Younger kids on thrill ride question

[Atrain13]

So we are going in December and our oldest will be 5 and is already over 44". Loves little carnival rides and loved Barnstormer 2 years ago. My question is, I want her to go on SM, ToT and other bigger rides with me. So how did your young kids handle the bigger thrill rides? Or am I asking too much? I assume a bribe will be in order but i also want her to enjoy them and have fun(which i think she will once she actually gets on them).

Sorry that was kind of a jumbled mess!

 

[Chupaca bruh]

We took a 5 year old boy a couple years ago and he was just tall enough to ride most everything. He had no trepidation getting onto the rides and love Tower of Terror, Big Thunder Mountain, Star Tours and the smaller coasters. We did not do Space mountain for some reason but not because he didn't wnat to. Euther it was down for some reason or the line was too long. I am sure he would have been fine on Expedition Everest and Rock n Rollercoaster but he was a hair to short.

 

[Sara_H]

My kids loved Thunder Mountain, SDMT, SM, Everest, etc. However, I will say that last time we went the theming of ToT scared my 7 year old, which of course made her cry while on the ride and hate it. Now she says she wants to try it again next time. SM we didn't do when our kids were 5 because I didn't feel comfortable not being able to sit next to them...they do love it now that they are older and we let them ride. I think my son was 6 the first time he rode it...still made me nervous with him sitting in front of me but he loved it.

 

[Master Fastpasser]

It all depends on the child and you know what yours can handle.
My niece was going on TOT at 3 years old. She's 11 now and yesterday I had a hard time getting her on and escalator. I always tease that I want her to ride TOT with me but she will not. Her thrill seeking days have apparently ended.

 

[MischaOz]

As others have said, it depends on the child. My daughter is tall for her age and went on everything as soon as she was tall enough. Which was age 3 or 4 for most anything. I would think a 5 year old would be ready for everything that Disney has to offer. Have fun!

 

[Klayfish]

Yep, totally dependent on the child. We made our kids try rides as they got big enough. They liked almost all of them, and one or two they didn't (DS15 still isn't a huge fan of ToT, but will ride it). I remember DS12 clinging to my arm in tears as we boarded Barnstormer...she was about 5 or 6 at the time. Her tears turned to laughter by time it was over. We rinsed and repeated that process with ever increasing "thrills". But each kid is different. Give it a try and see how it goes. Worst case scenario is they don't like it, but at least can say they tried.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Everyone already said it, depends on the child. My 5 year old who is 44" loves any outdoor roller coaster. We love to do EMM and ride SDD and 7DMT 7-8 times in a row. She does well on Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain as well. But put her in the dark for a millisecond and she is full on crying. So we won't even think about trying Space or TOT yet.

 

[sponica]

There's only one way to find out if they don't like it...although my husband is reluctant to let our daughter do Space Mountain next year because it's not side by side.

Although if she balks at going on splash mountain, I'm not going to push the issue.

 

[caylene44]

I agree with all the previous posters, definitely depends on the child. I can't recall ever being scared of a ride (me or my sister). We took a family friend's little girl on ToT years ago, she was 8 and she started sobbing just going through the lobby. My three-year-old cousin calls lots of things scary or spooky, I'm not even sure where they learn to be scared of things that little.

 

[sponica]

My three-year-old cousin calls lots of things scary or spooky, I'm not even sure where they learn to be scared of things that little.

My almost 3 year old daughter called the mascot on my college t-shirt "scary"

 

[icesk8abc]

My 4 year old was right at 40" last trip. She rode everything she could including Tower of Terror (twice). It totally depends on the kid. She is hoping to grow another inch before our next trip so she can do Space and Everest.

 

[Elephantay]

I don't understand why people push or make their kids do rides that they don't want to do. You can show a video before hand to get a sense of it, but if a kid doesn't want to ride even after they've seen a bit of it....There are plenty of things to do at WDW for the reluctant non-riders of big rides. Personally I would not bribe my child to go on a ride they say no thanks to.

 

[DisTXMom]

The formula for success on thrill rides on our trips is to start small and work your way up. If they go on something and it’s too much for them, good luck getting them to try anything else new. We also let the kids choose . When we convinced our DD to ride splash mountain and she was terrified at the end... well it’s not fun being “those parents”.

 

[KrazeeK120]

The formula for success on thrill rides on our trips is to start small and work your way up. If they go on something and it’s too much for them, good luck getting them to try anything else new. We also let the kids choose . When we convinced our DD to ride splash mountain and she was terrified at the end... well it’s not fun being “those parents”.

