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Wendi
08-07-2004, 09:45 AM
Is there a way to bypass the elevator portion of this ride? The last time we were there all of the screaming guests scared my son so bad and he really cried hard, I felt so bad for him. Just wondering if we can skip this part and go straight through to the doom buggies... has anyone done this? If not, I'll just have to ask the CM when we get there if it's possible.

SCUBAbe
08-07-2004, 10:04 AM
I'm not sure, but they don't always scream. The last 3 times we rode it nobody screamed at all. Obvioulsy I'm not a HM screamer, but if I were I would have been screaming alone...LOL..how old is your son? Maybe if you warned him right before the ride that some people may scream and they are just doing it because they think it's fun he'll be ok.

I know it's mean and I'm not in running for mother of the year award, but I told my child "that silly people think it's fun to scream...let's see if they do it this time...it's sooo funny when they do it." Then if they did scream we would just laugh at them. I know it's mean, but she liked the ride after that...:)

rentayenta
08-07-2004, 10:07 AM
My 2 1/2 y/o was scared to death too. Luckily it wasn't hard to find an exit sign to get him the heck outta there ;) My girls (5 & 7) loved it.

Susan L
08-07-2004, 11:41 AM
Parents pay attention!!! Its a HAUNTED HOUSE and they do warn you that it may be to much for young kids.

blubayou33
08-07-2004, 11:58 AM
Yes, there is a way to bypass the elevator. One the east side of the Mansion, where the fastpass machines are (or used to be ?) there is a tall green gate that leads to a set of stairs. Follow those stairs down and you’ll find yourself in the middle of the portrait hallway right between the elevator and the loading area. As I recall this gate is not kept locked so you could access it on your own, but I would recommend getting a CM to guide you as taking the wrong stairs could lead you to places unknown. (And could get you a talking to by the Mansion CM’s) ;)

Hope this helps!

Wendi
08-07-2004, 01:50 PM
Parents pay attention!!! Its a HAUNTED HOUSE and they do warn you that it may be to much for young kids.

I understand this... but Max loves the ride itself. He can't handle loudness. We just happened to get an elevator loaded full of big time screamers. If I could guarantee a quiet group that would be great, but I can't count on that. I'd either like to bypass it, or try it with earplugs for him.

BTW - It's Tough To Be A Bug was too loud for him too... and it's not a haunted house!!!

bassett1976
08-07-2004, 02:01 PM
My I suggest going on the HM at night. Usually, the later you go the fewer the people that get into the ride. It's usually not busy during Fantasmic.

disneyperson
08-07-2004, 02:38 PM
I must disagree that there are fewer screamers at night. My daughter and I are Mansion addicts and those of our kind most often ride at night when they know it's "part of the experience" to scream after the hanged ghost host appears and the room goes black.Even small groups can be very loud. If there are people reciting along with the ghost host, there will also be a lot of screaming.As for me, I just cover my ears and wait it out. In the daytime there are more first timers and families.I never took my children on this ride when they were little.(I didn't take them on Snow White either) When my daughter was six or so she asked to go on it, I warned her about the screaming because I'd seen frightened children before.(Why some parents force terrified children on rides is a mystery to me) I suggested she scream along with them . She did and loved it. How often can kids let loose with a scream without getting in trouble? I think it is a great idea to ask a cm for the alternate route if the little boy really hates the loud noise but don't try it on your own. Guests can be escorted out of the park for wandering in unauthorized areas and others might think you're just trying to skip the line.

CoasterChickie
08-07-2004, 02:43 PM
I don't think there's any way to know for sure if there are going to be screamers or not. It's a haunted house and part of the fun for a lot of people is screaming. I think the earplugs are a really good idea for your little boy if he's sensitive to noise. And just keep reassuring him that it's all in fun and none of it is real. He'll probably feel really brave after the experience!! :)

disneyperson
08-07-2004, 02:54 PM
coasterchickie is aboslutely right. I've ridden the Mansion at every possible time of day/night and there's no way to predict for sure what kind of group you'll end up sharing the elevator with. Best of luck with those ear plugs.

Dlandmom
08-07-2004, 03:01 PM
I remember being a little scared of the screaming in the elevator when I was young, but I knew when it would happen, so I'd just put my fingers in my ears right before. That did the trick. Would that work for your son?

SCUBAbe
08-07-2004, 03:06 PM
if he dosen't like loud noises and bugs life is to loud...well, the ride part may be to much for him also. There is quite a bit of noise in the graveyard scene and the music is very loud.

