Would you put your 4 year old on Mission Space

[Princess Mommy]

Absolutely not!

Space is so filled with warnings b/4 you board- I went in excited, and by the time I was strapped in I was not sure I should be there myself!

 

[CleveRocks]

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.

WHAT???

Sure, there are probably lots of people who let themselves be affected, but trust me, there are also many who get motion sickness purely as a result of physical actions and reactions in the inner ear, and not because of the inner workings of their minds.

My first experience with motion sickness occurred when I was a young child, and I'd never heard of it before (I was reading in a car). It happened again the first time I was on a small boat in the ocean, and boy was I mad!!! I didn't anticipate being seasick, I didn't want to be seasick! I wanted to enjoy the view, enjoy the buffet, and enjoy the open bar. I never got a chance because I was green before any of it opened. I'd been on plenty of boats before and never had a problem with seasickness, and it never occurred to me that it would be any different on the ocean.

Look, I'm a therapist, I'd LOVE to believe that many illnesses are just "mind over matter" -- I'd be rich enough to retire young and practically live at WDW. Sadly, that's just not the case. But remember, I do agree that for SOME people, yes, they do psych themselves into having problems. But certainly not all, not even most.

-- Eric

 

[CATMANDO]

A friend of mine said it was a fatal arrythmyia(sp) either from dehydration or undetected heart problem. I guess we will wait and see. I would have let my son on it. It is disney and I let him ride allien at 5 yrs. he hated it and I had warned him but he said he couldl handle it. I thought he could to because he had rode all the mountains fine and loved them.

 

[chobie]

My son was 7 when it came out, but I would have let him ride it at 4 if he had met the height requirement. It's his favorite ride now. I went on it the first time with him and it made me a bit nauseous like Teacups and Star Tours, so I haven't been on it since. I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think TOT is more intense. My son rode on that once and said never again. Other than that he loves all the thrill rides. It all depends on the kid.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

We would not consider letting our ds ride M:S when he is 4 years old. To us that is just too young to make sure he could follow the instructions properly so that he doesn't get sick. In my dh's opinion, it would also be way too scary for a child that young. I have never ridden it myself since I was 5 mos. pregnant last time we were at Epcot, EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, WOOHOO!!!
Anyway, dh has no real desire to ride it again. Neither does my mother. My stepdad loved it so he and I will probably ride together next trip and everyone else will wait with the baby. I am thinking one time might be enough to satisfy my curiosity.

But no, definitely not going to let ds ride when he is 4, no matter how tall he is. We are thinking somewhere along the lines of 7/8 at the earliest. We'll see.

 

[Brightsy]

Reall? A young person who doesn't know what motion sickness is won't get it? wow! Tell that to my younger DS. When he was 2 1/2 we went to Maui. We took a drive on the Road to Hana. It's a loooong extremely curvy road. On the way back down thehill my young DS, who can't understand the concept of thing like motion sickness, got projectivley ill.
I used to have no problem with spinning and such, but as I've gotten older it's gotten worse. Heck i can't play ring around the rosie w/ my boys for very long!

Sara

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.

 

[Clover9990]

I agree- motion sickness is NOT a mind over matter thing- I've had issues with it since I was a child...I've never been able to read more than a road sign without getting nauseous.

That said, my then 5 year old rode MS last year and he LOVED it! I had my husband go on the ride alone first to test it out, and he didn't find it to be too intense for our son. I also believe the tragedy that happened at WDW this month had to do with an underlying heart condition.

 

[bigmerle1966]

No, because she wouldn't want to. This has always been my answer to this, even before this childs death, though.

 

[triplefigs]

No, No, and NO! (once for each of my current 4 year olds). ETA: well now they're five, but my answer is still No, No, NO!

 

[robmary]

We did let our 5 year old son ride it maybe 3 times last year. We just came back from Disney on Tuesday. We did not let him ride this time because of the childs death. At age 5 though he rode everything including rockin roller coaster and tower of terror. He loves them. I think the child that passed away had some hidden problem that even his parents or doctors didn't know about. So if that were the case, then none of us should ever go on any rides. I feel you just can't live your life that way. We all have that moment when we will be gone and none of us knows when it is. We need to love life and all it offers us.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yep. Did it when DS was 4, and I'd do it again with a child of similar temperament and apparent good health who met the height requirements. MSp is DS' favorite ride at the moment, in fact he rode it on the same day that the tragedy happened, first thing in the morning. (He's not 4 now, but he was the first time he rode it. He had already been on several intense rides, including SpMtn at DL, and is a habitual spinner who was never afraid of heights, so I knew he'd be able to handle it.)

