Young Kids-Fright Factor

[yozhik]

We are taking our girls (6 and 4) for their first trip to WDW next month, and I'm looking for some thoughts on the fright factor for some rides for kids the about the age of mine such as

Pirates
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Soarin'
Mission Space-Lite
Test Track
Maelstrom
Star Tours

 

[coltow]

We are taking our girls (6 and 4) for their first trip to WDW next month, and I'm looking for some thoughts on the fright factor for some rides for kids the about the age of mine such as

Pirates
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Soarin'
Mission Space-Lite
Test Track
Maelstrom
Star Tours

DS was 4 on our last trip. The 2 only things that scared him were the Haunted Mansion and ToT. HM was a shocker because he had been on it at least 6 times before. I think it was the age, when he was younger he didn't understand scarry things and now does. I couldn't even get him in the line at ToT. He had seen things on tv and was not having anything to do with it.

He did LOVE Test Track, Pirates, Thunder Mountain and Star Tours. He wasn't big enough for Mission Space. Soarin' didn't "do it" for him and we never made it to Maelstrom.

Hope this helps.

 

[krankenstein]

I think it is all individual. At the end of the day, you know your kids the best. You know what they are afraid of and what they enjoy. If they are afraid of the dark, than take that into consideration. If they are afraid of closed in spaces, take that into consideration. Most importantly, do not force your children to do anything they seem leery of. I was one of those kids talked into riding Space at very early age. I didn't ride another coaster until I was 20 as a result.

 

[bcornette]

My son is now 7 and has always loved HM, but will not open his eyes and covers his ears in the stretch room, it scares him to death. He always begs to go on, but asks me to keep my hand on his shoulder while he stands there with his eyes and ears plugged.
Tower of Terror I did not let him ride until he was almost 6 and he loved it at that point but there is no way I was going to make him scared of the dark again by letting him ride it.
When he was 4 he got real scared his first trip on Pirates because he thought we were actually going out into the ocean and were going to die. It was during the small descent into the pirate ship battle.

The rest on your list should be fine, Space mountain could be iffy they don't like the dark.

 

[sleepybear]

A friend of mine went with his 4-year-old daughter in July. The only one of those they tried was Pirates, and it scared the heck out of her. After that, they opted not to try their luck on HM and the like.

Also, perhaps you should consider adding Snow White to the fright list. It scared the bejabbers out of me when I was six. (Yes, I'm man enough to admit that.)

 

[RiversideBunny]

None of the rides you listed are particularly frightening based on age.
I have a feelling that your kids are tougher than you think.

Good luck.

 

[MousDad]

No way to predict. My son 7 loves Test Track and Soarin but got completely scared to death on It's Tought To Be a Bug and in the Tiki Room.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

No way to tell....
I was surprised to find that the biggest fright problems were loud sounds and bright lights....and there are loud sounds in some of the most innocuous rides.

My DD at 41/2 was petrified of the drop in pirates...and wouldn't go on another water ride (IaSW) without a lot of coaxing. Didn't do well with the witch in Snow White either. Fine with HM....go figure :shrug:

 

[NewfieFan]

No easy answer... depends on your kids! My son is frightened of the "whirlpool" scene in Mickey's Philharmagic - he thinks he's going to get sucked in! He also didn't like the dark parts on the TTA - which for most kids is not scary at all. You need to figure out what scares your children and go from there. Some are afraid of "scary" characters, loudness, darkness, speed, etc. - every child is different.

Oh, and I do not reccomend It's Tough to be a Bug for kids... unless your kids are really tough (and I mean tough)! I heard more screaming children in that theatre than anywhere else! Poor kids...

 

[KCBroadway]

I'm 30 years old and Dinosaur scared me to death the first time I went on! That right completely screws with your senses. It's dark and loud - You have no idea what is going to happen. It also feels like you are going much faster than you are! I love it now, but still get a little freaked out everytime I ride it. Ha ha!

 

[spoodles]

I'm 30 years old and Dinosaur scared me to death the first time I went on! That right completely screws with your senses. It's dark and loud - You have no idea what is going to happen. It also feels like you are going much faster than you are! I love it now, but still get a little freaked out everytime I ride it. Ha ha!

I have to agree on this. When we were there in April, Dinosaur scared our kids (5,7,9) the most. I forgot how loud that ride is. Loved it, personally.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Dinosaur is the best! My wife and love that thing!

