What to do with a child who doesn't like rides too much?

[DisArmyWife215]

What have you done with your child to overcome ride aversion?

I let her grow to enjoy rides at her own pace. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a child or adult for that matter that doesn't like certain rides. To each their own comfort levels.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

My husband & I are big Disney fans. Got married there & were DVC Members. Husband couldn’t wait for our daughter to reach the height restrictions & go on Space Mountain, ToT, etc. however, she doesn’t care for most rides & definitely not the thrill rides. She’s 14 now. She will go on some rides like Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, Peter Pan, etc. Rides like that and we did get her on to 7DMT & Splash Mountain, & Slinky Dog which was s big deal. To be honest, it really used to bother us that she wouldn’t at least try (especially my husband) but we learned that it’s not about us it’s about her & what she wants to do & capable of doing within her comfort zone. We don’t let that define our time together.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

This is my great grandson, who is almost 6. He's a twin. His twin brother goes on everything possible for his height. To date they have been to Disney World once in 2018 with their parents and Dollywood in 2019 with us and their parents. The one who is shy about rides will go on some rides but not very many and did better at Disney then Dollywood. I have observed he's okay on rides that go round and round. I don't think his parents have checked this out too well yet. I think they feel he will grow out of it. I'm not sure he will. I'm starting to feel there may be a medical issue like dizziness, vertigo, or nausea. I was thinking there may be medicine to help him if they did go to a doctor to find out if it is a medical issue. No one pushes the boy to do any rides; so, he shouldn't be frightened by it.

We are planning a big group trip in 2021 in Disney World; my ride shy great grandson will be 8. I so want us all to enjoy rides together. I was hoping the whole group would at least do two rides all together each day at a minimum.

What have you done with your child to overcome ride aversion?

Please don't take him to a doctor because he doesn't want to do a theme park ride at age 6. My head hurts just thinking about that.

One of my sons didn't outgrow it until adolescence. And now he rides almost anything. Try to encourage him, but don't force him. He might be a twin, but it doesn't mean he has to do everything his twin does.

You don't need to overcome it. You need to accept it. This isn't something like overcoming an aversion to seeing the doctor. It shouldn't matter if he does them or not.

Feel free to flam me but when I was 16 it was brought to my parents attention that I did not have depth perception and had their moment of understanding of why some rides scared me more then my peers

 

[quandrea]

My daughter is fifteen and doesn’t like any of the big rides. Even Barnstormer is out. There is plenty other things she loves and all five of us have a great time.

 

[Allison]

I'm afraid this could be a sign that he may develop other aversions like not wanting to ride a bike, or do a running sport activity, and so forth if it is a medical issue.

You are really reaching here. There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about.

 

[Rory607]

I understand you are concerned about your grandson, but I would let it go. He might feel true anxiety about rides. The bigger deal that is made about it, the worse it could become.

I’m an adult and have always hated thrill rides. I also hated fireworks as a kid. They hurt my ears and caused me so much anxiety. We went to Disney many times growing up and I have nothing but great memories! There was always someone willing to sit out rides with me or avoid fireworks. People pushing me to do these things make me really uncomfortable.

My daughter likes most rides, but my son is not as big of a fan. We ask him if he wants to do a certain ride, but never push. There are a few he’s done that he refuses to do again, but he’s only 5. He absolutely hated Pirates of Caribbean the last time we went. We were at Disneyland where there are extra drops he wasn’t prepared for It’s a favorite of everyone else, so we rode it multiple times. We took turns sitting it out and eating Dole Whip with him. No big deal. Don’t upset your grandson by pushing him to ride when he doesn’t want to. Disney has plenty of other fun things to do.

 

[Twitterpaited]

This is my great grandson, who is almost 6. He's a twin. His twin brother goes on everything possible for his height. To date they have been to Disney World once in 2018 with their parents and Dollywood in 2019 with us and their parents. The one who is shy about rides will go on some rides but not very many and did better at Disney then Dollywood. I have observed he's okay on rides that go round and round. I don't think his parents have checked this out too well yet. I think they feel he will grow out of it. I'm not sure he will. I'm starting to feel there may be a medical issue like dizziness, vertigo, or nausea. I was thinking there may be medicine to help him if they did go to a doctor to find out if it is a medical issue. No one pushes the boy to do any rides; so, he shouldn't be frightened by it.

