help with Haunted Mansion ride...

[forbella]

This may be a weird question but I'm looking at creative ways to motivate my daughter (almost 6) to get on the Haunted Mansion ride...I know, it's dark, it's noisy...but I'd love for her to check it out! I think it's a lost cause though at this age, she was terrified at the thought of the Pirates of the Carribean attraction- dark walk way (it was nice and cool though). Just curious to see if anyone out there has a unique way of "gently coaxing" courage! Thanks.:secret:

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Just keep reminding her that she's at Disney World and Mickey only allows good things to happen its all make believe....

[TinkiTime1989]

First off, please don't force her on the ride! I've seen too many meltdowns in line due to this. If you really want her to try it and think that she might enjoy it, look for a video of the ride on youtube and let her watch it. That way she knows what to expect and it won't come to her as so much of a surprise. If she still seems unwilling after seeing the video then just go with it. She'll ride eventually, it might just take time. My best friend was eight before she rode it because my mom promised to give her a dollar if she rode. Our 3 previous trips before that, she wouldn't even get in line. Now she's 19 and loves the ride! Just be patient.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

Another child around her age who isn't afraid might help. Even if they are not going with you. You could maybe have a child a year or 2 older then her tell her about the ride and how much fun it is, how cool it is to ride it. Sometimes peer pressure can be a good thing. Its how I learned to ride a bike when I was 5 and how DD went on her first coaster at 12. BTW she is now a thrill ride junkie at 21 :D :mickey:

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

:( What the intercottee said about not forcing them on the ride is true, if she is truly terrified don't do try baby swap....my mom and sister took my son for the first time when he was 4 years old and had to skip several attractions...strangely enough he was very afraid of "Honey, I shrank the Audience" and kept crying I don't want to be shrunk....they took him out and he was okay.

[disneygeek84]

It may just be one of those rides that she won't ride...ever. My sister rode it when she was little and now she won't go on it ever again. And she's 18. She can't even hear the music without having nightmares. And she can't explain why it scares her, it just does.

I really would wait until it's HER choice to ride it. The youtube video was a good idea, too. Then maybe she could decide for herself before you get there if it would be alright to ride. It may be the fear of the unknown to her that makes her not want to ride it.

[pink]

Like others have said, don't make her go on if she doesn't want to. If she decides to give it a try tell her that it's just a ride and nothing is going to happen to her and it will be over soon. I didn't like the ride until I was 10+. :mickey:

[sisterslovindisney]

You could also rent the movie and see how she does with that. Many of the same type of scenes in the movie. If she likes the movie she should like the ride.

[MuchLovedMama]

I was also going to suggest the youtube video of the haunted mansion. Let her see prior to riding. Also maybe you could mention that there's a neat surprise waiting at the end of the ride (the ghost riding in the seat with you). My kids are 5 & 7 & this will be their first time in September & they are really excited for everything including the "spooky mansion" & the "falling elevator" ride & even Stitch's Great Escape. I hope they don't change their mind when we get there. I won't force them to ride anything as I'm sure you won't either. Hopefully she'll go on it for you. I remember when I was a kid I was terrified of POTC. You know because of that "huge waterfall". LOL! I laugh now every time I ride it wondering how I could've possibly found that drop scary. Good luck to ya!

[disneylovinmom]

We went when my daughter was 9 and she is also very scared of "haunted" rides. I had her sit with me at the computer and we looked at websites that told about the ride and how they made some of the scenes and showed her how it was only pretend. She thought the behind the scenes stuff was great and we rode it without incident. It is now a family favorite.:hmghost:

P.S. I'd think twice about watching the movie. It is a bit intense in some parts and nothing like that happens in the ride. You don't want her to think it will. Then she for sure will not want to ride.

[Young@Heart]

I think the youtube videos can help a lot. My DD tends to be "scared" of things that don't actually scare her. She went on HM when she was barely 3, and didn't have a problem with it. But I was shocked she didn't protest at first, since I think the outside can be more daunting (esp. at night) than the ride itself.

[dolphinmickey9170]

You could also rent the movie and see how she does with that. Many of the same type of scenes in the movie. If she likes the movie she should like the ride.


I was thinking the same thing. Then you could ask her if she can find any scenes in the ride that are the same as the movie. There are several!!

[Minnie Imagineer]

The movie is actually creepy! Much scarier than the ride!

So when my friend's little sister was scared to go on this ride, her mom told her that HM was Belle's Castle. She made up this whole story about how the floating candle sticks were Lumiere and that the Beast was upset and so there was scary music and it was dark- now she loves the HM!!

:hmghost:

[forbella]

Thanks to everyone for the great comments...trust me- I'd never force her to get on the ride! Promise! I'm an elementary school teacher and I try really hard to "listen" to kids (my own more so at times) :number1:

I think I'll just go with the flow and let her get there on her own time!:thumbsup:

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

You can also bring a small flash light for her to hold onto and shine at her feet if she gets scared.

[Bulldawg]

You should tell her that you won't make her go on it, but that if she doesn't, you won't love her as much as you used to. You might also tell her that Santa Claus likes the ride a lot and that if she doesn't go on it, he probably won't bring her presents at Christmas.

