Scare factor for my 4 yr old

I know all kids are different, but i’m wondering what people’s experiences are …

I believe my 4 year old will love Barnstormer and also 7DMT, but wondering how she will do on Soarin, test Track and Big Thunder Mounting (assuming she is tall enough of course) …how have other young kids done with these rides?

Hard to judge, since every child is different. I’d mostly question Test Track just because of the way they do the tests to make it feel like you’re going to crash, etc. BTMR could go either way. I’d think 4 is kind of young for that, but you never know.

Soarin’ isn’t scary, but if there is any concern about heights, you could request being in the LAST row when you board so that you are in the lowest position while “flying”.

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I had my 5 yo daughter ride all the rides mentioned above, plus Tower of Terror and Mt. Everest. She did well with all of them, except for ToT. It creeped her out. Otherwise, she loved everything else.

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I took my son when he was four and a half. His favorite rides were Splash Mountain, Expedition Everest and Haunted Mansion. He also loved Big Thunder Mountain, Test Track and 7DMT. I have concluded that he basically has no fear.

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I know my 4yo wouldn’t have had an issue, if we’d gone when he was 4!

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My DS loved all of these rides (and has since he was 4). But the one thing that he isn’t thrilled about is how BTMRR has the single bar instead of two separate ones. When he rides with DH who is a big 6’4", he plasters himself to DH’s side and has DH hold on for dear life so he’s not thrown around from side to side. He’s 9 now and will do all the rides at WDW, but he still complains about the restraints for BTMRR.

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Loved all of the above at 4y/o last month.

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I have twins and I can tell you every child is different. One of my daughters loved 7DMT and the other didn’t. At all. While my first daughter rode 7DMT again, she chose to ride Haunted Mansion, which worked out really well, because the one that rode 7DMT again didn’t like Haunted Mansion. They were 6 when we went. We told our kids incessantly that “You can’t get hurt on any ride at Disney” and they still didn’t like some. I

The point is, some kids will love every ride. Some will only like certain rides. If your kid is a daredevil, he/she will probably like anything. If not, there may be some rides to avoid. My advice is to go with the flow. If they don’t like a ride, just don’t go on it again.

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My youngest loved BTMRR and Soarin’ just before her 5th birthday. However, her 7 year old sister who would happily ride any coaster was terrified by Haunted Mansion. So you never know what will set them off! I would bet that Soarin’ would be fine but you might have to play it by ear with BTMRR.

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I would start out small and let them get a feel for the rides, then work you way up. My daughter at 4 1/2 loved Barnstormer but was not a fan of the 7DMT. After she went on 7DMT she didn’t want to ride another coaster. She tends to be afraid of going fast even on her bike. Had I tested out the 7DMT first, I probably would not have taken her on it. Definitely would agree with most it all depends on the kid.

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get on YouTube and show her clips of any questionable rides .it might ruin the 1st time thrill, but at least the rides will be familiar to her. Last thing you want is a terrified child at Disney.

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My almost five year old twins loved Soarin’ but hated 7DMT…like they still talk about how they hate it. They liked Splash Mountain, but at that point, I was afraid on getting them on any other “roller coasters”. I think if I were doing it again, I would start with smaller rides like Barnstormer and work up to 7DMT.

On another note, they really like Soarin’, but still talk about a bird that freaked them out…I don’t remember it, but apparently there is a bird that flies toward you and that startled them. But it didn’t keep them from liking the ride.

Be willing to adjust on the fly. It’s worth getting the FFP for the bigger rides. You can always drop them and get less exciting rides which are usually available same day.

My 4 year old loved 7DMT. LOVED it. But… he insisted he get in the car first so he was far from the witch. I didn’t even see the witch… she’s at the very end of the ride. Anyway, he loved Barnstormer and 7DMT and was too short for the rest.

My 6 year old (who is kind of a big chicken) was fine on Barnstormer, liked 7DMT but only wanted to ride twice, LOVED Test Track and Star Tours, but didn’t like Soarin’. And he HATED BTMRR. Absolutely hated it. I also traumatized him by letting him ride on Expedition Everest (even warned him about what it would be like). I am actually really surprised he wanted to try Everest, but he did so we let him. Kind of a big mistake on our part as I think it ruined many rides later that trip.

One thing that helped us a lot was YouTube. You can have your child “virtually” ride things and see what she thinks. We learned this the hard way when our son wanted to ride “the train” (BTMRR) and scream-cried through the whole thing – after that we always gave him a preview!

The other thing we ran into was our boys not wanting to go on anything they couldn’t see (like Spaceship Earth or Pirates) because they thought it would be too scary. Again the virtual ride helped a ton.

My boys LOVED Soarin’ – the thing with that is they can always close their eyes if they get nervous because it doesn’t actually go anywhere. There is also an extra strap for the little ones on that ride so they don’t slip forward, so it feels super secure.

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We discovered the virtual rides after we got home.

We watch them often. Afterwards it feels like some kind of awful punishment though. We miss Disney lol

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Our (very tall) daughter went on all of those a few months before she turned 3, and absolutely loved them all! I would try BTMRR first, and maybe try to sit in the front part of the train so it doesn’t feel quite so fast. If she enjoys that I think she’ll love the Mine Train too!

DD turned 4 a month ago and will be going on Everest and Flight of Passage for the first time in April. Very exciting!

This is an example of where it becomes tricky. Younger kids haven’t yet LEARNED to be afraid. So, they will very often tackle rides that older kids won’t, since older kids have developed a sense of fear.

BUT, where the problem comes is if something about a ride that they weren’t afraid of scares them. At this point, they develop a lack of trust and then become wary of everything! It is kind of how babies will gleefully tumble down a staircase, or off a couch, etc., if you let them since they have no fear…UNTIL they actually do something that gets them hurt. Then, they are more tentative.

So, building UP to the bigger rides is a good idea even for kids that seemingly have no fear. And for such kids, it is a good idea to warn them up front of what MIGHT be scary for them. “Most of the ride is fine. Just looking at pretty scenes where there is music and lots to look up. But there are couple places it will drop. Not bad, though. And then, at the very end, there’s the big drop. See the people? They are smiling because it is fun. But it can be a little scary at first, so if you feel nervous, you can just close your eyes. But you’ll be fine!”

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thanks everyone for your thoughts!!

now…if only my trip would get here faster!!! :slight_smile:

I’d loan you my Delorean, but I’m fresh out of Plutonium.

shucks!