When I did orange team mission space...

[suswa]

There is a child swap option... DH and I will be utilizing it. I am hopeful my 9 yo will want to ride but she is pretty well turned off of TOT just by the name.

 

[kandb]

I was in the same space rocket as a mom and her two sons. I was right behind them in line and her younger son, maybe 10 or 11, expressed being scared to his mom in line about doing the more intense team. But her older son who looked to be 13 or 14 or so, was very excited about it. The younger boy teared up in line multiple times and the mom/brother just tried to ignore it.

Then when we got to "space training" aka watch the instructions on TV, he was getting more and more scared. I was on the same team as them, and when the rocket closed the younger son screamed and screamed "somebody help me" and cried and screamed the entire way. Panick attack scream/cry. Before the rocket shut I wanted to say something like any anxiety will make the ride a lot more difficult but I figured the mother would handle it and it's not my job to "suggest" anything.

It was frustrating he kind of ruined the ride, but whatever. I felt bad for the kid. It's hard enough as it is to breathe, I can't imagine how he felt panicking already short of breath. I just feel his mom made the "wrong" decision. He appeared old enough to wait in the gift shop for a few minutes but I can't judge that, obviously. I also thought his health was being risked having a panick attack in there. They did the green team before when I heard them talking before getting on.
Just some thoughts.

Some people shouldn't be parents. What kind of mother does that to their child. It's disgusting.

 

[Aliceacc]

There are some fears in life that you simply have to get past. Afraid of needles? Sorry, honey, but you're getting your vaccinations anyway. Have math phobia? Sorry, honey. We'll get you a tutor but you still have to take math.

But fear of theme park rides? Not an issue. Either you can hang out at the gift shop, or we'll vacation elsewhere. As much as I love Disney, I can't imagine subjecting someone I love to the kind of terror in the OP.

I'm sorry your experience was ruined. But I'm more sorry for that kid. Even if, after the fact, he decided he loved Mission Space, that doesn't take away his original terror for something he could have lived happily never experiencing.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

That's a bummer Somehow I always end up with the screaming kid on TOT.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

OP, based on your description, I have to agree it was really inappropriate and callous for that mom to force her child on that ride. Particularly as he had already done the green option and asked to not go again. My DS has an anxiety disorder. He also, we discovered through daily life, going to smaller carnvials, Ren fairs, etc. loves fast rides, rides that spin, etc. Knowing these things, when at WDW, we slowly worked him up to things we knew he would like if he would just give them chance. Our one unknown, a few years ago, was Space Mountain (there are some knowns - TOT, Mission Space Orange will never happen unless he actually says he wants to do them). We though he would like it, but we were actually unsure. He decided to do it and, though he was scared, there was no panic attack. We went on the whole time I'm thinking to myself, this was a mistake, this was a mistake! Ride ends, we get off, first thing out of his mouth, "That was AWESOME!" It's legend in our family!

That being said, Mission Space Orange is a whole other ballgame. With reports of people feeling sick afterward and really, physically not being able to take it, there is absolutely no way I would do a "let's try it!" on that one.

 

[Murron]

I knew I had one child who would be anxious about some rides. He had to know EXACTLY what would happen on the ride. We showed him you tube videos of the rides in WDW before our vacations and all was well with the world.

 

[mommycrawford]

My DD is very tall, and rode it at 4: it was a new ride. After she learned that there was a death after riding it, at age 9, we went to ride, and she had a panic attack and we bailed out....She cried, and was sorry, which was unnecessary!

What children fear and understand changes as their consequential thinking develops!....Ever see the 2 year old that is not afraid of characters, and the 4 year old who is?...the knowledge base changes, and intuition changes. I personally believe that teaching a child to trust their gut is important, AND reassuring children that they are okay/safe is important. Parenting involves a lot of judgement calls.

That said, I have only one child, so I cannot say how the pressure of the one wanting to ride would influence what transpired. Unless it bordered on abuse, it seems like a parental judgement call, pehaps called badly.

 

[brooke789]

We had a semi bad experience on ToT with my daughter. She'd decided prior to our trip that she was not riding ToT (as well as some other bigger rides). After DS had ridden it 3 times she decided she really wanted to ride except she was only going to ride with me. Well, I hadn't planned on riding either! So, I said "Ok...I'll ride with you". So, she, her twin brother (who is a daredevil) and I go to ride. She was so excited in line, but once the ride actually started she was very scared. We'd already had two drops and it seemed like the ride was over so I bent down to her and said "Are you ok" and she just started scream/crying "No No NO NO NO NO" and we started dropping again. When that elevator stopped and the lights came on everyone was watching her and let us off first. She said she did not like the ride at all, but that she'd try again when she is 8. At the end of that night she said ToT was the best part of her day even though she did not enjoy it.
Anyway, sometimes the kids really do get a little more confidence and then just freak out on the ride. I absolutely did not twist my daughter's arm to get on the ride. In fact, I did not like it at all. I hope I never have to ride again, but I can act composed even though I'm absolutely terrified!

 

[ITALIANNYC]

In universal they refuse to let the child on if the child says no.

I was at a ride once and the child was crying and saying they did not want to go on. The employee told the parents he can not go on unless he says he wants to.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

You just have to know your child. I would never force my children to do a ride just so I could. I don't want them to be fearful for the rest of the trip if I say "its not scary" and then it is. Disney is supposed to fun for them and the rest of the guests enjoying the experience.

