Kids That Don't Like Rides

[BebopBaloo]

I have a daughter that has a very low threshold for thrill. She tried Mission Space at Epcot/ green side this past summer and loved it. Green doesn't spin. Orange does. DO NOT put your nervous daughter on Orange as that particular ride does make some people very ill and even provides barf bags on the ride vehicle. You pull a few Gs for an extended amount of time, so very different from a launch coaster.
That said...
There are plenty of things that she has enjoyed from the time she was a toddler to now and they are all things that we have been able to ride as a family and to enjoy together. At Magic Kingdom: All of Fantasyland except 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. She tried it, but didn't like it. All of Adventureland. Country Bears, River Boat, Tom Sawyer Island, Most of Tomorrowland...not Space Mountain.

At Epcot: Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Figment, Living with the Land, Soarin, Mission Space Green, she tried Test Track at age 4...didn't like it, but I have a feeling she would if she tried it again. Frozen, Gran Fiesta Tour, plus she loves World Showcase.

Hollywood Studios: The Great Movie Ride (some of it is loud...so when the vehicle stops mid ride..prepare for loud and sorta scary), Toy Story Mania, she enjoys the shows and One Man's Dream, and the Star Wars Launch Bay.

Animal Kingdom: Kilimanjaro Safari,Triceratops Spin, loads to do without a lot of rides. Dinosaur is very loud and dark and dinos jump out at you.

 

[bumbershoot]

Last time we went she went on Pirates several times but not Haunted House. Defiantly no rollercoasters. I have no shame in bribing either LOL

Thought of an idea to help...earplugs. Sometimes the overwhelming *noise* of the parks can prime a person to be extra-scared. earplugs are a lifesaver, even for me, on many rides and even sometimes while walking around the parks on a long day.

 

[danc18]

I'd recommend tom sawyers island as a nice escape. My 4yo thought it was a great adventure. Low key, self paced climbing, cave, trails etc.

 

[Shelly888]

My 7 year old got on everything we did. The three he hated were Splash Mountain, Expedition Everest, and Tower of Terror.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

This was me as a kid. I would not go on ANYTHING. I'm sure it caused my parents some immense frustration. (Literally went on Big Thunder for the first time as a 21 year old). But look on the bright side- even if your kid won't go on anything, she'll probably still have a magical time! I say; don't stress too much about rides, and don't make your daughter stress too much about it. I have incredibly fond memories of my childhood trips (and did the disney college program/now take trips as an adult).

 

[babyruth]

Wow digging up an old thread but glad it’s here! My 6 yr old is hysterically afraid of every ride this trip. She won’t even do something simple like triceratops spin. Everything we have been on she’s ended up loving. Even if she was nervous and we were forcing her. But now she’s actually starting to have bad dreams about going on rides! Last trip when she was 3 she hated characters and she’s thankfully gotten over that. But I feel so bad the poor little thing! She was freaked out by ROL tonight. We left Finding Nemo halfway through after making her go in there, trying to do things other than rides...but then afterwards she talked with enthusiasm about both things so I am at such a loss! Our next park day is MK. My husband wants to force her to do stuff to get over her fears. I feel terrible causing her so much stress! Any advice?

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

This won't be a popular answer, but I bribed my DD when she was 8. I lovingly call her a chicken with the heart of a daredevil. She is terrified of every ride...until she does it once. Then, it is her favorite ride ever, and she wants to do it again immediately. By the end of that trip when she was 8, she had tried everything at Disney and everything except the outdoor roller coasters at Universal.

I did the same with my son. My instincts told me that he would enjoy rollercoasters, if he would only try riding one. My instincts were right, although it cost me the bribe...David Beckham football boots.

 

[fla4fun]

Wow digging up an old thread but glad it’s here! My 6 yr old is hysterically afraid of every ride this trip. She won’t even do something simple like triceratops spin. Everything we have been on she’s ended up loving. Even if she was nervous and we were forcing her. But now she’s actually starting to have bad dreams about going on rides! Last trip when she was 3 she hated characters and she’s thankfully gotten over that. But I feel so bad the poor little thing! She was freaked out by ROL tonight. We left Finding Nemo halfway through after making her go in there, trying to do things other than rides...but then afterwards she talked with enthusiasm about both things so I am at such a loss! Our next park day is MK. My husband wants to force her to do stuff to get over her fears. I feel terrible causing her so much stress! Any advice?

