Which rides are too intense?

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Which rides do you feel are too intense for little ones? I am mainly looking at the rides that either do not have a height requirement or have a 40in height requirement. My DS4 is 40 inches and looking forward to riding all the rides that he is tall enough for (asking about BTMR & Dinosaur). I am familiar with the rides that are at both DL & WDW but there are quite a few that I am not familiar with and the last time we went to DL my DD10 was so little that I didn't worry about those kinds of rides.

 

[Cruz91]

So just start off on the 'smaller' rides and work your way up. DD went all the way to ToT on her first trip when she was 4 (just had turned 4). Three trips later and she can't stop praying that she'll be tall enough to FINALLY ride RnR this trip.

 

[pepperw23]

BTMR is pretty mild. No drops at all. It is fast but fun. Try Barnstormer first, and if your children like that, odds are good they will like BTMR. Dinosaur is really really fun, but there are some parts that might scare really young children. I don't want to spoil it by going in to too much detail here.

 

[thepeach80]

AJ's (age 4) fave ride was BTMR!

 

[wishspirit]

You should be fine with BTMR, i have never seen a kid not enjoy it. However i have seen plenty of kids comming of Dinosaur with tear stained cheeks. I personally find it intense (but i don't like being jostled around). Maybe take him on Star Tours and see what he thinks of that. If he doesn't scare easily, then try Dinosaur, but it all depends on the kid!

 

[danielle782001]

Tower of Terror may be a problem. My son was 4 and 41 inches this past May. He knew he was "big enough" for the tower. He wanted to go on with his 9 year old cousin and Daddy. He got into the room where they show the movie and freaked out. He was so scared. He kept on saying "I don't want to disappear" as said in the movie before the ride. The cast members showed us the way out before the ride. Months later, he still speaks of being afraid.

Tough To Be a Bug is another. Not a ride. But can be quite scarey. Big bugs and the special effects scared the pants off of him. That was our trip two years ago, so he was two and still remembers being afraid. We thought he would like it because he loves the movie. BUT the show at the AK is nothing like the movie.

Both our small boys love all the fast rides and roller coasters! Thrill seakers they are!!

 

[dopeysgirl]

our son was 4 1/2 on our first trip- and 46 in tall (hes always been very tall- dh is 6'6") but anyway, he is a thrill seeker- loved big thunder mountain, space mountain, cried his heart out because he couldnt ride rock n roller coaster (came home and drank milk like a champ until our trip the next year- and he made it!!) but when he rode dinosaur he FREAKED!! he loves dinosaurs and knew that those ones were fake but it was still unnerving! and tower of terror was not so bad, but the beginning story telling part was freaky for him and he will NOT ride haunted mansion EVER again. so i think it depends on the kid- my kids dont like spooky monstery stuff. but then again neither do i! my only advice is let the kid decide- because you dont want a guilt trip 5 yrs later when all they can say is "remember when you made me ride_ and i cried, threw up, whatever"!

 

[Nanu57v]

He should be fine with all the rides except for Dinosaur and TOT. I would definitely have a parent ride it solo first to preview it, as it is scary. Stitch in MK is scary as well. Everytime I've ridden it they've had to let kids out because they were terrified, which pretty much ruins the ride for everyone around since you can't see through the disengaged harnesses. Not sure what the height is for that. TOT might instill a fear of elevators, but I think the risk is mild.

 

[northriver]

DS went to WDW at age 6 and 7. Then we went back finally last yr at age 13. he did not like Space, which he loved at age 6. He really did not like Everest. Now what kind of kid gets less brave as they age?

I think part of the issue is that we are early morning people and we went to both attractions early and pretty much got right on. Waiting in like builds the anticipation, gets you used to the scene, etc. Not entirely a bad thing for kids, imo.

BTMRR should be just fine for most adventurous 4 yr olds. I think Dinosaur is a little rough for people of any age!

You can watch videos of the rides on YouTube. That would give him a feel for the rides and with Dinosaur, it wouldn't be so scary if he knew the story line ahead of time.

 

[super_crunch]

stay far, far away from stitch

the CM outside told us (with 3 year old ds and 6 year old dd in tow) that it was "just a show"

"just a show"...uh-huh
A show that involved absolute pitch black darkness, blaring sirens, and overhead restraints like they use on a rollercoaster that goes upside down.
Not to mention blood curdling screams from nearly every child who was on the ride...including mine.

My kids were convinced that they were going to die, and screamed hysterically through the whole thing...and these are kids who loved the barnstormer, pirates, etc.

My ds absolutely hates lilo and stitch now, and literally melts down if he sees stitch on anything. The kid is absolutely traumatized.