Just know your audience. Most of these attractions are LOUD, so prepare them for some loud noises and soundtracks.

 

[bork]

Yeah, it depends on what scares them. My DS 3.5 didn't like the dark parts and loud things. Dinosaur and ToT were the only 2 that really scared him. He also didn't care for the 3D movies, with things jumping out at him. But he's a daredevil and loves the big rides.

Pirates - Loved it, except for the dark caves
Splash Mountain - closed
Big Thunder Mountain - Loved in during the day, hated it at night.
Soarin' - Loved it
Mission Space-Lite - Too short
Test Track - Loved it
Maelstrom - Loved it
Star Tours - Hated it. I think it was too rough for him.

 

[coltow]

I'm 30 years old and Dinosaur scared me to death the first time I went on! That right completely screws with your senses. It's dark and loud - You have no idea what is going to happen. It also feels like you are going much faster than you are! I love it now, but still get a little freaked out everytime I ride it. Ha ha!

OMG! I completely had the same experience. I was almost 30 the first (and only) time I rode dino. I didn't think it was going to be so scary and loud. So I had no problem sitting out with the kids when other wanted to ride it.

Tough to be a Bug is another one. I totally believe I had a panic attack while here and am not ashamed to admit it. I'm not a fan of bugs at all and the minute I realized this was more than a simple 3-d movie. I began to hyper-ventilate and cry. DH was laughing, but the poor gentleman next to me was worried he asked me a few times if I was ok. I still have flashbacks and will never enter this thing again.

 

[Hot4Hudgens]

Depends on the child, really. I've come to realize that age isn't as big a deal as I once though it was. Case and point, I went with a 3 year old and a 9 year old this past August...

2 year old. Not a scream or a tear shed on Pirates, the Mansion, and a few others. Meeting characters up close was a different story though. She was scared unless it was with an adult.

9 year old. Freaked out on the above rides + Dinosaur, which was funny to me. Haha. I know, I'm a little mean. Who isn't?

 

[Jaytrod]

In my opinion I would think that most of these rides should be fine.. Are they into the Pirates of the Carribean movies? If not they may be frightened by the skeletons and guns and stuff. Splash Mtn will be intimidating just from looking at it, so you will know if they are afraid to go on or not. Big Thunder I think is the most kid friendly of all the mountains, as its not dark and it doesnt have the crazy drop like splash, although it has no characters in it and the line is pretty boring. Soarin should be fine as long as they fit the height requirement and can stand another long boring line. Mission Space lite should be no problem and neither should test track. Test track only has a brief fast part and the rest is more the experiance. Maelstrom might be a little scary cause of the trolls and monsters in it, you may want to guage their reaction to pirates to see if they will like this one. And star tours should be fine.. Again this is just my opinion. Have fun :-D

Pirates
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Soarin'
Mission Space-Lite
Test Track
Maelstrom
Star Tours

 

[Disneykidder]

My 4 1/2 year old did all of the one you mentioned but MS this past summer and was fine on them all. He has ridden them multiple times, too. The only ones we keep him off of is Space Mountain, MS, Expedition Everest, ToT and RNRC. Next summer we will probably allow Space and ToT. He is a thrill seeker...not really afraid of any of them.

 

[earldw28]

Like a previous poster said it really depends on the child but we just got back a few weeks ago and my four year old daughter loved most everything.


Pirates-nothing to be scared of here except darkness
Splash Mountain-rode it multiple times she loved it
Big Thunder Mountain-same as Splash
Soarin'-This is one of her favorites
Mission Space-Lite-we didnt try this one with her
Test Track-she loved this
Maelstrom-didnt ride
Star Tours -a little jerky but nothing too bad

Good Luck! and Have a great time!

 

[ShookieJones]

The rides..

You mentioned were all cool with my 6 year old (at the time).
But As a few other posters mentioned

Tough to be a bug
Dinosaur

Scared the cr*p out of him.

He's since gotten over his fear of the AA Hopper but Dinosaur still chills his blood.

 

[Eyorefan]

Like others have said, it depends on the person.

One idea is to go through one of the planning books and talk to your kids about what different rides are like, that will help the get excited and give you an idea about what they might not want to try.

Also, TTBAB, Snow White, HM, and Sticht scared my daughter more than any of the coasters we went on....She is not a fan of the dark.