So our FPP day is this coming Friday. I have had the “perfect” daily TP and FPP selections made for quite awhile now. Today, DS10 discovered he likes roller coasters during his choir field trip to our local six flags! Up until this moment in time he was adamant about not going on one, so I didn’t plan any FPP for any and was instead going to rely on DAH and EMM so DH and I could take turns on a few. Hmmm…back to the drawing board for FPP? I don’t think he will do any of the more “thrilling” ones as he told which ones he liked and disliked today at six flags, so I’m trying to sort out which would be the more milder coasters for him/us?
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I honestly don’t think that Wdw has any coasters that I would classify as “thrilling” (like Busch Gardens). Everest (backwards and some good downward hills) and RnR (dark coaster, upside down at launch) are the ones you may want to avoid.
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In my opinion the only 2 real thriller roller coasters are Everest and RnR - Space feels fast just because it is the dark. So I would definitely include SDD, thunder mountain and seven dwarves. If they are done then you could try Everest. If that’s all okay then do space and RnR. He may surprise you and like all of them.
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What did he like/ dislike at six flags? Someone here will probably be familiar enough to say if he will like RnR or EE.
IMO, “thrilling” at WDW and “thrilling” at a Six Flags park are on totally different scales. After doing the big rides at UOR, DD felt that the rides she found terrifying at WDW were kiddie rides.
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He only rode wooden coasters today; he liked the two smaller ones -similar to 7DMT and BTMR I suppose-, so I think I’ll try to work those into our FPP and drop some of the rides that can be picked up easily in DAH.
Do you know specifically which coasters he rode and liked? With the advent of Rocky Mountain hybrids (which many Six Flags have) a lot of things which look like traditional wooden coasters are much closer to steel coasters. If he was okay with an actual traditional wooden coaster, then roughness is almost certainly not an issue.
The traditional wooden coasters - he was not a fan of going upside down on steel coasters.
So even the little teeny wooden coaster built in the 60s at Cedar Point and the little Boardwalk coaster from the 20s in Santa Cruz are both wilder than pretty much every coaster at WDW with the exception of RNR. EE, the twist is the backward bit. But perhaps that could be the new thing he tries this time.
If he rode anything that is classified as a real coaster and not a kiddie ride, I think he is ready for all that WDW has to offer.
Well, I redid our FPP to include BTMR, 7DMT, and EE…we watched YouTube videos of EE, and he’s a little uncertain about the backward part but no big deal if we end up not doing it; I didn’t have a 3rd FPP for that AK day anyway. SDD we will pick up during EMM. SM we can do during DAH. Think we will skip RNR. So I think that’s everything covered? FPP day is Friday…
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I worked for Six Flags for years. If he did wooden coasters and liked it then BTRM, 7DMT and SDD are going to be great. (SM is a judgement call - it’s not fast, but the total darkness can really freak kids out!)
I would strongly suggest skipping EE and RNR this time. I speak from experience about putting your kids on a “big” coaster too soon. As a former ride attendant I’ve seen the horror of crying kids being ushered off coasters that go too fast and backwards. It takes years, if ever, for them to try again.
There’s no need to try and “do it all” if it means even possibly ruining the Magic going forward. =)
Great advice-thanks!
One more thing… Pro tip - The front of half of any coaster is a much smoother ride than the rear sections So, consider sitting in those areas on the first couple rides. It’s OK to ask a CM to put you in those seats. You may have to wait an extra 2 minutes while they shuffle you around to accommodate the request, but it’ll be worth it.
My sister’s youngest was only just into the wooden coasters at Six Flags when they went to Disney World last. I verified with her before replying. She wasn’t all that fond of 7DMT because it jerked her around so much. She said this is especially the case for smaller kids like she was. She rode Space Mountain 3 times but said it was just ok compared to her favorite which was Big Thunder Mountain. She says make sure you describe Space Mountain to her as just a roller coaster but in the dark. There was a kid older than her on it the first time she rode it who got pretty freaked out by the dark because he didn’t know it would be like that. She also says it is a good idea to watch the coasters you can watch before asking him to decide does he want to ride it, although obviously that won’t work with Space Mountain. SDD didn’t open until after her first visit. Hope her perspective helps!