Tips for parents of children scared of rides

[kshiban]

Hi, anyone out there have advice for those of us with kids who are scared of rides?
Background: I have 2 boys (5 and 8). We are surprising them with a Disney trip at the end of February. Somehow the subject of DW came up (I don't plan on telling them about planned trip until last minute) and my oldest says, "I don't think I want to go to DW because the rides are too scary." WHAT?!? He was there once when he was 5 and had a really bad experience on Stitch's great escape. He was anxious about all rides from that point on. We still managed to have a good time.

My concern is now...well, 1) he is 3 years older. In every other aspect of his life, he isn't the scared-easily kind of kid. It is sooo unlike him. If he would just give rides he is scared of a chance, I know he'd love them! 2) My younger son ALWAYS follows his lead. So if he is scared, the youngest will undoubtedly be as well. 3) WDW is a lot of freakin money to be spending our time trying to convince our 8 year old that there is nothing scary about Peter Pan.

Any tips? thanks in advance!

 

[kshiban]

It just absolutely baffles me that he was scared (at 5) of peter pan and the little mermaid...yet he finds a way to sneak onto youtube to watch Five Nights at Freddie's

 

[BigRedDad]

My only advice is not to force them on any ride they do not want to go on and don't be "that parent" that tells a child that they are the reason their X-thousand dollar vacation is ruined.

 

[TDGMedley]

I agree with them start small then move up to the bigger rides. We made the mistake of doing a big one first and scared him and it was hard to get him on any ride after that. He would cry till rides got started then he loved them but getting on was hard. and before we went he had no fear and had been on the rides before, will not the roller coasters. Planing our next trip and all he tills me now is he does notlike roller coaster so hoping it will change before we go back. Good Luck and have a great trip.

 

[BackOTheLine]

Lots of good advice here. Our (now) 5 year old has gone through stages of being fearless then being afraid of everything. We've tried lots of things that are mentioned here. Working up to bigger rides (Barnstormer-->7DMT-->Big Thunder...etc). Watched YouTube videos. Sometimes we were able to lightly "force" her to ride. Never to the point of crying or physically forcing but just not giving in to a little bit of whining about something we knew was very mild. She would always admit "we were right" after the ride. We bribed her to ride Everest with a stuffed Yeti...(the second time was her idea!). But sometimes it's just not meant to be. We now have a fun game of who can make the silliest face for the ride photo. It's just a little something extra to think about instead of fixating on irrational fear.

 

[RandomPrincess]

My daughter (7) is scared of anything she can't see what it does. Most Disney rides you can't see ahead of time so she gets really worried that it will go upside down or something. In general I don't like taking screaming crying kids on rides, as I was the child who was forced to go on a drop tower ride against my will as a child and still have a phobia about them today. However on our last trip to DL my daughter suddenly decided she was terrified of The Little Mermaid Ride (even though she has been on it many times) I knew if I did not get my daughter on that ride she would ride nothing the rest of the trip. I tried reasoning, explaining the ride, asking why she was scared, bribing etc. Finally I just said, I promise you I will not take you on anything too scary for you and dragged he on the ride, at the turn style about 10 feet from the load area she lost it kicking screaming etc. I picked her up and put her in the ride, pulled down the bar and said "You are going to feel really silly you made such a fuss when the ride is over." After proved to her I wasn't evil trying to force her on a ride that goes upside down, the rest of the trip was fine. She even did a few coasters.

 

[21stamps]

My daughter (7) is scared of anything she can't see what it does. Most Disney rides you can't see ahead of time so she gets really worried that it will go upside down or something. In general I don't like taking screaming crying kids on rides, as I was the child who was forced to go on a drop tower ride against my will as a child and still have a phobia about them today. However on our last trip to DL my daughter suddenly decided she was terrified of The Little Mermaid Ride (even though she has been on it many times) I knew if I did not get my daughter on that ride she would ride nothing the rest of the trip. I tried reasoning, explaining the ride, asking why she was scared, bribing etc. Finally I just said, I promise you I will not take you on anything too scary for you and dragged he on the ride, at the turn style about 10 feet from the load area she lost it kicking screaming etc. I picked her up and put her in the ride, pulled down the bar and said "You are going to feel really silly you made such a fuss when the ride is over." After proved to her I wasn't evil trying to force her on a ride that goes upside down, the rest of the trip was fine. She even did a few coasters.

