Flight of Passage with 6 Year Old

I have two girls, age 6 and 9, and we’ll be in Disney in February. My husband and I are psyched to go on Flights of Passage, and we watched a video with our kids to give them an idea of what they are in for. I think my oldest will take it in stride, but I’m concerned about my youngest. She’s a bit of a wild card, as she can be a total thrill seeker one moment and a basket case the next.

She’s never been on any form of roller coaster (neither has my oldest). We’re planning to skip most of the coasters, Dinosaur! and It’s Tough to Be a Bug. But with all the amazing reviews, we CAN’T skip FOP.

My question is, has anyone seen a young child flip out on this ride, and if so, how Disney handles it?

We’ll be in MK the day before. Is there a ride there that would give me an idea of how she might handle this? I might look into swapping my Epcot and AK days to see if we could do Soarin’ first, but that one doesn’t worry me as much because she has been on a skyrider before.

I’ve not seen anyone freak out, but I would definitely prepare them for the fact that the back restraint is quite tight. My DD4 had tried the seat outside and was happy with that, but they didn’t put the back restraint on as hard as they do on the actual ride, and she didn’t like that at all.

There is a Tim Tracker vlog that shows him riding it, that I showed my almost 6 year old. It made her feel more comfortable about it seeing that it doesn’t drop or have any scary movements. My other DD was 6 last year and road it with no problem. Maybe show her that video?

I agree with watching videos. There is one on youtube that was taken from a bag in the back where you store your stuff that shows the movement of the vehicles and then there are the POV ones as well. Remind her if she gets scared to just close her eyes b/c the ride itself is not intense, it is only intense when paired with the video. While it’s similar to Soarin’, I think the FOP vehicles seem more secure and contained, while during Soarin’, you are hanging in the air.

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I rode last June and there was a family with two kiddos - I would say ages 6-8. Both got super nervous during the preshow. So make sure they have seen that. I think because you have to stand on your spot, they kind of wigged out when they had to let go of mom. They also got very nervous when they had to get on their bike style simulators. Again I think because it is sort of your own little car. So you aren’t (obviously) connected to each other. You can still reach out and touch though. One ended up bailing and the CM took him out with the parent. The other loved it and was all smiles on the way out!! I didn’t see where they reconnected. So not sure where the other two waited or if the sent the non riding parent back in to ride.

There is a small area just outside the exit doors where you can wait. If the other parent wants to ride they keep a space free on the next show. Kids who have bailed also get a last chance to go on the next ride. :slight_smile:

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Last month my 7-year-old did it twice and absolutely loved it.


Geisingfam

momfourmonkeys

1m

This is particularly helpful to know that the ride itself isn’t crazy, but the videos are what really drive it. Knowing they can close their eyes and not be so overwhelmed is great.

Good to know about the restraint. Thank you!

5 days removed from my AK day and my DS6 loved it. Rode it twice and he is not a thrill seeker at all - he even tried to bail from our 2nd SDD ride seconds before it was about to go.

Mine completely lost it once the ride started and throughout the whole thing but not at all until it started. I hated it for them and the people riding with us, but what can you do but get through it? There was no handling it by Disney :grin: Just you trying to get through it. It is made worse by the fact that you can’t get to them like you can in most other rides. I am still glad we tried it and I hope someday they will give it another try. In my opinion, based on their reactions to other rides I think it was reasonable to think they would like it. Saw many other kids their age that did. And also others that hated it.

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We rode yesterday with my DDs 6 and 8. DD8 loved it, DD6 hated it. They both love Soarin’. I don’t understand why people say you can’t get to the other person…I totally could have grabbed DD6’s hand if needed.

My boy was 1 month shy of turning 5 years old. I was worried he would be scared too. I had him watch some of Avatar ahead of time and told him they are “nature’s super hero’s”. I also showed him some of the You Tube videos I could find of FOP. He absolutely LOVED FOP!!! Zero fear but I think having him familiar with it ahead of time helped. Reminder for small kids, take a head band along to help keep the glasses on.

This is definitely a tricky question, I was struggling with the decision with my 5 and 7 Ultimately I decided to pass because they can be slightly sensitive and both tend to cling to parents on certain rides. They liked Soarin but the younger one was a bit shaken by the big screen and everything, so I decides that we will leave FOP for next time.

I could get to their hands but that was it. Couldn’t put my arms around them, etc. And honestly, in hindsight ,I think reaching out to just get to their hand and not be able to do more made it worse. Because then they were even more aware that I couldn’t get to them. If I had to do it over, I think I wouldn’t have reached for them but have just used verbal cues to try to talk them through things they could do (take off glasses, close their eyes, etc.). Not sure they could even process any of that though they were so upset. Hoping if there is a next time it is VERY different so I won’t have an opportunity to apply my learning.

My then 8 year old last summer did not like Soarin but loved FOP. He told me he felt safer and more secure on FOP because of the restraint. He said he closed his eyes a few times but other than that loved it. He is not a “thrill” ride fan at all but did great with FOP.

Yes, I can see where if a kid was completely losing it just being able to hold their hand wouldn’t be enough. But for a kid who’s not at that point then a hand could be held. I do have really long arms, though, so maybe it would be easier for me than most…

The restraint pushes you forward so that you’re practically laying across the front of the “bike”. Before the restraint is engaged, I arch my back and sit up a touch further than I plan on doing during the ride. The restraint stops when it reaches resistance. I don’t let it push me. That way I have a little bit of wiggle room once the ride starts and don’t feel like I’m being forced forward.