Children on Rides

[goodlife78]

What ever you do DO NOT take her on Stitch. Thank goodness my DD was half an inch too short for it on our last trip because when we went on without her I was terrified never mind her!!!

Stitch is a def no go, took my 4yo son on everything first go around and stitch he was crying its the way it's so dark and how your restrained, he loved everist even tho I know being four he was scared, but me sitting beside him hanging on to him made things ok, and dinosaur is a no go also its so loud and the animals look terrifying to kids, I felt so bad his fist trip that was our final ride before catching magical express, that was not the perfect end to a fantastic vacation

 

[s&k'smom]

My daughter has always loved rides her first time on BTM she laughed and screamed so much that the people behind her got a big kick out of it.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I suppose you never know until you try: my 4-year-old daughter surprised us. We were worried about how she might react to coasters like Big Thunder. We took her on the Barnstormer first (a great "test coaster" for little ones) and she loved it. So we tried Big Thunder, and as soon as it started up, she was screaming, "This is SOOOOO GREEEEEAT!" She whooped and giggled the whole way through.

Then we did Splash Mountain, and learned that there is a big difference between her reaction to speed, and her reaction to big drops. She was doing great until that last drop, when she burst into tears and wailed adorably, "that was too scary for meeeee!" If I had it to do over, I'd have spent some time with her on the bridge by the "big drop" first, and gauged her reaction to seeing others go down, before trying Splash.

 

[popcenturylover]

Hello Folks!
My wife and I are going in December with our 3 year old (almost 4) daughter. Last night we looked up the height requirements for most rides at all the parks and for the most part they are 40"... Our daughter is just a hair over 40", now what we are wondering is what rides to take her on (other than the rides that are specifically for kiddos). Have you ever taken your kids on rides that they were barely able to get on? Which rides and how did it turn out?

Our daughter was one month shy of 4 on our last trip & was 41" tall. She rode Splash, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, & stitch. She hated all of them! She also rode Soarin', the Barnstormer, Haunted Mansion, Enchanted Tiki Room, etc. & loved them! Our daughter is afraid of dinosaurs so, I knew that Dinosaur would not be a good ride for her! You just have to know your child's likes & dislikes & gauge how she's feeling that day.

 

[Figgy1]

Our daughter was one month shy of 4 on our last trip & was 41" tall. She rode Splash, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, & stitch. She hated all of them! She also rode Soarin', the Barnstormer, Haunted Mansion, Enchanted Tiki Room, etc. & loved them! Our daughter is afraid of dinosaurs so, I knew that Dinosaur would not be a good ride for her! You just have to know your child's likes & dislikes & gauge how she's feeling that day.

I have the little daredevil who rode a loop coaster at 2! So my advice to you would be to watch the planning video with her and see how she reacts! Every child is different and has different fears! Just explain Mickey is in charge of all the parks and won't let anything happen to her! Good Luck!

 

[RandomPrincess]

My DD was almost 3 on our last trip and we took her on the Flight of the Hippogriff at Universal and she liked it. We have hit a couple of theme parks since then and she loves to ride the smaller kids coastesr.

Next trip we will be 4 and over 40 inches. I have shown her videos of Splash, BTMRR, Start Tours etc and the parts that scare her aren't the ride going fast. On Splash she says the drop looks fun but the animatronics before the drop are scary. Same with BTMRR train part is fine but the dark part inside with the shaking rocks is scary. So we have been preparing her for those things. Taking about how she will be with Mommy or Daddy the Shaking rocks are just pretend etc.

Dinosaur, TOT and Stitch are on the no list for now. I don't want to ruin the chance to take her on other rides by scaring her with those to early in the trip. Plus I don't care for TOT or Stitch myself for different reasons. TOT is the one ride that actually scares me. I hate drop rides.

 

[juniorthomas]

Stitch is a def no go, took my 4yo son on everything first go around and stitch he was crying its the way it's so dark and how your restrained, he loved everist even tho I know being four he was scared, but me sitting beside him hanging on to him made things ok, and dinosaur is a no go also its so loud and the animals look terrifying to kids, I felt so bad his fist trip that was our final ride before catching magical express, that was not the perfect end to a fantastic vacation

I could barely tolerate Alien Encounter, and I was 18 when I went on it last...

 

[DBiggs]

I have a 4 and 5 year old, they are both very short though. They are already daredevils and get upset when they aren't big enough for a ride. I am hoping for a growth spurt before October!

 

[Gabe1]

Hello Folks!
My wife and I are going in December with our 3 year old (almost 4) daughter. Last night we looked up the height requirements for most rides at all the parks and for the most part they are 40"... Our daughter is just a hair over 40", now what we are wondering is what rides to take her on (other than the rides that are specifically for kiddos). Have you ever taken your kids on rides that they were barely able to get on? Which rides and how did it turn out?

I had some pretty daring kids. Body Wars use to have an age restriction verses an age and it was orinally three years old. Off we went into the queue and were stopped quickly with my DS that had just turned 3. None of us had rode BW before and the CM said sorry but he needs to be three year old. Me, he is. Annoyed Questioning look darted at me...I whip out his Multi-day pass...CM, it doesn't have an age...Me, Under 3 is free admission, over 3 child ticket...Big Duh empty space between ears look I was given...other CM waved us on into queue.