That's great! I think there's a fine line between not forcing them and giving in too easily. Facing a fear and realizing that it was irrational can open up so many doors for enjoyment. Those doors would stay shut otherwise, and I think that can be worse.

There's also levels of what and when you "should" force or not force. I didn't force my son to do Drop Tower when he started crying, but if it was Peter Pan or Little Mermaid-then I would have done exactly what you did.lol.

 

[kshiban]

That's great! I think there's a fine line between not forcing them and giving in too easily. Facing a fear and realizing that it was irrational can open up so many doors for enjoyment. Those doors would stay shut otherwise, and I think that can be worse.

There's also levels of what and when you "should" force or not force. I didn't force my son to do Drop Tower when he started crying, but if it was Peter Pan or Little Mermaid-then I would have done exactly what you did.lol.

Exactly! I did force Peter Pan and little mermaid. SM or ToT, nope.

 

[Patcheslee]

If it's fear of the dark maybe telling them that not everything in the dark is scary and there are fun things too. DD6 at the time was refused to get on the Gravitron (space ship that spins and pushes you up against a wall) at our local fair. Granted it was night then. We went back the next day and she wanted to ride while the sun was up and lit the inside and loved it. Later wanted to go on it at night and decided it was funner. I got stuck going on the dang thing over and over....

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

Youtube is nothing like being there, I thought I could show my 4 year old videos of Haunted Mansion and she would be better prepared. Sure, she was game when I showed her, it looked fun. When we got to the stretching room she completely lost it. I felt like the worse mom for about 15 minutes. Luckily, it was the first ride we got on, so she had the whole day to put it behind her. You definitely have to pace yourself, and if your kid isn't feeling it, just don't do it.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I concur with the advice (already given by previous posters) to have them watch Youtube videos of the attractions ahead of time. Half of the fear is not knowing what's going to happen. It worked well with my two children, as did structuring our first visit so that they could try things gradually, starting with the tamest rides and progressing from there.

 

[Princess Leia]

I am a former scaredy cat.

I am not kidding when I say that maybe a fifth to a quarter of my dad's Disney World videos involve the phrases "Elizabeth, it's okay," "Elizabeth, look at the ____", "Elizabeth, smile", or just the sound of me crying.

Things that scared me.... up until the age of 11 (or 16 in the case of Tower of Terror, which I still have never ridden)

• Roaming characters- almost all of the pictures of my first trip were of my mom holding me/me looking petrified of nearly. every. character. Prince John, Robin Hood, Donald, Goofy... Mary Poppins & Jasmine (?????), didn't matter, I looked terrified. My 1 1/2 year old sister loved them though
• Pirates of the Caribbean- I actually hid at the bottom of the boat- not my proudest moment- when I was maybe 8?
• The very concept of the Haunted Mansion- didn't ride it for years because I didn't want to be scared
• Stitch, because the brochure said it could be scary, and because I remember walking by ExtraTERRORestial and hearing people screaming as a kid (I didn't join my family when they went on Stitch, and it's closed now, hurrah)
• Great Movie Ride
• Jungle Cruise
• Backlot Tour, Snow White, Mr. Toad, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Maelstrom (now closed)
• Indiana Jones Stunt Show (loud noises and fight scenes)
• Buzz Lightyear
• Star Tours (grew up watching the movies, didn't want to ride it until my dad and little sister said it was fun)
• .... The Beauty and the Beast show (the Kill the Beast sequence used to involve dancing bats)
• Muppet-Vision 3D (grew up watching the Muppets, was scared of the 3D show, go figure)
• It's Tough to Be a Bug

And there are probably others that I can't think of right now....

