Would you put your 4 year old on Mission Space

[hokiefan33]

Holy living crap! Why the big fuss? Yes, a 4-year old died on the ride, but as of today, the ride itself has not been proven to be the cause. In fact, the boy was appearing to be somewhat disoriented BEFORE the ride even started. It may be an underlying medical condition that nobody, maybe not even his parents, knew about that could have caused it. Let's wait and see on that one, and then revisit that portion of the discussion later.

As for age limits, please! A 70-something year old lady once died on POTC; do you think the age limit s/b increased to 80? No, b/c it wasn't that she wasn't old enough for the ride, but that she was deathly sick before she even went on it! The height requirements on MS are for safety; there are 3 year olds who might meet the height requirements (if they're really big for their age), and there are 5 or 6-year olds who might not (if they're really small for their age). As long as the child is physically able to meet the minimum requirements for going on the ride, then I think that's what matters. That being said, Disney is not responsible for being the parent to a child. For that matter, none of us are responsible for being parents to any children other than our own. Because of that, let's not make general judgments about what age kids should or should not go on this ride. If they're tall enough, Disney is fine with it and has done their duty to keep your child safe. Anything other than that, as far as gauging your child's interest in the ride, knowing how they'll feel when they get off, knowing what scares them, knowing about possible motion sickness problems, is YOUR problem as a parent to deal with. However, for my kids, it is MY problem, NOT your problem. Don't make a blanket statement that ALL 4 year-olds are not mature enough to go on this ride, or that it is not in their best medical or psychological interest, b/c you don't know my kids like I do, just as I don't know your kids like you do. I could care less whether you take your kids on MS or not, b/c it's up to you, not me. Why should you care whether I take my kids on it or not?

For the record, my DS8 (then 7) and DD6 (then 4) both rode MS, and neither had any kind of problems and both loved it and were able to follow all the directions (stand still, look straight ahead, etc...), b/c I talked about it with them before the ride. Does that mean I think ALL 4 year-olds should ride it? No, b/c I don't know the particulars about YOUR kids, that's your job. But does it mean that it's OK for my kids to ride it? Absolutely.

 

[amyjo]

My 4 yo is nowhere near tall enough and even if she were I would not let her ride it. I won't let my 6yo ride it when we go and he is tall enought. By the way, I made that decision before the 4yo child died (so, so sad). Frankly, this isn't a ride I want to go on, either. My oldest dd gets motion sick in the car sometimes so I think she will be skipping it, too and she is 10.

I don't know about age requirements--parents know better what their kids can handle. Our policy is, as I'm noticing is most people's here--if in doubt, one of us rides it first (usually dh, because he is better at predicting the kids reactions than I am) and then decides if it's okay. My 10 yo and 8yo are fearless; by 6 yo is terrified of the dark so that eliminates some stuff right there (glo sticks don't cut it for him).

 

[momxx5]

Prayers said for the family, and all effectived at WDW.

That said, no way! I would never put my 4,5,6 or 7 yr old on MS. It is just way too intense.

I rode it last summer- never again. DH & the older boys rode it. The boys loved it. It is not for everyone....and certainly not young children. I consider preschools to be way too young.

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

hi

we're at disney now, and we were at epcot on sunday and rode this ride...i knew going in i'd probably feel nausious because i get that way easily, however i love intense rides, and wanted to ride it...dh, and ds14 and ds12 also wanted to ride....dd7.5 said she'd like to go too, i was leary, figured it'd make her sick and told her, but she insisted she really wanted to, so we let her....we had no problems, she didn't complain of feeling sick and acted fine when we got off, said she liked it...ds14 complained of feeling a tad nausious...ds12 had no complaints...my dh and I were both very nausious...i wouldn't ride again only because i've had the experience and it made me too nausious to do it again...however i think it just depends onthe person, not the age so much...my dd was fine, at 4 i wouldn'thave let her ride it (she wouldn't have met the height requirement at that age anyhow...) but at nearly 8 i felt ok with her riding it if she wanted to (which she did)...

bottom line...it's an individual thing...it's not a ride for everyone...

 

[aplejax76]

I'll probaly get flamed for this! Last year I went on with my 4 year old twins and 6 year old son. They loved it. We went on 3 times. To tell you the truth it was our first time at Disney so I really didn't know what the ride was about. They can not wait to do it again. I have no problem with them doing it.

 

[Tarzan]

I'll probaly get flamed for this! Last year I went on with my 4 year old twins and 6 year old son. They loved it. We went on 3 times. To tell you the truth it was our first time at Disney so I really didn't know what the ride was about. They can not wait to do it again. I have no problem with them doing it.

Definitely no flames from me. I chose not to take my DD-5 and DS-6 on this. I sent DH on to check it out first and we decided that based on their likes and dislikes up to that point we didn't believe that they would enjoy it.. You have brought up an excellent point though. Everybody on the DISboards assumes that every guest at WDW knows about the attractions before going. I remember the first time I went on Alien Encounter, there was a group of teenage girls that had no idea what they had let themselves in for. They thought it was a ride and they SCREAMED all the way through.
I think we need to remember that we are in the minority. Not everybody spends as much time planning or researching as us.

 

[Jen D]

I'll probaly get flamed for this! Last year I went on with my 4 year old twins and 6 year old son. They loved it. We went on 3 times. To tell you the truth it was our first time at Disney so I really didn't know what the ride was about. They can not wait to do it again. I have no problem with them doing it.

