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!

 

[BraveGirl]

My 6 year old is terrified of pretty much everything (although we got her on Soarin and it's her favorite ride now). We just use rider swap a LOT.

 

[Aileen Marotta]

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!

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?
1. Most Disney rides are in Youtube. Look for them and show your kids in advance. Not only they get hyped about rides, but you can watch their reactions and decide if they can REALLY handle them.
2. I have 4 kids and can assure you that they may be a little apprehensive at first, but once the ride starts, the fear goes away. MOST OF THE TIME & WITH SOME KIDS!
3. Talk to other kids they know that have been to Disney. Other kids can sometimes comunicate better than adults can. Encourage your kids to ask questions.
4. Plan ahead. Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. Plan other stuff you can do with them, in case they do get scared and refuse to ride.
5. Plan activities they might enjoy, aside of rides. On the parks you will find areas where they can play free between rides. If you travel on warm weather climate (witch is most of the year in Florida) Magic Kingdom has a Water Playground where EVERYONE can play and get refreshed. At least my kids CRAVE those types of activities. They cool off, you can have a snack, sit down of a while and after, you can dive back to the rides of set off to your resort. AGAIN, important to plan ahead! You can squedule it right before heading off the parks or take a spare change of clothes. You don't want your kids dripping water for hours or get into a air conditiond ride all wet and get a cold!
6. NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE! Offer them a treat like cotton candy, pop corn, chocolate bar, ect. Not for every ride, but at the end of the day, according to their behavior.
7. Get to know the rides ahead of your trip. The first day or two, you should only ride "child friendly" rides. DO NOT SCARE THEM EARLY!
8. NEVER LIE TO YOUR CHILD. If you already know that a ride might scare them, don't deceive them. TELL THEM AHEAD. Its a slow process for little ones to dive into something they don't know, but if you are not up front, they might stop trusting you.
9. Obviously if you are going with you kids to Disney World, you want to have FAMILY TIME, but if everything else fail, you can do a "PARENT SWAP"! You only do the line once (together) once you get to the front, you tell the cast member and they'll sit you right at the drop place where you can swap with your partner, so you can ride. Also a perk of the parent swap is that the child that does ride, gets to ride TWICE! Once with you and once with your spouse.
10. SKIP A RIDE. If you already know that your child has had a bad experience on a ride, SKIP IT! But if you really want to go in it and your child doesn't, bring a stroller, either you can stay with the child outside while your partner goes in it, or you can take them to another ride by yourself, while your partner gets a grownup time to enjoy a favorite treat.

*I hope my suggestions can help you and your family to have a MAGICAL TIME at The Happiest Place on Earth. Oh and DON'T FIGHT ON YOUR TRIP! It is best to have a pleasant trip than to hit all the rides.