I guess for me it was a combination between the fear of the unknown, dislike of loud noises/threat of danger (sooo many attractions fit this category), and just generally finding a lot of things frightening. I also didn't like roller coasters (which is honestly still a work in progress for me) or anything with a steep drop, so there's a list of attractions that I still need to ride.

Start with baby steps. Maybe show him a few videos online (a major blessing thanks to today's tech) of rides that he might be unsure about. Know what rides could be potentially scary. Obviously there's Haunted Mansion, but my parents had introduced me to classic cinema (probably as an infant), and I don't think they knew about any frightening scenes going into the Great Movie Ride. But starting with the Jimmy Cagney scene, the ride gets dark (a gangster or a bandit hijacks the ride, the Alien from... Alien pops up, and there's a 'death' scene in the middle of the Indiana Jones room).

Just remember to tell your children that it's all make believe, and that nothing bad will happen to them at Disney World. Watching YouTube videos before the trip will help too. I'm sure they'll have fun, and if they're cautious about riding something, and they happen to love the ride after, make sure you tell them how brave they were. It should help them conquer the rest of the rides.

 

[kshiban]

I am a former scaredy cat.

I am not kidding when I say that maybe a fifth to a quarter of my dad's Disney World videos involve the phrases "Elizabeth, it's okay," "Elizabeth, look at the ____", "Elizabeth, smile", or just the sound of me crying.

Things that scared me.... up until the age of 11 (or 16 in the case of Tower of Terror, which I still have never ridden)

• Roaming characters- almost all of the pictures of my first trip were of my mom holding me/me looking petrified of nearly. every. character. Prince John, Robin Hood, Donald, Goofy... Mary Poppins & Jasmine (?????), didn't matter, I looked terrified. My 1 1/2 year old sister loved them though
• Pirates of the Caribbean (I actually hid at the bottom of the boat- not my proudest moment) when I was maybe 8?
• The very concept of the Haunted Mansion- didn't ride it for years because I didn't want to be scared
• Stitch, because the brochure said it could be scary, and because I remember walking by ExtraTERRORestial and hearing people screaming as a kid (I didn't join my family when they went on the attraction, and it's closed now, hurrah)
• Great Movie Ride
• Jungle Cruise
• Backlot Tour, Snow White, Mr. Toad, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Maelstrom (now closed)
• Indiana Jones Stunt Show (loud noises and fight scenes)
• Buzz Lightyear
• Star Tours (grew up watching the movies, didn't want to ride it until my dad and little sister said it was fun)
• .... The Beauty and the Beast show (the Kill the Beast sequence used to involve dancing bats)
• Muppet-Vision 3D (grew up watching the Muppets, was scared of the 3D show, go figure)
• It's Tough to Be a Bug

And there are probably others that I can't think of right now....

I guess for me it was a combination between the fear of the unknown, dislike of loud noises/threat of danger (sooo many attractions fit this category), and just generally finding a lot of things frightening. I also didn't like roller coasters (which is honestly still a work in progress for me) or anything with a steep drop, so there's a list of attractions that I still need to ride.

Start with baby steps. Maybe show him a few videos online (a major blessing thanks to today's tech) of rides that he might be unsure about. Know what rides could be potentially scary. Obviously there's Haunted Mansion, but my parents had introduced me to classic cinema (probably as an infant), and I don't think they knew about any frightening scenes going into the Great Movie Ride. But starting with the Jimmy Cagney scene, the ride gets dark (a gangster or a bandit hijacks the ride, the Alien from... Alien pops up, and there's a 'death' scene in the middle of the Indiana Jones room).

Just remember to tell your children that it's all make believe, and that nothing bad will happen to them at Disney World. Watching YouTube videos before the trip will help too. I'm sure they'll have fun, and if they're cautious about riding something, and they happen to love the ride after, make sure you tell them how brave they were. It should help them conquer the rest of the rides.

