My daughter (age 10) does not like even small roller coasters but decided she wants to give them a try again this year b/c she doesn’t want to miss out on the awesome Disney coasters (this will be our first time at Disney.) Which do you think is the tamer of the two between Big Thunder Mountain & 7 Dwarfs? Neither one really has any big drops do they?
7 Dwarfs is definitely smoother and tamer. I would suggest sitting right at the front for the least intense ride - the carts tend to ‘sway’ nearer to the back. The Big Thunder is fun as well, but a bit more ‘wild’. 
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Both are essentially “kiddie coasters” with no big drops or anything particularly thrilling, so it’s tough to say which one is tamer.
7 Dwarfs is tamer since it’s a tad shorter and the slow part in the mine is really slow. And yes, for either ride, sitting in the front minimizes the intensity.
Another vote for 7D, although neither of them are particularly intense.
In order…
Barnstormer
7DMT
BTMRR
BTMRR at night
Splash (not a coaster, but has some similar drops)
SM (the darkness and effects make it scarier than it
would be outdoors)
RR
Everest
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I’d agree with everything except the last two. RR can be a pretty rough ride, which ramps up the intensity, IMO. Everest is very smooth by comparison, so even though it has a bigger drop, I’d send someone on EE before RR if they were coaster-averse. Intelligent minds can disagree on this point, though.
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I’d recommend that whatever one you decide to try 1st you get a FP for it. The FP lines generally go fast enough that they have less time to think about the ride. I know we hit SM as my DS5s 1st coaster with a FP within 45 minutes of getting to MK on day 1. Zero chance he would have made it through the 70 minute standby line but at less than 15 with FP we were on our way before he had the chance to psych himself out.
He loved it btw and we rode everything from the list above but RnR (he didn’t want to go upside-down) and EE (the Yeti scared him in the preview video we watched).
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I agree with the others, 7DMT was much smoother and easier for my 4 year old to handle (she’s not a roller coaster fan, either). Neither are very scary, but if she wanted to try one of the two out first I would suggest 7DMT.
SDMT is tamer, and really short.
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I disagree RR is better, you do not even realize you are going upside down, it’s smooth and in the dark so you don’t see the track as much. Also getting punched out at a fast speed minimizes the anticipation.
With Everest you see the track and all that is going on, you have a long anticipation before a drop You see the broken track and you know you will drop backwards, then again before you shift to forwards again.
@stuckinbmode made a good list
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@tigger28020, my ds9 is the same with coasters. We had a fpp for 7dmt during our trip in December. When it was our turn to board, he lost it and wouldn’t ride. We will be back at the end of the month, and he says he is going to ride 7dmt, btmrr and splash. I think it has helped him to watch YouTube videos. That might help your daughter too.
My whole family hated Barnstormer - the kids got scared, and Melanie & I ended up with sore backs from the ride so much that we started referring to it as, “Goofy’s Backbreaker.”
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[quote=“tigger28020, post:1, topic:12863”]
Which do you think is the tamer of the two between Big Thunder Mountain & 7 Dwarfs? Neither one really has any big drops do they?[/quote]
7DMT is much smoother, shorter, and tamer than Big Thunder. You are correct that neither has big drops and neither are very fast coasters, though someone who does not ride roller coasters will think either ride is fast moving. I’d start with 7DMT and see how your daughter reacts.
Another vote here for 7DMT. It is tamer of the two. Maybe she should start with barnstomer first and then go from there.
7DMT is MUCH tamer than BTMRR; it’s also shorter - two 30 second “coaster” portions with a 30 second slow “show scene” in the middle. As others have said, in the overall world of coasters, where several hundred foot drops and speeds of 70mph are not uncommon (and I LOVE them), none of the coasters at WDW are very high on the intensity level. Within WDW, I have to pretty much agree with @stuckinbmode on the rating scale. RnRC and EE are kind of a tie; RnRC is “all dark”, has the accelerated “take off”, has several inversions, and is kind of rough. EE has the largest drops and the backwards dark section. SM, although relatively slow, can be very intimidating for a young rider - especially since the seating is tandem vice side-by-side. It’s also VERY rough. FWIW, I think EE is definately the “best” coaster in WDW.
Barnstormer is a bit rougher than it looks. I rode it for the first time last year, and as a 55 year old, my back did not enjoy it especially (although it’s noting compared to the bone-jarring ride that SM has become). 7DMT, although perhaps more imposing to look at, is actually a much smoother ride.
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Thanks everyone, I guess we will start with 7DMT…hopefully the courage she is expressing now holds up once we get there!
I would actually say Barnstormer is worse than 7DMT lol. 7DMT is very tame and smooth. BTMRR is awesome, but it is faster and jerkier than 7DMT. My 5 and 6 year olds have done all three, and oldest loves Splash and TOT as well. My 4 year old loved Barnstormer and 7DMT.
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Barnstormer might be a bit rougher than 7DMT which is almost too smooth. One thing Barnstormer has over all the others is the ability for the child to see the entire track before riding so there are no surprises.