What rides are ok for little kids?

[Lebestiole]

The first time I went to Disneyland I was around 8 years old. I was always a tall kid so I rode pretty much everything and I was not particulary scared of a ride.

This year, my twin cousins are going to Disneyland for the very first time. They're 4 and I'm wondering if certain rides will be too much for them? For example, POC is pretty fun but maybe they'll get scared? And the drop is not bad, but what if it is for a 4 year old? Then there's Soarin', that we love, but I'm not even sure if 4 years old are allowed to ride it!

I've never been to Disneyland with a kid that age, that's why I'm a tad bit confused. I need some guidance! Thanks!

 

[BriannaRuth]

It really depends on the kid. Both of my kids loved Pirates at that age. For Soarin' they need to be at least 40", so check the height requirements and know how tall they are before you go. They are very strict with height requirements.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/ca/plan/guest-services/height-requirements/

The ride you want to watch out for is Snow White. Do not, under any circumstances, take small children on Snow White first or they may never get on another dark ride! The witch is SERIOUSLY scary to alot of young kids. Start out with something like Alice or Peter Pan. Toad can also be a little scary to some because of the train.

If they're tall enough to go on Splash, don't forget there's one seat at the back of the log that has room for an adult and a kid. Request it the first time they go. I did that with my oldest and she was fine, but I completely forgot about it with my youngest and I nearly didn't get her back on the ride!

And don't forget to let them (or insist on, as the case may be) an afternoon break. Overly tired 4 year-olds can be a nightmare, even at DL!

 

[figment_jii]

Every child is different, so it's hard to say what rides will be 'okay' for your cousins. There are probably a few that they cannot ride yet due to height requirements (e.g., Screamin'), but for the ones that they are eligible, I would start with a mild thrill ride and see how it goes. I know a four year old who loves thrill rides and her favorites at that age were BTMRR and Star Tours. Her brother was more leery of the thrill rides at the same age, but has come to like them. Neither of them really loved Pirates, but they weren't scared of the drop. So, it really varies between children.

 

[Kittyskyfish]

Children are like mirrors. They have the uncanny ability to reflect back the emotions we project onto them. Don't give them any indication that it might be scary or dark or the dips might frighten them. Children look for cues and if you reassure them the ride is not scary, then their young minds might believe there is reason to worry because you're reassuring them not to be scared in the first place. (Children have amazing logic.) Offer them ride videos and share your fond memories and excitement by telling them why you liked the ride. Maybe because you loved seeing toy chickens and pigs on Pirates, or that you got to see a really big movie in Soarin'. Then let them watch the videos so they can see for themselves what lies ahead.

 

[BriannaRuth]

Also, if you haven't checked the "Disney with Families" board here, you might want to do that. There are a lot of good tips there. It tends to focus more on DW but much of the advice is good for DL as well.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

One surprisingly scary attraction is walking through the castle. I went thru with my niece and nephew who were probably 5 and 3 at the time, and they cried a lot. It was pretty scary for them.

 

[agamble]

As mentioned that really depends on the kid. My DD isn't scared of much. We took her to DL for the first time the day after her first birthday. She rode everything without a height requirement and enjoyed it. Before she was two her favorite ride was Gadget's Coaster. She was tall so she was able to ride the 40" rides before her third birthday and the only one she doesn't care much for is the Tower of Terror.

There aren't any rides I would say definitely don't take a 4 y/o on. But do keep in mind that some rides (the mentioned Snow White) are dark and scary. My kids enjoy pirates and don't consider it scary, and they think the drops are the best part. My DS is more of a scaredy cat than his big sister. We'll be taking them again next summer when he's 4 and over 40", but I'm not sure if he's going to be the thrill lover that our oldest is. Try them out on some of the outdoor rides first like Casey Jr. train, Dumbo, and the Teacups. That should give you an idea of their fear factor. Then do a more friendly dark ride like Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh before trying out the scarier ones like Snow White, Toad, and Pinochio. Also, Small World is not scary at all, and it is a boat ride like Pirates. So it may be good to try that one out before Pirates. And maybe the Jungle Cruise.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

As mentioned that really depends on the kid. My DD isn't scared of much. We took her to DL for the first time the day after her first birthday. She rode everything without a height requirement and enjoyed it. Before she was two her favorite ride was Gadget's Coaster. She was tall so she was able to ride the 40" rides before her third birthday and the only one she doesn't care much for is the Tower of Terror.

