Would this annoy you?

[Disneyrsh]

I have a lanyard that has a bunch of glow in the dark pins on it, and the girls went from being scared of the dark to being really excited to get to the dark rides so they could see which pins glowed and which didn't.

Having been on the rides a bunch of times, I have yet to be annoyed by people with lights, so while I would say that theoretically it would annoy me, in practice it hasn't because I *know* other people out there must be using them and I haven't noticed it.

 

[Marseeya]

If this is too much of a problem for you, how do you possible deal with the people holding up their videocams (or digital cameras) high above everyone with the LCD screens glowing brightly?

Who said it doesn't bother them?

 

[It's A Happy Day]

We just had this experience in WDW with our DD3 and it isn't necessarily a scary ride that frightens a child. We were in the America bldg. in Epcot and went in to see the movie/show presentation there. When the lights went dim to start our DD freaked out!!! and that was a movie!! Thank god I had her lightup necklace from the night before with us or it could have been really bad. Once she got that and was occupied with it she calmed down and yes, we did use it anytime she felt scared. We told her if she was nervous to put it on as that was better than a screaming/scared child. From that point on any theater we made sure to go all the way to the end of the row closest to the exits just in case but to try to get out of the middle of a theater in the middle of a show is to me more annoying and distracting.

I think that people are generally tolerable of small pen lights/glow sticks as long as they are not something that is being pointed at them or distracted because the child is standing on the seat waving it around, etc. The toys are much more distracting to the general audience than a glow bracelet/necklace/etc. as most make noise or move/spin. I would much prefer someone find a way to distract the child quietly than listen to a child having a fit because it is too late to exit the event without causing a bigger problem/scene. In general WDW is a place for children and people need to understand that different things hit people well differently and what 1 person finds frightening, scary, nerve wracking the next may not and handle it accordingly.

 

[kilee]

I think that common sense w/ the light pen would go a long way. Watching little Mary flash it all around wouldn't be very considerate. I would be sure that is they held it down to the ground or towards their laps it wouldn't give off much light. If they are pointing it towards the attraction and all over, well then I would say skip the ride.

 

[cara76]

I agree with the poster that says "Why take the child on a dark ride if it frightens him/her?"

Because I have one of those children that is scared of every ride until he rides them, then he loves them. It's the fear of the unknown etc. When the lights go down anywhere he gets a little nervous and freaks. Thanks to Tough to be a bug he thinks all attractions will be like that one. He didn't like the spider throwing things and freaked. So now even in something as calm as Philharmagic he freaks as the lights go down. He freaked getting on Pooh and he freaked getting on Buzz, but afterward wanted to ride them again and again. This is why we force him to go on the rides he goes on, I won't take him on anything too scary but with his history of freaking in line and then loving the ride, he would miss everything if we left it up to him.

There are also things I want to ride that I may not get a chance to ride if I didn't make him ride them too. I don't do the rollar coaster thrill type rides but love a ride through POTC or HM or PPF. Things that are calm but my child may find a little to frightening if I didn't come up with clever ways to keep him calm and entertained.

Even worse, though, is talking a child through a dark ride. On several rides - PotC comes to mind - we've sat behind families with little ones who are obviously scared, and throughout the entire ride we heard "Oh, look at the funny pirate. He's not real. Go away, silly pirate". Not quite what Walt would have wanted .

Would you rather me talk my child through the ride to keep him calm and help him enjoy it, or would you rather him scream the whole time, up to you. Personally I would rather a mother talk her child through the ride then listen to a screaming child. Most of the time once they know it's fake they will go on it next time without being scared.


Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'm going to look into some glow sticks or something of that nature.

 

[meghan74]

Just another vote for the glow bracelets/necklaces/whatever. They give off just enough light, but nobody else seems to notice them. I won't want to spend the whole ride worrying about my dd shining a light at someone else, so this works best for us. I buy them at Walmart and they are pretty cheap. We usually go through about 2 bracelets a day.

My daughter LOVES HM, POC, etc, but she is too scared of the dark to ride them without her bracelet. I've said it here before, and I'll say it again, her bracelet is just like Dumbo with his feather.

 

[bytheblood]

I hate to be the voice of dissent, especially when it comes to a little kid, but yes, that's something that would be really distracting to me on a dark attraction and it would annoy me a lot.

I totally agree....but a glow stick would not be bad as long as they were not waving around over there head blocking any views.

 

[judoha]

There are also things I want to ride that I may not get a chance to ride if I didn't make him ride them too.

As a parent, just because *I* want to do something doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. If your child gets frightened that easily, then perhaps you ought to sacrifice your own desires until he's old enough to handle the ride without screaming and getting frightened.

Would you rather me talk my child through the ride to keep him calm and help him enjoy it, or would you rather him scream the whole time, up to you.

I would rather you didn't put your child in the situation in the first place until he's old enough to handle it without being scared and screaming in the first place which infringes on everyone else's experience and also isn't pleasant for your child either.

The same goes with your talking your child through the ride - if he needs to be "talked through it", then he probably shouldn't be on there in the first place.

Would you take your kid to see Santa Claus at the local mall and then if he freaked out, "talk him through it" by telling him that Santa is just a man in a suit and isn't real? That ruins the experience for the other kids in the line waiting to see Santa. It's no different.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We were at MK last week. The CM at Haunted Mansion told DS to take off his glow stick before we were allowed to enter the queue. DS is 9 and he is not scared - we had just come from Spectro - but they specifically asked him to remove it before going on the ride.

