3 year olds first ride??!!

[accord99cutie]

We are taking my 3 1/2 year old for the first time to Disney in late April, early May! Which ride do you suggest for her very first ride ever at Disney World?? We are arriving at 9:30 at MCO and are hoping to be at the parks by noon. Not sure how well she will handle lines. She is VERY adventurous, and already asks to watch the "ghost ride" (Haunted Mansion and PoTC) videos on youtube all the time!

forgot to mention that the Magic Kingdom will DEFIENTLY be the first park! (we are gonna hit Epcot after the MK this night for dinner and RoE!)

 

[jvenegas]

If you are going to get there around noon, the lines for Dumbo (and Peter Pan) will be rather long by then, so, although I would vote for Dumbo, I would go to It's a Small World first and work my way around Fantasyland.
Have fun!!:wave:

 

[erstwo]

I think it will be worth it to wait in line for Dumbo. Some kids don't like the "dark" rides. And you don't want her first ride to be one where she is scared!

Have a WONDERFUL trip!!!!

 

[jewils]

Bothof our kids rode Dumbo on their first trip, but the line will be long by the time you arrive. I'd suggest fastpass Pooh, but shoot for Dumbo first. If you can't wait, then It's a Small World is a good 2nd option. And you can then ride Pooh later at your fastpass window.

 

[dragongirl]

I also have a three-year-old who has been going for the past couple years of her life. The first thing she likes to go on is the railroad. Then rides like Dumbo, Aladdin's Flying Carpets, Small World and Cinderella's Carousel.

She is adventurous as well and has gone on mini coasters in the past, so Barnstormer will be on the list this next trip. However, she's only physically adventurous. Psychologically adventurous is a different story. The actual darkness and shrieking in Haunted Mansion is too much for her. As is the darkness and ominous music right before getting sent down the briar patch in Splash Mountain. The actual drop doesn't scare her.

 

[accord99cutie]

Thank you every one for your input so far! I really cant wait to see how she reacts to certain things! I definitely do not want to scare her right off the bat because then it will be more difficult to get her to try some of the tamer things. I think getting a fast pass for pooh then waiting in line for DUmbo is a good idea, I just hope the line is not ridiculously long at Dumbo! If she doesnt like any of the bigger rides I am fine with that, becuase I really just cant wait to see Disney through a childs eyes! Im sure she will have me tearing up numerous times on this trip, and I just can not wait!

 

[Jay & Sue]

I would take her on Small World first - the memory of which will probably stick with her forever. Dumbo is great but being that far off the ground just may scare her. Start out slow. By the end of the trip she will probably be riding Everest! Have fun!! :wave:

 

[Auroragirl]

Small World or Dumbo....
POTC was my daughters first ride; but she was 5.

They'll love any of the rides just because you'll be in WDW.

Enjoy your trip!!!!!

 

[Disneylover1302]

1. Dumbo
2. Small World
3. Tom's Swayers Island.....You said she was adventurous right?

 

[Chape19714]

Not to be rude, but I wouldn't think about it so much. Odds are, once you get there, it'll figure itself out. First ride isn't something to be planned. The child can relate interest in a certain attraction, if they point to the railroad, take them on it, or whatever they express interest in!

 

[lbrad]

anyone else??? I need the input from all the amazing people here on WDWMAGIC!!

Def Winnie the Pooh...You can get a fast pass if the lines are long.
Bright, cheery colors and theming:sohappy:

 

[kangaand2roos]

Definately Dumbo! What's better than being in Disney for the first time, looking at Cinderella's castle and flying to a 3 year old!! It was both our kids first Disney ride and it's the ride we always go to first.

 

[GoofyDadKB]

My son was 3 1/2 this last trip. His favorite ride by far was the Goofy Roller coaster. He couldn't get enough of it. I you find she loves it go to it during EMH and she can probably ride it several times without having to get off. During MNSSHP we were able to ride it 6 times before we had to get off.

 

[accord99cutie]

Not to be rude, but I wouldn't think about it so much. Odds are, once you get there, it'll figure itself out. First ride isn't something to be planned. The child can relate interest in a certain attraction, if they point to the railroad, take them on it, or whatever they express interest in!

I may be over planning this first experience for her, But i just cant help myself! :lol: I guess I wanted to hear what others and their children have had for a first ride just to get an idea of where I should head towards. Truthfully, If I just let her go and followed her to her first ride I can see her walking right up to PotC and walking in to the line and then running out, never wanting to walk into another building again!! there are certain rides we gotta build her up to!