Just a thought....

[TinkiTime1989]

You should tell her that you won't make her go on it, but that if she doesn't, you won't love her as much as you used to. You might also tell her that Santa Claus likes the ride a lot and that if she doesn't go on it, he probably won't bring her presents at Christmas.

Just a thought....

A child not wanting to go on a ride that they find scary is no reason to tell them you love them less. That is just nonsense! The same with Santa. You should never use things like that against a child!

[Mrs Bus Driver]

You should tell her that you won't make her go on it, but that if she doesn't, you won't love her as much as you used to. You might also tell her that Santa Claus likes the ride a lot and that if she doesn't go on it, he probably won't bring her presents at Christmas.


A child not wanting to go on a ride that they find scary is no reason to tell them you love them less. That is just nonsense! The same with Santa. You should never use things like that against a child!

:ditto: Totally the wrong thing to tell a child. I never made my DD go on anything she didn't want to. It is just a ride after all and you can find other things to do. When she is ready she will go on it and you both will enjoy it more. As I said in my previous post DD was 12 when she went on her first coaster and it was a kiddie coaster. She was afraid but wanted to try the big coaster, but was still unsure. So I said lets try the little one first and if you like it will do the big one. Well she liked it so much we went on it twice and then went on the big one. :mickey:

[gmgdisneymom]

My DS9 used to be afraid, we made a game out of looking for hidden mickeys (dining table etc) he was so interested in finding them that he forgot to be scared. Now we do it everywhere

[2MuchWDFun]

You should tell her that you won't make her go on it, but that if she doesn't, you won't love her as much as you used to. You might also tell her that Santa Claus likes the ride a lot and that if she doesn't go on it, he probably won't bring her presents at Christmas.

Just a thought....

It's okay everyone...I think Bulldawg had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek!

[VolMickey]

You should tell her that you won't make her go on it, but that if she doesn't, you won't love her as much as you used to. You might also tell her that Santa Claus likes the ride a lot and that if she doesn't go on it, he probably won't bring her presents at Christmas.

Just a thought....

Obviously a sarcastic statment for effect. Either that or this dude doesn't have children.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Obviously an sarcastic statment for effect. Either that or this dude doesn't have children.



:exactly:

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

One thought no one mentioned is that there are kids that have no problem with the ride but, have a real issue with the stretching room.
My son is almost 11 and is still not a fan of that portion of the ride.
He gets through it but, he stresses over it. He loves the ride itself though.
Just a thought.

I would wait until she tells you she is ready. I am sure when she gets a little older she will want to give it a try.:)

[Sharon1026]

There's not alot you can do about it if your kid isn't ready to go on it. You can explain that it's Disney and nothing is going to hurt them and it's all just for fun, but if he/she still doesn't want to go, I think you're out of luck.

[bigbabyblues]

One thought no one mentioned is that there are kids that have no problem with the ride but, have a real issue with the stretching room.
My son is almost 11 and is still not a fan of that portion of the ride.
He gets through it but, he stresses over it. He loves the ride itself though.
Just a thought.

I would wait until she tells you she is ready. I am sure when she gets a little older she will want to give it a try.:)

That's exactly what I was going to say....the stretching room is the worst part. I think if you tell a CM at the entrance, they can direct you around that part of the ride.

My DS7 saw one of the "Behind the Scenes" shows about WDW on the Travel Channel, they showed the room where the controls and things are, and DS asked me about it, so I told him. I'm not one to ruin magic for anyone, but the next time we talked about riding HM, he said he knew a "secret" about it and he thought it was fine.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

It's okay everyone...I think Bulldawg had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek!

That's funny, I thought the same thing and wondered how many people would think he was serious. At least I hope it was tongue in cheek!

[Here we go again...]

We rode HM with my granddaughter when she was 4. Prior to the ride we talked it up A LOT.
We made a joke out of it... talked about the pretend ghosts and how they try to make it spooky but how funny it really is since there is no such things as ghosts. We talked about the hitch hiking ghost and I made her a bet that she would get a fat ugly one... or she would get a treat at the gift shop. If I won, I got a gift.

We also talked about how it goes dark in the stretching room and how I like to scream and grab the closest person to me. ( I really do this, ask Beth... she knew I was going to do it and she jumped about 2 feet :D )

Anyway, I rode with her and pointed out all of the funny things and we laughed through the whole ride. And, she won a prize at the end. ;)

[ryca1dreams]

I took my son on it when he was 5 and he was a little nervous. Before we went, we listened to the ride music. I also emphasized that they are "happy haunts" and they are out to "socialize" - to have a party.

The only part I had forgotten about were the graveyard "popping" ghosts which gave him a little scare. He still remembers that - although I think they took out a few of them.

I love HM too, but I would never have forced him to go on it. In the end, he was willing to go.

[HeyMrsL!ItsThisGuy!]

the way my parents got me onto HM when i was 5 would NEVER work nowadays,

they told me it was casper's house...

of course casper is irrelevant to any toddler these days...sigh...