 

[anitra]

We just got back from WDW (1st time for my kids ds6 and dd8) and we went on Winnie the Pooh right away. My daughter is SO sensitive - but she is 8 - unfortunately the Heffalump part scared her terribly! She was really crying! I really wish I knew what it was going to be like. No one who had described it to me ever mentioned the Heffalump part, and had I known, I would have skipped it.... as I knew she never liked that part of the Pooh movies. And from then she was so nervous about everything else! I had to almost pull her onto Peter Pan and try to convince her it was going to be ok. She ended up enjoying it. But she refused many rides: Buzz Lightyear, Pirates, even the Tiki Room (we had read a description online and she was so scared of the Tiki Goddess part). We did try Philharmagic, and even though she left her glasses off, we had to leave. Oh yeah, she was afraid to go on the Jungle Cruise and we got her to do it, not knowing there was a tunnel...she was very frightened in that part.
On the new Nemo ride in Epcot she was very frightened of the part with Bruce the shark- hid her head and cried into my shoulder.

Overall, we skipped alot that we knew would frighten her, and were surprised at some that did. My son, on the other hand (age 6) liked all he went on.
I hope in a few years she will grow a little more confident.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Thank you so much for all of the info. My DS4 has no desire to go on ToT and I might sit that one out with him. When we would go to six flags magic mountain I could handle all of the rides (even viper) but Free Fall scared me to death. I never even thought about Stitch..it sounds horrible. I am guessing Dinosaur will have a parent switch so we can each get a turn. I pretty much know where my girls stand on rides...oldest like fast coasters and anything daring but hates scary. My middle loves scary hates coasters. We are starting our trip with MK so we will really get a good feel for the rides my son can handle. Thanks so much
Please let me know of any more tips you can give me.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Does anyone have a link for a good Dinosaur video on You Tube? I found one but it turned out to be a cartoon.

 

[Mama of Triplets]

My kids are only 2 but they HATED Snow White's ride!!! They freaked out!!!!! I think I almost lost all the layers of skin from my legs from them trying to climb inside of me to hide!! LOL

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

I thought It's Tough to be a Bug was torcher!!!! My sons, 2 and 7, both hated it! and I didn't really find anything good about it either!!

 

[crisi]

It really depends on your kids. Mine are eight and nine and have been at 2 and 3, at 4 and 5, at 6 and 7 and we go next week.

Snow White is dark and scary and too intense for a lot of preschoolers. So is the Haunted Mansion.

Mine didn't go on BTMRR until they were 6 and 7. They still haven't been on (and show no interest in) Space Mountain or Tower of Terror. We might get the wimps on Splash this year. The have enjoyed Barnstormer since they were 4 and 5. We didn't do Dinosaur or Test Track until they were 6 and 7 - they loved Test Track, Dinosaur they can take or leave. But my kids LOVE the Stitch 'ride' - they think its really funny and they've never had the slightest problem with Its Tough to Be a Bug.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

I have to agree that it definitely depends on your child. We went a couple weeks after DS's 4th birthday, and he was over 40", and rode TOT. His sister, 6 at the time, and plenty tall enough, was still not ready to ride it. He also rode Space Mountain once, went back through to ride again, and this time they said he was too short. He was not scared of anything he rode, and would have loved to go on RnR even at 4.

Stitch has also never been a problem for my kids, but judging by the fact that I've never ONCE got to enjoy that entire ride without SCREAMING kids being escorted out by flashlight, it seems to be a problem for many!

 

[nboicepardee]

I have to agree that it definitely depends on your child. We went a couple weeks after DS's 4th birthday, and he was over 40", and rode TOT. His sister, 6 at the time, and plenty tall enough, was still not ready to ride it. He also rode Space Mountain once, went back through to ride again, and this time they said he was too short. He was not scared of anything he rode, and would have loved to go on RnR even at 4.

Stitch has also never been a problem for my kids, but judging by the fact that I've never ONCE got to enjoy that entire ride without SCREAMING kids being escorted out by flashlight, it seems to be a problem for many!

Stitch is really scary! I think the height requirement should be greater than 40 inches just because it is so scary for little ones. I like it, but would NEVER take my little ones on it (they would need serious therapy for years after that one! ).

We are going in January, and my 4 year old loves roller coasters, but hates anything "scary or spooky" so we will be enjoying all of the roller coasters and staying away from the scarier themed rides (HM, ITTBAB, Dinosaur, Snow White, etc.). Unfortunately, Splash Mountain will be closed while we are there! I was so excited to show her that one!

 

[TNT21]

Personally, I LOVED BTMRR, but Dinosaur scared me half to death. The dinosuars are very realistic looking and not all of them are so nice!

 

[Bill_Lin]

Our brave 5-year old (44" tall) who has battled cancer, surgeries, chemo and too many IVs to remember, was NOT going to do the following rides:
BTMRR
Space Mt.
Test Track
Everest

But had NO issues with Tower of Terror or Dinosaur.

Go figure. The FAST ride thing got into her head after Journey to Atlantis in Sea World. It also dampened her enthusiasm about water rides. We had a tough time getting her on Splash Mountain and Kali River Rapids after that. She did do Bilge Rat Barges and Jurassic Park at IOA but refused Ripsaw Falls.