FOP for 6 year old?

blondemomma2

New Member
Original Poster
Anyone have suggestions on if this is scary for a 6 year old? I don't want to traumatize my daughter she is great with rides but I haven't rode this one yet so I do not know what to expect.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
FoP is Soarin on steroids.

If she meets the height restrictions and enjoys attractions like Soarin, Space Mountain, or Tower of Terror then FoP will be a walk in the park.
 

hanwill

Well-Known Member
It's like riding a motorcycle through the air- flying... Nothing to jump out at you or scare you. It's peaceful and relaxing... But it is thrilling because it is so much fun. My 6 year old loved it!
 

MattC

Well-Known Member
Yeah, deffinately depends on the child. Over the weekend we were unfortunate enough to be seated next to a family with a young girl. 5 year old range. Through the queue we could tell she was scared. Mom told her several times that if she wanted to leave they could. In the final pre-boarding room the little girl finally decided she wanted to leave and the mother was going to take her out. That was until a well intentioned but mistaken woman behind the family spoke up and talked the girl and mother into riding because it would be “so much fun.” This lady didn’t have to sit next to a screaming child the entire ride. I mean bloody murder screaming. I don’t know how she could breath and stay conscious screaming.

I’m glad that was not our first time riding. Would have been a shame for that to have been our first FoP experience.

That being said I agree with the others above. The vast majority of children will love the ride. We just got to see one of the exceptions.
 

blondemomma2

New Member
Original Poster
Yeah, deffinately depends on the child. Over the weekend we were unfortunate enough to be seated next to a family with a young girl. 5 year old range. Through the queue we could tell she was scared. Mom told her several times that if she wanted to leave they could. In the final pre-boarding room the little girl finally decided she wanted to leave and the mother was going to take her out. That was until a well intentioned but mistaken woman behind the family spoke up and talked the girl and mother into riding because it would be “so much fun.” This lady didn’t have to sit next to a screaming child the entire ride. I mean bloody murder screaming. I don’t know how she could breath and stay conscious screaming.

I’m glad that was not our first time riding. Would have been a shame for that to have been our first FoP experience.

That being said I agree with the others above. The vast majority of children will love the ride. We just got to see one of the exceptions.
oh no thats horrible!
 

CinderMama

Active Member
It does really depend on the kid. We rode last fall with my almost 6 year old son and 9 year old daughter. My son loved it, rode it twice. My daughter, who is slightly adventurous - loves Soarin', was very scared. Not scared of ride content necessarily, she felt like she was going to fall. It was a weird sensation for her. One and done for that girl.
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Yeah, deffinately depends on the child. Over the weekend we were unfortunate enough to be seated next to a family with a young girl. 5 year old range. Through the queue we could tell she was scared. Mom told her several times that if she wanted to leave they could. In the final pre-boarding room the little girl finally decided she wanted to leave and the mother was going to take her out. That was until a well intentioned but mistaken woman behind the family spoke up and talked the girl and mother into riding because it would be “so much fun.” This lady didn’t have to sit next to a screaming child the entire ride. I mean bloody murder screaming. I don’t know how she could breath and stay conscious screaming.

I’m glad that was not our first time riding. Would have been a shame for that to have been our first FoP experience.

That being said I agree with the others above. The vast majority of children will love the ride. We just got to see one of the exceptions.


I had a very similar experience last week at 'Flight' , but it was with a young boy who was around the same age.
It was my second time experiencing the Attraction, with my first only a short time earlier.
Very glad this didn't happen that first time, but i really felt sorry for the little boy.

It was the same deal - he was obviously scared about riding but his parents kept blowing it off telling him he will 'be fine' and 'it will be fun'.
Well it sure as heck was not 'fun' for the group of us stuck in the same Link Room with him!

Holy Batmice, he ear piercingly screamed at the top of his lungs for the entire three minutes.
And i mean REALLY screamed like a bloodthirsty Thanator jumped on him and started chewing his legs off.
The child was truly terrified and had a complete meltdown on the floor after the experience was over and Guests were leaving the Link Room.
It was a case of ol' Mom and Dad wanting to ride, and the poor kid being assured it would be okay.
Clearly he was scared even before entering the main Show, yet they chose to ignore his pleas to not let him ride.
So they 'forced' him to do it...which of course made him all the more frightened, exspecially when the leg and back retrains were put into position.
:(


So i would say it really depends on the child.
If he or she is showing hesitation when it gets closer to actually riding, DO use your best judgement.
Read the signals your child is sending you.
Is he or she nervous about what might happen?
Only you, as the parent, know your child best and how he or she may be able to handle the experience.

