What rides / Attractions to avoid for a 5 yr old?

[WDWRook]

We have a 9 yr old boy and 5 year old girl. Girl is fairly adventurous, should just be 44 inches when we get to WDW, but has never been on any adventurous rides. What should we certainly avoid? I'm thinking Space Mt; Everest (maybe); ToT; Aerosmith; Mission Space. Anything else?

 

[IrishNYC]

Why avoid anything? Let her decide what she wants to go on or not. My 5 y/o went on everything she was tall enough for, which was everything but RNRRC and the mouse type coaster in MK.

 

[CindySwims]

My kids ride everything they are tall enough for as well. Maybe take a look at the ride and let her decide.

 

[baler31]

There are ride thru videos on You Tube. She can watch and decide. You could always start with smaller coaster like 7D and BTMRR and work up to the others. On the other hand rides like GMR in HS were more frightening to my daughter because of the gunfire.

 

[librarymom2007]

Why avoid anything? Let her decide what she wants to go on or not. My 5 y/o went on everything she was tall enough for, which was everything but RNRRC and the mouse type coaster in MK.

Agree. She may love roller coasters!

 

[WDWRook]

Thanks. The only hiccup is when planning FP+. Initially I was only getting a FP for space mt for the boy and I, and the girl and Mom for A&E. Space Mt though also is dark, and is single file.

 

[Thing 1]

So depends. At 5 my little guy was not too sure of roller coasters of any type but ended up fine on Thunder Mountain. Decided not to do EE. I was not keen on him doing Space due to the way the seats are but would have given in if he had pressed the issue. He loved Soaring but not TT. He really ended up fine on everything he did except Haunted Mansion.....totally freaked on that. Not sure why. TOT was a big no after that one. It really is no way to know.

 

[Lvsdisney]

My DS turned 5 during our last trip and went on everything (2x thanks to rider swap) that he was tall enough for.

If she's adventurous, let her ride!

 

[McKelly]

The one attraction i see a lot of crying kids come out of is It's Tought to be a Bug in AK.

 

[OneoftheMels]

Our 5 year old loves Space/Splash/Tower.....they are her favorites! You never know what they will or will not like. I try to give her as much a heads up as possible (YouTube is great) and she is willing to try everything once.

 

[Shadyluv]

I'm with the others...let her decide. My daughter rode Space Mountain when she was 3 (as her first roller coaster) and she didn't even scream. She now rides everything and anything. My son was the same way...as soon as he was tall enough he was ready to go. The only thing he won't ride is Astro Orbiter because it's high off the ground and he doesn't like heights. The only ride I would advise to skip would be Dinosaur at AK because it's dark, loud and jerky. I don't even like that ride

 

[kohlby]

I agree to let her ride what she wants. If she's adventurous, it makes it easier. I would be careful planning FP+ that you don't start out with the more intense rides.

As for SM, I have a story about a very adventurous little girl who struggled on that ride. My daughter wanted to ride it, so we let her. We were a little over half way through and she started crying and telling me she wanted to get off. I talked her through and was so glad when it was over. Then my daughter, tears still wet and face still red, said she wanted to do it again! She said she got upset because she didn't know what to expect and liked it now that she knew! It quickly became one of her favorite rides. On the flip side of things, she did Tower of Terror at 3 and her itty bitty self was way off the seat. She recovered and was still willing for anything but hasn't tried ToT again since that day - our last Disney trip was when she was 8. We're planning another trip for when she's 10 and she's said she's ready to try it again. (This same kid loved RRC at 8).

I do agree that It's Tough to Be a Bug deserves caution. It lasts a lot longer than a quick ride. My eldest, who has only become upset during one ride in his life, had to be carried out of that attraction due to his screaming. Granted, he was only 3, but he wasn't a kid who normally scared easily. Since he was the eldest and my youngest scares super easily, we haven't tried it again since then. (My thrill seeker - the daughter - is my middle child).

