As we are on the home stretch for our trip, I have been trying to get a plan of action in place for our attack of the parks. We will be going to Magic Kingdom twice. Once during the day with Steve's parents, and in the afternoon and night with my family. We will also be going to Animal Kingdom one day.As I have been pouring over the books, I find myself in a quandary that I want to get ahead of.
Noah is 6 and a half years old. He is somewhat brave at times, and somewhat fearful at times. He is tall enough to ride any of the rides.
My quandary is that while reading many of the descriptions, they recommend them for older kids, yet Noah fits the height limit and would probably love them.
So my T13 today is a list of rides that Noah wants to ride, he fits the height limit, but I am not sure if they are too scary or rough for him. Your job is to share with me if you have taken a child near Noah's age on any of these and what your opinion is on the matter. There are a couple of other questionable ones I have listed as well.
Magic Kingdom
1. Splash Mountain
2. Space Mountain
3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
4. The Haunted Mansion
5. The Barnstormer
6. Swiss Family Treehouse (Too much climbing?)
7. Tom Sawyer Island (Is the wait for the boats really worth it?)
8. It's a small world (Is it cute or really as annoying as it's reputation?)
Animal Kingdom
9. Kali River Rapids (Too wet?)
10. Expedition Everest (He really wants to see the Yeti)
11. Primeval Whirl
12. It's Tough To Be A Bug (Too freaky?)
13. DINOSAUR
I can't wait to hear your thoughts on any of these.
Next week's T13 will be more on the positive side...the ones we are the MOST excited about.
16 days to go!
12 comments:
Hey Kristi! We were just at the magic kingdom in Oct. We took Gavin on the haunted mansion for the first time. He was initially scared at first ( in the entranceway) but once we got on the ride he was fine. I kept telling him how funny the ride was- not scary.
Space Mountain is in the total dark and scares even me so I say NO to that!
Splash Mountain is a great ride and only has that last drop off. Have him close his eyes and hug him tight!
Thunder Mountain was not working when we were there but Gavin said he didnt want to go on it anyway.
Swiss Family Tree house is my FAVORITE!!! The climbing is not that bad because its broken up into each part of the tree house. DO go on it!
And I am a sucker for its a small world. Gavin enjoyed seeing all the different kids from different parts of the world. A good learning experiance!
Tom Sawyer Island I dont think is worth the wait and we didnt even go last time we were there.
Hope you have a great time! We go to disney 2-3 times a year so email me if you have anymore questions!!
We just went to Disney World with Diva who is the same age as Noah. I am a thrill rider so I tried to get her to go on many of the rides. First I would say, if he is afraid of the dark, that may be a problem. We did not go to Animal Kingdom so I can't answer for those. It really seems to be the child, but I'd say, if he's game, have him try it. Diva didn't like them all but she survived and is not traumatized for life. We rode Space Mountain with a boy who had Down syndrome. I don't know exactly how old he was, but I'd put him in that age range. He loved it. Diva didn't like it because it was dark and couldn't see the tracks. She did ride the Barnstormer rollercoaster in the little kid section and loved it though. Here's comments on the others:
1. Splash Mountain - didn't get to ride because cold, but we took MA on it when she was younger than Noah and for the most part, she liked it. You do get VERY wet!
2. Space Mountain - already said
3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - didn't get to ride. We were almost on the platform when it broke down. It was late in the day and we couldn't get back to it the next day.
4. The Haunted Mansion - definitely can handle this. It's a little dark, but even I handled this as a child and I'm a HUGE chicken
5. The Barnstormer - YES! (see above)
6. Swiss Family Treehouse (Too much climbing?)
7. Tom Sawyer Island (Is the wait for the boats really worth it?)I'm not a big fan, but the kids like it. Just a big playground type area.
8. It's a small world (Is it cute or really as annoying as it's reputation?)- You can't go to Disney without doing small world. Plus, it's inside so it's a good break to the heat.
Other rides you didn't mention:
Snow White is dark and kind of scary, but Diva did ok. Peter Pan is one of our favorites and I like Winnie the Pooh too. I highly recommend all of them.
The Stitch ride scared both Diva and I (told you I was a chiken) I was almost crying! It's a virtual reality type ride and you're locked into a seat and feel spit, pressure on your shoulder, breathing on your neck and it's completely dark. I don't think you should do it.
Buzz Lightyear is a must. He'll love it.
Hope this helps. You can e-mail me if you have any other questions.
I would say absolutely no to Space Mountain - we went on it when I was a kid (we didn't know what it was at the time), and I got completely freaked out because it's pretty much a roller coaster in the pitch dark.
Never having been to Disney with kids, I'm no help really on any of the others - but I'll be curious to hear how it all goes! :)
#1 & #8 - My Pastor's son (well our former Pastor) went on these both when he was 7. Splash mountain was great I think Noah would be fine & as for It's a Small World. Everyone has to say they rode it so yes you all need to ride it. Yes it is annoying yes it is cheesey, but you still need to do it!
