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HM, POTC and Tiki, Country Bears with Children 3 & Under?
- Thread starter D23
- Start date
Jessie&Buzz
Active Member
We took our son on those when he was 18 months. He loved them. I think it depends on the child. If you see your child getting scared then I would suggest not going on something. Each child is different.
kangaand2roos
Member
I agree with above posters, it depends on the kid. I took the kids 1n 2007 my son turned 4 when we were there and my daughter was a month shy of 2. We knew to avoid HM b/c it was dark and the kids aren't big fans of the dark, but my son was scared of POTC, he wouldn't even walk in the line, my daughter on the other hand wanted to go on POTC, so my son waited w/ my parents while we took her on and she loved it. However, he insisted on going on Thunder Mt which I thought he would hate but he LOVED it. My daughter was fearless on all the rides but was terrified of the characters. Fast forward a year, my son was like, lets go, lets go on the POTC and so was she and she was no longer scared of the characters. So it's really hard to tell. You have to just let the kids guide you and be flexible.
erstwo
Well-Known Member
I think it also kind of depends on what your kids are exposed to.... meaning if you've let your 3 year old see POTC the movie, then most likely they won't be scared by the ride, etc.
Our kids are pretty sheltered movie-wise. DS is the type who had nightmares about Finding Nemo for weeks after he saw it for the first time (he was 5 and we edited out the shark scene.) He's just one of those kids with a BIG imagination, so it's a lot of Cars for us!!!!
I'm NOT saying you should have your child watch POTC the movie before you go by any means! I'm just backing up what others have said - you know your child and if they can handle it, then you'll be fine on the ride!
Our kids are pretty sheltered movie-wise. DS is the type who had nightmares about Finding Nemo for weeks after he saw it for the first time (he was 5 and we edited out the shark scene.) He's just one of those kids with a BIG imagination, so it's a lot of Cars for us!!!!
I'm NOT saying you should have your child watch POTC the movie before you go by any means! I'm just backing up what others have said - you know your child and if they can handle it, then you'll be fine on the ride!
mep517
Member
We are taking our little ones (3 1/2 & 1) on POTC, Tiki and Country Bears but haven't made a decision about HM (leaning toward not). We have talked a lot about the attractions with our oldest and have shown her some You Tube videos of ride throughs so she knows a little of what to expect. The one I'm most concerned about is Snow White. We've asked her to try it once to see if she likes it or not, but I'm nervous about it.
Good responses. It gives my wife and I something to ponder.
I can see what you mean. Like my son will be 1.5 when we go and is fearless. In everything. My daughter is a little more imaginative and tends to let it go like crazy.
I will have to feel it out and see. As for letting my daughter watch POTC it isn't happening. LOL.
My daughter is all about the princesses. I think the Tiki Room she will like since my basement is the "Jonny Jon's Enchanted Tiki Lounge"
Yeah, I made my basement bar and rec room into the Tiki Room complete with full size one of a kind replica of the Tiki Totem. And it even talks.
Country Bears she will like, she likes bears in general and saw the film once and my old home movies of the attraction.
I will have to weight the options for POTC and HM while we are there.
Thanks for the insights, now I have something to ponder while there.
I can see what you mean. Like my son will be 1.5 when we go and is fearless. In everything. My daughter is a little more imaginative and tends to let it go like crazy.
I will have to feel it out and see. As for letting my daughter watch POTC it isn't happening. LOL.
My daughter is all about the princesses. I think the Tiki Room she will like since my basement is the "Jonny Jon's Enchanted Tiki Lounge"
Yeah, I made my basement bar and rec room into the Tiki Room complete with full size one of a kind replica of the Tiki Totem. And it even talks.
Country Bears she will like, she likes bears in general and saw the film once and my old home movies of the attraction.
I will have to weight the options for POTC and HM while we are there.
Thanks for the insights, now I have something to ponder while there.
KC82271
Active Member
As mentioned, it has to do with each individual child. My DD is going on 4 and will not step foot near the HM. She only sat through the Tiki Room on our last trip in Nov. She didn't like the dark and would scream as soon as we walked in. Country Bears same thing - last trip was the first we sat through it. Had tried in the past but she screamed. Now her trip in Nov was her fifth - we basically try to go April and Nov each year. So she was a variety of ages when trying it.
You are really going to have to play it by ear - and for the shows - be sure to sit on an end so you can walk out with whichever child needs to leave.
You are really going to have to play it by ear - and for the shows - be sure to sit on an end so you can walk out with whichever child needs to leave.
KingStefan
Well-Known Member
HM, POTC and Tiki, Country Bears with Children 3 & Under?
CB - no problem
HM - my older DD when she was 3 1/2 had a hard time with HM DLP, but it's much more graphic, and WDW version is much milder
Tiki - younger DD when 2 yo had no problem, but remember there is the big thunder and lightning thing when the gods get angry. If your kids frighten easily at that sort of thing, I'd at a min hold them close and tell them it's ok.