As far as the way the seats are on SM, it really depends on your child. I *think* my eldest may have not tried it until 6 because we weren't sure he could be trusted to sit nicely without an adult next to him. My middle child did do it at 5 though, as she could be trusted to sit how she should normally.

 

[eastendlights]

I agree with skipping Dinosaur-to me it is the loudest ride at WDW. I would add EE, RnRC, ToT and MS orange.

 

[senadler]

I think all kids are different, so my best suggestion if she hasn't been on rides is to work up to the bigger scarier rides. I think the worst thing is to do a big roller coaster first, and then they don't want to go on anything. My DS5 is still too short for EE and RnR, but I am also leaving SM for last next trip just in case he doesn't like it. He loves SDMT and BTMRR, so SM is next. He also watched the video and wants to ride ToT, so we'll see how that works out.

 

[MUDoc81]

My 5 yo girl is tall and adventurous, so we pretty much let her pick what she wanted to ride. She did not want to do dinosaur, tough to be a bug, haunted mansion, Stitch or Tower of Terror after seeing them on an attractions show. She wanted to try all the roller coasters, she LOVED BTMRR and 7DMT (her favorite rides) and rode them several times, was terrified on Space Mountain, but did not cry. (It was incidentally the most terrified I've been on a ride, the pic is me gripping her shoulders and her holding onto my hands, I could not wait for that ride to be over!) DH rode Everest with our oldest first while we waited with the toddler and wisely nixed her riding it, the Yeti and pitch black were more than we thought she'd want, she is happy with that choice when we told her it was dark like Space Mtn. "Maybe I'll ride them when I'm bigger and go on Haunted Mansion". Also, never got a chance to do Rockin' Rollercoaster.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

My adventurous DD5 was okay on Everest. She didn't love the dark part and backwards part, but forward and light was good. Her non-adventurous older sister (6 at the time) wouldn't go on it. DD5 loved splash and BTMR but DD6 did not. But DD6 LOVES Primeval Whirl. Both HATED Dinosaur. The ride picture is hilarious. My parents and I are laughing and both DDs have their heads down and ears covered. They say they will never ride it again. They were both fine with Tough to be a Bug. We did not do SM since DD5 didn't like the dark in Everest. So the point is that it's really hard to tell. I'd recommend making FPs for them if your child is interested and then RD them. If she doesn't like them, change her FPs to something she'd like better since those are some of the harder ones to get and have longer lines. You should be able to pick something else easily but if she enjoys them at RD, she gets to go again.

 

[BubblyTrip]

The only thing my child couldn't handle last year was ToT. He loves thrills (BTMRR is a perennial fave), but ToT scared the crap out of him between the ghosts and the free fall / rise. It ruined our chance to go on Space Mountain after that, and of course we didn't push. Dinosaur was also pretty on the verge. Every kid under about eight we had in our car looks totally freaked in the ride photo.

One other reason we hesitated on SM was that our kid was just at the 44 inch mark and we were a bit concerned about the jostling in the dark, since you can't anticipate what turns and drops are coming and we couldn't really hold on to him. I'm hoping he'll try it next month!

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

The one attraction i see a lot of crying kids come out of is It's Tought to be a Bug in AK.

I still can't watch that show without crying, let's be real.

OP, I would look up detailed ride videos of anything you think your daughter might be afraid of, and if she is hesitant or unsure about a ride, give her a play-by-play and let her decide what to ride. I was not an adventurous 5 year old, I was forced on most of the rides I had to go on, but then again I ended up loving most of them. That's just how I was as a kid. Your daughter may love rollercoasters and hate Dumbo, you never know.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

We were watching YouTube videos tonight, and I thought Haunted Mansion looked too scary for my DD5. I've never been on it but it looks dark in the video. (We trick or treat but are not into ghosts, vampires, coffins that kind of stuff.)

My daughter wants to go on Everest but I think it will be too intense. And the ride video of Primeval Whirl made me queasy.

 

[Kimberly Rosario]

My kids ride everything they are tall enough for as well.