Thrill rides & 4-years olds ??

[MickeyMark]

I'm trying to figure out what attractions are good for the 4-year age group. Last year when he was still three we did the usual "mellow" rides and attractions.
Anyone have any expierences, advice ?

Thanks!!

 

[Pioneer Hall]

It really depends on your child and what their tolerance is for the attractions you want to take them on. The height factor also plays a part. If your child is over 44", they can pretty much do everything WDW has to offer. The question is, are they ready for it? You have to use your best judgement and listen to them. If they want to ride something and can then let them, but NEVER force a child on to something that they don't want to be on. That will not only hurt their part of the trip, but will bother others around you.

Also...start slow. Don't hit Space Mountain without trying Thunder Mountain out first. Don't head over to Tower of Terror without taking a ride on Splash Mountain. Don't do too much an scare your child right away.

 

[doop]

I went on ToT when it first opened, I was 4 and i had no problem, lol, but maybe I'm just a natural thrill seeker, but yeah you might want to start at a lower level of thrills and work your way up to see what their limits are.

 

[JET12monorail]

Just to prove the point that it depends on the kid-- my now 5 yr old went on splash mountain for the first time when she was 3.5. After that-Test Track--it was especially weird to see a child so small (barelly 40" at the time) with her hands in the air during the victory lap on TT. It's all she ever talks about anymore. We're taking her back along with her 4yr old brother on the 14 of this month---Can't wait!

 

[Kwit35]

My 4 year old loves POTC, hates Haunted Mansion. Love Splash Mountain, hates Maelstrom. Loves Barnstormer, tolerates Buzz Lightyear. As stated before, it all depends on the kids.

 

[gjpjtj]

When my son was 4 years old, he went on Test Track, Splash Mountain, BTMRR, Tower of Terror, he was too small for RnRC, Space Mountain, Primieval Whirl, (In fact he is 6 now, and still a couple of inches short for them. The minimum height is 48" on those). Out of all the rides he went on, the only one I couldn't get him on was the Haunted Mansion!!! Guess it depends on the child.

 

[Jajo]

Funny how my 4 year old loves Big Thunder but my 8 year old went wild. But my 4 year old won't go on Star Tours but my 8 year old thinks its great.

That being said, knowing my kids, I won't try Space Mountain for a while and ToT is a while down the road. Trust your instincts.

 

[Mickifan17]

It totally depends on the child. I took my 4 1/2 year old on BTMRR and he freaked! He loves to watch it, but it kinda scared him. He says when he's "big" he'll go on it again.

However, I'm sure my 17 month old would ride all of the rides if he could. He has no fear. Again, it all depends on your child. Good luck!


Only 98 more days til I'm Home!! :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[MickeyMark]

Thanks for all the great replies.
Guess I should start with The Barnstormer and go from there.

 

[The Mom]

Sometimes, the child is afraid of the dark more than the ride. And some children hate falls (my daughter) but don't mind spinning. Others hate spinning (my son) love falls (Splash) but hate enclosed coasters. (My son again) I think he only went on RnR because StaticX, Donickco, Foxfire, mkt, etc were calling him a wuss for being afraid! He even went on ToT with them.

And he's 11!

 

[marni1971]

Please remember if the child dosn`t like the attraction, and starts to cry, any other guest within earshot will also have the ride spoiled (I think most of us here have this experience first hand)

 

[The Mom]

Please remember if the child dosn`t like the attraction, and starts to cry, any other guest within earshot will also have the ride spoiled (I think most of us here have this experience first hand)

Especially in "It's Tough to be a Bug!" Parents think that because it isn't a "thrill" ride that it's fine for their little ones...despite all of the warnings posted! I have yet to see it without at least two or three terrified children crying and screaming. Even worse was the little girl down the row whimpering through the whole thing; she was too scared to cry! Do you think the parents would take them out as soon as they started? Noooo. Not until people around them finally said something, and shamed them into leaving.

 

[Lauriebar]

Especially in "It's Tough to be a Bug!" Parents think that because it isn't a "thrill" ride that it's fine for their little ones...despite all of the warnings posted! I have yet to see it without at least two or three terrified children crying and screaming. Even worse was the little girl down the row whimpering through the whole thing; she was too scared to cry! Do you think the parents would take them out as soon as they started? Noooo. Not until people around them finally said something, and shamed them into leaving.

Very true! My 10 year old DS had his first trip at four. He loved Space, Thunder and Splash Mountains. He had a ball on ToT. But when we went on HISTA and ITTBAB he freaked out!! He still hates them and refuses to go anywhere near them!! He's added M:S and RnRC to his list of favs but the 4D rides are just to intense for him.