Has she shared what she is nervous about? Does she dislike the dark, or loud noises, or random surprises? For example, I was terrified of HM as a child, but it was specific to the ghouls that popped up from behind the tombstones in the graveyard scene. It took me a long time to be able to keep my eyes open in there! I also don’t like thrill rides. I don’t like the feeling of being out of control. My sister has always had issues with any rides with a drop unless she feels really confident about the restraint. If your DD is exhibiting some fear, but then talking positively afterward, her fear may be very specific and once you have narrowed it down, figuring out which rides to skip will be easier.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Yep I’m in the camp bribe crew.
DD was just tall enough to go on her first upside down roller coaster at Hershey park years ago, but wouldn’t budge then I saw a “I survived “ t-shirt in hot pink and that was the deal .. she’s had no fear after and wore her shirt proudly .
DS 7 is autistic and big siblings drag him everywhere . I think he did Space 5x last trip at 7 and loved it which shocked me. Littlest guy will be 6 for this summers trip and prob just tall enough and I will be looking for a T-shirt stand

 

[WhitneyMB]

Difference of opinion-- I don't like coasters and watching them on YouTube at home ahead of time always makes me think "no way am I going on that!" The videos look awful and nauseating! When I'm in the park, I'm always a little more tempted though. Personally, I enjoy poking around in shops when I sit out some of the rides or grabbing a fun snack. Whatever you do, don't make it seem like it's a "failure" if they don't go on a few of the rides. Disney should be about enjoying yourself--however that happens

Likely no-Space Mountain, Everest, Rockin Rollercoaster
Possibly no-Tower of Terror, Thunder Mountain
Possibly Yes-Mine Ride, splash mountain, Test Track

I agree with this list of mostly--except, Space Mountain and Splash Mountain are "definite nos" on my list, while Mine Train (more mild), Thunder Mountain (the drops are surprisingly slow), Slinky Dog Dash (it just looks so fun!), I attempt.

 

[babyruth]

Has she shared what she is nervous about? Does she dislike the dark, or loud noises, or random surprises? For example, I was terrified of HM as a child, but it was specific to the ghouls that popped up from behind the tombstones in the graveyard scene. It took me a long time to be able to keep my eyes open in there! I also don’t like thrill rides. I don’t like the feeling of being out of control. My sister has always had issues with any rides with a drop unless she feels really confident about the restraint. If your DD is exhibiting some fear, but then talking positively afterward, her fear may be very specific and once you have narrowed it down, figuring out which rides to skip will be easier.

I wish I could get her to tell me. All day yesterday she wouldn’t say what was bothering her. Today she said it was loud. Ok, I get not liking loud noises. However she dances and that music is loud, we go to sporting events that are loud, even took her to a JoJo Siwa concert! (If you know who that is you can imagine how loud a bajillion screaming little girls are) So I’m still working on it. She did like Killamanjaro Safari so we did that one twice. After she refused to go on the boat to Disney Springs and freaked out at the train to affection station...maybe it’s just total overstimulation??

 

[Tormania]

This won't be a popular answer, but I bribed my DD when she was 8. I lovingly call her a chicken with the heart of a daredevil. She is terrified of every ride...until she does it once. Then, it is her favorite ride ever, and she wants to do it again immediately. By the end of that trip when she was 8, she had tried everything at Disney and everything except the outdoor roller coasters at Universal.

I do the same with my son. And like your kiddo, once he rides it once he's hooked and he's now 10. At a recent birthday party they had rented one of the gyro-spheres and he was super chicken to get on it. But I goaded him that even the girls were riding it and just give it a try. He reluctantly agreed....and once he was one it I couldn't get him off for the rest of the party, lol!!

My challenge on this next trip is we are doing USO for 3 days first and he's tall enough to ride everything......but Hulk and Rip Ride Rockit are a bit more than EE or SM. He's now tall enough for RnRC now too but he is scared of "going upside down" so we'll see where we are in 9 months for those BIG rides.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Since we are doing more replying to 2016 posts than replying to the one that bumped this thread, closing to avoid further confusion.

Moderator opinion: It is often better to start new threads than resurrect a thread that is several months or years old. Facts change, people don’t realize it’s an old thread and reply to old posts, the new post/question gets buried, etc.

Thank you.