What age to bring them on the cool rides...

[wdwmom2+1]

OK so we have 3 kiddos 2 DD's 13 and 9 . and a DS who is 4.

My oldest DD HATES any ride even a little fast she almost freaked out last trip because she had thought she remembered Norway as being a big drop ... she felt silly afterward. we told her this trip she is riding whatever we do.. RnR , Everest etc

My middle DD 9 is ok . she will do space mountain and stuff without much fear and will enjoy it but not want to go a second time.. claims this time she will do RnR, everest and stuff but NOT tot...

Now my little guy.. the only thing he has ever been on was the shamu rollercoaster at seaworld. looked scared as heck on the picture BUT asked to go again.. so we are holding out hope for an adventurous rollercoaster loving one like we are..

So our dillema?? we are going soon and he is 40 inches big enough to ride some of the fun ones. I dont know if we should bring him on though?? is 4 too young for splash moutnain, thunder mountain and the like? is that how people get kids that love these rides (just start bringing them on when they are tall enough) advice ? or experiences please??

 

[Dads 2 Boys]

As soon as you can.....as long as they are comfortable. There is what I like to call "Disney Bravado" that occurs inside many kids once they are there. They don't see the ride so it's not scary. When I took my boys for the first time in 2007 when they were 9 and 6, they have never gone on serious thrill rides so I expected to have to do some on my own while their Mom waited with them. It never happened as they went on every single attraction in WDW.

 

[juniorthomas]

OK so we have 3 kiddos 2 DD's 13 and 9 . and a DS who is 4.

My oldest DD HATES any ride even a little fast she almost freaked out last trip because she had thought she remembered Norway as being a big drop ... she felt silly afterward. we told her this trip she is riding whatever we do.. RnR , Everest etc

My middle DD 9 is ok . she will do space mountain and stuff without much fear and will enjoy it but not want to go a second time.. claims this time she will do RnR, everest and stuff but NOT tot...

Now my little guy.. the only thing he has ever been on was the shamu rollercoaster at seaworld. looked scared as heck on the picture BUT asked to go again.. so we are holding out hope for an adventurous rollercoaster loving one like we are..

So our dillema?? we are going soon and he is 40 inches big enough to ride some of the fun ones. I dont know if we should bring him on though?? is 4 too young for splash moutnain, thunder mountain and the like? is that how people get kids that love these rides (just start bringing them on when they are tall enough) advice ? or experiences please??

I'd start small. Splash Mountain is fun, but it's a big drop for someone who isn't expecting it. Thunder Mountain is pretty tame, but it's still a rollercoaster. My recommendation, let him watch whatever ride you're going on so he knows what to expect. Answer any questions he has beforehand and let him know that if he wants to leave, he has the opportunity to do so before he gets on the ride.

Then, and hopefully this wont backfire, point out people who are leaving the ride. Most likely, they'll all be happy. If there's someone else equally as young who enjoyed the ride, you can point them out as reference.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[AngryEyes]

This thread reminded me of when my middle child "got it". He was 2 1/2 or maybe just turned 3 and we were at Disneyland. I think we had done two days with him getting upset about Pirates and then loving it, getting upset about HM and loving it, Mr. Toad, whatever. Every ride was a struggle, but he ended up loving it and of course, he wasn't even tall enough to ride the big ones. We were struggling to get on It's a Small World, for Pete's sake, but once every ride started, he loved it.

So, anyway, at some point mid-morning of the third day, if there was a line, he wanted in it. He didn't know what was at the end and he didn't care. He was pretty sure he was going to love it and that was good enough for him. We just followed him around the rest of the day as he ran from one line to the next. So much fun.

One of those great Disney days I'll never forget.

 

[davidc1578]

Our 4 year old son is adventurous and wanted to ride TOT. I had never ridden it but had always wished I had the nerve as I don't like straight drops or falling type of rides so I was a nervous but I wasn't going to chicken out if he wasn't. His 7 year old sister was a bit too scared so she stayed with Mom while we rode. It was more fun then I had hoped it would be and he loved it. After we got off his older sister saw how much fun we had and decided she now could ride it with Mom. It's now one of our favorite rides. Every kid is different though. I would never force them into a ride they didn't want to ride. Now my son keeps checking to see if he is tall enough to ride space mountain yet!

 

[Disvillain63]

As each of ours got tall enough to ride a thrill ride, we coaxed them onto it. They were hooked after the first ride and are still daredevils. Just showed our DD the video of The Gatekeeper at Cedar Point and right away she wanted to know when we were going. However, I remember her apprehension the first time she rode The Mindbender (now Riddler) at Six Flags over Georgia and Splash Mountain. She wasn't so sure about either. She was even in the front seat of Splash Mountain ... at the big drop, she managed to crawl under the front part of the log ... no sign of her in the photo. After that (both rides)...Can we go again?