 

[shari71]

I just took my four year old three months ago. I thought she would be terrified even though she was waiting to get bigger so she could ride the "big toys" as she puts it. She loved Splash Mountain, BTMRR, Test Track. We headed towards ToT but she was in a bad mood so I didn't push it. She throws up her arms on the drops and begs to go back for more. Test Track and Splash Mountain were her favorites....rode them over and over.

Now my 2 year old...well, I haven't figured her out yet, but you just have to listen to them when they say no. I have seen too many parents force children on rides when they are kicking and screaming from terror. Not exactly my idea of vacation. If that happens and you just cannot go without riding it, then do it alone.

Mission Space - both daughters are too small and I get sick easily on it (only one at Disney), but my husband loves it and he can't do the rollercoasters or drop ones. Just look for the play grounds ususally around them. I didn't know about the Mission Space play area for kids until I got so bored walking around with the two of them, that I decided to see what was at the exit. Man the girls loved playing there.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

You can always wait in the queue (It'll give you somewhat of an idea of the atmosphere of the ride) and if there's any doubts, use the chicken exit. Any CM can help you.
Don't forget about child swap if there's a ride you really want to go on, but you children can't or don't want to go on.
And, go into the giftshop for the ride, that will also give you a nice idea of the ride (i.e. test track, RnR, ToT, M:S etc)

 

[ampersand2001]

My son is turning 4 in April and we always go on ToT, splash mountain, malestrom, haunted mansion, test track....He LOVES it. My 6 year old will NOT go on ToT though. Everything else she likes.

 

[ryank007]

We started our daughter (who had just turned 3 at the time) on the Barnstormer. She liked it. Then we'd build it up a bit and a few months later, try the next in line, BTMRR. She enjoyed that as well. She finally made the height restriction for Space Mountain last month, and we went on that (she's 4 now). She loved it. In our case, it was just a matter of giving it time, building her up, and encouraging her to try something "bigger" each time. Whatever you do, don't force them.

So can anyone tell me why she loves Space Mountain and hates PotC? She says she is "afraid of the drop". Kids, gotta love em... :brick:

Ryan

 

[ScrapIron]

If you have any kind of theme/amusement park or midway close by, you can get him in training, so to speak. My son was 4, a few months short of five, when he started going upside down on rides, and that was due to getting him familiar with the concept, and, as has been stated before, respecting his limits and understanding that all kids are different.

He went on a log ride the first time at 2, and was willing to go again the next day when given a choice (the first of our key chain photo collection). At four and 44" we walked up to a simple out and back coaster at Paramount's Great America with a single loop, but had to back off because it went by as we approached, and the launch was loud. This is a good example of different things with different kids, sounds affect him a lot more than physical motions i.e. roaring Yeti on the Matterhorn. But later that same day, we went on a spinning ride that went upside down, and I made a calculated decision to get him on before he saw it in action. Once I pointed out that he'd now been upside down, he was willing to try the coaster.

I'll be the first to admit that he's done things I wouldn't have done until I was 10. He went on X at Magic Mtn at 9! On the other hand, even though 44" was also the height for the wooden coaster at PGA, it was a few more months before he was willing to go on it. Since it's such a monstrosity to begin with, I knew that if I pushed it, it was risking putting him off other rides in the future. I have a video of my friends daughter on that coaster when she was 7-8, and she's screaming "I hate you Mommy!" the whole trip.

Good luck , and have fun. One good thing about MK coasters is that you can work your way up.

Cheers.

 

[rosebud's mom]

All the advice given here is dead on. You are the best judge of your own child. Do you "roughhouse" together ? One pretty good indicator a a child that will do well on the rides is a child that likes to play a little rough. By that I mean the daredevil kind who likes to climb on the furniture and jump, or one that hops right to the top of the highest slide at the local playground. Some toddlers want to be turned upside down or spun around, while others are terrified by such activities.

On the other hand, a quiet child who is most content coloring or reading may not be as ready for the "action" rides.

My older daughter was EXTREMELY tall for her age. She was thoroughly loving BTMR before she turned 2 !

 

[themouseman]

I know this doesn't help but last time I was at space MT we were almost about to get on-the ride after waiting about an hour and a little kid started to cry because he was scared, then his mom started hitting him and said that for all that wait she wasn't about to leave I was so shocked that she would hit him rite in front of every one anywho the whole ride was ruined :brick: