Younger kids on thrill ride question

[mco65]

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.

I think that's the rub... honestly. As a parent, we should have a good idea how our kids are emotionally, especially when they get big enough to ride roller coaster, etc. My little one was anxious and nervous and yet his twin never hesitated. We didn't force him, we gave him an out the first time though, but eventually encouraged and nudged him enough to where he went and he was glad of it... I have an older daughter (30) and she has never rode a big roller coaster.. she likes Splash Mtn but you couldn't pay her enough to get on RnR or Space Mtn... I never forced her and like you said, the sky didn't fall on her. Ironically though, she has a daughter now 12 (my grandaughter) and we took her with us this summer. She went with us when she was 2 but has not been back with us since. She had never ridden the big coasters because he mom doesn't ride them.. My youngest twins (15) encouraged her enough to ride all the big coasters and she loved 'em.... (the Yeti is now her favorite ride at WDW). I think the peer pressure got to her a little.. i would have never forced her ride but wouldn't have ruled out a little bribe.. in the end she got over her fears and was glad for it.

I think it is important to encourage your kids to face their fears but as parents we have to know the difference between a little fear and anxiety vs real trauma type fears...

 

[Elephantay]

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...

Different parenting styles, but you know your kids. I bet if you had MY kid, and HIS reactions about certain rides, you may think differently. We are supposed to be having fun. If anxiety or fear enter the picture its not fun for any of us. I would always choose to respect my child's concerns and decisions- so if we've watched the videos and the ride in person ( if possible) and he doesn't want to go, thats fine! If someone forced me to go on a ride I didn't want to do I wouldn't like it, so wouldn't do that to someone else.

 

[Rory607]

Different parenting styles, but you know your kids. I bet if you had MY kid, and HIS reactions about certain rides, you may think differently. We are supposed to be having fun. If anxiety or fear enter the picture its not fun for any of us. I would always choose to respect my child's concerns and decisions- so if we've watched the videos and the ride in person ( if possible) and he doesn't want to go, thats fine! If someone forced me to go on a ride I didn't want to do I wouldn't like it, so wouldn't do that to someone else.

I agree. I know now that I have anxiety, but I didn’t have a name for it as a kid. I hated fireworks as a kid. I still remember how badly it hurt my ears and worrying about when the next loud boom was coming. My family was understanding and someone would take me back to the hotel or somewhere else. I love fireworks now, but I truly had anxiety about them as a kid.

Fast forward 30 years: My DS, 5, has the same problem now. My H tried to brush it off and said it was no big deal, but I get it. It made me so mad that my H didn’t understand. We finally got him headphones and it has made a world of difference. It eases the anxiety about the noise. My H sees the difference now!

 

[lizbaby007]

Yup, depends on the kid. My son is tall and was able to squeak onto Big Thunder when he was just 3. He adored it. He rode the Snow White ride and yelled the whole time "I love this ride so much. " smiled ear to ear.

Now at 4 he is tall enough to ride everything except RnRC. We are going in Sept and I can't wait to see what he wants to ride considering he loves to go fast. He's already a thrill seeker!

 

[KrazeeK120]

If someone forced me to go on a ride I didn't want to do I wouldn't like it, so wouldn't do that to someone else.

This. Right here. I think if people stopped and put themselves in the kids’ shoes for a minute, they wouldn’t be forcing them onto rides. I have no right to make my child endure a fearful/anxious situation simply because I’m an adult and I’m “the boss.” Nope nope nope. He gets to decide what he does and doesn’t ride. There is sooooo much to do at Disney...so what if we skip some rides?

 

[jvz82]

I had to force my 4 year old to go on It's a Small World last year!!! He was soooo convinced it was a scary ride. I have no idea why. But he was in the line just crying and I am definitely not a parent who typically forces a kid to ride a ride. When he and my 6 year old didn't want to do Haunted Mansion because it was too scary, I was totally fine with that. But seriously, It's a Small world is not scary! There were even other kids in line reassuring him that it was not scary at all. And then he absolutely loved the ride and still talks about it.

But like others said, I typically don't force it and I will show the kids youtube videos of some of the scarier rides before we go. That way they can be prepared and make decisions ahead of time.

