The first ride/attraction?

wvjules

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 7, 2001
DGS will be almost 21 months when we go later this month. DD and I have talked about his first ride but haven't really decided.

Our first day will be at MK. We have decided that meeting characters first thing is not a good idea. He might feel a little overwhelmed/intimidated. Our first thought is Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger spin so that's what we got a FP for, as of now. Do you think that is a good first ride or would you choose something else? We don't want him to get scared on his first ride and then not want to do anything else.

Oh, maybe we should do the People Mover first? lol
 
Don't overthink it. As long as you're not doing something that's clearly over the top for a kid under 2, I don't think it matters all that much. I love Buzz, but if I wanted to nitpick I could say the dark may scare a little kid. You won't know until you try. At that age, all of WDW is going to be a bit of sensory overload....lots of people around, noises, lights, moving things. There are so many things you could try as a first...Pooh, PP, Buzz, Small World, Speedway, Dumbo, etc...
 
I absolutely know I am overthinking it. I'm trying not to, but ADRs are made, FPs booked, now I have nothing to do but overthink! lol

:thumbsup2

Another thought...even though it isn't a "ride", you could try Philharmagic. It's a fun little short film with Mickey, Donald, etc...

Could also try the Carousel
 


As long as it’s not It’s Tough To Be a Bug I think you’ll be fine :p My parents, who had never been to AK before, made that mistake with me when I was 6 :scared1: Clearly it didn’t hurt my love for Disney though :laughing:
 
My DD’s first ride ever was Dumbo. It was a good choice even though she cried in the line. Once Dumbo started flying she had a big smile on her red, tear stained face.
 
I remember my oldest daughters first Disney ride was Dumbo... back when it was closer to the Castle and way too hot to wait in line for.. ugh. Would make a much better first ride now than it did back then. My oldest son's first Disney ride was Buzz Lightyear.. great first ride IMO. We got a fantastic photo of me, wife and son in the middle... I don't remember what the twins first ride was.. i don't remember much of anything when the twins were infant/toddlers... I call those the forgotten years...

IMO, Dumbo would be a great first ride and now that there are 2 and you can wait/play in a big top tent, you can't go wrong!
 
Buzz can be dark and a little loud. Would he mind either of those things?

I'd probably go with something lighter rides for the first one, lest he think every attraction will be the same. Unless of course he's a big Buzz Lightyear fan.
 
Our son's first ride was Journey Into Imagination with Figment. But hubby and I love that purple dragon.

If I was going to MK, I'd probably choose Pooh - not scary, not dark, a little bumpy (for fun), and lots to see.
 
Omg this Brings back memories. Our first trip with our kids (20 years ago) we knew nothing other than what I remembered as a kid( I didn’t have a computer back then) we took the kids age 8 and 6 ( barely 6) on stitches great escape as a first ride at WDW. DD6 took a ton of encouragement to go on anything else for hours and we stuck to outside rides that she could see. My vote is Dumbo or the carousel even though at that age they LOVE small world. Whatever you pick will be fine I’m sure. BTW DD wasn’t permanently traumatized and still loves Disney.
 
We took a small flashlight on dark rides like Nemo in Epcot . I can’t remember if we used it for Buzz also. They loved buzz because they knew the character
 
All kids are different. My kid was terrified on Buzz, terrified on Dumbo (she was happy sitting in the elephant, once it started moving she was trying to climb out). She "tolerated" it's a small world, did ok on Jungle cruise. I didn't even do peter pan because it was obvious inside rides weren't going to work.

We had better luck at Epcot. She LOVED the nemo ride and frozen ever after (except for the splashing water at the end).

My only recommendation is to adjust your game plan based on reactions. We didn't do a ton of rides because they weren't worth the pure terror she was experiencing.

We started with a character breakfast, she loved that. She did better with fur characters than face characters.
 
At that age my kids LOVED the carousel and Small World. Dumbo was also great but they didn’t want to leave the playground area to ride it! Buzz feels a little loud and busy to me for the very first ride.
Someone else mentioned Philharmagic ... I think kids that age don’t really get the 3D thing and it’s therefore a confusing one for them.
Honestly we spent a lot of our time doing non-ride stuff when they were that age. Parades, shows, dance parties, the street entertainment, etc. Stuff we might just walk by on our way to a ride otherwise.
 
At that age my kids LOVED the carousel and Small World. Dumbo was also great but they didn’t want to leave the playground area to ride it! Buzz feels a little loud and busy to me for the very first ride.
Someone else mentioned Philharmagic ... I think kids that age don’t really get the 3D thing and it’s therefore a confusing one for them.
Honestly we spent a lot of our time doing non-ride stuff when they were that age. Parades, shows, dance parties, the street entertainment, etc. Stuff we might just walk by on our way to a ride otherwise.

Agreed my oldest was freaked out by the 3D at that age and would NOT wear the 3D glasses... as i recall, her first ride was dumbo but her favorite was Small World. We must have rode that ride a half dozen times that first trip with her. She was scared of almost everything.. the Great Movie Ride and Back Yard Tours from MGM scared her to death.. she for one, is very glad to see them gone!
 
Thank you all for the great suggestions! I'm hopeful that he will be ok and have a great time, but we are also prepared if he doesn't. We will figure it out. DD and DGS can stay at the hotel pool and I can have a grand ol' time on what was supposed to be my solo vacation! lol

DD was 6 for her first trip so he is a lot younger than she was. She even rode ToT that first trip. She handled it better than my parents. lol
 
Thank you all for the great suggestions! I'm hopeful that he will be ok and have a great time, but we are also prepared if he doesn't. We will figure it out. DD and DGS can stay at the hotel pool and I can have a grand ol' time on what was supposed to be my solo vacation! lol

DD was 6 for her first trip so he is a lot younger than she was. She even rode ToT that first trip. She handled it better than my parents. lol

My daughter was 20 months, honestly the look on her face when she met her hero Minnie made the trip worth it. Honestly her favorite thing was climbing on every bench she saw. Gotta love flying 1300 miles to climb on benches...:rotfl2::rotfl2:
 
All kids are different and even the same child can change a lot from trip to trip. We have done Buzz as a first ride for both of my boys and it has worked well for us both times. My toddlers weren't scared of Dumbo, but they didn't really enjoy it. The figment ride scared my older son at 2 because at one point it is dark and there is a loud bang. My cousin's son (also 2), became afraid on the Pirates and refused to go on any dark rides after that. I've heard of kids being scared of Pooh during the thunderstorm. It's hard to be afraid of It's a Small World so that's an excellent choice that isn't very dark and has music and a lot to look at. Peter Pan is short and not particularly scary, but it is dark. YMMV with toddlers and the dark. Mine are both ok with the dark! Characters not so much at 21 months. They liked to look at them but not be too close lol.
 

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