Help with kids first time!

[2fit4fatmom]

ITs a ways away but I know I have read several people talk about doing certain rides first. I will be going with a 3 and 4 year old that have NEVER been to any type of amusement park.

My 2 year old (who will be barely 3 the week we go) is afraid of heights, and I am wondering if my 4 year old is a bit as well.

What are the best first rides? The train, im hoping they will do dumbo but what else? what should I avoid at first? (obviously snow white) maybe wait for peter pan too

its been so long since I have been so I cant think of what is really dark... or scary. my oldest is 40.5" inches right now and my youngest is 35.5 so we probably wont have to worry much about the bigger rides. We will be there at least 3 days though so I want them to LOVE it (and help me convince DH that an AP would be a great investment! hehe

 

[goldies 5]

My 2 and 4 year old love the carousel, Circus Train, and Winnie the Pooh.
Dumbo is the favorite.
At CA Fliks Fun Fair has several rides suited for little ones.

 

[crystal1313]

I would maybe try It's a Small world first? It's bright and cherry and I think most kids would enjoy it. Then maybe the Carousel? Teacups, but don't spin them. Autopia is always fun! My boys love Buzz Lightyear too. Casey Jr is pretty low key too. I'm trying to think what my kids liked. Jungle Cruise is a hit...as is Winnie the Pooh and tiki Room. I'm sure you will be able to gauge what they like. My boys also love Peter Pan. Have a great trip!!!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

ITs a ways away but I know I have read several people talk about doing certain rides first. I will be going with a 3 and 4 year old that have NEVER been to any type of amusement park.

My 2 year old (who will be barely 3 the week we go) is afraid of heights, and I am wondering if my 4 year old is a bit as well.

What are the best first rides? The train, im hoping they will do dumbo but what else? what should I avoid at first? (obviously snow white) maybe wait for peter pan too

its been so long since I have been so I cant think of what is really dark... or scary. my oldest is 40.5" inches right now and my youngest is 35.5 so we probably wont have to worry much about the bigger rides. We will be there at least 3 days though so I want them to LOVE it (and help me convince DH that an AP would be a great investment! hehe

Every kid is different, but here was our experience the first time we took our boys. They were 3 and 5 then (12 and 14 now).

Winnie the Pooh was a hit. Haunted Mansion, they wouldn't even go into the holding room because it looked dark and spooky. Pirates we got them on. The 3 year old was unfazed, but the the 5 year started crying and shaking and was terrified from the moment they fired the canons until the end. When he got older, Pirates became one of his top 3 favorite rides. Fantasyland rides were ok with my kids, so it wasn't just darkness that bothered them; spooky, scary elements combined with darkness seemed to be the bad combo in our case. Honestly can't remember though if we went on Snow White that first time. The 5 year old didn't go on Toad, but the the younger boy loved it. Small World was a huge hit with the 5 year old. Buzz was a big hit with both. Because of the timidity of the 5 year old and proneness to motion sickness, he didn't try any of the big ticket rides. Dumbo has never been popular with my kids. I don't know what they don't like about it, but they won't do it or the rockets. I don't think my younger boy has ever even tried Dumbo, but I do have a picture of my older boy on it that first trip. They will ride the Golden Zephyr and the Silly Symphony Swings though, so there's more to why they won't ride Dumbo than height or spinning. Nowadays, of course, my kids will go on pretty much anything but Dumbo.

The only other little kid story I have is about my niece. She is 4 now. From the stories my brother told, I think she went willingly on most rides until about age 2. At that point, she would get to the entrance of many of the rides and suddenly declare she wasn't going to ride and make my brother get out of line with her. This behavior has been improving though to the point that now at 4 1/2 she will ride most rides she is tall enough for. She did get tricked last time by one of her uncles into going on Pirates but liked it enough that she was willing to knowingly ride it later that week. Still won't do Snow White even after telling me for months that she was going to ride "the scary ride" (what she calls the Snow White ride) next time she went. Got there, walked up to the entrance, announced "too scary" and walked away.

 

[sandysue]

We started our first visit in Toontown on the Gaget's go coaster. This was a test of our youngest's (then 4.5) affinity for roller coasters. There was no line so they did it twice and would have kept going if I hadn't reminded them there was still a whole park to explore.
We were lucky and she loved it so we were able to go on everything as a family (older kids were 6 and 9). She was scared of Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror but okay with everything else.

It's hard if you've been waiting in line forever, but if your child balks when they get to the front of the line, you can always do the child swap, assuming you have two adults. One rides while you wait and then you hand over the child and you get a turn.

Good luck.

 

[jitterbug]

When my DD was 3, she loved the Tea Cups, Small World and Autopia (although her aunty had a sore neck by the end of that ride). She went on a bunch of other rides, but I think those were her favorites. We spent time in Toontown, Tom Sawyer Island, and Redwood Creek for open play time, when kids needed a break.

 

[goob]

My 2 year old DS LOVED Casey Jr. Train, at 5 it is still one of his favourites. Just make sure you're holding hands during the "scary" thunder part.
Everything in Fantasyland should be great but I would wait to put them on Snow White's Scary Adventure, unless they're familiar with the movie - it could be quite frightening. IASW & Jungle Cruise are easy going and not intimidating.
For my DS, Pirates he enjoyed at 2 & 3 but then was afraid at 4.

In DCA, a Bug's Land is perfect for little ones.

Remember all of the great things you can do that aren't rides: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, cartoons on Main Street, exploring Tom Sawyer Island, Mark Twain River Boat, Sailing Ship Columbia etc...
Also, don't count out the Tiki Room (a lot of people skip it), it is an amazing experience especially for little ones.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Epek]

One thing that I did not anticipate being a problem was the walk through of the castle. We did it first, at ds's request, and he was freaked! It made things difficult for all of the dark rides. He ended up being fine with most, but was very apprehensive. He was okay in POTC, but then was afraid to get in another boat when we got to IASW! We had to assure him they were very, very different, lol! He never was so scared he was crying, just clingy. I think the worst were Mr. Toad's and, surprisingly, Buzz Astro Blasters. But, he's always talking about Mr. Toad's now!

Being a week shy of 3, and a huge Cars fan, his absolute favorite place was Carsland. He was not tall enough for RSR, and was very good about not being able to ride.
Rides that he requested to go on that we didn't have on our list: Storybook boats (he wanted to go through the whale's mouth), Astro Orbiter (the rockets outside of Buzz), Tarzan's Treehouse

 

[elphaba91]

Maybe try watching some YouTube videos of the rides. That way you can warn the kids about any scary bits on rides that they decide they decide to go on, or reassure them about rides they don't want to go on. You could even let the kids watch videos of any rides you're borderline about, e.g. Peter Pan.

 

[Mouseketeers4]

We started with the Storybook Canal Boats. Favorite rides for our 1 and 3 year old were Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World, The Little Mermaid, Dumbo, King Tritan's Carousel, Peter Pan, and Buzz. Mater and the Teacups were fun too. I wouldn't start with Pirates or Gadget's Go Coaster as our 3-year old really didn't like them. He did like Snow White and Pinnochio, and loved Mr. Toad, but I wouldn't start with those either. Snow White has that one scary part with the witch and there's a spot in Pinnochio where the whale jumps out. I think everything is worth a try once, but it's good to hold off on the "scary" rides for a bit.