 

[jo-jo]

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...

I have a grand daughter who at age 2 was terrified of getting on small world. First 15 seconds was awful. We ended up going on about 5 times in a row. What's that song again??????

 

[JK World]

I took my son to Six Flags to try out his tolerance for rides before our first trip to WDW (he was still 2.5, 38 inches). We now have season passes there and go monthly, so now that he's 42 inches I know what we should or shouldn't do at WDW each year. I'd rather find out at home than ruin an expensive trip.

 

[Elephantay]

I have a grand daughter who at age 2 was terrified of getting on small world. First 15 seconds was awful. We ended up going on about 5 times in a row. What's that song again??????

Small world is the stuff of nightmares!!

 

[MamaD]

I have the same worry, OP. My son is certainly tall enough for nearly everything at Disney now, but if he sees it's a coaster he calls it a "death trap" and won't move closer to the line if his life depends on it. Everyone in the group that will be going next time all love to go on the bigger rides, so I have to figure out a way to either convince him he's not going to die or trade off with one of the adults to sit with him while the others go on. My own parents definitely used the "try it once before you decide you hate it" line on rides (and food, for that matter) when I was growing up, and it did work for me, but I can see a kid having a problem with them. I want him to enjoy it, not be terrified of everything. It's a fine line.

 

[juxtapose]

My son is 4 and almost 44”. When we go in February I’ll let him do any 40” height ride but I’m not going to let him do everest, it just seems too intense for a 4 year old. Space I’d probably let him but neither my husband or I want to ride it.

 

[DisneyMom21]

My 4 year old did well last year on ToT, 7DMT, etc. We just got on line for everything and she went with the flow, we never made a big deal about any rides. Had she been scared or said she didn't want to ride we would of course not force her, but she loves everything and has never showed any hesitation.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

If the child is scared just looking at a ride, no parent should bribe or otherwise manipulate a child into riding it. How callous and disrespectful of the child's feelings to do that. Parents should watch the child's cues, and as the child indicates a readiness to try scarier rides, try them with the child. Pushing them into frightening situations they aren't ready for is cruel. Amazing that some parents would put their own desire to get on a ride over the child's well being while at the happiest place on Earth.

 

[Klayfish]

Pushing them into frightening situations they aren't ready for is cruel.

If I never "pushed" my kids into trying things they thought they were frightened of they would have never gone swimming, ridden a bicycle, played football, played lacrosse, wrestled, gymnastics, gone climbing, on and on...all of which are far more dangerous than a WDW ride.

If you think it's cruel, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but it's not one I share.

 

[rg35]

It 100% depends on the kid. I have triplets and they all handle the rides differently. There is no one size fits all answer to this question.

One fun (but potentially costly) thing to do is to get them a ride pin for each ride that they try, which is something we have done.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

If I never "pushed" my kids into trying things they thought they were frightened of they would have never gone swimming, ridden a bicycle, played football, played lacrosse, wrestled, gymnastics, gone climbing, on and on...all of which are far more dangerous than a WDW ride.

If you think it's cruel, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but it's not one I share.

As I said, if a child is actively scared of it, yes, it is cruel to coerce him or her to get on. It's also unnecessary. Kids mature over time, and the anxious ones gradually become less fearful as they mature with support.

 

[AJ1983]

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.

Exactly it's not just the thrill level to consider but the atmosphere. I will have no problem with my kid doing Splash when we go (he will be 4) but hesitant about letting him try Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror because the preshow of each could freak him out.

 

[Beer Me]

My son rode everything when he was five. He pushed me to let him ride SM. I was nervous for him but I’ll never forget the grin on his face when it was over and he wanted to do it again.

 

[PippensMcGee]

I agree with the theory to start "small" and work our way up. What rides would you all start with? I'm taking DD4 to DL this November.

She's generally a thrill-seeker. I took her on the Gadget Go Coaster in Toontown when she was 2 and she loved it. That being said, I showed her a video of BTMR over the weekend and she said it looked scary. That being said, I could see her changing her mind when she sees it in person. She was fine with all the Fantasyland rides when she was 2, too, as well as Pirates.

So what rides would you all start with? Splash Mountain? Big Thunder Mountain?