The fear factor!

[Twinkletoes77705]

My DS who is 8 has a HUGE imagination. We have together decided that Dinosour is off the to do list for him. I was wondering if Universe of Energy had a little fear factor for kids who are frightened easy. He is wanting to do Haunted Mantion etc....just not Dinosour. The T Rex gives him the he B g B's....as he puts it. So what is your advice for him. Are their other rides.....besides Stich that you would recomend him not do. I dont want to mess up the whole trip from one..."I think this one will be fine"....moment

[MickeysEars]

i think the universe of energy will be a great substitute. A litte dino action with out the scare...

[jszczur5]

Dinosaur was too much for our 7 year old when we first went to Disney as a family, but our (then) 8 year old loved it. It just depends on the kid. If he's already nervous, then Dinosaur is too much. Ellen's Universe of Energy is pretty tame, although you're trading a 4 minute ride for a half hour++ one.
Stitch is lame - not scary.
The atmosphere in Tower of Terror can be too much for some kids as well.

[disneynarula]

The dinosaurs in UOE are very non confrontational.

[Twinkletoes77705]

Thank you all. I did not think about ToT. Has anyone has an 8 year old ride that. Reason my son will not ride dinosoar is he is just scared of dino's....go figure. yet he like thrill rides....to an exstint....Rocken Rollercoaster is out....upsidedown facter there. WHta about EvE....anyone with smaller kids ever rode that. Like I said...thrill rides are not a factor for him. We rode what is called the Vipre at our local Astroworld and he was just 6 then. It has a double loop and he was just not fond of the upside down part. I would like input on kids and ToT and EvE. Thanks you all.

[princessM0m]

Do you mean Expedition Everest or something else?
When my DD was 5 she hated the ToT because of the lightning--she still refuses to go on and she is almost 8. she likes most other thrill rides
She is okay with EE, but at one point the Yeti's arm swoops down over the front of the train, FYI.

[Twinkletoes77705]

Tes I meant ExE....my bad. Thanks for the FYI. Iguess I will have to rethink ExE. I will let him know.

[Twinkletoes77705]

Yes I meant ExE....my bad. Thanks for the FYI. Iguess I will have to rethink ExE. I will let him know.

[BelleBeauty]

UOE would be a great substitute. Wait until the hot part of the day, it is great to get 30 minutes in the a/c. ToT is bit scary, the CM hype it up and the pre-show is scary. I think EE might be too much, though it is great. The Yeti scared my 20 year old sister to death - it is one of the most realistic audio-animatronic figures. (If you do decide to do EE, try to sit towards the back of the train. I think this might help keep you far enough away.)

[SBETigg]

I think ToT will definitely be off his list. It can be pretty scary, and I don't just mean the drop part. The whole lead in has a scare factor to it that may bother your imaginative son. Universe of Energy should be just fine, though. Not scary.

[piratelilostitch]

It really does depend on the child. I have one 5 year old who LOVES Dinosaur, ExE, ToT and is devestated that now that he's finally tall enough for Rockn' Rollercoaster it will be closed during our trip! :cry:
My 9 yr old daughter is terrified of EVERYTHING! She didn't like Dinosaur, HM, Honey I shrunk the kids, Great movie ride and was afraid (unnecessarily) during Mickey's Philharmonic because of the experience during Honey IST Kids... Yet she LOVES ToT!! (3x in a row for her) and ExE (2x in a row). Her big fear is of things jumping up at her and touching her. :faint:
That was my key to us having a good trip! Once I knew that we could ask the CM's at the start of the ride if the ride had any of the "scares" in it for her and let her decide on trying it then. She also sat with someone who could help her deal with scares and wouldn't mind if she shut her eyes and squeezed their hand till broken!! The scare in Dinosaur was the darkness (VERY DARK) and the sudden appearances of the dino. (Also VERY LOUD) She's going to try it again this year cause she knows what to expect. :yah:

Find out what it is that really scares him about the rides...ie dark, pop-ups, touching, sudden drops, certain creatures...and then it will be easier to figure out if ToT and ExE. and others will be scary.

Hope this helps!

[robyn221]

Like others have said, you know your kid and what he can handle, but this also presents an opportunity to let him "push his own envelope" and see what he can handle. When it comes to picking rides for the kids, we sort of follow their lead. If there's a ride they want to try, we'll first try a smaller version if one is available (like BTMR) then if they like that one, then we try the larger versions (like Space Mtn. or ExE). For rides like ToT, we let them watch it awhile so they know what to expect and then we let them ride if they still want to. We did with with my DS last time we were at WDW. He wanted to ride Splash Mountain. He watched people coming over the drop, then he and his dad got in line. If he'd had his way, he would have rode SM the rest of the day!

Robyn:mickey:

[Twinkletoes77705]

Thanks once again. you all had wonderful ideas and inputs. I never thought of it being certain things....but my son can not stand things poping out at him. Does this happen in the hauned mantion? I can not recall it if it does.

[garymacd]

Stitch's Great Escape isn't so bad, there are bright flashes of light, but Stitch mainly plays with you, eats your food..and cell phone, stands on your shoulders. Most people come out laughing.

[Twinkletoes77705]

Isn't the stitch thing the old Alien Encounter? If so is it still pitch dark?

[TINKERBELL_82]

Isn't the stitch thing the old Alien Encounter? If so is it still pitch dark?

It is the old Alien Encounter, and parts of it are in complete darkness.

[Twinkletoes77705]

Thanks Tink...my son does not like pitch black. he can handle soemwhat dark, or even very dark. Just not pitch black. Good to know!

[piratelilostitch]

HM Ghosts pop up from behind tombstones etc. Of course the ride stopped exactly in the right spot to put my daughter in front of a popping up ghost for a few minutes. The poor girl kept jumping with each pop even though her sister (14) was telling her "It's going to pop up...now!". Also pretty dark in HM.

Ex.E went so fast she said the dark areas and the yeti didn't scare her. Stitch she didn't mind since you could see most of the time but she wouldn't go on it again because of the "smelly burp"!

Sounds like we could travel together and yours and mine could skip the same rides together!!
;)

[WDWFREAK101]

The Haunted Mansion is more silly than scary. Now that it is going through a COMPLETE refurbishment i would not know if it is still silly or if it is going to be a litlle scarier. ToT is scary all around. From the "lobby" all the way to the gift shop. Dinosaur is eerie. Eerie in a dark, completely-alone, unsafe, dinosaurs-all- around-you-wanting-to-eat-you kind of way. It is dark and you do feel unsafe. I would skip it. EE is my absolutely favorite ride in all of Disney World, but the ending with the AMAZING looking Yeti is sure to scare little kids. Take my word for it, IT LOOKS 99.99999999999999% REAL!!!!!!!!!! When you don't expect it (and believe me you wont) you will scare yourself out of your seat. Like somebody said earlier, try to sit in the back of the train. That way you can see it from a far distance and know that it is coming. If you sit in the front, you will never expect it and you will be scared. Believe me that happened to me the first time i rode it. I rode it in the front row. It is dark and he appears out of the shadows with no warning. I have to give it to Disney because that is the most real looking animatronic they have ever made. Definitly check it out! What you should do is watch a ride video on Youtube with your child and ask if they want to go on it. That usually works.