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

 

[laynalee07]

IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BUG!!!!!

I have NEVER seen or heard so many frightened children in my life.

There were at least 20 or 30 parents have to exit this attraction with their little ones

 

[Hot4Hudgens]

IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BUG!!!!!

I have NEVER seen or heard so many frightened children in my life.

There were at least 20 or 30 parents have to exit this attraction with their little ones

Really? I've never seen more than just a handful of kids yell during the show. Never seen a parent walk out. I think it's pretty tame, except maybe the part where Hopper pops up to the right of the screen. I can understand that freaking a kid out.

 

[Katherine]

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

First I'm a scardy cat. I always have been so I rode mostly tame rides when I was little but I'll go back and try to remember.

Pirates... hated it until middles school. It was dark and I hated the cannon balls that splashed the water.

Splash... I didn't ride that but no one else was really a thrill buff in my family so it was a non issue. Rode it for the first time in middle school.

Test Track will be fine. Maelstrom I didn't like for the same reasons that I didn't like pirates.

Star Tours I rode for the first time when I was 8 or so and I loved it!

It's Tough to be a Bug scared me half to death when I was in the fourth grade... I did't really like 3D movies growing up though.

Wouldn't even go near Haunted Mansion... the howling dog was enough to make me squirm into my dad's arms when I was little.

I feel like Mission Space would've made me uneasy at the beginning becuase it's such a small space but after that I'd be fine.

The Great Movie Ride... hated it. The "live" parts and the Alien section scared me half to death.

The Jungle Cruise... never a favorite when I was little. It made me really uneasy. One time I rode the skipper told us that he'd throw us overboard if we didn't laugh at his jokes and so I awkwardly laughed uneasily at every single joke the entire ride.

Others to mention: Snow White, Tower of Terror, and all the rollercoasters.

I think that's basically it. I was a never cautious child so I feel like i'm the extreme for being afraid of all these rides but this is just a heads up for possible reactions. Hope things go well and you have a magical time!

 

[WishIwasThere]

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

Your kids are close the the same age when we did the whole WDW last year. The year prior we only did MK. My daughter, who was 6 for the MK trip and 7 for the WDW trip is a daredevil so she is hard to judge, but did everything at the parks except RnRC, couldn't because of the height restriction. She even did Tower of Terror at least six times.

When we did the MK trip, my son was 4 and he loved Pirates, at 5 he still loved Pirates, but his favorites was Test Track and Soarin'. Dinosaur scared him silly, so I don't recommend that for little ones. He didn't want to ride Splash, like BTMRR, didn't do Mission Space (daughter did the Orange side and loved it). Both liked Maelstrom and Star Tours (both are Star Wars junkies). One ride my son couldn't get enough of was Peter Pan, not sure what that was about but during one of the after hours parties we were able to ride it over and over without getting off and he loved it, (I made him get off after 6 rides through).

Hope this helps.

 

[Lucky]

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.

I agree with all of this. I would add a couple of things.

1. Kids can sense apprehension in their parents, and parents can inadvertantly make their kids scared of something they'd otherwise have been OK with.

2. Fear doesn't always decrease as a kid gets older. Young kids may not know enough to be scared. If they go through a temporary phase of being more fearful you have to respect that.

 

[earldw28]

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.

My daughter was crying when she got off of Dinosaur. I dont think there is anything else in Disney that is height appropriate for a four year old that she won't go on but Dinosaur, she was terrified.

 

[laynalee07]

Maybe I just got with a scared group... haha..
I noticed that the main parts that frightened the kids were when the bees? threw things out at the audience with the sling shot and when the spiders came down from the ceiling...

 

[Eyorefan]

Really? I've never seen more than just a handful of kids yell during the show. Never seen a parent walk out. I think it's pretty tame, except maybe the part where Hopper pops up to the right of the screen. I can understand that freaking a kid out.

I think Tough to be a Bug is probably one of the scarriest things on property for kids.

Combination of dark, loud noises, Hopper, feeling the stingers in their seat.

I know Kids who love EE, but will not go near that movie.

My daughter was 4 when I had to carry her out of the theater in tears (the only time that has ever happened). She was 9 before she would agree to do it again and she still didn't like it.

 

[NewfieFan]

Really? I've never seen more than just a handful of kids yell during the show. Never seen a parent walk out. I think it's pretty tame, except maybe the part where Hopper pops up to the right of the screen. I can understand that freaking a kid out.

Tame!?! Are you serious!?! There is nothing tame about that show where a child is concerned! I saw the show twice on my last trip and both times the theatre was filled (yes, filled) with screaming children! And they were still crying even after the movie was over and when they were walking out!

 

[DisneyMusician2]

You might want to also consult the fright potential chart in the Unofficial Guide. It's actually quite comprehensive, and I think lays things out well for parents.

