Thrill rides for older people?

[bethwc101]

We will be traveling with my grandfather to Disneyland next month. He is about to turn 80. He has not been to an amusement park in over 30 years and I am curious about how older people handle extreme rides.
Rides like GOTG, IJ, SM, ST, BTMRR, Splash, etc.
he is rather active and can do lots of walking, but he has no idea where he stands on rides. We were going to start small with POTC, HM, Fantasyland, etc. But I was wondering if any older people can comment if we should just stay away altogether from any specific rides?

 

[Malcon10t]

We will be traveling with my grandfather to Disneyland next month. He is about to turn 80. He has not been to an amusement park in over 30 years and I am curious about how older people handle extreme rides.
Rides like GOTG, IJ, SM, ST, BTMRR, Splash, etc.
he is rather active and can do lots of walking, but he has no idea where he stands on rides. We were going to start small with POTC, HM, Fantasyland, etc. But I was wondering if any older people can comment if we should just stay away altogether from any specific rides?

My mom is 77. She rides everything except Indy and Star Tours. (It bothers her back/neck.)

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

My dad is 75 and extremely fit. He really enjoyed Soaring and RSR. I really didn’t want to put him on Guardians, maybe overly cautious on my part but I was worried it would be too intense. He didn’t want to ride any of the other thrill rides.

 

[Indiana Scott]

This is the nice thing about Disney; they have mostly left the extreme rides to places like 6 Flags and have gone more for theming and quality rather than screams.

 

[chickapin parterre]

do you live near a freeway cloverleaf merge/exit? have him ride with you on one of the extreme cloverleaf curves beyond the suggested speed limit, because that is basically RSR at 25 mph merge at 60mph....if that does not bother him, then he is fine. My wife has difficulties with fast freeway exchanges. I am 62, 300 pounds, 6'4 and I have problems on star torus with equilibrium, RSR has has a very strong curve of a cloverleaf G force for me, so I don't ride it anymore. Matterhorn, BTMRR I have no problems with equilibrium. Splash....zero problems for me. I am a walker and put in about 2 hours a day of flat hiking and sidewalk pounding. Dumbo, I can't use the lever, I stay up high. Indy, just isn't fun for me so i don't ride it anymore. Goofy flight school is fine, just that I am too tall for comfort. Never been on teacups, rockets or carousel, , just tight circles get to me.

 

[avalon451]

You might have him watch a few YouTube videos to get an approximate idea of what's involved with the rides. Even if he's very fit and active, equilibrium is funny for some people as they age. My DH did not like ToT (GotG) ten years ago at age 48--the drops were just too nerve-wracking, but he was ok with Screamin'. At age 56, Screamin' left him disoriented and almost catatonic with adrenaline, and he realized he really didn't enjoy roller coasters any more. He didn't even do well with Space Mountain. However, he was fine with BTMRR, Matterhorn, Indy and Splash. At 53, I love the big thrill rides, but Teacups are iffy! It's the constant spinning. Also, Star Tours can be disorienting if you have equilibrium issues-- I tend to squinch my eyes at the more wild scenes.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

My dad will be 75 in August and he still loves thrill rides.
He hasn't been to DL but at WDW he rides BTMRR, Splash, Space, 7DMT, TOT, RNRC, TT, EE, Dinosaur....
If he isn't sure how he feels then yeah start out small and work up to the bigger ones.

 

[OKC Disney Fan]

My dad is 69 and rode CA Screamin', GOTG, SM, BTMRR on our last visit. As others have mentioned before, he stayed off of Indy and Star Tours due to neck/back issues. He loved all others. My mom (same age) on the other hand sat out all of those except BTMRR. She isn't crazy about thrill rides.
Their favorite rides were HM, POTC and Soarin' though.

 

[cindyland]

My MIL (82) did fine on Splash and RSR, but really didn't care for the drops on Guardians. We didn't try Space Mtn or Star Tours. I'm 51 and haven't been able to do Star Tours, Space Mtn or Screamin' for a few years because they make me sick for the remainder of the day. This makes me very sad because I would love to try the new Incredicoaster (or whatever they're calling it).

 

[NannyBeBe]

I am 7l years old; or if you compute it as I do, 7 plus 1 is 8, so I am 8 years old.
Anyway, I can ride IJ, HM, Splash, Pirates, Thunder Mtn. I do not ride Space Mtn or Matterhorn because of back issues, and I am afraid of Space Mtn. Some other rides I do not do because of fear - Screamin, GOTG. Star Tours makes me deathly ill so if you grandfather is prone to motion sickness I would not recommend it.
One thing I would suggest, as an older person, is to give your grandfather time to rest and take everything in; maybe have an ice cream or a cold drink and just people watch. And take pictures. You will treasure them.

 

[cpster]

My in laws felt sick for the rest of the day after riding Space Mountain so I wouldn’t start with that one! They are in their late 60s and early 70s. Thunder Mountain is a lot smoother than Matterhorn.

 

[StormyCA]

If your FiL is in good health with no musculoskeletal or heart problems then the main thing to worry about is motion sickness. I started developing it in my mid-50s and it's cut me out of riding ST, SM, CS, & the teacups. And all the dramamine, Bonine, wrist bands, etc hasn't helped.

Start slow and work up. And when it comes to a real 'thrill' ride wait til the last so if he does get ill it doesn't wreck the rest of the day for him.

And ride videos is an excellent idea!

 

[SeansMom]

Matterhorn is rough. If anybody has back or neck issues just say no lol. We do it once a trip. Compared to other rides that we do multiple times.
I second watching YouTube videos. And starting with smaller ride so.
Also REST and plan on breaks or earlier nights.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Matterhorn is so fun....hard to say just no.....such a foggy memory ...then that once a trip mode kicks in......and then you forget till the next year trip. other than the G-force curve on RSR, that matterhorn is probably the most real life Olympic experience. ...and maybe the only real life experience at Disneyland....other the TWA rocket taking off to space.