#2 - it is really dark so it makes it more scary only because of the "unknown." We took our above mentioned pastor's son on it & he was terrified.
Splash Mountain's great!!
Hi Kristi,
thanks for stopping by our blog. We LOVE Disneyland and are going back in a few weeks. I do have some tips loving shared with my SIL Veronica.
During the week is the best, pack your own lunches,snacks,soda, juice boxes,bottled water, you can take anything in a ziploc bag. It makes it cheaper for everyone to eat and then we'll buy a treat. Get the fast pass, then you don't have to wait just go back at the time they give, that makes it fun.
I haven't been on space mountain for a while but my husband loved it. Small world has been closed the last 4 times we've gone, We go to Toon Town at the end when everyone is heading towards the door, they have a really fun kiddie rollercoaster but Dan and I love going on it. Pirates of the Caribbean we love, but you should try Indiana Jones ! That was really fun! I'd log onto the Disney website and see what rides are open or closed, that way you'll know before you get there. Mostly have fun and take lots of pictures. If you go to toon town go to Mickey's house, and he's at the end.
Here are my 2cents, Kristi. This coming from a mama of 5 kids that have been raised on Disneyland, all from infancy...we have been there anywhere from once a year, to once a month sometimes, in the past 12 years, so we have a bit of mileage on our Disney record. I have 4 kids that have done most of the rides, so here is how we have handled it.
1. Splash Mountain: All of my kids have done this at an early age and LOVE it. We do let them know there will be a big splash, show them the hill, and that they might get wet. They love the characters throughout the ride. Totally a fun ride for the family.
2. Space Mountain; We are a roller coaster family, so although everyone seems to say nay to this one, I LOVE it and so have my kids. They all have started this one at 3 years old, too. Yes, it is in the pitch dark, but with a ton of twinkling lights that are meant to resemble stars. I prepare each of the kids before their first ride with, "Are you sure you want to get on? It goes REALLY fast and it is in the dark, but I will hold your hand and be with you the whole way. I guess that since they see me so excited, they get excited. If I were to show fear, they would fear it, too. Every single one of my kids have asked to go back on afterwards. We love Disney and Space Mt. is the one ride that we DON'T miss on our trips...including the 3 year olds. I am getting to old to ride more than once, so thank God for my older kids that will keep taking the little ones, over and over, and over...
3. Big Thunder Mt. Railroad: This goes fast, and is fun, but after all the stuff that happened a couple of years ago on the one at Disneyland, we have stayed off it. We just didn't want to press our luck, even though we don't believe in luck. Does that make sense? I have never heard of anything happening at the DIsneyworld one, so I would say they boys would LOVE it!
4. The Haunted Mansion: We are suckers for this one, too. Our kids start this one at infancy, because even babies can go on. However, I would make sure and hold hands with the little guys, or maybe even hold them in your arms for the introductory part...it gets dark and scary...some kids scream. But, I do believe preparation by letting them know what to expect helps them enjoy it.
5. Never heard of it...hope it's fun.
6. Don't have this at Disneyland either, but what boy doesn't want to climb?!?! Sure would tire them out before a nap or bedtime.
7. Tom Sawyer Island: Tim asked me to marry him on Tom Sawyer Island, so it holds a special place in my heart. It was his favorite place when he was a kid, and having him propose there was sweet. Our kids love it and the wait for the boat is never long. Might be different at D.World, but still fun.
8. Come on, Kristi...you HAVE TO do Small world! It wouldn't be a Disney experience without it!! We do it everytime just to annoy my husband and the best is when the ride breaks down, with the loud music in the background singing that song over and over and over...we love it.
Sorry it was long, but I am passionate about my Disney...can you tell? If your boys are open to fun, and you prepare them with all the facts, I bet they will love every ride! Can't wait to hear about your trip and see all the pics, Girlfriend!!
xoxo, Veronica in CA
I can't really help you with that as I neither have kids, nor have I ever been to Disneyland or Disneyworld or whatever it is called. But some of those rides actually sound fun enough for me to try, even though I'm usually totally anti-fun. LOL
I'm no help I haven't been there since I was 12. I was too afraid to ride space mountain.. but I soooooooooo would be on it now if I had the chance.
Both my kids LOVE Space Mountain..it is a rollar coaster in the dark. My 2 are 9 and 6. Splash Mountain is fun and is just a log ride with a very big drop at the end. Very fun and fine for kids. Small World is one of my fav's and the kids love it too. Big Thunder is a rollar coaster in the form of a train. Bug loved it at age 5. As for the tree house, my 2 love them and the Swiss Family Island is fun to let them run around and get out some energy.
I can't speak to Animal Kingdom as we have never been there. We are growing up with Dland but the attractions above are the same at both parks.
I have not been to Disney World since the 80s. I bet it has changed a lot. I look forward to your TT about what all you saw and did on your trip.
I asked Mark (he's our resident expert) and he said definitely no to Space Mtn, but the rest would be good, Alex loved Thunder Mtn and went on it a couple of times. It's a small world is a major must.
I'm so excited for you. You'll have a great time!
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