It is also another very informed survey of thousand of child reactions to certain rides.

 

[Bug715]

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!

Dino still freaks me out!! When it first opened my parents and I went on it. Dad still jokes that he should've bought the picture because in the back row you see him and that's it. Mom and I were ducked so low we can't be seen!!! So during my program it was my goal to have a picture that i'm actually looking at the camera. I didn't succeed but I did on my birthday trip. I was so proud!!!


I don't have kids but we've taken my little cousins (4 & 7) and I've thought about it while I worked there. 7yr old doesn't like loud noises or dark places
Pirates- If they don't like this good luck with IASM and the ride in Mexico. I know the 4 yr old liked it but I don't remember if the 7yr old did
Splash Mountain- Same as above. Neither rode it.
Big Thunder Mountain- Both loved it! But my mom only rides it with her eyes closed. Try Goofy's Barnstormer first
Soarin'- Both kids liked it. This is iffy since you can't walk out. Maybe try for the bottom row?
Mission Space-Lite- Neither kid tried it since they didn't have the green version and my mom to too chicken to try even this version.
Maelstrom- I loved this as a kid. I don't remember if my cousins liked it. I can see how it could be a little scarry.
Star Tours- I liked this when I was little too

Before you ride tell the kids that if they get scared to close their eyes and cover their ears. That's what I always did. My first trip (6 yrs old) I rode HM with my ears covered not because of the ride but because of some girls infront of us who were screaming. I didn't ride the rollercoasters until I was in middle school. I HATED splash the first time and didn't ride it again until High School. After the first time I rode Space I asked my dad "That's it?"

 

[Hot4Hudgens]

Tame!?! Are you serious!?! There is nothing tame about that show where a child is concerned! I saw the show twice on my last trip and both times the theatre was filled (yes, filled) with screaming children! And they were still crying even after the movie was over and when they were walking out!

NO YELLING!

Anyway, like I said, I've just never had an experience while watching the show that included children screaming or crying with the exception of a few. Maybe I don't notice as much when it's just me and a couple of other adults, but it's not like I haven't been there with children in my party. Went with a 2 year old, going on 3, during the Summer and all she could do was look around the room - but like I said in my first post, every child is different. Obviously.

I'll make sure to take notes during my next trip to see if I'm just completely wrong. Haha.

 

[disneynut4u]

I took my son for the first time when he was 7. Haunted Mansion was ok with him until we got to the end. He was sitting between my sister & me. He got really freaked when he saw the ghost sitting in his lap!!! He loved Dinosaur & the other rides that year. The next time we went (2 years later) he got scared at some point on Dinosaur even though he'd ridden it before.

We took my niece when she was 3 and to this day (4 years later) she still remembers that "TrackTest" was her favorite ride. (don't worry, that's what she calls it) She giggled the whole ride.

Once, when we were in line at the elevator for ToT, a man was kidding with his wife, saying he didn't want to die, etc. He played with her, carrying on like this for a few minutes. He turned around and saw my son, and it kinda startled him that he was saying that in front of a kid. He knelt down to him and said, "Don't worry. Disney wouldn't do something that could hurt you." He apologized for playing, but my son remembers that line..."Disney wouldn't do something that could hurt you". Just tell your kids that. and tell them to have fun.

 

[disneynut4u]

Once, when we were in line at the elevator for ToT, a man was kidding with his wife, saying he didn't want to die, etc. He played with her, carrying on like this for a few minutes. He turned around and saw my son, and it kinda startled him that he was saying that in front of a kid. He knelt down to him and said, "Don't worry. Disney wouldn't do something that could hurt you." He apologized for playing, but my son remembers that line..."Disney wouldn't do something that could hurt you". Just tell your kids that. and tell them to have fun.

And he had the funniest face on the ride photo!!! Everybody else on the ride was smiling/laughing and he looked really scared!!!!!

 

[Raven66]

The first year we took our DD she was 5 at the time. We didn't go to Epcot that year. But she did everything else that she met the height requirement for. The only ride that scared her was Dinosaur. On our next trip she was 6 and that year we hit Epcot and she rode every ride and was still only scared of Dinosaur.

She rides it every time just to see if she isn't scared anymore. She is now 11 and she plans on riding on our upcoming trip in Dec. She says she hopes that she can keep her eyes open this time. We don't force her to ride anything. She loves all the rides.

Funny PoTC story from a long time ago..........My younger brother was 3 at the time (he is 32 now) and the boats had bench seats that were open underneath. The part with the cannons shooting at each other scared the stuff out of him. He crawled underneath the seat and stayed until the ride was over and then it took a few minutes to get him out. I told my DD about her uncle doing that and we laugh whenever we go on it now because he is now 6'5 and we think of him laying on the floor. Of course it doesn't scare him anymore. He would rather I wouldn't spread this story around.