Having now tried 'Flight' in person, i can say that there are a couple of moments that might spook a young child.
Spoiler free comment - one of the Pandorian creatures appears suddenly and in a way that might be a little 'scary' to young kids.
Again, only you as a parent can really judge in advance if you think your child can handle it.

It really is a terrific and fun experience, but yes, there is a element or two that might be a little 'too intense' for more sensitive kids.

-
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I'd suggest a progressive approach -- meaning, see how she handles something like Mission:Space (green) first (to see if she does okay with an attraction that limits her movement by holding her in place), and then try Soarin' (which raises riders to a height and subjects them to some sweeping and swooping movements). If she does well with those and feels ready to "kick it up a notch" (or two!) then by all means let her try FoP. (Do make sure she knows she is free to "nope out" at any time before boarding if she needs to, and give her the tip that if she gets scared during the ride, turning her head all the way to one side so she can see other riders and be reminded that "this isn't real" can be very helpful.)

FWIW, I'd say that the closest attraction to FoP I've ever ridden is Harry Potter and Forbidden Journey over at Universal -- if you and/or your daughter happen to have done that once, it's a pretty close comparator in terms of the type and intensity of movement you can expect.
 

jkl2000

Well-Known Member
I had a very similar experience last week at 'Flight' , but it was with a young boy who was around the same age.
It was my second time experiencing the Attraction, with my first only a short time earlier.
Very glad this didn't happen that first time, but i really felt sorry for the little boy.

It was the same deal - he was obviously scared about riding but his parents kept blowing it off telling him he will 'be fine' and 'it will be fun'.
Well it sure as heck was not 'fun' for the group of us stuck in the same Link Room with him!

Holy Batmice, he ear piercingly screamed at the top of his lungs for the entire three minutes.
And i mean REALLY screamed like a bloodthirsty Thanator jumped on him and started chewing his legs off.
The child was truly terrified and had a complete meltdown on the floor after the experience was over and Guests were leaving the Link Room.
It was a case of ol' Mom and Dad wanting to ride, and the poor kid being assured it would be okay.
Clearly he was scared even before entering the main Show, yet they chose to ignore his pleas to not let him ride.
So they 'forced' him to do it...which of course made him all the more frightened, exspecially when the leg and back retrains were put into position.
:(


So i would say it really depends on the child.
If he or she is showing hesitation when it gets closer to actually riding, DO use your best judgement.
Read the signals your child is sending you.
Is he or she nervous about what might happen?
Only you, as the parent, know your child best and how he or she may be able to handle the experience.

Having now tried 'Flight' in person, i can say that there are a couple of moments that might spook a young child.
Spoiler free comment - one of the Pandorian creatures appears suddenly and in a way that might be a little 'scary' to young kids.
Again, only you as a parent can really judge in advance if you think your child can handle it.

It really is a terrific and fun experience, but yes, there is a element or two that might be a little 'too intense' for more sensitive kids.

-

Don't they allow rider switch? Seems like this would have been the perfect solution for that family.
 

Trackmaster

Well-Known Member
Just be honest with your kid about what the ride is, and be accommodating for them if they either refuse to ride, or chicken out. You can use the rider swap to still guarantee rides for your and your spouse if your child has any last minute changes of heart. I think that from a content standpoint, as long as a child is tall enough to ride, the content shouldn't necessarily be too PG-13 or R for them at any amusement park ride in America really, but let them judge what they want to ride. Kids can usually sense what they'll enjoy and not enjoy by all of the elements surrounding the ride. Worse comes to worst, they'll be safely strapped in, and the ride will be over in 4-5 minutes. Even if they don't enjoy the ride, they'll be safe, and the experience will be over soon enough that it won't be the end of the world for them.

Just make it clear that you support their decision either way, but it may be hard to get them off once the ride is in motion.
 

Coaster Lover

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
My son was about 6 years two months when he first rode Flight of Passage. Absolutely loved it. I think the biggest issue he has was that the glasses are relatively large and slightly heavier than your typical 3-D glasses for an amusement park ride and so there were a couple times when the glasses started to slip off. As others have said, base your decision on what else your child has ridden. If they are doing rides like Tower of Terror, Dinosaurs, Test Track, and Space Mountain with little to no hesitation, Flight of Passage will be easy (personally, I think all of those other rides I mentioned are more intense/scary than Flight of Passage).
 

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