Prepping kids to ride things

[bradandsarabr]

The family is off to WDW in a few weeks. DS7 is pumped because he can & wants to ride everything this time. DS4 is very tentative about certain things. He is not sure if he wants to ride Nemo because it is dark. He is worried that the seatbelt on Soarin' may not hold him in. Any suggestions on how to prep DS4 for what is to come??

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

The family is off to WDW in a few weeks. DS7 is pumped because he can & wants to ride everything this time. DS4 is very tentative about certain things. He is not sure if he wants to ride Nemo because it is dark. He is worried that the seatbelt on Soarin' may not hold him in. Any suggestions on how to prep DS4 for what is to come??

:wave:
I know a lot of people struggle with this...I see it all the time at the parks!

I would definitely sit him down and talk with him about it.
Remind him that whatever he goes on there is only a ride. Nothing is real and nothing will hurt him. He can close his eyes if he doesn't like what he sees, or can't see.
Tell him that if he really doesn't want to ride, he doesn't have to, but it may be fun so he may want to give it a try. Definitely encourage him to do that.
Remind him that you will be there with him, so there's nothing to fear!
Also, I'm not sure how tall he is, but some things he probably won't be able to ride anyway so that takes care of those rides.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Atomicmickey]

One thing to do is to rank rides by "darkness", "speed", etc. and try to go from mild to wild.

My sister took her 4yr old on Stitch's Great Escape first, and it went dark, etc. and so he almost wouldn't go in any building for two days!

Start with airy, open, friendly, and then take it one step at a time.

I imagine your touring plan will look like spaghetti, running here and there, but it'll probably be worth it.

Then, give your little one lots of support and encouragement for having been "brave enough" to do certain rides . . . and take it from there.

Good luck!

 

[DisneyJoe]

Small pocket flashlights can help with dark rides....

 

[Erika]

One thing to do is to rank rides by "darkness", "speed", etc. and try to go from mild to wild...



I imagine your touring plan will look like spaghetti, running here and there, but it'll probably be worth it.

I agree- I think that's a great strategy. It worked for us in DL and there wasn't a ride we did (even the "scary" ones) that wasn't a big hit. I think IASW and Peter Pan are good starter dark rides, maybe in that order.

And Mmmmmmmmm... spaghetti :slurp:

 

[toystorymaniacs]

Small pocket flashlights can help with dark rides....

This has always been a big help with my ds, I also agree with the person who says start slow.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

my last trip included a 5yo girl, and 9yo and 11yo boys. To get the 5yo prepared one of the things we did was to tell her "secrets" about the ride that the older kids didn't know. It worked out well because they played along and didn't want us to ruin the surprise for them.

Just an example, when we were going into Stitch's Great Escape I would whisper to my neice in line things like "Don't tell the boys but it actually feels like Stitch is right behind you" and "Don't tell them but the lights are going to go off and you and I can hold hands"

It was a way to tell her what was going to happen in the ride and made her feel like she was in on a little secret. Like I said, it helped that the older kids played along but if you have another adult that's willing to play the "fool" ie, "Gee I hope the lights don't go off in there" it might help out.

At the end of the ride she would just be laughing at the boys and asking them if they werre scared when the lights went out. They're good kids, though and said that it was pretty scary but that she was a brave girl.

 

[H20Babie]

You Tube! It has videos of ride throughs of most attractions. Just type in the Disney and the name of the ride. I did this with my own son and Soarin' is now one of his favourite rides.

 

[oakback]

You Tube! It has videos of ride throughs of most attractions. Just type in the Disney and the name of the ride. I did this with my own son and Soarin' is now one of his favourite rides.

Ditto, did the same thing last year when my boy was 6, it helped him to know what to expect. In the Stitch ride, he saw between wife and I, and held both our hands, but he enjoyed it.

 

[durangojim]

Another thought is to remind him that this is Disney, and nothing can hurt him. Definately don't force him to go on a ride if he doesn't want to, but maybe let him see some folks coming off the ride and see how happy they look afterwards.

 

[Tigggrl]

Whatever happens, do not force them or make them feel bad if they arent ready! My parents made me ride an old wooden rollercoaster when I was not ready....and to this day I can not do things with drops or coasters of any kind....its traumatizing! I tried to ride splash a few years ago, and had a full on panic attack.....

 

[disney4life2008]

In May at DHS, I was standing in line for Tower of Terror (it was walk on). A little girl and her father (she was about 8) got in line behind me. It was clear she did not want to get on ToT but her Dad MADE her get on. As we walked into the preshow area, the little girl was crying hysterically (having an attack) telling her Dad she did not want to get on because she was too scared. The Dad told her to shut up and act like a big girl and that she was getting on whether she liked it or not. I do not know what happened (if they did get on the ride or not because of the line seperations in the basement). But I felt so sorry for the little girl and I was almost tempted to tell the father he was in the wrong for doing that.

 

[durangojim]

In May at DHS, I was standing in line for Tower of Terror (it was walk on). A little girl and her father (she was about 8) got in line behind me. It was clear she did not want to get on ToT but her Dad MADE her get on. As we walked into the preshow area, the little girl was crying hysterically (having an attack) telling her Dad she did not want to get on because she was too scared. The Dad told her to shut up and act like a big girl and that she was getting on whether she liked it or not. I do not know what happened (if they did get on the ride or not because of the line seperations in the basement). But I felt so sorry for the little girl and I was almost tempted to tell the father he was in the wrong for doing that.

Nice parenting, way to show that Disney Magic.
Same thing happened to us on POTC. A girl who looked to be about 6 did not want to go on, Dad forced her while she was wailing. Cast member came over and asked them to leave the boat. Dad kept saying "cmon, be a big girl, stop crying" and then pointed to my 3 y/o son and 1 y/o daughter and said "they're going on" After they left, my son whispered to me "Daddy, that man wasn't being nice"

 

[bradandsarabr]

DS4 did fine. Thanks for all the suggestions.