When I did orange team mission space...

[MeganMango]

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.

 

[buzznina]

We see this way to often, where the parent wants to go on a ride and forces the child to go. The most recent was while I was in TOT line and listened to a father tell his scared son that the ride was not to dark and was nothing more then a fast elevator ride

 

[MeganMango]

We see this way to often, where the parent wants to go on a ride and forces the child to go. The most recent was while I was in TOT line and listened to a father tell his scared son that the ride was not to dark and was nothing more then a fast elevator ride

Wow. I guess they had a different perspective!! I see a LOT of little kids on that ride.

 

[nilla]

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*

 

[MeganMango]

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*

How old was he? Yep, it gets worse. I have a love/hate relationship with that ride, that's for sure! The more times I go, the more I like it.

 

[nilla]

How old was he? Yep, it gets worse. I have a love/hate relationship with that ride, that's for sure! The more times I go, the more I like it.

I'm thinking 5 or 6. He loves it now. In fact, I don't think he's scared of any ride (he's 14). The next thing he wants to do is sky dive!

 

[MeganMango]

I'm thinking 5 or 6. He loves it now. In fact, I don't think he's scared of any ride (he's 14). The next thing he wants to do is sky dive!

Disney rides to sky diving! That's awesome!!

 

[ggdvc]

My cousin and I saw something similar in the stretch room of HM last year with a better outcome. A family with two boys, probably 10 and 8 who were totally panicked about the ride. Their parents tried reassuring them, and the way everyone was packed in there, there was no way they could exit. The mom and dad did their best to calm them down, and my cousin tried assuring them that it was her first time on the ride too, but that I told her she'd be ok. They had calmed down a little, but then the lights went out. When they came back on, the parents were trying their best to surround the boys and comfort them, and as soon as they were able to, they headed for the exit. I felt so bad for them, but ultimately the parents did the right thing for their kids.

 

[disneymom0104]

I can see both sides to this. If I let my kids choose what rides to ride, without any pressure ever to try something new, there would be 3-4 the entire trip. Could that be fun for them? Sure. Fun for the whole family? Not exactly. But I also know my kids- and I know that when they say they don't want to try Big Thunder, I ask them to ride once. If they don't like it, I won't ask again that trip. Every single one of them has liked it. I do the same with Space Mountain. I have had mixed results from my kids on this ride, but I know if they are not fans of Space, or Test Track, etc- I would never ask them to ride ToT. If they loved all of them, I would likely gently push them towards trying ToT. I have had a crying child in the ToT line- not out of being forced to do something she didn't want- she DID want to- but she was scared and nervous as anyone is the first time through that line. Her response is tears, it doesn't mean I am torturing her or making her do something she doesn't want to do or that I should force her out of the line. For what it's worth, it instantly became her favorite ride and she still to this day LOVES it. I have another child that flat out REFUSED to ride California Screamin' at DCA. I didn't make her. After her sister and I rode many times in a row, she decided to give it a shot and she cried through the entire line out of nerves. She, too, ended up loving it and rode it probably 8 times that trip. On a similar note, I asked my son to try Space last year at age 5- he did, he didn't like it, I didn't ask him again.

Anyway- all that to say- I never force a child on any ride, yet I have had children cry and be scared and nervous in lines. All that being said, none of my kids have ever done Mission Space Orange! My 14 year old thinks she would like to try it in Sept.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

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*

OMG - my DD13 would have freaked out even worse! We had just the opposite happen with a CM there, though. My daughter was nervous, and I was trying to convince her it wasn't that bad. I asked the CM and she told her "It's not scary at all, don't worry", all sweet and everything. It didn't go well, and I will never make my DD go on another ride she doesn't want to. She was 11 when we went on it, not little, maybe old enough to know better I don't know. I just remember looking at her at one point, and she looked like she was gonna lose it. The picture was priceless, she was pale as a ghost and glistening with sweat - we could see it in the photo! And she had a death grip on me and my DH's arms. I felt terrible!

 

[2Gma]

My 8 yo DD went on everything except RnR/Everest (because she was too short). She was nervous at some of the rides (not crying or screaming) but we knew she wanted to try it and just needed a little push to do it. She had fun and was a bit shaken afterwards but proud of her accomplishment. My 6yo DD was saying she didn't want to and was almost crying at Space so we did chicken exit. 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.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I can see both sides to this. If I let my kids choose what rides to ride, without any pressure ever to try something new, there would be 3-4 the entire trip. Could that be fun for them? Sure. Fun for the whole family? Not exactly. But I also know my kids- and I know that when they say they don't want to try Big Thunder, I ask them to ride once. If they don't like it, I won't ask again that trip. Every single one of them has liked it. I do the same with Space Mountain. I have had mixed results from my kids on this ride, but I know if they are not fans of Space, or Test Track, etc- I would never ask them to ride ToT. If they loved all of them, I would likely gently push them towards trying ToT. I have had a crying child in the ToT line- not out of being forced to do something she didn't want- she DID want to- but she was scared and nervous as anyone is the first time through that line. Her response is tears, it doesn't mean I am torturing her or making her do something she doesn't want to do or that I should force her out of the line. For what it's worth, it instantly became her favorite ride and she still to this day LOVES it. I have another child that flat out REFUSED to ride California Screamin' at DCA. I didn't make her. After her sister and I rode many times in a row, she decided to give it a shot and she cried through the entire line out of nerves. She, too, ended up loving it and rode it probably 8 times that trip. On a similar note, I asked my son to try Space last year at age 5- he did, he didn't like it, I didn't ask him again.

