My husband insisted the kids would like ITTBAB after I told him I thought it would scare the kids. I tried to prep daughter and told her it’s 4D so some things may tickle her. She was freaked out about something tickling her. So I told her she would sit on my lap so nothing would touch her. Still freaked out about being tickled. She was fine with the rest of it but the whole time thought something would tickle her. I just stopped trying to prep her as it just made her anxiety worse.
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Ah, yes. This can be an issue. It is definitely a good idea to tell your kids up front that EVERYTHING at WDW is fake and only made to look real, including gunshots, fire, ghosts, etc. That can be helpful.
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It didn’t help me… lol
But isn’t part of the magic thinking it’s NOT fake?
When I was a kid, I remember going home after MK and having a hard time sleeping for a few nights, because I was afraid that ghost from HM had really come with us. I mean, sure, it’s all for fun, but what if a real ghost was invited to come home with me? 
So when my 8 year old DS started saying he didn’t like HM, I didn’t push him. He was 10 before he was ready to try it again, but now has no problem with HM.
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I would add that of all the rides we went on at WDW, the only one my at the time 5 year old hated was Dinosaur in AK. She was traumatized by that ride! Oops! In fact, as I consoled my little one (she cried afterward), then my older daughter revealed that she hated it when she was 5, too! Lesson learned, too late!
As for prepping beforehand with videos, I agree with other posters who said maybe just drop it for now and see how it goes once you are there. And Barnstormer is so much fun–it’s like the gateway coaster!
No. Never thought any of it was real. Ever. Still lovedbit
not everything is fake! Animal kindgom has real animals! Did make sure to tell kids jungle cruise were all fake animals as I knew my daughter would think some of the jokes weren’t jokes and didn’t want her thinking a crocodile would actually eat her. (at least not those)
Lol, I remember my parents bribing me to go see Captain EO (the Michael Jackson film) at the Imagination Pavilion. That witch lady was seriously scary! Anyone else remember this?
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My daughter will
Never ride pirates again… I don’t remember it as scary as a kid but our boat got stopped right where the man keeps getting dunked… yea she said she won’t go next time. So we will see…
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I am not a fan of overriding a kid’s “no” on something like an amusement park ride no matter how much you think they will like it. Sure, it is easier if they go along with the program but empowering their ability to say “no” will serve them well when their friends try to talk them into doing something they don’t want to do.
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My son, on the other hand, was PISSED that he couldn’t go on California Screamin’ because he was too short when he was 4 and we went to Disneyland. He rode everything he was allowed to, including Indiana Jones, and loved it all. He loved the characters too.
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We just got back from our first trip and my kids were 6 and 4, and adamant from the get-go that they did NOT want to do any roller coasters or Splash. We’d been to our local amusement park last summer and they tried a few small kiddie coaster type rides and were scared / didn’t like them, so decided to just skip the “thrill rides” for this trip. Growing up my sister HATED BTMR and was upset / sick the whole day after riding it, so I definitely didn’t want to push them to do something they really didn’t want to. I know we’ll go back to WDW in a few years and maybe by then they’ll want to try those rides. The rest of us on the trip were grown ups and didn’t mind just skipping them so we could stay together. We had SO much to do and see in 2 days at MK that I’m glad we skipped all those rides!
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We have been to Sesame Place. That ernie coaster that is right at the entrance to the park is more thrilling than 7DMT and is as thrilling as BTMRR. I do hope he ends up trying them because they’re a blast. BTMRR was my 5 year old’s favorite ride last trip. The only rides that scared her were ToT and Everest. I think she’d like them both now that she’s 7. Mind you she’s extremely tall (she will be 7 Friday and is 53" tall) so I probably should have had better judgement about EE - just because she COULD doesn’t mean she should have. But MK is mild. IMO the scariest ride in MK is Astro Orbiter.
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No, no. Second scariest. Scariest is being on It’s a Small World and the boats backing up and the terrifying realization that you might be stuck on the ride for all eternity! 
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Shudder You and my wife, both!
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This.
Grand Canyon with teen boys.
I finally pulled out the mommy card and played it hard. I told them that while I accepted the fact that veering off the paths and over to the edge might increase their pleasure by 5 to 10%, it decreased mine by 100%. I threatened that if I had to speak to them again I would not buy any food for them the rest of the day; they would have to pay for themselves. I’m not sure if I was kidding or not. Thankfully they didn’t test it.
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I refuse to ride IASW. After being forced to ride it at DW and DL, I now see it as the attraction nightmares are made from. 
That used to be a Grover themed ride and -oh yeah- it packs a punch!
Thankfully, all of my kids want to keep up with the one just older. All I had to do was make sure the first one enjoyed rides. 