Where is the line separating scary from fun?

[FairestOfThemAll]

I'll be vacationing with my extended family this summer, among them a 4 year-old girl. I really don't know her very well and would like to know what I should warn her parents about regarding scariness of attractions. Basically, I'd just like to know what would scar an average 4 year-old for life... I want them all to enjoy Disney on their first trip. But I don't want to give away too much, spoiling the surprise if it isn't something she would need "protecting" from. I'm really not a good judge, as I'm still teased about sleeping through Pirates when I was 3 years old.

So what should I tell them about?
the Alien in GMR?
anything about HM?
the witch in SWSA?
the spiders in ITTBAB?
Ursula in VOTLM?
Phantasmic?

 

[AinsleyJane]

The spiders are SUPER SCARY in ITTBAB!! My DD freaked!!! Also, anytime we were at a 3D show, and we got water sprayed was an ordeal for her... possibly because of the spiders, but who knows!! Also, even though they should love everything Disney, the villians in the parades were not popular with her.

 

[christine*]

At the beginning of the Haunted Mansion you're standing in a room full of people and there's a story being told. The portraits that look normal start stretching and the voice narrating mentions the only way out is his way or something along those lines. There's the sound of thunder and if you look up there's a silhouette of a person hanging there like they just killed themselves. Depending on how the 4 year old is about death and if they understand the concept of how people kill themselves I would just make sure they don't look up once the pictures stop moving. That freaked me out the most the first time I went on HM, everything else was tamer.

 

[WorldWacky]

I'll be vacationing with my extended family this summer, among them a 4 year-old girl. I really don't know her very well and would like to know what I should warn her parents about regarding scariness of attractions. Basically, I'd just like to know what would scar an average 4 year-old for life... I want them all to enjoy Disney on their first trip. But I don't want to give away too much, spoiling the surprise if it isn't something she would need "protecting" from. I'm really not a good judge, as I'm still teased about sleeping through Pirates when I was 3 years old.

So what should I tell them about?
the Alien in GMR?
anything about HM?
the witch in SWSA?
the spiders in ITTBAB?
Ursula in VOTLM?
Phantasmic?

Yes to all of the above. I don't think you would be spoiling the fun for her at all. Another thing that I did to prepare my 4 yr. old twins was to have them watch YouTube videos of rides that I thought might have scary moments. Leaning forward in It's Tough to be a Bug didn't ruin it a bit for them... they were happy not to get "stung"! I did, however, scar my kids just a bit by not thinking and taking them into Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Big mistake. At least you won't have to worry about that one.

 

[judaloo]

The ones that come to mind with my kids are:
Stitch...no way!
ITTBAB...my kids cried the whole time at 4 and 6
Dinosaur and TOT (not sure if she'd meet the height requirements, but I think so).
Hope this helps!

 

[minnie mum]

And don't forget about Dinosaur. I think this ride would terrify the begeebers out of a 4 yr old.

 

[tamimouse]

I always held my hand over my daughter's eyes during the alien part of The Great Movie ride. And I agree about Honey I Shrunk the Audience-I had to have her take her 3D glasses off during it!

 

[Kristinluvsdisney]

I would beware of Dinosaur, i took my 4yr old on not knowing what it was like (my 1st time on it also) and while it didnt scar him for life he does say to this day (hes 6 now) i dont want to ride on that Dinosaur ride any time we talk about Disney.

 

[Robo]

Where is the line separating scary from fun?

 

[neffernie]

When my DD was 4, the two things that scared her were the attic scene in the HM and the trolls in Norway. She couldn't understand why they were so mad at us.

 

[sharadoc]

My DD is a scaredy-cat so I don't push to go on anything. She is scared of the animatronics.

POTC really scared her because there were skeletons,
Carousel of Progress she said the guy was watching her with his eyes.
Inside the cave on Jungle Cruise.
She tried HM a couple weeks ago and hated the pictures in the beginning that turn to skeletons and anything where a skeleton was trying to get out of a door or coffin. The zombies popping out of the gravestones in the graveyard scene made her a little scared.
She was initially scared of the dark on the TTM.