 

[meatballsmom]

Stuff like that doesn't annoy me, but I just wanted to let you know that it didn't work for us. When my dd was 4 and scared of the dark, we tried it and they didn't give off enough light to actually help her. My 2yo dd, who isn't afraid of the dark at home, but gets a little fearful on some of the dark rides at Disney, only needs a hug from mom or dad to feel safe.

That's funny because it was a lifesaver for my son at 3. I read the boards before we left and brought one with us just in case. We we went on the HM we stopped right in the darkest part of the ride (the part where there is absolutely no lights anywhere). We were there for a good 10 minutes which I'm sure felt like hours to a 3 yo. I pulled out the trusty pen light and it made him feel so much better. They let off so little light that I can't see that bothering someone in a case like that. I would rather see a speck of light then hear a child screaming.

 

[cara76]

As a parent, just because *I* want to do something doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. If your child gets frightened that easily, then perhaps you ought to sacrifice your own desires until he's old enough to handle the ride without screaming and getting frightened.

Some people don't have that luxury and WDW is a once in a lifetime trip that only happens once so yes what the parents needs should be met also in a way that doesn't harm anyone. It won't harm my child to go on a ride he may not totaly enjoy, just like a him wearing a glow bracelet to keep him mind off of it wouldn't harm anyone else.

Like I said, I have one of those children who is scared of the unknown and once he gets on a ride he loves it. I can relate to that b/c that's how I was with Soarin yesterday. After I rode it I'm in love and can't wait to ride it again. So knowing my child, I will continue to take him on the rides even though he may complain in line that he doesn't want to do it because I know him and I would never take him on a ride or attraction that would / could do him any harm.

 

[dizbizz]

Flashlight- yes!
Lightup- no!

Good Luck, I hope it works.

 

[Cinderella94]

Sorry, but ANYHTING, no matter how big or how small, would annoy the heck out of me and totally ruin the ride for me.

 

[judoha]

Some people don't have that luxury and WDW is a once in a lifetime trip that only happens once so yes what the parents needs should be met also in a way that doesn't harm anyone. It won't harm my child to go on a ride he may not totaly enjoy, just like a him wearing a glow bracelet to keep him mind off of it wouldn't harm anyone else.

What luxury? How is it a "luxury" to put your child's needs before your own wants as a parent? If your child is that scared that he's screaming, then he doesn't belong on the ride, whether or not you want to go. If he needs a light, then the ride is not appropriate for him.

And, it's specious to bring up the "once in a lifetime trip that only happens once" when it doesn't apply to you. Even if it is a "once in a lifetime trip", if the child is screaming, then the child doesn't belong on the ride, even if you want to go on it. That's pure selfishness.

 

[cara76]

You know what, I'm not going too aruge with you. There are many reasons I make my child do something while he's kicking and screaming and sometimes it's b/c I know him better then any stranger does and I know what's best for him.

Oh and sometimes my needs and wants come before his, it's not called being selfish, it's called he can't always have his way, then he will grow up to be one of those adults that thinks they are entiled to everything and I so won't put up with that.

I asked a simple question that required a yes or no answer not an attack on my parenting or anyone's parenting for that reason. I got some good suggestions from some of the other mom's on the board about what worked for their kids. Just b/c a child has a fear of the dark or one of the scary pirates freak him out doesn't mean the whole ride if off limits.

If my child crys b/c something scared him, if we can we exit the attraction which we did in Tough to be a Bug and Philharmagic (even though the sweatheart of a CM offered to let us stand by the exit doors and watch the show from there b/c DS calmed down some and thought he wanted to go back in), if we can't we calm him down until the ride ends and we don't go back on that ride with him until he's ready. We will never know what scares him if he never goes on anything which would happen if he had his way about things.

 

[Pooh1219]

Try the child swap at Disney World. It seems to work for many parents with children who don't want to ride or may be too young to ride. Short of getting a kid out of a burning building or away from some type of danger, dragging a kid kicking and screaming doesn't seem to be a very productive way of accomplishing something.

 

[disneymom727]

My sister had her daughter wear sneakers that light up, so whenever it was too dark all she had to do was bang her feet together.

:

I think this is a great idea. We have a small pen light that I was going to give my son but I like this better. He can look down at his shoes and it shouldn't distract anyone. Glad someone asked this question. I didn't want to annoy anyone either.

 

[mommaU4]

I think it also depends which ride we are talking about. If it's POTC where you are on a big boat with other groups then it becomes more of an issue. But if it's one of the other rides like Snow White or Peter Pan where your more secluded in your own "car" then it shouldn't be a big deal.

I think you should do it and then I'll start searching for the new thread from someone who just got back from Disney who's complaining about the rude parent who let their kid shine a light in everyone's eyes the whole ride. Isn't that the way it works?

Seriously it's nice of you to ask but you also have to remember you can't please all the people, all the time. Some are just more easily annoyed than others.

 

[LiteBrite]

I don't know what they are called but WDW also sells light up LED 'necklaces.' The are ~2 1/2 inches on a rope & flash on and off. My kids use them often & they don't give off much light at all.

I don't know if we're thinking of the same thing or not, but last month my daughter and I were behind a lady wearing a necklace like this on Big Thunder Mountain - it had "chaser" type lights that flashed around in a circular pattern. This was maybe the most annoying thing ever. It was an excruciating ride with that obnoxious thing flashing right in our eyes - please don't give one of these to your kids to wear on a dark ride. It's *very* visible to those around you and very distracting.

 

[VSL]

Try the child swap at Disney World. It seems to work for many parents with children who don't want to ride or may be too young to ride. Short of getting a kid out of a burning building or away from some type of danger, dragging a kid kicking and screaming doesn't seem to be a very productive way of accomplishing something.