No flames here. If your child is tall enough, and wants to ride it, and Disney has cleared it for kids of that height and age, I might have done it. MS wasn't around when my kid was 4, and she never got to 44 inches while she was 4 anyway, but she was a thrill seeker who begged to go on TOT until she was blue in the face so I let her do it. I had no reason to think it wouldn't be safe to do so. My only concern was her freaking out (which didn't happen on TOT, of course, but in the Bug's Life movie.)

Would I do it after this? It might give me pause... but bottom line, I guess I would have trusted Disney.

 

[happygirl]

Very well said!!!!ITA


not all kids are the same, you have to know your kids what they can or can't handle

 

[Tammi67]

For those of you saying this ride is too intense for a 4 yo, how is it any more intense than say ToT, TT, SM, or RnRC? They are all intense. Personally, I think that a 4, 5 or 6 yo can handle it well because they haven't yet learned that things like this give them motion sickness, or even what motion sickness it. We, as older children and adults, know this. It's a mind over matter thing.

 

[nickandalexmom]

Everyone's child is different. Of course, now people say they would never let their young kids ride it. My 6 yr old rode it 3 times last month and loved it. I was freaked out about the whole thing after hearing the story, but I let my child ride it, he loved it and would probably let him ride it again at age 6 or age 7. Hindsight is always 20/20. I agree that maybe at age 4 the ride is a little intense, but to say you would never put your 5,6 or 7 year old on it is a bit much. Some people don't really know what the ride is about until they get on it. Others, like us, can at least get information from the disboards and make that decision. I did and like I said I let my 6 yr old it. He loved it....I hated it. I really feel for this mother and her family. I'm sure had she thought that something serious would have happened to her son, she would have never put him on, but things happen and all we can do right now is keep that family in our thoughts and prayers.

 

[3lilprincesses]

I'll probaly get flamed for this! Last year I went on with my 4 year old twins and 6 year old son. They loved it. We went on 3 times. To tell you the truth it was our first time at Disney so I really didn't know what the ride was about. They can not wait to do it again. I have no problem with them doing it.

no flames from me either. until someone tells me that is was something on the ride that contributed to that poor little boys death, and not an underlying medical condition, then i think it would be crazy to not allow a child, who meets the requirements, ride!

of course my 9 yr. old won't ride rollercoasters, and didn't want to go near this, test track or TOT, so we didn't have this issue.

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

My daughter just turned 24.
But when she was 3, she wanted to go on Space Mountain . (No age restriction then). So, we took her on....and she loved it!

Had something awful happened, I would have blamed myself forever. But she was fine (tho her eyes were quite round for a few hours after)

I'm sure this family is kicking themselves for having taken their young son on this ride BUT I think we've already read that many people here have taken young ones on MS iwth no ill effect.

I can't do anything that circles...like the teacups, or the octopus etc., NOW, tho in my younger years, no problems with them! I decided to try MS because I hadn't read about it and didn't notice that it really went round and round BEFORE. IN the prep area, I kinda knew but told myself I'd give it a try. The first thing I wanted to do was to shut my eyes, which of course is NOT the thing to do! So I forced them to stay open and I was fine. It was a matter of mind power. I've ridden it several times since, but only once per day!!!!!!

If I had a child or grandchild that age, I seriously doubt I'd want him/her to ride it...just because it is intense (in that I have to control my mind to keep from getting nauseous.) FOR ME. BUt I imagine that for a kid, it is nothing...they spin around all day!!!!

For those of you who have never ridden it, there is no jerking or sudden movement...it is all very slowmo feeling, unlike the coasters and TOT mentioned. I can imagine that G-forces could be harmful in some way just because of pressure. And maybe that somehow contributed.

I feel so bad for this family and hope they can get grief counseling. I'm sad that for them, the magic of Disney will never be the same.

 

[robinb]

For those of you saying this ride is too intense for a 4 yo, how is it any more intense than say ToT, TT, SM, or RnRC? They are all intense.

M:S is way more intense than all of the rides you mentioned. Even RnRC which has a higher height requirement. The combination of the spinning, the consistant 2G's and the visuals make it very, very intense.

I won't take my 5 year old on ToT or Space Mountain because it's just too much for her, IMO. She will ride BTM, TT and Splash (sometimes), but she wouldn't at 4. Maybe I would feel differently if my DD were a thrill-seeker, but she's not (yet ). I wouldn't mind seeing a minimum age suggestion on S:M. They have one on Goofy's Barnstormer.

 

[debloco]

Whether the ride is determined to have played a role in the child's death or not, I would not put my 4 year old on M:S.

 

[lulugirl]

No, I would not let Dd (5) , it just seems like a very intense ride. Since Dd is a real chicken she wouldn't want to go on anyhow.

 

[DebMcDonald]

No way!

 

[belle_of_the_ball]

its a shame at what happened, its an extreamly rough ride there should be a larger height requirement!

 

[lovin'Mickey]

I would not let any of my kids ride this ride.....but mostly because I am too frightened by it!! However until the reports are in as to why this poor little soul was lost on this ride, I can not assume it was a ride. Things happen everyday to lots of people and they are not always caused by the places they are at.

 

[Irelandred11]

The whole thing is a very sad situation. I feel for the mother of that child and how gulity she must feel. I know I would not put my 6 year old on that ride because of his heart problems. I wouldn't go on that ride but my husband and 12 year old would.

 

[JodyLynC]

DH and I were reading the height requirements on some of these thrill rides and were shocked that preschoolers are considered acceptable for some of these rides. No way!! The thrill rides can come later when my kids are old enough to understand what the ride does and make the decision to go.