Anyway- all that to say- I never force a child on any ride, yet I have had children cry and be scared and nervous in lines. All that being said, none of my kids have ever done Mission Space Orange! My 14 year old thinks she would like to try it in Sept.

DD does the same. She doesn't cry, but she acts nervous and clingy while in line. The first time she rode ToT, she acted scared; we didn't make her go on it, but I guess a stranger could have interpreted her behavior as tho we did. She still acted a little nervous after she got off, so we told her I'd wait with her while everyone else rode again (we had fastpasses), but nope, she wanted to get right back on! She did the same w California Screamin', but I think she rode that 5 times in a row.

 

[JaimeK]

It depends on the kid. My little one is a SUPER scaredy-cat and I have definitely taken him of rides where he was screaming and freaking out. The worst one was at Sesame Place and the ride that went in a circle and didn't even leave the ground but he was really losing it. 5 seconds in, he changed his tune and was saying that he LOVED it and that it was so fun and it was his favorite and he wanted to go again and again. This was a few years ago and he really refused to go on ANYTHING and I just had to break him of that.

He's still incredibly cautious and chickened out of a few rides at Disney. But before the trip I made sure we picked out a few things he would go on that were new, and one that pushed his comfort zone.

 

[disney world dreamer]

if i were you i would have asked to be put with another team knowing that it was going t6o ruin my experience.

if i were the mom i would have done what she did because i know for personal experience that its not that intense plus when i was a child and scared of a ride my dad would convince me to go on and i'd love it.
he the child really didn't like it after it was over i'd never make him go on it again.

this is just my personal point of view and should not be taken as what everyone should do.

 

[Jennasis]

Part of the problem with WDW rides is that many of them cannot be seen before boarding so kids don't know what they're getting into. My parents never made me ride anything "just once" as a kid...and now I ride everything.

As for the kids panicking in line. I won't get on a car with a family or into the stretching room etc if their kids are having a freak out. I will politely ask to wait for the next one. The problem I have is parents who LIE to get their kid on a ride. Telling them it's not dark/scary/fast etc when it is. Not cool.

 

[disney world dreamer]

Part of the problem with WDW rides is that many of them cannot be seen before boarding so kids don't know what they're getting into. My parents never made me ride anything "just once" as a kid...and now I ride everything.

As for the kids panicking in line. I won't get on a car with a family or into the stretching room etc if their kids are having a freak out. I will politely ask to wait for the next one. The problem I have is parents who LIE to get their kid on a ride. Telling them it's not dark/scary/fast etc when it is. Not cool.

yeah i have a problem with that too.
i'd never lie to a kid. i'd say yes its dark but i can hold your hand the whole time and that it is PRETEND scary. i always knew reality from fake scares as a child so i had FUN on rides like haunted mansion and allien encounter.

 

[gigem_aggies]

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.

 

[sgtdisney]

I was forced on a water flume ride at Knots Berry farm when I was a kid maybe 10 or 11. I absolutely didn't want go, but was made to. I don't really have a fear of heights per se, but a fear of the sensation of falling or going straight down, from a high place, super fast. So, now decades later, I still refuse to go on any water flume ride. About 10 years ago, after years of refusing to do Splash Mountain, I tried it as an adult with some adult friends after a lot of convincing. Now, keep in mind, in my head I know the ride is safe, etc.. But in my mind, flashing back to childhood, I worked myself up into such a tizzy, just waiting for that final drop. I really thought I was going to have a heart attack as we got to bottom. Needless to say that was my first and last time. Sometimes it works to convince your kids, but in my case it really has impacted me, even into adulthood. I still walk away from any flume ride at any park to this day

Now one positive of this. As a late teen after BTMR opened, my dad (who also made me go on the water flume ride as a kid) really wanted me to ride BTMR. Up until then I had a 100% firm no roller coaster policy. It was the tencennial at WDW (and my HS graduation year) and I had my eyes on a really nice (and expensive) Bulova tencennial watch. So he was able to convince me to ride, by bribing me, to ride BTMR if he got me the watch. In hindsight, I think he was going to get the watch anyway, as part of my b-day/h.s. grad present. Anyway, I really, really wanted that watch, as I collect them, and so I rode it. I loved it! I think it's because BTMR doesn't do direct, straight down drops as much as curving going down hills. Either way, I found a new ride to love, and got a nice watch in the bargain. After that I tried Space Mountain and Matterhorn and found I didn't mind those either. I still won't go on a roller coaster that goes up really high and comes straight down or goes upside down, so never been on Rockin Roller Coaster or Everest.

 

[Aidan O]

After seeing/living a couple of different experiences I'm firmly in the camp that you need to know where your kids "pushing" limits are at take care not to go past them..... Unfortunately you don't know where this is until you've ran past it at least once

my sons(10) first time he was pretty anxious in EVERY queue and I nearly left a few but he loved every ride in wdw and Universal....except summit plummet. He teared up on the final stairs and I kept cajoling him fwd. I didn't handle it well when we had to do the walk of shame back down...not my finest moment He now (21) loves all coasters but won't go near summit plummet!! I pushed too far.

The flip side, I took my 3.5yr old daughter on ToT last summer. Told her it was dark sometimes and if it's scary just remember it's pretend. She LOVED it shouting "Daddy I'm flying!!" on the forced drop.

Ill keep pushing her up to her limit.... but I'm worried that her limit might be close to Felix Baumgartner's.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Man, I did Summit Plummet once and you'll never get me on that thing again.