Which Rides Do Your Kids Refuse to Try

[KristyBox]

My kiddo (11, been to Disney before at age 7) refuses to ride the Tower of Terror, even though he has ridden everything else at Disney and had fun. I think it's solely based on the word "terror" in the title. My 8-year-old loved Haunted Mansion at age 4, but is freaking out based on the word "haunted."

Do you push them? Or just let them skip?

 

[julieFitz]

I would skip the rides that scare them. Keep the kids happy. Happy Kids = Happy Vacation

My 6 year old doesn't like coasters (not even barn stormer) so he and I go on something easy while my DH takes DS8 on the coasters.

 

[pitpat]

My kiddo (11, been to Disney before at age 7) refuses to ride the Tower of Terror, even though he has ridden everything else at Disney and had fun. I think it's solely based on the word "terror" in the title.

I bet it's because it looks like the most intimidating ride at Disney once you're actually in front of it..

 

[DisneyChris2016]

My youngest was 6 on our last trip and was very timid. She barely wanted to try ANYTHING. We pushed her to go on 7DMT (she was fine on Barnstormer when she was 4 so thought she would enjoy it) but nope. She was terrified and it set a bad tone for the rest of the trip. Never again. If one of my kids doesn't want to go on a ride, it's their choice. We'll work around it.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

My daughter is kind of a weirdo. When she was 3 and just barely tall enough to ride, she was so excited to go on Tower of Terror. It was all she talked about leading up to the trip. I asked her over and over if she was sure she wanted to go on it and she insisted she did. And she loved it! She kept wanting to ride it over and over. But after we had been home for a couple of months, she suddenly decided she didn't like the ride and that it was too scary. The next year, we take her and she doesn't want to ride it. She says she is too scared. We were those terrible parents who made her go on it. And, once again, she loved it. Wanted to do it over and over. And, then again, we get home and she decides she doesn't like the ride. ARG!

We went to Disneyland last month and she wanted to ride California Screamin' but was nervous about the inversion. The first time she rode it, she said she liked the ride but not going upside down. My brother-in-law asked her to go on it again with him and she did and suddenly she LOVES that ride including the inversion. We ended up going on it 6 times. Now I'm just waiting for her to decide that she actually doesn't like the ride and is scared of it again.

 

[KrazeeK120]

My son is too young to decide what rides to go on (or even let me know whether or not he wants to try), so I have to make my best guess. But when he gets older and is tall enough to ride the bigger rides, I'll let him tell me what he wants to try. I wouldn't push a kid onto a ride. I'm not a complete ride wimp, but there are certain things I don't want to go on and I wouldn't want someone to force me to ride something I'm afraid of. When dealing with my son, I try to think about how I would want to be treated in a similar situation. someone said above happy kids = happy vacation and I couldn't agree more.

 

[Darklord77]

I had one daughter that refused to go on the Tower of Terror, but would go on Rock n Roller coaster and loved Everest. The other daughter (same age) would go on Tower of Terror, but wanted nothing to do with Rock n Roller coaster. This was the story until they were about 12. We just had to let them figure it out on their own.

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

DS19 was 4 for our first trip. He rode all the "scary" rides with enthusiasm.

However, we were in DHS/MGM, and I mentioned to DH (who was pushing DS in one of those low Disney strollers) that we should head over to see the Muppet show. DS overheard, and flatly declared that he was not going see the "Muffets." We asked him why on earth not, and he couldn't give us a logical reason. When DH started heading that way anyway, DS put his legs on each side of the stroller and dragged his feet on the ground to put on the brakes. We tried throughout the day, but he never relented.

We couldn't even go past that Miss Piggy fountain without him suspiciously asking why we were in that area.

Subsequent trips had the same results. It eventually became the family joke. Umpteen trips under our belt, and I think it's probably the only thing we haven't experienced in DW, lol.

 

[travelgirl77]

DS19 was 4 for our first trip. He rode all the "scary" rides with enthusiasm.

However, we were in DHS/MGM, and I mentioned to DH (who was pushing DS in one of those low Disney strollers) that we should head over to see the Muppet show. DS overheard, and flatly declared that he was not going see the "Muffets." We asked him why on earth not, and he couldn't give us a logical reason. When DH started heading that way anyway, DS put his legs on each side of the stroller and dragged his feet on the ground to put on the brakes. We tried throughout the day, but he never relented.

We couldn't even go past that Miss Piggy fountain without him suspiciously asking why we were in that area.