Agreed on that point but my issue is my two older daughters are night and day different with what they like to do and my DS still needs naps (and sadly not in strollers). In the afternoon that leaves one adult with two kids who want very different things and not old enough that I'm comfortable leaving them alone in a gift shop (6 and 7). It becomes a very difficult balancing act. I usually end up arm twisting the older to do something like BTMR or Splash - in part just for her sister, in part because she may at some point grow to like them, and in part because she does like some big rides like Primeval Whirl. But she's not panicked. In return we also spend time meeting characters her sister has no interest in meeting. But it's hard because being afraid is not the same as being bored. I never make her do something big. We had rider swap tickets from earlier in the day for Everest in May that went to waste. DD6 would have been thrilled to go again but I knew what would be way too much for DD7. I really can't wait until naps are not a thing in our family and we can just divide up when we need to.

From the description of the OP, I wouldn't have forced a child who was that upset to continue. On the face of it, it sounds awful but we may not know the full story either.

 

[AJA]

I also see both sides. Having a daughter that loved ToT and tried to stand up going down the drop on Splash Mountain, both when she was 5. To the very next year crying on Dudly do Right at Universal......you just never know what their true limit is until you pass it at least once. Especially since that limit changes from year to year as they mature. What is an awesome experience at age 6 might be terrifying at age 8.

Some kids if you don't push them would never ride anything, after they ride it they love it. I will say tearing up is a huge red flag (and I would never push my daughter if she was that upset) but what are you going to do if that doesn't happen until you're already strapped in? Sometimes as a parent you really can't win.

 

[goofyintoronto]

My son on TOT, years ago, to the CM about to pull down the elevator door: "I'm actually really scared!"

CM: "It's only going to get worse." *DOOR SLAM*

At least the CM was honest.

 

[MeganMango]

I agree with all of you for ToT and coaster type rides. I just thought the more intense mission space was a bit different than your typical thrill ride.

 

[Aurora0427]

We tried to get our 4.5 year old to ride Splash this past trip. She rides everything else, but I think that drop just had her freaked out and I couldn't ride because I was pregnant. She would not get on it with just Dad, so we left. No biggie. Splash isn't going anywhere!

 

[DVCcurious]

There is a child swap option....

Child swap?

Does this mean I can exchange my little hellions for a well behaved boy and girl?

 

[cdnjason]

Child swap?

Does this mean I can exchange my little hellions for a well behaved boy and girl?

Yes, but only temporarily.

 

[suswa]

Child swap?

Does this mean I can exchange my little hellions for a well behaved boy and girl?

I may have stumbled upon a fantastic new marketing ploy!

 

[Aurora0427]

So, last year we took our then 8-year-old daughter to WDW. She gets anxious easily, but we thought it would pass. We also surprised her with our trip--like woke her up on a school day, and said "Surprise!". In hindsight, that wasn't the smartest decision for that particular child. Anyway. We got to the parks and she didn't want to do anything. She panicked in almost EVERY. QUEUE. If we didn't force her to ride some rides, she wouldn't have ridden anything--not even Dumbo or It's a Small World! I'm not kidding. We never lied to her about rides, but we did have to make her ride some. We even wasted a Fast Pass for BTMR because she freaked out at loading. We walked through the train to the exit. :/ However, we started just doing the rides anyway and 9 times out of 10 she enjoyed them. It was that initial "I don't know what to expect" that was causing her the most angst. It was torture, though, for all of us. My husband kept seeing dollar signs burning every time she'd refuse a ride. (Side note: I was at a conference for part of our stay and my husband took her to Universal Studios. They rode ONE ride. ONE RIDE. Talk about burning dollar signs!)

This year, totally different story. She's so pumped. We leave in 3 weeks and she's already watched every ride video on You Tube. She's even said she'd ride TOT. I won't hold her to that, though. (Mainly, because *I* don't want to ride it! )

So, while I would never want to ruin the experience for anyone, I get both sides.

I think that's different... She wasn't truly scared. My 2.5 year old got nervous in line for goofy barnstormer. She said she didn't want to ride. I knew she'd love it so I picked her up and said let's go! She was crying when it was over... Because she didn't want to get off the Rollercoaster. My daughter gets like yours... If it's unfamiliar she gets nervous. But I think there's a big difference between making your kid get on IASW versus making your visibly shaking terrified ten year old ride mission space.

Last trip our daughter was 4.5 and she got all the way up to the loading dock at ToT and freaked. They were super sweet and gave my husband a special pass to come back directly to the elevator bank. She was really interested in everything leading up to the actual ride, because she's very into spooky things, but she just wasn't ready for the drops.

 

[Aurora0427]

Some people shouldn't be parents. What kind of mother does that to their child. It's disgusting.

Yeah I try really hard not to judge other parents because Lord knows I have made mistakes with my kids, but what that mom did is just not good.

 

[maltdizzy]

It was frustrating he kind of ruined the ride, but whatever. I felt bad for the kid. It's hard enough as it is to breathe, I can't imagine how he felt panicking already short of breath. I just feel his mom made the "wrong" decision. He appeared old enough to wait in the gift shop for a few minutes but I can't judge that, obviously. I also thought his health was being risked having a panick attack in there. They did the green team before when I heard them talking before getting on.
Just some thoughts.

He didn't ruin your ride...his mother did. Whether it was selfishness, toughening, or she thought he would grow to love it, I don't know. I know I wouldn't have done that to my kid...maybe that's why DS is so well adjusted.

It's great you had empathy for him. Sometimes we are powerless to step in.