Which rides are tough?scary? Physically and mentally

[Verstehen]

I have never made it through Dinosaur with my eyes open the whole time. Once I see the first or second Carnotaurus animatronic, it's a big NOPE.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Call me crazy, but I kind of hate the idea of watching ride videos before going to WDW or any theme park. IMO, it kind of defeats the whole point of going.

Obviously, if you have a child with special needs, then it is fine to take extra precautions.

The whole point of WWD though is to experience a little adventure in a place that's reasonably safe. We should always pay attention to fire exits, for example.

Otherwise, the whole point of a theme park is to explore, especially the park that Walt built! Disney himself said it many times, and it is STILL repeated all over the parks.

I've been going to WDW since I was very little, long before the internet, and that excitement is the reason I'm still a fan!

When you see the thrill rides, it is very obvious that they are thrill rides. The best way, IMO, to help your child have a great time is simply to let them decide.

It is also okay to close your eyes once in a while.

I don't say all this because I was never afraid of any rides. I say all this because I feel empowered every time I brave a new attraction. It was true when I was three, and it was true when I braved FoP last month. I say: reward your child for being brave, never belittle them, and enjoy WDW together!

That's fine if watching ride videos on YouTube beforehand is not for you. But they are a very good tool for many kids and adults. It is not always obvious what a ride entails just by looking at the outside. And they don't ruin the real thing, in fact they can enhance the experience for many, IMO

 

[MisplacedUnderwear]

I find Space mountain to be scarier than RnR because of how jerky and rough it is. RnR is so very smooth and fast that the first loop right after the launch doesn't really feel like you've gone upside down unless someone tells you that's what you're doing. It's just super fast and then g-forces pushing me into my seat for a few seconds. Also space mountain feels much more claustrophobic to me but I'm guessing a 6yo girl might have a different perspective from mine in that regard.

I second giving kids encouragement and options rather than belittling, and I also think small "rewards" for being brave go a long way. I was afraid of "big rides" for a long time and was even hesitant about Spaceship Earth the first time because you can't see what it's like from the outside but you can tell that it's really big! My first time on Splash Mountain involved more than a few nervous tears -- I was terrified even after I decided I did want to try it -- and my mom got me a t-shirt that spelled out the angle and length of the drop and that shirt was my prized possession until I eventually outgrew it! That ride is still my favorite and I think that love partly comes from the tentative beginnings of my relationship with it. If I had kids, I assume I'd want them to remember stories from their childhood about how I encouraged them to try something new with kindness rather than recounting to their therapist how I bullied them into trying something. (I'm not saying OP's at risk of this -- no signs of it from what they wrote -- but that's totally something that happens at Disney World. Bullying kids onto rides is only slightly less common than parents screaming at their kids "do you know how much we paid to be here?!? you're gonna have fun whether you like it or not!!!")

 

[KrazeeK120]

We didn't get to see tough to be a bug last trip...can you elaborate on that? My youngest will be 23 months when we're there again, is it safe to assume he won't enjoy it then?

My son is almost 23 months now, and was 18 months when we went on our trip. We skipped Tough to be a Bug. If I'm being 100% honest, I think this show is quite possibly the scariest thing in all of Disney for little kids. Unless you know your kid is ok with bugs of all sizes (including large spiders dropping from the ceiling), the dark, and sudden loud noises, I would skip it until about kindergarten or so. That's my take. I'm sure you'll get a variety of opinions.

I will say, you know your kid best and what's right for one isn't right for another. But be cautious with this one.

 

[Crystal824]

We didn't get to see tough to be a bug last trip...can you elaborate on that? My youngest will be 23 months when we're there again, is it safe to assume he won't enjoy it then?

I personally kind of like its Tough to Be a Bug. It is a 3d Theater show. It is dark and there are lots of bugs, which is to be expected. The story line is that the bugs are going to do to the humans what we do to them. You get sprayed (fog machine), you are swatted at- 3 D trick, etc., etc. It is very loud, intense, and dark. Every time I've ever been someone leaves with a crying little one. The song is cute.

 

[KimBean]

I think you meant Mission Space... I don't think Spaceship Earth can make you ill, unless you really dislike the smell of smoke

Or you have a fear of Judi Dench.

Forgot pirates and haunted mansion. Those should be a given. My dh says RnRC is more thrilling and rougher the. Expedition Everest so if she wants something in the big kid ride way maybe give EE a try.

 

[LongTimeLurker]

I have never made it through Dinosaur with my eyes open the whole time. Once I see the first or second Carnotaurus animatronic, it's a big NOPE.

I'm the other person with her eyes closed in the ride photos...

If I'm being 100% honest, I think this show is quite possibly the scariest thing in all of Disney for little kids.

Not just for little kids I'm afraid of spiders so I don't look...
This trip it'll be our first visit to the World of Harry Potter and I'm already dreading the spiders there...

 

[Princess_Lisa]

I'm the other person with her eyes closed in the ride photos...

Looking at the reactions of other riders in my ride photos is one of the best parts.

 

[Ceilidhscot]

I remember viewing the photo from the very first ride I went on - Jurassic Park at Universal. Let's just say THAT would have scared small children lol!!

 

[heather13]

I'll just chime in that I was five when I rode Space Mountain back in the 70s. I didn't ride it again until 2010. Granted I'd only visited Disney three times in the interim but still, as a kid who was afraid of the dark it was terrifying.

My kids didn't like Haunted Mansion, but they could close their eyes and it wasn't as scary as some rides where there's a drop of fall - the slow pace allowed them to close their eyes and not worry. ToT was another story, at 6yo DD wouldn't close her eyes and was terrified. But she's still willing to ride it when we go again in the fall. She and DH walked out of Tough to be a Bug - that show still freaks her out when we talk about it. There's a lot we didn't try though.