Rides with Young Children

[imported_Melanears]

Can anyone help me with information regarding what rides you can and can't do with young children (2yo and almost 4yo)? We are going in March and want to be up on this situation before we get there. Never been with small kids before, so this is going to be a whole new situation for us. I know this may sound stupid, but can ALL kids go on Dumbo, Snow White, Aladdin, Pirates, etc? Thanks so much for any help.

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[sophielab1]

As long as there are no height restrictions, children of any age can ride. we took our 5 month on all the rides. I had her in a snuggli and she loved it. Now of course this does not mean that the ride won't be scary to a child. The Unofficial Guide to WDW has a great section on taking kids and a breakdown of each ride and the scariness of the ride.

[Nana]

Yes, all children can go on those rides. There are really just a handful of rides they can not go on due to height requirements. However, due to a scare factor, I would be careful with Pirates and Snow White. You know your children better than anyone else. If they scare easily, stay away from the really dark rides such as Pirates and Snow White. The parades and shows are also wonderful for the younger children. Another thing my grandsons (3 and 4) liked doing was watching the street entertainment especially "Public Works" at MGM. Also, do not be surprised if your children are timid with the characters. Some are and some aren't. One of my grandsons LOVES the characters, one HATES them.

[TheInventor'sDaughter]

It sounds like you are only going to MK? If so, the only rides that have height restrictions are:
Goofy's Barnstormer (35")
Splash Mountain (40")
BTMR (40")
Space Mountain (44")
Alien Encounter (44")

I'm pretty sure everything else is accessible by everyone!

I recently took my 2-year-old and 5-year-old.

The 2-year-old's favorites:
Cinderella's Carousel
It's a Small World
Pooh
Astro Orbiter
Dumbo
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Everything in Toontown (except Goofy's ride)
Shows, parades and musicians

She didn't like:
Buzz Lightyear (it was a little bit scary - not bad)
Haunted Mansion (duh)
Snow White (wouldn't even get on - I gladly let her chicken out before getting on)
Goofy's Barnstormer (too fast)

My 5-year-old's favorites:
Buzz Lightyear (SHE LOVED IT! Rode it several times)
IASW
Tiki Room
Pooh
Everything in Toontown (except Goofy's)
Parades, shows & musicians

She didn't like:
Haunted Mansion (she wanted to ride it, but won't do that again anytime soon!)
Astro Orbiter (too high for her)
Goofy's Barnstormer (too fast)

As you can tell, my 2-year-old doesn't like the dark rides much. But my 5-year-old is fine with them. However, my 5-year-old doesn't like heights, while my 2-year-old doesn't mind them.

So, I guess my point is that YOU know your children and what they will be willing to do. And if they are scared, don't force it. There is SO MUCH for them to see and do that opting to skip one ride is no big deal!

Also, you might want to check out the travel advice on the current thread over on Vacation Planning about taking 2-year-olds:

http://www.intercot.com/boards/ultim...c&f=6&t=005492

Have a great time!!! [img]graemlins/muscles.gif[/img]

[imported_Melanears]

I didn't mean to sound like we weren't going to all the parks - we are. So any info would be helpful. Thanks again everyone!!

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[ganj]

as stated above your kids can ride any ride that does not have a height restriction.
Some of the scary rides are haunted mansion, snow white, bug 3d show in AK.

Check your private messages.

[Jared]

Well, I'll give you a list of attractions to avoid at all 4 parks. I have been to WDW, and everytime we traveled with someone of the age of 4 or younger, so I can give you a pretty good idea:

MK- Definitely avoid: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Alien Encounter

Maybe- Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Snow White. You know your children better than anyone, it's up to you to see what they like and do not like.

Epcot- Body Wars, Maelstrom, Test Track(?) Some 4 and 5 year olds can handle TT, try them on the small coaster in Toontown first!

Studios- ToT, RnRC, Star Tours, Backlot Tour (Catastrophe Canyon) Mermaid(?) It sounds harmless, but there are some pretty convincing effects in this show.