There aren't any rides I would say definitely don't take a 4 y/o on. But do keep in mind that some rides (the mentioned Snow White) are dark and scary. My kids enjoy pirates and don't consider it scary, and they think the drops are the best part. My DS is more of a scaredy cat than his big sister. We'll be taking them again next summer when he's 4 and over 40", but I'm not sure if he's going to be the thrill lover that our oldest is. Try them out on some of the outdoor rides first like Casey Jr. train, Dumbo, and the Teacups. That should give you an idea of their fear factor. Then do a more friendly dark ride like Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh before trying out the scarier ones like Snow White, Toad, and Pinochio. Also, Small World is not scary at all, and it is a boat ride like Pirates. So it may be good to try that one out before Pirates. And maybe the Jungle Cruise.

Yeah, I would say that little kids are not so afraid of motion (drops, spinning, etc) as much as scary themes (the dark rides mentioned previously, monsters, witches, etc). My aforementioned niece had no problem riding Gadget Go Coaster that same day. Even my extremely timid 4 y/o son went on a small roller coaster and had no problems. He didn't love it, but he wasn't upset afterwards or scared in any way. On the other hand , he refuses to go into aquariums because I think he is afraid to go in because it's dark.

Of course, there is no absolute rule, every kid is so different.

 

[Angel Ariel]

The first time I went to Disneyland I was around 8 years old. I was always a tall kid so I rode pretty much everything and I was not particulary scared of a ride.

This year, my twin cousins are going to Disneyland for the very first time. They're 4 and I'm wondering if certain rides will be too much for them? For example, POC is pretty fun but maybe they'll get scared? And the drop is not bad, but what if it is for a 4 year old? Then there's Soarin', that we love, but I'm not even sure if 4 years old are allowed to ride it!

I've never been to Disneyland with a kid that age, that's why I'm a tad bit confused. I need some guidance! Thanks!

I recommend seeing if your local library has a copy of the 2016 unofficial guide to disneyland. They have a great section that lists all of the attractions, height requirements, and potential scare factors.

We took dd at 3 years old last year. We started with taking her on outdoor rides like dumbo, mad tea party, then rides like Jungle Cruise/Tiki room, etc...then to dark rides that aren't as scary..Peter pan, buzz, etc...then pirates, haunted mansion, snow white, mr. toad...

DD did great with all of them! To my biggest surprise, she actually giggled in the stretch room of haunted mason holiday! For us, we've found the height restrictions play more a part in what sue can't ride than anything else. I just wouldn't jump immediately into rides like Toad, Snow White, POTC, HM...work your way up to those ones!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

It depends on the kid. That being said, almost any 4-year-old will be good on any of the rides without a height requirement. My kids (ages 6, 2, and 2) love PotC and HM. Actually, my twins' first ride was PotC when they were 1. However, to be on the safe side, you might consider some easier rides to start with, just until you gauge how they react. Dumbo and the carousel are usually safe since they are outside. Mr. Toad and Snow White would be a good test for how they do with scary images.

I would be more cautious with the rides with height requirements (except Autopia because that's not going to scare anyone). For instance, I thought my son would love RSR since he loved Cars when he was younger, but he hated it because the race goes too fast for him. We took him on BTMRR, but again, the speed scared him. He won't even go near Splash Mountain because the drop looks too scary. So, for the faster rides, if they're tall enough, prioritize. Try to find one that looks fun to all of you and that would be the most fun to them. If they love it, great. If they don't, you may have to back off the faster rides.