We are planning a big group trip in 2021 in Disney World; my ride shy great grandson will be 8. I so want us all to enjoy rides together. I was hoping the whole group would at least do two rides all together each day at a minimum.

What have you done with your child to overcome ride aversion?

I was that child, and still am. I am just not a thrill seeker. You just should accept it. Even though I don’t like thrill rides, I still love Disney and there are plenty of rides to enjoy together at most of the parks. You may just have to come up with a plan to Rider Switch if the rest of the group really wants to ride the thrill rides.

 

[paisleys]

You are really reaching here. There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about.

^^^This. I was the parent who pushed one of my kids to go on rides she didn't want to go on and I have deep regrets. Older now, she loves to go on anything and everything but I really was a bad parent making her go on things when she was afraid. I completely dismissed her fear as unfounded, which I had no right to do. If I could do it again, I wouldn't do this. I would let my husband take our other daughter on the ride and just spend time with the fearful one.

 

[DisTXMom]

You’ve gotten a lot of really great advice here and hope it’s helped ease your fears and concerns. Your family will have a great trip, whether your grandson wants to ride many rides or not. His fear/hesitation falls into the normal category for a child his age. Start with small rides and follow his lead on big rides. Disney has much to offer people of all interests and comfort levels. Enjoy!!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

A 6-year old should be verbal enough to explain his ideas and feelings. Ask him what types of rides he likes and doesn’t like, and why. It might be a nice conversation to have while looking at pictures in a book or on a website. Make it non-confrontational and let him express as much (or as little) as he wants about rides. Perhaps he’ll relate that some are too scary, or that he doesn’t like the sensation of dropping, spinning, etc. Tell him you respect his feelings and opinions on the subject, and that he is free to ride or skip attractions as he sees fit. Then leave it at that.

 

[Calee]

My oldest is 11 and doesnt like fast rides. Yet he plays baseball, basketball, does well in school, has friends, can ride a bike. My husband is 38 years old and doesnt like them either. I got him on big thunder for the first time last year. He played basketball, baseball, is a college coach, has a Masters, 3 children, a dog, and likes biking. It is an enormous reach to think bc someone doesnt like theme park rides that they wont do other things in life.

 

[thingwithwings]

Honestly, it's okay for kids not to like doing things, just like it's okay for adults to not like doing things. Not everyone needs to be gung-ho about everything, whether that's theme park rides or bike rides or playing soccer or whatever. That's okay.

Personally, I still have an aversion to most rides (it's only because I wanted to impress a friend--as a twenty-something adult--that I even tried a roller coaster for the first time). I can assure you that I am not suffering for it, nor will your great-grandson suffer if he doesn't like going on rides. Disney World is one of those fantastic parks that has so much more to do than roller coasters and thrill rides; he may have to sit out a couple of things that the rest of the family enjoys, but he'll absolutely be able to make some great memories on this trip, even without thrill rides.

 

[bigbabyblues]

If you are going to insist that everyone in a large group ride together, just pick something he will ride. Maybe he will get braver as the trip goes on, maybe he won't.

My oldest is now 18 and there are rides he won't ride. He choses to do something else or I will go do something else with him. It isn't a big deal if you don't turn it in to one, and no, I don't think it is a sign that something is wrong with him.

 

[MooseBucks]

I think the key part is to not make him feel left out. And in my experience there's usually someone willing to not ride the ride....I think my grandfather hated rides and would usually hang out with my cousin who didn't really like rides.

It’s hard not to worry about those we love but giving him space to find what he enjoys is important... maybe he likes being able to see the whole ride at once which is why the round round round ones are good. The “unknown” can be intimidating at any age. Maybe have him watch some rides on youtube and pick a few he’s interested in? Empower him to help pick the “group rides”

 

[rg35]

I appreciate that you are concerned about your grandson and want him to have a good time. It's obvious that you have his best interests at heart. That said, definitely pull back your fears on this and let his parents handle it.

