Are these rides a good idea for us?

[jkattk]

Grizzly River Run in January? DS5 loves water rides but I'd really rather not get wet unless it's like 85+ degrees out and it looks like maybe this ride soaks you? Do they turn down the splashing at all in the winter?

California Screamin' with a 5 year old who is right at the 48" mark and loves thrill rides, and a 40 year old mom who no longer has fun on said thrill rides but sucks it up sometimes for the 5 year old?

I could probably get out of CS if I decide not to do it by telling him he's not tall enough (which he might not be by a hair anyway if their measuring chart is at all different than ours), but GRR may be a tougher sell since he's sure to spot it and know it's not a height requirement sort of ride. We did have a bad experience though getting soaked at a local amusement park when it was not quite warm enough this fall - we ran shivering to a drying booth and paid for it a couple times but were freezing for a couple hours anyway so if this ride does soak you in the winter this may be a bad enough memory to deter him though!

 

[Girimama33]

I am like you in the fact that I do not do thrill rides like I used to. That being said, CS is such a fun ride. You should definitely give it a shot.
I am probably going to jinx myself, but I never got really wet on GRR. Not sure if they actually adjust the possiblity of getting wet in the winter.

 

[Lucille1963]

Depending upon your dates, it has been reported that GRR is closing for refurbishment on the 7th of January and will be closed through February.

My DS begged to ride CS, but he wasn't tall enough. I was shocked because I think it looks pretty intense in person. Maybe your child will feel different once they see how big it is.

Good Luck!

 

[Butterfly123]

You can always ride GRR right before you head back to your hotel to take a break..that way you can change clothes and warm up. I have also heard that they have the water at a lower level in winter so riders do not get as soaked as they do in the summer. Rain ponchos are also an option!

CS I can't help you on...I'm not one for the wild coasters, although I love Space Muntain, Thunder mountain, and Indy. The jerky Matterhorn not so much. But I can't suck it up for CS, so you are braver than I!


Edit: I see there is a thread on this very topic right below this one!

 

[jkattk]

Depending upon your dates, it has been reported that GRR is closing for refurbishment on the 7th of January and will be closed through February.

My DS begged to ride CS, but he wasn't tall enough. I was shocked because I think it looks pretty intense in person. Maybe your child will feel different once they see how big it is.

Good Luck!

We are going Jan 1-5 so I don't think anything's closed. I doubt he'll feel different about CS when he sees it since he begged to ride on rides with 54" height restrictions at the local park this summer!

 

[pixiewings71]

GRR is weird, I've ridden it and been drenched, I've ridden it and hardly been splashed (but the people in the raft with me were drenched), it really depends on where you are sitting. lol And yes, GRR does have a height requirement of 42", just so you know.
As for CS, I think you should do it once, it's fun. I'm 40 something and don't do it every time but I do it sometimes and it's great. That said, about halfway through I'm ready to get off. LOL But coasters sometimes give me headaches so that's mostly why.

 

[scrapshappen]

I'll offer the opposite view. I did not let my oldest ride it when he was five (and he was plenty tall enough.) That is a lot of g-forces on a little body. Now he's nine and doesn't like thrill rides.

While I don't hate California Screamin' I don't enjoy it much either. My youngest is seven and loves thrill rides, but he's only 46" so I'm safe there.

 

[dtnrhi]

GRR is weird, I've ridden it and been drenched, I've ridden it and hardly been splashed (but the people in the raft with me were drenched), it really depends on where you are sitting. lol

It entirely depends on how the weight is distributed from what I've observed. If the adults (or bigger riders) are all sitting on one side, they will go down first on the dips, and they will subsequently get the wettest.

This is my 4 year old Sister's favorite ride, but I'm sure it's because she never gets too wet!

 

[Cinderpamela]

I have been soaked on it and then other times hardly wet at all ... there is no way to predict.
If you don't want to get wet just wear a rain poncho... lots of folks will be doing the same in the winter. They sell them in the shop right next to the ride if you dont have one already.

 

[pixiewings71]

It entirely depends on how the weight is distributed from what I've observed. If the adults (or bigger riders) are all sitting on one side, they will go down first on the dips, and they will subsequently get the wettest.

This is my 4 year old Sister's favorite ride, but I'm sure it's because she never gets too wet!

Well, that's how you would think it would work, but it doesn't always. lol My DD16 is tiny, she loves GRR and will go in the SR line if the rest of us don't want to ride it, we watch her though and I can't tell you how many times she's been sitting with the smaller people on the raft and gotten off completely soaked and loving it. lol And last time we rode it she was the smallest and she and I both were dry (except our shoes lol) and everyone else in the raft was soaked.