Once you get past babyhood and the muscle control issues that babies have, a young child can usually handle G-forces and spinning more easily than an adult can, because they weigh so much less and have a low center of gravity. This is why most kids can spin forever on playgrounds without getting ill. (BTW, a research report on coaster safety that I recently read stated that a spinning tire swing usually exceeds the g-force generated by the average coaster. The tire swing can generate 3 g's for 30 seconds. MSp never exceeds 2 g's, and the "acceleration" part of the ride lasts just about 30 seconds; DH timed it once.)

Personally I think that what happened to that child was either a pre-existing unknown heart or neurological condition, or related to heat/dehydration issues, or possibly a combination of all of those things. Little kids are EXTREMELY prone to seizures caused by dehydration or heat exhaustion. Heat stroke can strike with no warning signs, and it can kill in just a few minutes. Whatever it was, it was terribly unfortunate, but unless it was dehydration, it was probably not something anyone could have predicted.

 

[hokiefan33]

We did let our 5 year old son ride it maybe 3 times last year. We just came back from Disney on Tuesday. We did not let him ride this time because of the childs death. At age 5 though he rode everything including rockin roller coaster and tower of terror. He loves them. I think the child that passed away had some hidden problem that even his parents or doctors didn't know about. So if that were the case, then none of us should ever go on any rides. I feel you just can't live your life that way. We all have that moment when we will be gone and none of us knows when it is. We need to love life and all it offers us.

You say some interesting things, although they seem a bit contradictory to me. You say your son rode it 3 times last year (without incident), and you later say that you "feel you just can't live your life that way" (in reference to never riding anything b/c of some possible undiagnosed medical condition). Then why didn't you let him ride it this time, as you say you didn't let him "ride this time b/c of the child's death"? The ride hasn't changed; it's the same ride you let him go on 3 times last year, without incident. It seems you aren't even holding to your own advice, and are worried just like everyone else is, even though it really had nothing to do with a faulty ride, but rather a hidden medical problem.

Just curious...

 

[WINTER]

absolutely not nor would I TOT

 

[momsully]

It depends on the child. Oldest DS6 rode it when he was 4 and loves it. We take several trips to Disney a year and this is always on his must do list. He is a daredevil that rode Space Mountain in Disneyland at 3 (lower height requirement) and on our April trip he was finally tall enough for Rock N Roller Coaster.

On the other hand DS3 will most likely not ride it until he is older. He is more cautious than his brother and to be honest I don't think he would enjoy the ride. He loves Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain but hates Tower of Terror. If he asks to go on and makes the height requirement on our next trip I will let him but I still think it will be a few years.

 

[hannah03]

NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even want my 11 on it!

 

[Ozymoe]

My children rode everything as soon as they were tall enough...but they wanted to ride. We always warned/explained everything about each ride to them in advance and then let them decide. .

I am the one in the family who doesn't especially like the thrill rides, although I have been on every one of Disney's rides except MS, ToT and Star Tours. I'm claustrophobic and would never want a child of mine to feel trapped...but by the same token, have tried not to let my problem become theirs.

Ultimately I know my own children better than anyone (including Disney). I would no more think of limiting them because of other people's perceptions than I would think of forcing them to do something because they meet the requirements.

 

[Little Whistle]

I agree with you. It is so easy to jump to a conclusion about most things in life. Sadly many forget to look at situations and draw their conclusions based on the facts and not by what was seemingly the truth at the time. Mission Space is a terrific ride. My family and I were there when it was not officially opened, however they needed riders to give it a test run. Turns out we rode that ride more than anyother ride (outside of Splash Mountain) with no line at all. My 6 year old son opted out also but rode all of lthe other thrill rides. We visited Disneyland this year where he rode by himself California Screamin'. In about a month's time we will be going to WDW and he says he will do MS, time will tell.

 

[pms122765]

I put my 6 year old on it last October & he loved it.

I had been on it once & I would let my now 4 year old on it if my wife would let me, which she will not.

I have been on it twice & do not see how it could have caused the death of the little 4 year old, but I AM NOT A DOCTOR & HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING.

 

[larsson7]

My DD, who had only just turned 5, rode it last October. She followed the warnings, understood not to close her eyes and that she should look ahead at all times. She rode it 3 times in all with no problems.

Having said that IMO I don't think the ride is as intense as many people make it out to be.

I would let her go on again even following recent tragic events as I don't believe MS will turn out to be what caused that little boys death, more likely to be some underlying condition.

 

[lamb1022]

No way I would put my four year old on Mission Space. Nor my 7 year old or my 9 year old. Wouldn't even consider it before the one child died and nothing has changed.