Six year old DS on rides

[crmark1]

My 6 yo DS wants to ride everything at the World except for ToT. My DW doesnt want him to ride several things: RRC, MS, SM, EE, GTM, etc... Hes 51"s tall so he is eligible to ride everthing. What are your thoughts?

[waymickey]

I wouldn't put him on anything that he doesn't want to go on. I also suggest starting on the tame version of MS. He may want to ride all the rides but he may not be ready for all the rides. MY DD rode everything at that age but was terrified of Journey into imagination go figure.

[Strmchsr]

Well, has your DS ridden these type of rides before or is he just excited about all of the rides? If he hasn't done thrill rides before then you should probably start small and work his way up to see how he handles them. None of them are "bad" rides but children often let their enthusiasm get the better of them. Of course, parents should make the decision. Is your DW being over protective or does she have legitimate concerns? Sometimes us dads are a little overanxious for our boys to grow up. Either way, it's not worth a fight.

[crmark1]

Yea already had planned for the tame version of MS. My view is if he sees the ride and stil wants to ride it let him, but dont force him to ride anything he doesnt want to. Also dont tell him he cant ride something he wants to just because myself or DW doesnt think hes ready. I have been to WDW many times and most rides are pretty tame compared to most theme parks.

[yjgirl32]

I let my ds7 ride whatever he is willing and tall enough for. He is a thrill junky tho- he was riding tot by the age of 31/2. Loved it- giggled during the entire ride- then when he was 5 he was tall enough to ride EE- and again same results. Good luck and have a fun trip.

[crltkcagle]

If he wants to ride it then let him. We let our kids ride all of those as soon as they were big enough. My middle son hated them and refuses to ride certain ones. My oldest and youngest loved them and ride them on every trip. Of course that means that either myself or DH has to sit our while the other kids ride. I think your son just needs to decide for himself whether or not if he enjoys it. Tell Dad he has to cut the umbilical cord at some point! LOL Just kidding. :D

[jodijo]

My DD rode any and all rides she was tall enough to at age 5. I never thought of telling her no! In fact my DH took her on ToT while my DS and I chickened out. She loved it. Is think you pay for the rides, you should ride whatever the kids want to ride.

I have a question - Why doesn't your DW want him to ride some of the rides? I guess I don't understand why you would not let him do what he is comfortable doing.

[BrerGnat]

You know your son better than any of us.

I have a 6 year old son too (but, he's short, only 46"). He has tried a few thrill rides, and he did NOT like them. He wanted to ride ToT so badly, so I took him. He now has a panic attack when he SEES the building, even if we're not heading that way. Same response happens at Big Thunder.

Knowing my son, I would not let him ride:
Dinosaur
E:E
Mission Space
RnRC
Space Mountain

He gets enthusiastic about these things when he sees them on YouTube. However, judging by his reactions to this type of thing, I KNOW he won't like it. The thing is, videos don't really tell the whole story. DS has issues with the dark, loud noises, and roller coaster tracks that he can't see. We are waiting a few more years to introduce these rides for him. Now, we are telling him that he's not tall enough, and when he's 48", he can try some more rides if he wants.

The main issue is, I don't think you want to rush into these rides, find out your son HATES them, and then spend the next few years having to avoid them. That's what we're dealing with. When I think back to my own childhood, I didn't even ride Space Mountain until I was NINE! I was so scared of it up until then. I also didn't ride a loop coaster until I was 12, and a freefall type ride until I was 14. Don't rush it.

[AgentC]

I am with Natalie on this. I made the same mistake she did.

My 4 year old (at the time) son was tall enough to ride TOT and loved drop rides at our local carnival so against my better judgement I let him ride. I forgot how dark the ride is. As soon as the elevator emerged in the darkness he started crying. Since then he hates any rides in the dark. We go to WDW a lot and sometime I feel like our "not ride" list is way longer than our "ride" list.

In March (now 5) he asked to ride Dinosaur. I hadn't ridden it in a long time , so I rode first and immediately knew it was not for him.