My son (almost 3 at the time) made a beeline for SDD, and ended up totally petrified. Screamed through the whole thing. I know we looked like “those parents,” even though we didn’t make him get on the ride!

OP, like many others have said, it totally depends on the kid. Show the kid videos beforehand, let them look at the ride in person (if possible) before boarding, and see what they say. I will also encourage my son to try new things and test his comfort zone, but ultimately, I’m not going to force him to ride something he doesn’t want to.

 

[Rory607]

Please don’t push them if they really don’t want to do a ride. I’m not a thrill ride person at all. I feel proud of myself when I do Splash Mountain and 7DMT, lol. I hate people pushing me to do rides I’m not comfortable with. My DD, 8, is just wanting to bigger rides and her dad loves doing them with her. I sit them out with her little brother.

But last year at DL my son, age 4 at the time, worked up the courage to ride Star Tours. Not that it’s a thrill ride, but this was a big deal for him. So my H took both kids while I took a break. He said as soon as they got buckled in their seats our son yelled, “Actually, Dad, I don’t really want to do this ride after all!” Everyone started laughing and then the ride started. He ended up loving it and keeps saying he wants to try it again on our trip this fall. So I guess you never know!

 

[jlb727]

Please don’t push them if they really don’t want to do a ride. I’m not a thrill ride person at all. I feel proud of myself when I do Splash Mountain and 7DMT, lol. I hate people pushing me to do rides I’m not comfortable with. My DD, 8, is just wanting to bigger rides and her dad loves doing them with her. I sit them out with her little brother.

But last year at DL my son, age 4 at the time, worked up the courage to ride Star Tours. Not that it’s a thrill ride, but this was a big deal for him. So my H took both kids while I took a break. He said as soon as they got buckled in their seats our son yelled, “Actually, Dad, I don’t really want to do this ride after all!” Everyone started laughing and then the ride started. He ended up loving it and keeps saying he wants to try it again on our trip this fall. So I guess you never know!

That sounds exactly like my kids! (8 yo daughter and 5 yo son!) Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the ride itself!

 

[AnnieBearJamboree]

TOT petrified me as a child. The preshow was way, way too much - to be fair, I was (and am) a giant baby around anything spooky or scary. It wasn’t the drop at all, it was the atmospheric scariness.

Like others have said, show her clips of the rides and if she’s excited about them, all the more power to her! Definitely not worth a bribe. Even if she’s not scared, it’s never really fun to do something because Mom made you do it.

 

[Klayfish]

I don't understand why people push or make their kids do rides that they don't want to do.

Because they truly have no idea if they're going to like it or not until they try it. They may think they won't like it because it looks big and intimidating, or sounds intimidating (the name "Tower of Terror" for example) but when they get on it they may wind up loving it. If they didn't like it, no problem, they don't have to ride it again. I'd much rather make them try it and then really know what we can or can't ride than walk around missing half of the attractions and wondering if...

 

[mco65]

2 of my kids never hesitated and were anxious to ride the big thrill rides but one was not so thrilled. My wife made him ride Rock n Roller Coaster and ToT... one afternoon. He still does not like ToT and doesn't ride it any more but RnR coaster is tops on his list riding it several times each trip. As i recall, my wife let him chicken out one trip.. she took him through the line and let him chicken out at the very end but it gave him a good idea of what the ride looks like up close.... but the next time we came (6 months or so later) she leaned on him a little harder and he rode.

I would not force a kid, screaming bloody murder, to ride a ride. But if they are just showing a little anxiety, i think that is fairly normal and would encourage them to ride...

 

[North of Mouse]

I don't understand why people push or make their kids do rides that they don't want to do. You can show a video before hand to get a sense of it, but if a kid doesn't want to ride even after they've seen a bit of it....There are plenty of things to do at WDW for the reluctant non-riders of big rides. Personally I would not bribe my child to go on a ride they say no thanks to.

I agree completely! If they want to go - fine - otherwise leave them alone and let them come to terms with riding individual rides in their own time. The sky won't fall if your child doesn't want to ride a certain ride - what's the point in 'making' them - sort of a form of child abuse in my book for a parent's pleasure.

I know from experience how frightened some rides can look from a child's viewpoint. No, my parents didn't make me, and would never have even considered doing such a thing. It took me 'years' to ride a ferris wheel - was scared of them so bad - would probably have died of fright if made to ride one then. Also took me forever to ride a large coaster, so yes, I have very strong feelings on the subject.