SplM with a 3 yo?

[septembergirl]

Someone on here was kind enough to tell me the height requirements for SplM and now I am wondering - has anyone ever taken a preschooler on this ride?
My daughter will be almost 4 on our next trip and already is tall enough to ride but I don't want to traumatize her like my poor DS9 on ToT!

[disneyfamily05]

We were just there this past week and i took DD who is 4 years old on Splash (along w/DS who is 6). She seemed to enjoy it - she kept calling it the big water slide. I think all of the the little scenes between the drops helps alot too - just let your child know they may get wet - not necessarily from the drop but as you pass by the bottom of the drop in your log in the beginning of the ride if someone comes down the drop - we got drenched. She also really liked Big Thunder Railroad - but was scared of Pirates (when she was 2 she loved it). So go figure. Another thing we did was watch videos of the rides by typing in Splash Moutain videos in a search engine - that gave the kids an idea of what the ride was like before we got there. Hope this helps.

[Kairi_7378]

I think Splash Mountain is a much more kid-friendly ride than ToT. ToT is dark and you really have no idea where you are going. Splash Mountain is almost like floating through a cartoon (albeit, a WET cartoon) with the colorful characters and happy music. The drop is only one component of the ride in Splash. That being said I think that the previous poster had a good idea for showing DD some videos of the ride. If you take her, I would ask to sit in the third seat of the log so she doesn't get too wet and that doesn't upset her. I wouldn't stand around and watch people going down the drop too much because that may scare her more than being on the slide itself.

[Cinderelley]

My doctor's 4 year old was just tall enough to ride it on their last trip. He loved it, and they went on 5 or 6 times.

[TexasPrincessAurora]

We took DS on SplM for the first time at the end of April. He turned 3 in December. He was barely tall enough...they measured him 3 times through the whole line. Well, he cried from the time we went up the short hill at the beginning of the ride to the time we got off the ride. He didn't like the big drop one little bit. After the ride he talked about the bear, the fox and rabbit and seemed to have enjoyed that part. But when we went back a few weeks ago he wanted no part of riding it again.

As far as Pirates go...when we went in January he LOVED Pirates...He and I rode it by ourselves one day while DH played golf. He sang the whole song to me throughout the ride. When we went in April he refused to ride it. In June we had friends on the trip with us and went on the ride anyway. He didn't like it this time. Not sure why he suddenly doesn't care for it.

I, in hindsight, would stop at the bridge where the drop is and let your child watch it a bit and then ask if they want to ride. If they are pretty brave on this trip with other rides then they will probably be ok. Really the only scary part is the drop...but the small drop at the beginning I think makes them wonder when they are going to have to go down the big hill and maybe that's all they can think about the whole time.

[beksy]

My sister is probably one of the biggest wimps alive when it comes to rides (saying this with all the love of an older sister! :secret:)! At 18, this trip will be her first time going on any thrill rides other than Splash. However, when she was 4, she went on Splash and loved it. She watched Mom and me ride it several times and then agreed to go. Mom and I sat in the first row and she sat in the second with Dad. We weren't sure how it would go but she loved the "show" part of it and then enjoyed the drop because she got to be a "big" girl. Of course, she also loved pirates but was scared to death of Snow White (and still refuses to ride it!). But I think Splash is one of the better rides for kids to try out. :mickey:

[DawsonAR]

My child rode it at 4 (now 5) and he was scared to death. He still won't ride and and says he won't ride it til he is 10. It was the big drop that was the problem. He doens't like any of the thrill rides.

[Jared]

If your daughter meets the height requirement, she may love Splash Mountain. The Tower of Terror is considerably scarier. Splash Mountain is fun, bright and colorful

Though every child is different, I recommend letting her ride if she seems ready.

[Mickey'sGirl]

My youngest has been riding Splash since he was 2 -- It is one of his favourites. I refused to let him ride TofT or Dinosaur, until this past trip, however. As it turns out -- at age 3 -- TofT is his new favourite!

It depends on the kid. I am really not surprised that my active get out and do things 3 year old son is fond of any of these rides -- but a different child may not like tham. You know your child and should use your judgement.

[septembergirl]

If your daughter meets the height requirement, she may love Splash Mountain. The Tower of Terror is considerably scarier. Splash Mountain is fun, bright and colorful

Though every child is different, I recommend letting her ride if she seems ready.

I did not communicate my question very well. I would not even consider having her ride ToT. My DS9 rode it and it pretty much ruined the rest of the trip for him as far as rides are concerned!

[psychotekkie]

As far as Pirates go...when we went in January he LOVED Pirates...He and I rode it by ourselves one day while DH played golf. He sang the whole song to me throughout the ride. When we went in April he refused to ride it. In June we had friends on the trip with us and went on the ride anyway. He didn't like it this time. Not sure why he suddenly doesn't care for it.



I think what happens is that really small kids don't really understand about guns and cannons. In their play, they can be shot dead by a Pirate, then take some medicine and be fine again. But when they hit a certain age, they start understanding danger and life and whatnot. I think that's why they get scared of things they never worried about before.

As far as Splash Mtn. goes, we are having the same quandry for our upcoming trip. Our DS is almost 4, and tall enough, but we don't want to scare him. The warning sign for us is that (contrary to a year ago), he is recently scared if we put him up on our shoulders. He loves it if we toss him around and swing him, but he doesn't seem to like heights. For that reason, we may skip it.

[hootch]

My daughter, who will be four next month, loved Splash Mountain. We let her watch the final drop a few times before going on it. She loved Pirates when she first rode it last year. But she was not a fan of BMTR.