Many people are smirking at this, like it's silly. I don't treat it as silly, I respect her feelings. She is slowly coming around and will eventually ride everything and not be scared.

 

[jason10mm]

Not sure why you got saddled with the "is this too scary?" issue but you can probably find youtube videos showing most of the rides. Let her parents watch them and decide for themselves. Would suck if she freaks on a ride you had "cleared" and they got upset with you (I know it takes very little for some of my family to take umbrage, especially during a stressful vacation like WDW).

 

[elaine amj]

First, TALK to the parents. They know their child best. Ask if they would prefer to know all about the rides to prepare their child or if their child had no issues with scenes and would prefer to be surprised.

I've always known my kids had problems with scary situations. My DD is 9 and we watched Youtube video of Haunted Mansion and she refuses to do it. I'm trying to coax her on Tower of Terror because the Youtube vids don't look so bad. I recently saw something about ghosts though (and that's not visible on videos) so i'm going to have to investigate further.

At 4, I took her to a local fun house and she flipped. Of course, my DH thought that was hysterically funny and teased both kids throughout and just laughed as they freaked out. MEN!!!!

Here's another ride that I didn't even dream was scary - my DD has refused to ride it again - Norway's Maelstrom. Turns out trolls (Especially large ones)freak her out.

 

[Valgoof]

Wow. Robo really does have a map for everything!!

 

[Texas Rob]

I remember my son freaking out on Honey I shrunk the kids when the snake hisses at the audience...he literally tried to get out of the theater part...i had to chase him down...he was terrified of that place for years...lol. Good times.

 

[PSUGuy]

I saw a boy of about 4 freak out on that lame 'Hydrolator' at Living With The Sea years ago. For those unfamiliar with it, it was an 'elevator', that went nowhere, that was supposed to take you down under the sea, it just vibrated back and forth while scenery in the window sped by as if you were decending, and this kid lost it. My point? There's no telling what will spook a random kid, and sometimes, as with my 3 yr old GD who did ToT without breaking a sweat, there's little that will faze them.

Bill From PA

 

[Princess Sleepy]

There is no such thing as an "average" four-year old. My DD at 4 loved HM, but was terrified of anything that went down a hill (PotC, Maelstrom, etc.) She started asking before we would go on anything, "Does this go fast? Does it go upside down? Does it go backwards? Is it in the dark?" Those were her four criteria (not sure why she still liked HM, but she did). Anything that did one of those things were off her list.

 

[princessmorgan]

I think it just depends on the child. Each of my daughter's has been scared by something different. We skipped ITTBAB for a couple of years after a couple traumatizing incidents and in January we all watched it together and had a good time! Even some who were the same ages when there were freak outs before.
My 5 year old refused to ride HM. I didn't understand why, because she used to like it. Then she told me the ghost that hitchhikes with you at the end scared her. Well her older sister offered to ride with her and cover her eyes at that part and she rode it many more times afterwards. When she was younger she loved the Snow White ride, but hated Winnie the Pooh, because of the Heffalumps. You just never know.

 

[scion5220]

Wow. Robo really does have a map for everything!!

 

[MickeysBFF]

Absolutely tell them about the alien scene in TGMR. We decided to ride it one day while the clump was still at TSMM. And when the alien scene came I flat out lost it. I was having panic attack, crying, people probably thought that I had issues because well let's just say that I was older than 8
As for HM, I don't find it that scary and me and my family love copying the quotes throughout but my little sister will not ride one time she almost went on it but when she saw the man hanging in the stretching room that was it
Also beware of the graveyard scene when figures start popping up from behind the gravestones it's not that it's scary it's just enough to give you a little jump and scream(but I'm a very skiddish person)
If at first she's a little freaked out tell her about the hitchhiking ghosts. With the new effects it's really cool. They do things such as switch your heads and if you get the hobo he might put a beard on you