I have triplets who have been to Disney 6 times since they were 4. They have all had varying degrees of tolerance for rides over the years. My kids are not typically thrill seekers because they are nervous, but they've realized that the thrilling rides are a lot of fun once they allow themselves to experience them. On our last trip our son got nervous on Soarin' even though the year before he rode it with no problems. He was not a fan of the "jump scares" in the new ride film. He tried Space Mountain when he was 5 and didn't like it. He still refuses to ride...but this year he says he's going to try Rock N Roller coaster (which he knows has inversions). Sometimes you just can't predict how things will go. Everything will be fine, I do not think you need to be worried about any long term impacts in other areas. Sometimes kids just don't want to ride things because they have anxiety over things they can't control. I didn't ride RnRR until I was in my late 30's and I immediately regretted not trying it sooner. I try to tell my kids to at least experience something at least once (a new food, attraction, music, book, meeting a friend, whatever) before forming a conclusion about things, which has been a relatively successful approach in most areas. The mind works in very irrational ways.

 

[katyjeka]

My dh is in his fifties and is still terrified of certain rides. I dont think you could give him a million dollars to ride ToT, no kidding!!! There is nothing abnormal about a 6 year old hating to ride. Sounds perfectly normal to me. Now my dh is a different story!!!!

 

[Funfire240]

I wouldn't worry. My DS9 doesn't ride a lot of thrill rides. We live near Cedar Point and you would think growing up there he would be a thrill chaser but he's completely opposite. His older sister will ride anything and everything - although she didn't even until last year. There have been times at Disney where DS wouldn't even go on Dumbo. When he was 2 he loved it yelling go higher and go faster, then the following year put the breaks on and wouldn't do it. He is slowly warming up to things. Last year he rode BTMR and stated it's his new favorite ride. He didn't like Splash but said it's because he doesn't like to get wet. At Kings Island a few weeks ago we finally got him to try a few more smaller roller coasters - but he declared that's it for now. He's already told us he's still not doing Space, Everest or RNRC this year so don't even try with him lol (but although he loves test track, we still struggle with him sometimes to get him on 7DMT)
When he was 5/6 honestly we couldn't even get him on the Pirate's Ride because he didn't like walking thru the que line. We went to Universal that same time and he refused to ride just about everything, even having a complete melt down walking thru the castle on the one Harry Potter ride on the way to the child swap area! Every child is different - just give them time.
I love my times with him when he doesn't go on the rides. sometimes we get a snack, or find something else to do. Other times we just sit and hang out and relax and enjoy each other.

 

[quandrea]

This thread reminded me today of my father. He went on and on about how there was something wrong with my daughter—at the time eight or so, because she didn’t like thrill rides. Said he was going to fix her on our next trip. Said she needed courage. I was offended, and defended my daughter. She is (and was at the time) a high performance swimmer. I told him real courage is putting yourself out there in life, not riding some dumb ride. She shows courage every time she steps up on those blocks and dives in the pool in front of hundreds of strangers. At the time she was so tiny—just standing on those high blocks took guts. My point is—I’ve never forgotten that slam against my child by someone who was supposed to love her deeply and unconditionally. I’m not in touch with my dad any more. Not just because of that, but it was just one example of his crappy treatment of us.

 

[Bete]

I'm okay either way. I guess I was hoping for some magical formula that would make it all better. The twin himself notices the difference between himself and his brother.

We are going to Legoland first. I think that might help the not so eager one do better with the rest. If it doesn't we will adjust.

 

[KenHutch]

My daughter loves Disney but at 19 Mickey's Barnstormer is a thrill ride and she does not do well on them. She finds plenty to enjoy. She is somewhat dreading our next trip because she made me a grandfather and the boy shows every sign of being a thrill demon. He starts off looking scared at carnival ride and ends them with again Papaw.