My best advice is ride the ride first but try to look at it through your child's eyes. Then decide if he should ride. Your wife might have a valid point or she might being worrying too much, but being cautious will never hurt.

[crmark1]

Thank guys. You all have good points. I think he would be ok with just about anything except ToT. DW doesnt enjoy thrill rides so she thinks he will not also. DD who is 16 now rode ToT when she was 5, she doesnt like it now but will ride everything else. Thanks for the input, lets just say I know we are going to have a blast no matter what. Its DS's first visit!

[Marcya23]

We were just there last week and my 4 year old is 45 in tall. So tall enough for all but RR at HS. He showed no fear at Six Flags (even going upside down), so we let him ride everything he wanted to- which was everything. The only ride that he said no to riding again was ToT. So we didn't push it. Our theory is if he wants to try it fine, but we won't force it.

Enjoy your trip!

[Janmac]

Regarding RnRC, you may want to warn your DS that because it goes upside down, he will feel himself leave his seat momentarily but the safety harness will catch him. It's part of the thrill of the ride.

We did not think to tell our niece or grandson of this. They were maybe 9 and 10 when they rode but were slightly built. Both were almost traumatized by the feeling that they were falling out. It was several years before they rode again and now it's their favorite ride.

Perhaps knowing up front that they would have that experience would have helped them enjoy the ride more.

I am very cautious too and I agree waiting for MiS and perhaps RnRC (not sure how much a 6 yr old would understand).

But, I don't know that I agree with EE and SM altho I don't know your child. I know my sister's granddaughter, who is six, would love EE and does love SM. She will not ride HM or PotC (too dark) and we won't let her ride Dinosaur - because of the noise and dark - nor will we take her to It's Tough to Be a Bug for awhile. She would freak. But, if she can handle the pre-ride, she'd love ToT. She has also ridden coasters in other theme parks.

Maybe you can write a trip report and tell us how it went.

Jan

[Fastpasssteve]

I remember, as a young boy with my family out in California, being scared to death in the queue for Space Mountain. I was terrified. I begged and pleaded and joked...(I wanted out!), but my brother and sister talked me into it. AND I LOVED IT. After that, I rode it several more times. It remains one of my favorite attractions and I am 42 years old.

That being said, it was probably not the nicest thing my brother and sister ever did. You have a good idea of how your child will react...

...HOWEVER...

...make sure the fears are you child's fears and not your own fears reflected onto them. Children look to their parents about how to react and respond to the world around them. If they look into your face and see adventure, they will probably have a good experience. If they look into your face and see fear...well, you see where I'm going with this.

In the final analysis, the height requirements are about physical dimensions, not maturity. If it weren't safe for your size-appropriate child to ride, they simply wouldn't allow it (Insurance? Hello!).

[RBrooksC]

We just got back from WDW. My son rode everything he was allowed to ride. He loved them all except Space Mountain, which I expected. However, he never put up a fight and never cried after the ride.

Actually, every end of the ride was punctuated with "AWESOME!".

Just remember, if the child's height meets the requirements, he is safe to ride.

[Mickey'sGirl]

Our youngest son begged to ride RnR for years, and was finally tall enough when he was 5. Honestly, he had been chomping at the bit and begging to ride in an extreme way .... and this with the experience of having ridden all the other rides since he was 2 or 3. Well ... I thought he had passed out next to me when we pulled in at the end of the trip. I had to physically snap him out of it ... it was much more extreme than he thought it would have been (and he had seen footage of it on the computer). I would honestly caution you against letting him ride RnR before he's a bit older.

[Goes4FastPass]

...make sure the fears are you child's fears and not your own fears reflected onto them. Children look to their parents about how to react and respond to the world around them. If they look into your face and see adventure, they will probably have a good experience. If they look into your face and see fear...well, you see where I'm going with this.

I agree. The OP was saying "...My 6 yo DS wants to ride everything at the World except for ToT. My DW doesnt want him to ride several things..."

As a Dad whose Son and 5YO Grandson love the rides listed, I hope DW lets DS give 'em a try. 3 blinks from now that DS will be driving a car to pick up a girl for a date. Now THAT'S scary stuff!