but the beginning was just to scary. She skipped it this time.

Perhaps with the use of fastpass you can ride first to see what you think.

TJ

 

[nativetxn]

Hi SandraC. My son was 7 before he rode any of the big rides. He loved them, of course, that was 21 years ago, there was no TOT or RNR back then

I love your pretty purple clipart Oooh, KathyFP, I like your pretty purple clipart too

 

[ThreeCs]

My 4YO did TOT on our recent visit. She cried through most of the ride but now she talks about it all the time. The ride she hated the most was Kali River Rapids over at DAK. Too much water for her.

 

[Tinks]

Our oldest son went on TOT at age 4 years 2 months and loved it! I prepared him ahead of time as to what to expect...he loves to be "scared"..kinda like mom! This year he will be big enough for RNR and Space Mountain! I think your son will be fine if he likes to be "scared" and you prepare him...i.e. it's dark, the ride drops, flashes of light, etc... Have fun!

 

[eeyore0062]

Since my DD didn't reach the height limit for the "big" rides at WDW, she didn't ride them until she was 6. She was 7 by the time she was big enough to ride Space Mountain. She is 9 now, and still won't go near ToT (rode it once when she was 7 and hated it), but was 8 when she rode RnR, because she didn't reach the 48" limit until then, and loves it.

The height limits are there for safety reasons, but it still doesn't mean that just because a child is tall enough for a ride, that they are really ready for it. Wait until the child really shows an interest in riding it. The child swap works very smoothly, so there is no reason in having "Johnny or Jane" ride just so his parents can.

 

[kinlaw6450]

My DS was tall enough at 5 for Rockin Roller Coaster. He went on and LOVED it. He rode Thunder and Space Mountains at 4

 

[Alice28]

My son was 3 years 11 months the last time we went to DL; he went on Star Tours, Space, Splash (3 times!) and Big Thunder with no problems. He also went on Soaring over California twice. He wasn't tall enough for Indiana Jones, California Screaming, and the River rides. When we went to WDW two month ago, he was 5 and 3 months. He went on everything he was tall enough for- interestingly enough he wasn't tall enough for WDW's Space, but anyway, he wasn't scared of anything while we were on it. However there were a few things he said he didn't really like once we got off- the ghosts in ToT (we told them it was robots and he said, well I don't like the robot ghosts then), the bats in the cave of Big Thunder and he didn't like that a bunch of girls SCREAMED through the entire ride of Haunted Mansion. He said the ghosts were ok (we had seen them at DL) but I think the screaming made it seem scarier than it really was. He liked Kali, but he didn't want to go on Dinosaur---we had the preview video and probably watched it 20 times before we went, and he had decided it was too scary for him. I thought that was fine since a lot of people have posted it is a little intense. What else, he liked Test Track and sure wanted to go on Rockin Roller Coaster super bad, but he was too short. He keeps asking, "When I'm 6 can I go on Rockin Roller Coaster?" Anyway, I wouldn't say our child is a super daredevil, but we let him try everything and he saw us having fun, so he had fun too.

 

[jsmla]

DS was 4. He was very tall for his age and VERY daring (went off the high dive at 3!!!!!). He rode everything that was open back then (1990) with no problem. DD, however, did not ride anything really daring until she was 9. I would seriously consider not going to Alien Encounter. It's pretty intense even though it's not a "thrill ride".

 

[WINTER]

Remember, there are height restrictions for a reason. Don't try to 'trick' the CM's. Also, you know your child better than anyone. You know how they will react on a particular ride. My son was tall enough for TOT but I decided to ride it first myself. Afterwards, I knew he would be terrified on it so he didn't ride.

There is a great system for when not everyone wants or can ride. Let's say there is a family of 4 and 1 doesn't or can't ride. Two of you ride and the other two wait. When you are done riding, the person who waited with the one that couldn't ride gets to ride as well as a member of the family that just did ride. Just tell the CM the situation.

 

[SandraC]

Winter, no one here ever suggested 'tricking' CM's.

We use the system you mentioned, "baby swap". It worked great. S

 

[WINTER]

I was not accusing anyone but I have read several posts on these board where they say things such as "wearing higher heels", slipping things in their shoes to make them taller, etc.

 

[MCazer]

My daughter and son were both 3 years old when they went on Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, Test Track and Star Tours. They are both tall for their age, as my husband is 6'2"


We purchased the pictures whenever available, also, Tower of Terror Pins and The "I Survived" type T-shirts.

Both hubby and I are extremely daring (scuba diving, gliding and even went skydiving). We hope to pass that on to our kids, it will make for great vacations to come!

I love the rides, and hate having to leave anyone behind waiting for us to get off a ride. Thanks goodness I got my Mom's genes, and not my Dads (afraid to fly)

 

[strawberryblonde]

My DS had just turned 3 when we took him to DLP for 4nights/2 days. He was tall enough for Thunder Mt. and went on that with his Dad. I didn't realize that it went in a dark tunnel under the water and came out on the island on the other side then went back through a dark tunnel at the end of the ride. Much scarier than WDW or DLCA's versions. He was soo upset and didn't even want me to ride by myself much less ride it with me again (I had stayed out with DD2 mths old). His Dad was sure he would like Star Tours, but no, terrified the poor fellow .

When DS was three months away from 6 we went to WDW. He rode Goofy's Barnstormer and enjoyed his first coaster ride . He rode this about 6 times in a row. This gave him confidence to try other rides. He loved Thunder Mt. (no dark tunnels this time either), liked Splash Mt., loved Space Mt. and his fav ride was Test Track. He rode T of T twice before deciding he didn't like it, same with Dinosaur. He didn't try R n R because he doesn't want to go upside down. He likes Star Tours alot.

DD was nearly 3 years old on Barnstormer and she loved it, she had no fear unlike her brother who was a bit worried for his first time. She is not tall enough for any of the others which bothers her, she can't wait. I'm quite sure that once she is tall enough for a ride she will be ready. Each child is different. Sounds as though your child is braver than my DS was, should be a fun trip. It just gets better and better for us.