What rides should I avoid with small children?

[Karebear]

We are taking our 2 children--ages 4 and just turned 3 to Disneyland in a couple of weeks. I have never been to Disney with children. I am thinking that from a scare factor, Haunted Mansion and Snow White are out. I am on the fence about Pirates--am thinking that the kids might like it, but am not sure. The 4 year old does not like the dark. Any input from people who have been with their kids? Thanks!

 

[Bloomingbeauti]

my DD was 4 when we went last year ,I dont know if shes just fearless, but she loved everything,Pirates, Haunted Mansion,snow white , she even did tower or terror, however my son was 18 months at the time was scared of everything ! Even Philharmagic
This time I have a 9 month old so this should be interesting
My DD has to have a night light at home, but she did great on all the rides
they might surprise you

 

[ptlycloudy]

Peter pan is a good dark ride test. Then increase in scariness from there. Winnie the pooh,Alice,Nemo, Buzz before Pirates. For my youngest she wore light up shoes and would stomp her feet when she was nervous so the light would come on. We also had a small not to bright flashlight "just in case". We actually got the idea from a CM who said that many of the dark rides have them for kids to use. We just did everything at their pace and what they wanted. It also helped when we told them to cover their ears if they were scared. It wasn't really the dark that was scary but the loud sound effects/music. Their are plenty of non dark rides to keep everyone happy.

My girls went on pirates our last trip for the first time. They were 5 and 3, we had played a cd of the theme park music before going so they knew what to expect and just sang along!

 

[WantToGoNow]

My children were 5 and almost 3 when we went last year. They id not like Snow White's SCARY Adventures and TOUGH TO BE A BUG. We saw Tough To Be A Bug on the first day -- my ds5 was terrified to go into any indoor theatre afterwards (missed Muppets and Little Mermaid because of this). They both loved Pirates and did Haunted Mansion without tears but I can't say they actually liked it.

T.

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[MazdaUK]

My DS hated Peter Pan and POTC when he was 3 1/2 - not the darkness, but the up and down and turning bits (I think he thought he might fall out and fall a long way ) but when he was 5 1/2 he loved it. Now he knows rides are "safe" (generally ) he makes his choice on what he knows he can cope with - so no loops or fast coasters (Goofy apparently comes into that category ) but Ok with log flumes - not that he's tried Splash Mountain yet, but he loved the Legoland one

 

[crisi]

We just went with two kids - older than yours - but wimps. I thought mine were wimpy - since at seven and eight they just FINALLY rode Splash.

Get the Birnbaums for kids book or another guidebook specifically written for kids. Look for a book where the attractions being tagged with triggers "dark, scary, loud." We found a lot of the rides simply too LOUD - they weren't that frighting, but the volume was turned up too high. Each kid is going to be different. One of these kids didn't like things coming at his face - so what we thought was a charming Mickey's Philharmagic wasn't appreciated.

Pirates has about 45 seconds of pitch dark with a short decent - and its subject matter can be disturbing (people are shooting at you and the town in on fire). We'd forgotten that - our kids have always handled Pirates (though at 3 1/2 the did need to sit between us and have their hands held - and be bribed by the thought of the pirate store at the end of the ride).

The two we were with were a little scared by the "shots" on the safari ride and the shakey bridge.

 

[Kimmumum]

My boys never had a problem with any of the rides (but my DS13 refuses to go in It's Tough to Be a Bug or Honey I shrunk the Audience ). My neighbor has 2 little girls and the first time they went to WDW the first ride they went on was Snow White. They never got the girls on another ride the ENTIRE trip.

I agree with working up the intensity.

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[mickeylove2]

OK, I just got back with my 6 & 4 year old girls so I'll give you our list of rides and what they did and didn't like.
Snow White- both thought it was boring
ITTBAB- 4 yo loved it, 6 yo didn't like the ending but wasn't scared or anything
Dinosaur- 4 yo was fine, 6 yo got a little upset at the very end- hint, sit the kids to the inside, she was sitting all the way to the right and to be honest I would have been a little jumpy if I had sat there!
POTC- LOVED!!! we rode it 3 times!
Space Mountain- 4 yo was too short, 6 yo loved it and rode it 3 times, twice in a row and the next day once
Splash Mountain- both loved it
Kali River Rapids- both loved we rode it 3 times in a row!
Stitch- loved it

That's all I can think of right now! Have a great time!!!

 

[tiggermei]

You said Disneyland, right? Well, that makes things a little different. You are going during the Haunted Mansion's "makeover" to the Nightmare Before Christmas, which isn't at all scary. It's quite cute, actually. I think your little ones will be fine on it.

Snow White -- you know your kids. If they're spooked easy, it would be a good idea to preview it yourself first.

Pirates -- seriously, except that one drop, it's not scary at all. A bit loud at times, but don't miss it! The one in Disneyland is SO amazing!