AK- ITTBAB- DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, TAKE A SMALL CHILD INTO THIS SHOW!!
Dinosaur and Kali River Rapids as well.


Hope this helps and have a great time. [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img]

[claysmom]

I'm going back with my 2 year old in Feb... Remind me and I'll tell you how he did! He went in Oct last year (at 16 months) and rode everything without a height requirement and loved them all... mostly the kiddie rides at the MK.


He LOVED Bear in the Big Blue House at Disney Studios (it's now called Playhouse Disney) He was dancing in the asile! It was great! He liked the characters a lot and the Backlot Tour.

At EPCOT his favorites were the Japanese restaurant, Spaceship Earth and the Land. He fell asleep on Energy.

He was yelling "boo" at the ghosts in the Haunted Mansion and having a GREAT time on Pooh. He liked the teacups and The County Fair. I have a feeling this year we'll be on the train a lot. He did try to climb out of Dumbo.

He wasn't too into the Animal Kingdom, he just took it all in, but the DinoRama is open now, so that should help out some!
ºoº

[imported_Melanears]

Thanks to all who responded. It has helped tremendously with my planning. But like a lot of you pointed out, I know my kids best and I just need to take that into account. It's going to be a great trip!! [img]graemlins/muscles.gif[/img]

Thanks again to all!

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[Disney2002]

LET YOUR KIDS MAKE THE DECISIONS!

I'm a strong supporter of this philosophy. Let your children know what to expect on a ride before they go on it... all to often parents take there kids on a dark ride that scares them... and then it's all over for the rest of the trip.

Believe it or not, I remember being scared to death of PoC when I was 3.

[WDW crazy]

Like everyone said, you know your child. All children are different, so some will like certain rides, others will hate them and be scared. My granddaughter was not quite 4 when she went in Sept. Her absolute favorite ride is Test Track! She went on it about 15 times in her 2 1/2 week stay. She also went on Splash Mt. and Thunder Mt. and she loves them too! I was very surprised because I thought she would be afraid. We have taken her into "It's Tough To Be A Bug" since she was 6 mo. old and the only time she was scared was when her 5 yr. old cousin started crying. This attraction does seem to scare most small children! She also went on the Kali River Rapids several times and likes it. So, what I'm saying is let them know all about the ride and help them decide if they want to go. If they change their mind while they are in line, that's ok, but you just might be surprised, just like we were!
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[noahjack]

I bought Wald Disney World With Kids by Kim Wright Wiley and I thought it really helped with my ride decisions with my 2 year old. I also asked the CMs their opinion if it was a ride I really wanted to go on but the book thought it might be scary for young kids. Example: Kilimanjaro Safari in AK - the book reccomends ages 6 and up, but my 2 year old loved the bumpy ride!! Good luck and have fun!! [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img]

[Daveyk]

We went over thanksgiving with our 2 year old. We opted to not spend much time in Epcot simply because we felt he'd enjoy the other parks more. We did see the parade, and he *loved* that.

The thing we decided was to let him dictate how fast we moved and what we went on. If we thought it was going to be okay, we described it and asked if he wanted to go on it. He always said yes and did okay on everything.

Although we did miss some things, we used the baby swap on ocassion, and had a great time because he was entertained.

Oh, and we also got him an autograph book and he had a blast getting autographs.

So, barring the rides with height restrictions, here's what we really enjoyed:
In the AK - loved the safari and the dino ride and playground

In the studios - all of the shows (espeically the playhouse disney show), we passed on the GMR because we thought that might bother him. Didn't make it to the backstage tour (though he probably would have liked it)

In MK - loved the teacups, buzz lightyear, pooh, cinderella's carousel, and the shows. Enjoyed pirates, jungle cruise, and the hm.

So, its really up to you - as someone else said you know your child best. Talk to them, and try and do things that they will enjoy. You'll be surprised how much fun you can have just by watching his or her face light up!