Subsequent trips had the same results. It eventually became the family joke. Umpteen trips under our belt, and I think it's probably the only thing we haven't experienced in DW, lol.

This is so cute! I like that he was getting all suspicious around the fountain! What a good story to retell again and again. I love how silly kids can get about things...and oh so adamant. We are surprising my kids and I have lined up FPs to every "scary" ride, so I am hoping for the best.

 

[TwinkleKS]

I wont ride Tower of Terror either ... so I'm right there with your kid. My kids seem to change year to year and ride to ride. I had one that road EE but totally freaked out and wouldn't get on Dinosaur.

 

[wonderstruck88]

Absolutely let them skip! My dad and brother would always push and try to convince me to go on rides I had no interest in, and it was a completely miserable experience for me and really put a negative tone on the day for me. I finally ended up doing all of the rides I had refused even as a teenager. Probably because I was there with my husband who never, ever pushed me. That meant I had nothing to be defensive about, and I eventually gave them all a try. Now I love Everest, ToT, and RnRc! We're taking our kids for their first trip next year, and I'm using YouTube to prep them and comparing rides to things they're familiar with and like (the huge slide at the fair, for example.) But they don't have to ride anything they don't want to.

 

[DLgal]

Think back to your childhood. Would YOU have ridden Tower of Terror at 11? I certainly wouldn't have. I braved my first drop rode at a Six Flags (remember Freefall?). I was 14. I didn't even do a loop coaster until I was 12. I didn't get on Space Mountain until I was 10.

I would never push my kids to go on any ride. I always respect their boundaries in that area. Fears are very individual.

 

[TJDisneymama]

DD (almost 10) refuses to go on ANYthing that's even remotely like a roller coaster or has any kind of drop - Tower of Terror, BTMRR, 7DMT, RnRRC, Barnstormer, EE, Space Mtn, Primeval Whirl, Kali River, Dinosaur......I think that about covers it. We forced/bribed her to go on Splash Mtn. once and she refuses to do it again. I don't force her. I'm not above bribes, but she won't go for it.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We told both boys we want them to try everything once. Granted, neither of my boys were screaming and crying in protest either. More like a few whimpers and "I'm not sure about this." protests.

They love everything except my oldest doesn't like ToT. He tried it once, and I don't even ask him to get on any drop rides at this point. I kept my word.

 

[AngiTN]

DGD9 has ridden everything, all her choice.
ToT was her last ride to try. She was 7 when she tried it, finally. And it became her instant favorite.
EE was the other that she was most hesitant with but she rode it a full year before EE or ToT. RnR never bothered her, I think because it is in the dark.

 

[mindeola]

As someone that is scared of some rides, don't make them. I see no point in that.

We did used to offer our kids a trading pin for each big ( ie scary to them) ride that they went on. Some they went on and loved and some they hated. My son was so traumatized by ToT at age 12 that he still won't ride it at 21. Still, it was his choice. I would have felt awful if we had made him ride.

 

[Roxyfire]

Think back to your childhood. Would YOU have ridden Tower of Terror at 11? I certainly wouldn't have. I braved my first drop rode at a Six Flags (remember Freefall?). I was 14. I didn't even do a loop coaster until I was 12. I didn't get on Space Mountain until I was 10.

I would never push my kids to go on any ride. I always respect their boundaries in that area. Fears are very individual.

Nothing is worse than seeing a parent force a crying/scared child to stay on a ride they don't want to be on. It makes everyone else feel very bad for that child and awkward around the parent.

 

[Amelia :)]

I'm must be horrible. I make my kid go on almost everything she's tall enough for. She went on TOT at DLP at 4. Last year she was 8 and I got her on the hulk at IOA and she loved it!! Once she gets off she's always really glad I persuaded her to go on, I guess all kids are different though.

Edit. Obviously I'm talking gentle persuasion in my case, if she was crying then no I wouldn't make her.

 

[DLgal]

Nothing is worse than seeing a parent force a crying/scared child to stay on a ride they don't want to be on. It makes everyone else feel very bad for that child and awkward around the parent.

I consider that to be abuse. It is horrible to witness.

 

[wonderstruck88]

Okay, the more I think about it this it's actually not true that I gave them all a try. Dinosaur is not happening - those kind of rides terrify me (I blame my parents for lying to get me on Jaws years ago) And I hate water rides with big hills, which I have confirmed twice at other theme parks and took a long time to recover from. So Splash is out. Definitely don't feel like I'm missing out.