POTC - when younger DD was 2 had no problem, but older DD was 6 and was terrified of the queue, but not the ride
As others have posted, it depends on your kids.
mrtoad
Well-Known Member
As mentioned every kid is different but here is my thought at least from how our daughter who is now 8 was. She went on her first trip at about 2 months older than 3. She was not afraid of anything. She did HM, Splash, POTC, etc. Not one problem. The following year, she would not do anything. I think at first she was too young to know to be afraid. She gave us trouble with stuff right up until he last trip at age 6.
We are going in about 2 weeks and hoping that has changed. We have a child who will be 20 months when we leave and also from her personality don't think she will be scared of any of it, but you never know. In her case I don't think though she will be able to sit through something like Country Bears or Tiki Room and will want to get up (she likes to walk around a lot). I think something like POTC and HM will be fine with her as it keeps moving and she will enjoy that.
We are going in about 2 weeks and hoping that has changed. We have a child who will be 20 months when we leave and also from her personality don't think she will be scared of any of it, but you never know. In her case I don't think though she will be able to sit through something like Country Bears or Tiki Room and will want to get up (she likes to walk around a lot). I think something like POTC and HM will be fine with her as it keeps moving and she will enjoy that.
lilclerk
Well-Known Member
OT, but I remember seeing Finding Nemo opening night in a full theatre and when the angler fish came on, so many kids were crying that 1/4 of the people left :lol:
We did DL, not WDW, with our daughter who was just a bit younger than your 3 year old. She did great on POTC and it ended up being one of her favorite rides- she's really familiar with Peter Pan and had even chosen to be Captain Hook for Halloween, so the pirate theme was not at all scary to her. I had told her in advance that the ride would be dark, and I warned her about the cannonball scene. We turned it into a funny joke about them trying to throw things at each other so that when we went through it she just laughed and thought it was great. I think it helped her knowing that she was not the target. And she knew the song, which added to the fun.
The Tiki birds were another big hit-- again- we had learned the song well in advance, which helped. But being in DL, that was the original version, not the new one. Same goes for HM which was done up for Christmas at the time. I'm not sure she would have liked it otherwise.
Anything with thunder/lightning was not a problem as we go occasionally to the Tempe Rainforest Cafe and she the "storms" are her favorite part of the meal. :shrug: Disney just does it better!
ETA- we had also made up this whole thing before we went that bad guys sometimes went to the parks too (Jafar, Maleficent, Captain Hook, etc) but that even though they were still a little grumpy, they always, ALWAYS behaved in the parks, because Mickey won't allow them in otherwise and the threat of being banned was enough to keep them in line. So whoever she saw walking around, or in the rides-- the witch in Snow White's Scary Adventures, for example-- she felt completely safe. I know she kept it in her mind because she brought it up several times for reassurance :lol:
The Tiki birds were another big hit-- again- we had learned the song well in advance, which helped. But being in DL, that was the original version, not the new one. Same goes for HM which was done up for Christmas at the time. I'm not sure she would have liked it otherwise.
Anything with thunder/lightning was not a problem as we go occasionally to the Tempe Rainforest Cafe and she the "storms" are her favorite part of the meal. :shrug: Disney just does it better!
ETA- we had also made up this whole thing before we went that bad guys sometimes went to the parks too (Jafar, Maleficent, Captain Hook, etc) but that even though they were still a little grumpy, they always, ALWAYS behaved in the parks, because Mickey won't allow them in otherwise and the threat of being banned was enough to keep them in line. So whoever she saw walking around, or in the rides-- the witch in Snow White's Scary Adventures, for example-- she felt completely safe. I know she kept it in her mind because she brought it up several times for reassurance :lol:
HM= Haunted Mansion
POTC = Pirates of the Caribbean
Here are more that are bound to come up at some point (I sometimes have to look them up myself) http://www.wdwmagic.com/acronyms.htm
:wave:
I have a son who is 18 months old and just read an article that has helped pursuade us to take him this year to WDW. The article is from a single moms stand point, but has alot of activities that children under 3 (or under height restriction) are able to do at all four parks
Heres a link:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1515071/doing_disney_as_a_single_parent_with.html?cat=16
Hope this helps someone else
Heres a link:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1515071/doing_disney_as_a_single_parent_with.html?cat=16
Hope this helps someone else
popsicletrees
Well-Known Member
We took my nephew, who just turned 2, to DL in January. Buzz Lightyear was his first ride. He was a little uncomfortable at first, but he was absolutely fine on each of the rides after that. He went on POTC and HM without any problem. As many have said, it depends on the child. I would scope out their responses to other rides before tackling HM.
Mickey-Mommy
New Member
We took my son when he was 15 months old and he LOVED most of those attractions. He was a bit weary of HM and POTC but I just whispered in his ears how cool something was or did you see that and acted happy and not scared. (I hate HM by the way! haha! Too scary for me, but my husband loves it!)
Another thing my son absolutely loved was Playhouse Disney Live and the breakfast at Hollywood and Vine that has the Little Einsteins and Jo Jo's Circus characters. He stole the show during the breakfast!
Another thing my son absolutely loved was Playhouse Disney Live and the breakfast at Hollywood and Vine that has the Little Einsteins and Jo Jo's Circus characters. He stole the show during the breakfast!