I seriously love this. All of it. Completely made my lol while trying to get my own scaredy cat 8 year old in bed. He is your kindred spirit!

Thanks for the advice! I will certainly use it!

 

[Princess Leia]

I seriously love this. All of it. Completely made my lol while trying to get my own scaredy cat 8 year old in bed. He is your kindred spirit!

Thanks for the advice! I will certainly use it!

I was going through a family photo album looking at pictures of that first Disney trip the other day.... And I might have to post some of them here. I had to have been the most petrified child at Disney World in 1995.

He'll grow out of it. I hope sooner than I did, but he will some day lol.

 

[kshiban]

I was going through a family photo album looking at pictures of that first Disney trip the other day.... And I might have to post some of them here. I had to have been the most petrified child at Disney World in 1995.

He'll grow out of it. I hope sooner than I did, but he will some day lol.

Oh, please do!!!

 

[Princess Leia]

Oh, please do!!!

I'll post the scaredy cat pictures tomorrow when I have the album, but this is probably one of the nicest pictures from that trip (which is why it's saved on my phone lol). I'm bashful but happy (my sister is, as always, ready to make a friend), and my mom isn't awkwardly forcing me into the picture.

Remember- this is basically one of the best photos of the whole trip, to give you perspective.

 

[kshiban]

I'll post the scaredy cat pictures tomorrow when I have the album, but this is probably one of the nicest pictures from that trip (which is why it's saved on my phone lol). I'm bashful but happy (my sister is, as always, ready to make a friend), and my mom isn't awkwardly forcing me into the picture.
View attachment 187330
Remember- this is basically one of the best photos of the whole trip, to give you perspective.

Awwww, I love it! So sweet! Love the old school Mickey hat you are wearing!

 

[Princess Leia]

@kshiban , as promised.
DisneyWorld in the eyes of a scaredy cat 3 year old (Feb. 1995)
Aladdin & Jasmine?

Scared.
A 1930s vehicle outside of Indy?

Scared.
Mary Poppins, she who is practically perfect in every way?

So scared that I'm barely in the photo.

Holding onto my baby sister for dear life so she won't be harmed by the horrors of Disney.
The Terrific Tigger?

....
Well, the good news is that I got better...

 

[kshiban]

Awww, these are FANTASTIC!!! I absolutely love the ones with Aladdin and Jasmine! You were adorable!

 

[Princess Leia]

Awww, these are FANTASTIC!!! I absolutely love the ones with Aladdin and Jasmine! You were adorable!

lol thank you! My sister's words: "We were a lot cuter in the 90s." I didn't post them, but I actually was decently behaved with Chip and Dale, Pluto, and Donald (and Mickey of course). The rest seemed to scare the living daylights out of me.
You and your sons should have a wonderful trip. I doubt that they'll be as scared as I was (you should have absolutely no problem with characters at their ages, though I've heard that Kylo Ren can be intimidating). Emphasize the fun they'll have on the trip.

 

[KikoKea]

I had a son with an anxiety disorder, so our first trip to WDW, when he was about 10, had a few moments where he was afraid of a ride, etc. He was a big boy even then- 6'5" now- and stood outside the Haunted Mansion crying despite anything we said. A CM finally told him the scariness was like Caspar the Friendly Ghost scary. He reluctantly went on it and we pointed out cool stuff the entire time (blinking woman on the grave, listen for the howling sounds, bats on the posts at loading area, etc) and warned him ahead of time when something was dark or loud. He loved it. We would not have forced him to go on it, but we did a lot of encouraging.

Before going, you might want to show him pictures of scenes in Pirates (or HM, etc) that he might find funny or want to look for. I absolutely love the braying donkey, the cats, and the twitchy pigs in Pirates. If he's curious, you could even show how the robots work.
Good luck!