 

[eddiemcgarrigle]

Just try everything that she is able to ride. My son was only 30 months when we where there last and he absolutley loved Goofy's Barnstormer, Dumbo, the spinning teacup thingies, POTC, Haunted Mansion, Aladdin's Flying Carpets, and Cinderella's Carousel. Everything that he could ride he enjoyed.

I'm really looking forward to my next trip when he can venture on to Dad's favourite - the Tower Of Terror.

 

[accord99cutie]

I'm really looking forward to my next trip when he can venture on to Dad's favourite - the Tower Of Terror.

I am hoping she will want to try this one! it is mommy and daddy's favorite! haha, i think that is a bit of a stretch, but you never know! She might really wanna do it!

 

[Chape19714]

I may be over planning this first experience for her, But i just cant help myself! :lol: I guess I wanted to hear what others and their children have had for a first ride just to get an idea of where I should head towards. Truthfully, If I just let her go and followed her to her first ride I can see her walking right up to PotC and walking in to the line and then running out, never wanting to walk into another building again!! there are certain rides we gotta build her up to!

Well, be realistic about it. :lol:

 

[accord99cutie]

Well, be realistic about it. :lol:

Thought I was being realistic about it! Anyway, looks like Dumbo wins! only 84 more days and we will be arriving in my favorite place ever! Hopefully heading for Dumbo after taking the beautiful walk up main street and through Cinderella's castle! Thanks for all the replies!

 

[marcriss]

Thought I was being realistic about it! Anyway, looks like Dumbo wins! only 84 more days and we will be arriving in my favorite place ever! Hopefully heading for Dumbo after taking the beautiful walk up main street and through Cinderella's castle! Thanks for all the replies!

In my experience, it's great to have a game plan and be prepared. Now you have time to prepare your daughter for what to expect, "We're going to start in Fantasy Land with rides x, y, z and then maybe have some lunch and head over here to see this". This way she's not expecting to start off with PoTC or the Haunted Mansion, which might scare her. My son was a daredevil, but the dark really scared him. You never know until you get there, but you can shape their expectations to what you think are the safest starters, which is exactly what you're doing. So follow your instincts and have a great time. Also, don't forget you can go to Disneyworld.com and have special maps printed out and mailed to you. They're really nice souvenirs.

 

[Erika]

I would go with Peter Pan, Small World or Pooh as early as possible. We took our 2 3/4 year old to DL and I wanted to get an "easy" dark ride out of the way as soon as possible so that she'd figure out what they were and wouldn't be nervous on some of the more intense ones. If we'd have done something more intense right off the bat, we were afraid we ran the risk of turning her off of everything altogether, as you said with Pirates (which turned out to be her favorite ride! Great news for me :king: ).

Of course, our plan was to do Peter Pan first but as soon as she saw the merry go round those plans went out the window :lol:

I think that and Dumbo are so visible, they tend to grab the kids' attention right off the bat.

Have a great time!

 

[happymom52003]

Based off of the time of day you are getting there, I would really reconsider doing Dumbo first. You will waste so much time in line. It is one of the slowest moving lines at Disney World!

It might backfire on you. It is hard for a child that age to wait in a line that long. The last thing you want is a fussy child during your first hour at Disney World! You want your first experience to be magical. Waiting in a 45 minute + line with a 3 year old is not always so magical!

I know alot of people are sentimental about Dumbo....I am too. But I really would encourage you to wait and ride it on a day when you get to the park at opening.

You and your child will be so excited to be at Disney World....I think your first ride needs to be something with a minimal wait, such as Small World or the Carousel. You want to jump right into the magic! Why wait?

While Pooh is a great ride, there are some dark parts that could scare a child that age if it is their very first ride (depends on the child...you never know). Small World would give your child a chane to get used to the whole ride concept. Work them up to the darker rides.

My youngest did great on all of the rides at 12 months, 18 months, and 2 years. Then when she was 2 1/2, she freaked for some reason and was scared of all the rides. We had to basically start over with her and ride Small World and work her back up. By the end of the trip she was riding almost everything again. And then on our next trip at 3 1/2 she was back to normal and nothing scared her.

There is really no way to predict how they will respond. Better safe than sorry...start them out with something cheerful like Small World.

Have fun! There is nothing more magical than taking your child to WDW for the first time!