 

[IBLarsen]

My dd was right at 3 and a half and my son was 5 and a half when we took them for the first time (8 years ago). My DD was 40 in tall, so could ride most things, but I didn't think she would ride a lot of it because of her age. She LOVED matterhorn (have they upped the height on that??), loved pirates, loved big thunder, soarin', even splash-I warned her about the drop, and we watched several come down before she decided if she wanted to go. I requested back seat to sit with her and kept my arms around her during drop. She pretty much rode everything she could, same with my 5 year old son, but I had no hesitation with him at that age, I knew he would. The ONLY thing they didn't like was Space MTN. My son actually hit the back of his head quite hard on the back of the seat as it launched forward so fast, he had a knot and a headache the rest of the day. I would say with little ones, keep your arms around their neck to support heads. When we were in the line for Matterhorn for the first time, a nice lady with kids in front of us was talking to my kids and told them to watch for the Yeti because she heard he threw marshmallows. (She told me quietly that the Yeti freaked her kids out because they weren't prepared for him and that's the trick she used to keep her kids from being afraid of him from then on). I have to tell you, that woman was a blessing, because as DD was a bit freaked out for a second and then wanted to go thru again because she forgot to look for the marshmallows!. I would suggest preparing little ones for what they may see so it doesn't catch them off guard. I would go on youtube and show them videos of all the rides. My DD even went on ToT at age 5 at her own insistence (I HATE IT, and had to take her because she was begging).

 

[agamble]

She LOVED matterhorn (have they upped the height on that??)

Yes, it used to be 35" just like Gadget's. But when they refurbed it years ago they changed it to 42". It used to be that you sat together with your kid. But now everyone must sit alone. Our daughter was four when she got to ride in the first time and she loves Matterhorn.

 

[row]

My niece was fine with anything that does not have a scary theme. She loved Hyperspace, RSR, Splash, Soaring, etc, but refused to get on Haunted Mansion, and Pirates was borderline for her (she said the skeletons were scary). She even mentioned she liked Tower of Terror except for the "movie part" (the parts you watch before getting on and during the ride).

 

[Disney Rose]

We went with our 4 year old and his favourites were buzz lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, Alice in wonderland, IASW, toy story, Peter Pan, tiki room, red creek challenge trail, autopia, railroad, monorail, submarines. As you can see there is lots to do, even with a young child who doesn't like drops and is short (he is short for his age). And that isn't even including standard rides like dumbo, carousel etc.

If your child likes drops then you have even more options. Disney is fantastic at catering for small kids.

 

[Malcon10t]

My granddaughter was 2.5yo when she hit 40". I took her on Racers and Soarin' and she LOVED them. I didn't want to push her, but when daddy arrived the next day, he took her on Space and Star Tours. Again, she loved them. Fast forward 4 months, she is now tall enough to ride Matterhorn and Grizzly Rapids. Yep, new favorite rides. Only ride she hasn't liked has been Tower of Terror. Last Jan, at barely 5, she made Indy and it became her new favorite. And last trip in July, Screamin' became her favorite.

It really depends on the child. Some LOVE "scary" rides. Others don't. You will need to know what your child will do and go from there.

She plans on taking this pic to school when she starts kindergarten next week....

 

[Mamato4boys]

We are planning on taking our tall not quite 3 year old on Splash, Big Thunder, Star Tours, RSR, and Soarin... Space and TOT depending on how he does with the others. And we will take our 11 month old on POTC and HM. Our older boys both went on the 40" rides at 2 and did fine with them, and they have all been on POTC and HM at under a year old.

The only time we have ever had any issues was DS10 was scared of Indy when he was about 5 and at 8, California Screaming scared the daylights out of him, but 4 year olds wouldn't meet the height requirement on that anyway. Oh, and the swinging gondolas on Mickey's Wheel of Terror might freak them out... it scares all of us, but we still do it once a trip.

 

[Lebestiole]

I just want to thank everyone for their replies!!! They helped me tons!! I thought my cousins were a little too fragile for certain rides, but if other toddlers are doing them, then what's the problem? We'll start with friendly games and move on to more "heavy" ones later.

Thanks again!!!