I was a tad blucky, DH was pretty darn sick, 3 year old DS, so excited asking if we could go ride again.
Every kid is different, every ride is different, Punt!

 

[Figgy1]

I have a 4 and 5 year old, they are both very short though. They are already daredevils and get upset when they aren't big enough for a ride. I am hoping for a growth spurt before October!

Welcome good luck for growth spirts! My ds just a little short for a few rides so he got a new pair of sneakers with a bit thicker sole! Just made it!

 

[princessmommy]

My 3 almost 4 39.5 inch but 40 with shoes daughter rode everything she could, but I didn't take her on dinosaur. It scares my much braver ds7 (and me).
Here is a list of what she liked or didn't like:
Splash mountain - loved
Thunder mountain - loved
Star tours- liked it but wouldn't do it again
Tower of Terror - loved it
Test Track- liked it but wouldn't do it twice
Soarin-loved it
Goofys barnstormer- loved it
Kali river rapids- loved it

 

[Cassie S.]

Welcome good luck for growth spirts! My ds just a little short for a few rides so he got a new pair of sneakers with a bit thicker sole! Just made it!

Ha! My 4 1/2 yr old is a shorty. We are going to WDW in May and he needs to grow 1/2 inch in 2 months. If not, he will be wearing boots on certain rides!!
He went to the fair and rode quite a few rides, not scared AT ALL. He says he will do TOT... we will see! His 6 year old sister is very tall and can ride everything but Rockin Rollercoaster and Primeval Whirl. I hope she likes the rides... I could see her freaking out on TOT but I want her to try it.

 

[ladydi]

My daughter who had just turned 3 was 40" on our first trip. We started small-with Goofy's Barnstormer and built from there. She went on BTM and Splash with smiles on her face but refused to go on Pirates-go figure. We looked at lots of youtube videos before we went. I was hoping they'd get my five year olds ready but the boys were more afraid than her!

 

[LostBoy28]

My daughter was the same age when we took her to DW back in 2011 and just like you, she barely made the 40" req. (we actually had to buy her special shoes with a bit more sole to them, but she passed). I managed to get her on the Tower of Terror and she absolutely LOVED it!!! Everyone was amazed that such a little girl was so brave and daring. That was the first day of our trip and it gave her the confidence to take on every other ride in DW.

 

[Figgy1]

My daughter was the same age when we took her to DW back in 2011 and just like you, she barely made the 40" req. (we actually had to buy her special shoes with a bit more sole to them, but she passed). I managed to get her on the Tower of Terror and she absolutely LOVED it!!! Everyone was amazed that such a little girl was so brave and daring. That was the first day of our trip and it gave her the confidence to take on every other ride in DW.

Welcome and I'm glad your ds had such a great time!

 

[RedDad]

We are really debating about our 3yo daughter this trip. This will be her 4th trip, and she has ridden pretty much everything that isn't height restricted. She is fairly tall for her age and is already 40", so we're trying to decide about bigger rides. She rode Barnstormer last trip when she was still 2 and did NOT like it ("Too Rough!"). So, I'm thinking BTMRR is out. She seems to really dislike loud and bumpy/jerky rides. I think she'll be ok on Soarin', but Splash is the big question. She'd be fine until that big drop, and I'm thinking it would be too much. She REALLY wants to go on it, though - she loves the laughing place song on the parks CD!

We may try and work our way up to it, and do it late in the trip. This is compounded by the fact that my parents ruined theme parks for most of my young childhood by taking me on a Free Fall ride (similar to ToT) for my first ever ride at age 5! I refused to go on any rides at any theme park until I was much older, and this resulted in me chickening out on Space Mountain during my one childhood trip to WDW. I didn't get to ride Space Mountain until I was almost 30!

 

[Hot Lava]

And I would definitely not take any child on Stitch's Great Escape, where they'll be forcibly restrained and forced to see, hear and even smell crappy entertainment. They should rename that thing "Walt Disney's Clockwork Orange."

LOL! too funny! I posted my experience elsewhere on this site regarding someone's terrified child back when this was AE. Disney should either convert this back or just get rid of it.

I have the little daredevil who rode a loop coaster at 2!

How was a 2 year old allowed on a loop coaster?

 

[Figgy1]

LOL! too funny! I posted my experience elsewhere on this site regarding someone's terrified child back when this was AE. Disney should either convert this back or just get rid of it.



How was a 2 year old allowed on a loop coaster?

He was very tall for his age at the time. It was a small loop out at Hershey PA.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

We took my cousin on his 6th birthday and he was JUSt on the line for Tower of Terror and RNRC and he wanted to ride both of them. So I took him on RNRC first and he LOVED it!! We then rode ToT and he loved that as well. Kid was a little daredevil. Ntohing scared him. I guess it just depends on the child. Start them on something a little more on the "tame" side and work up from there.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

He was very tall for his age at the time. It was a small loop out at Hershey PA.

We brought my cousin on that one (Super Duper Looper) when she was young, too. I think she was 6 at the time. It was her first big ride. I took her on Lighting Racer after (the big wooden coaster) and she hated it.