Rides for a 4 year old

pixiedust23

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 14, 2004
I will be going down to WDW in April with my DD4 an DS18 months. Do you think she will be able to handle things like 7DMT, BTM, SplashM, and Soarin'?
 
Just got back from a trip with my DS, who turns 4 next week. He loved 7DMT, BTM and Splash. We didn't try Soarin'. He also loved SDD at HS and Test Track at Epcot. I did not do Dinosaur, seemed too scary for him. Other than that, the only rides he did not like were TOT and TSM (didn't like the 3D projections flying at his face).
 
That's a question only you can answer. Does DD like that kind of stuff? Has she been to other amusement parks and liked rides? Is she adventurous? I feel the only way to find out is to try. I had my kids try everything as soon as they were tall enough...though with the coasters I built it up one at a time...started with Barnstormer and went from there.
 
We have no idea because we don't know your child.
First, is she tall enough for the attractions you mentioned?
Second, Does she want to go on them?
If both of those answers are yes then give them a try.
 
The only problem with soarin is that you are separated from the person sitting next to you by a divider. I have twins the same age and they definitely want to be able to hold onto me if something startled them.
 
Mine seemed to enjoy splash and 7DMT at that age. The pictures suggest she was terrified but she was giggling afterwards and got on 7DMT a second time.

Now, at age 5, she has decided she’s scared of coasters. :confused3 Get all the rides in while you can.
 


We went when my daughter was a few weeks shy of 4. She talked about riding Splash Mountain for weeks but chickened out at the last minute. We rode 7DMT and she hated it and still talks about how it made her sick, and turned her off on roller coasters (she rode Goofy's Barnstormer before that with no problems). Wouldn't go near BTMRR. We didn't try Soarin' that time, but she loved it at almost 6. Every kid is different but that was our experience.
 
Is your kiddo generally brave? Mine loved ALL the coasters, and she was tall too so she got on some at 2&3 years old too. The only thing she found a little intense was flight of passage.
You can always let them preview them on YouTube too (but of course that doesn’t convey intensity)
 
It depends. My 4 year olds ride most anything they were tall enough for and did well. (My 2yo rode barnstormer) but we went every other year and watched Disney planning videos ( yes it was a long time ago it seems) for months before the trip so they got bits and pieces of what to expect. I can’t imagine my 3 and 4 year old grandsons riding all the rides though. There would be some major meltdowns. Just do your research before you go and play it by ear. Our DD went on alien encounter at 5. It was our very first ride at WDW and she was terrified!!!!! It took us days of going to the parks to get the apprehension settled down. But to my defense, 20 years ago I had no idea what you tube even was. I probably didn’t even have a computer to research anything!!!
 
Youtube is your friend! Talk about the rides and what happens on them. I prepped my DD (then 4) for FOP by telling her it was like the motorcycle games at the arcade and kind of showed her how the restraints will come up on her legs. She wasn't a bit afraid. She's done everything at Disney except the 48" rides and Dinosaur. I think that one's scary. She did TOT once and that was enough, but she's very proud of herself for doing it. We will start our new season pass in February and we're hoping she'll hit that 48" mark within this year bc she's ready to try Rock 'n Roller Coaster! Her favorite is 7DMT and we rode Slinky 4x in a row at the AP Passholder event.
 
My youngest rode (and still will ride) any coaster she is tall enough for. She was the exact minimum height one year so we would get measured every time by every cm who saw her. At a local park, 40” was the minimum for the upside down coaster and 42” was the maximum for the kid rides. We had a worker so confused as she would ride this huge scary ride and then she’d jump on the kid ride and then back to the big one.

That being said, my oldest flat out refused to do any of the big rides. With her we made use of the rider swap. I was quite sad because she was tall enough but just not into it. I still haven’t been able to get her to ride the local coaster, though she will do everything at Disney now. For our trip next year, the plan is for my husband and my oldest to go on the marcline tour, while my youngest and I hit the mountains at rope drop.

So, which will your kid be- no clue. My oldest was completely fearless in every other aspect and yet the coasters were a firm no. Youngest is normally a timid little sweetie, terrified of everything but those coasters called to her.
 
Can share about my nephew at Disneyland over a period of time. He loved Radiator Springs Racers. One of his absolute favorites. We tried Big Thunder not long after that and to say he hated it is an understatement. To the point, he did not want to go to the park for fear we might make him go on it. Big complaint was too dark and we took him at night which made it darker. Took him on Star Tours a bit later and despite being scared going in (and kind of fighting us about it), he loved it and giggled the whole time! One of his absolute favorites now! We did eventually over time get him on Space and he said he liked it, but honestly, we are not too sure about that. As far I know, he has never done Soaring or Splash, and he would hate Guardians of the Galaxy.
 
It completely depends on your daughter. My DD is now 12. She loved Soarin at age 3. She has always loved 7DMT, but I can't remember how old she was when it was new. She loved Barnstormer from age 2 on, and I think she would have always loved 7DMT. She was okay about TT. She is not a big thrill ride kid, so she hated BTM until age 12 and now she likes it. At age 12, she also still has to be coaxed onto Splash-- she doesn't particularly care for it. She still hates TOT. She loves EE though, you just never know with kids! It really just depends on her personality.
 
We are in the same boat with our Dnephew. He will be a couple of weeks shy of 5 for our next trip. Our oldest DS took forever to ride the bigger coasters, and our youngest DS rode them as soon as he was tall enough for them. Go figure! Every kid is different. I am curious to see where DNephew will be. On our last big family trip DNiece, who was 5 1/2, loved BTMR and SDMT, but wouldn't try Space. I am not sure where she will be on this trip (now 7 1/2), but I bet she will go for it on some of the bigger rides in trying to keep up with her big cousins.

One piece of advice that someone gave me years ago (and to be honest I am not sure if Disney still allows it) is that on BTMR you can ride three to a seat putting your little one in between two adults. We did that years ago and I know that it gave our DSs a sense of comfort and security. It also gave DH and I some awesome memories! It was a great way to introduce them to a "bigger" roller coaster.

Hope you have a magical trip!
 
Adding to what others have said, it completely depends on your child. Some kids will go on a ride, get nervous but then do it anyway and LOVE it. Others won't get past that point of terror or will go and realize they just don't like it. As an adult, I've forced myself unto to coasters before but realize it is just not for me. Enjoy the test runs and follow her pace but encourage her a bit too!
 
My 4 year old loved Splash, 7DMT and even rode Everest, but he thought Soarin' was scary because it was so high up - we were in the first row/highest off the ground, so I'm not sure if it was the height of the seats or the feeling of being so high up, but he's willing to try it again on the bottom row for our next trip.
 
Totally depends. Week of my twins 4th birthday, they each have very different responses to rides. They both did BTMRR (both loved it), but only one would even go on 7DMT (and he loved it). They both hate HM (much to my great dismay). The one that likes 7DMT has talked non-stop about wanting to do Splash next time, which we will, while his brother shows a great fear of it. We figure when we go, they will be turning 5 and everything will change again. They do kid coasters at home, so we will attempt more. The funniest part is that both are bugging the crap out of me to do test Track next year. I think they will wind up doing a lot more than they think they will.
 

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