GrumpyUTboi
08-07-2004, 06:16 PM
Scuba,

A couple of things. You could take him to HISTSA. Nothing but jokes, jokes and more jokes. Not to many loud noises, except for the laughter coming from the audience. ;)

Second, love the name! Remember in Big Daddy the super hero Scuba Steve, that is what my friends call. (much better than Barney Rubble or Peck from Willow)

Third, I need to take my family to Lancaster. I was born at Antelope Valley hospital back in 1968. Man I am getting old. Where I live now is a lot like what Lancaster was like when I was a boy growing up. Nothing but desert in the back yard.

Scuba Steve

The Mouse Is Back
08-07-2004, 06:38 PM
It's all well and good to say you would never take your child on a ride when you know there might be loud screaming - but people who have never been on HM have no idea how bad it can be with even a small group of, for example, teenage girls shrieking at the tops of their lungs without regard for the people around them.

It would be nice if some of the people who go to DL regularly would try and stand for one second in the shoes of a first-time visitor, particularly those first-timers with young children or elderly relatives in tow.

Just a thought.


-Allegra-

lisap
08-07-2004, 07:46 PM
A couple of things. You could take him to HISTSA. Nothing but jokes, jokes and more jokes. Not to many loud noises, except for the laughter coming from the audience. ;)


Just a caution about HISTA--my youngest was terrorized by that attraction. I would rank it better than It's tough to be a bug, but keep in mind it's got a lot of that "coming out of the screen and under the seat to get you" feel to it.

CoasterChickie
08-07-2004, 08:59 PM
It would be nice if some of the people who go to DL regularly would try and stand for one second in the shoes of a first-time visitor, particularly those first-timers with young children or elderly relatives in tow.

Just a thought.


-Allegra-

I understand what you are saying. I went on the Grizzly with a teenage girl who screamed so loudly directly into my ear that she broke my ear drum. I did not expect that at all because the ride was not even scary...she was screaming because she got wet. However, I wasn't mad because she screamed... I was mad because she shouldn't have gone on the ride in the first place if she didn't want to get wet.

Along that same line, I think a person who does not enjoy being scared or hearing people scream should not go in the HM. (The fact that it's a haunted mansion should give people a clue as to what to expect) I think it is up to each person to use his own discretion when deciding what rides to go on...personally I would not take young children or an elderly relative in the HM unless I thought they would enjoy it. (There are plenty of other more suitable rides in the park)

And I would not expect a bunch of teenage girls to not scream...if it really bothered me I would let them pass and wait to go with another group of quieter people.(I know I'll never ride the Grizzly again with the girl who broke my ear drum !)

My main point is that we cannot control the actions of others, only our own
responses to their actions. I think Wendi is wise to ask the CM for an alternative route, take ear plugs just in case, or maybe even not take her son on the ride at all rather than expecting other guests to know who's a "regular" and who's a "first timer" or expecting guests to not make noise when they're on a scary ride at an amusement park!

I am not trying to be argumentative, just realistic. :)

P.S. My niece and nephew were both terrifed by the giant spiders on "It's a Bug's Life"

The Mouse Is Back
08-07-2004, 09:06 PM
Yep, what you say is true.

My daughter loved the HM even when she was a little tot. The only time she got scared was when other people in the portrait room got too loud. The HM is not really a scary ride, IMO.

The one thing that surprised me about it was how roughly the doom buggies can turn from side to side. I remember that because my mom had severe arthritis and I thought it was a safe ride for her to go on. She ended up with her back and neck hurting because she wasn't anticipating how rough it would be.

Maybe they should just post a big warning at the front gate: "Every ride has issues! BEWARE!" :p


-Allegra-

CoasterChickie
08-07-2004, 09:19 PM
Maybe they should just post a big warning at the front gate: "Every ride has issues! BEWARE!" :p


-Allegra-


That's funny! :~D

I once went on a non-scary spinny ride that was making my body physically hurt so I yelled to the operator to stop the ride because the little girl with me was scared. That little girl was very mad at me afterward!!! ( I wasn't trying to be mean...the ride operators just seem to have more empathy for little kids than teenagers and adults!)

skoolpsyk
08-07-2004, 09:38 PM
Maybe they should just post a big warning at the front gate: "Every ride has issues! BEWARE!" :p




The ride isn't the issue! It's the rude guests! It's really becoming a problem on this ride. I wonder how they will address it...

PsychDoc
08-07-2004, 10:56 PM
My I suggest going on the HM at night. Usually, the later you go the fewer the people that get into the ride. It's usually not busy during Fantasmic.

I agree. Espeically when the fireworks or fantasmic are running. I've been the only one in the elevator. I think the CMs get a bit stranger when you're alone, though.

Merm8fan
08-07-2004, 11:01 PM
That's funny! :~D

I once went on a non-scary spinny ride that was making my body physically hurt so I yelled to the operator to stop the ride because the little girl with me was scared. That little girl was very mad at me afterward!!! ( I wasn't trying to be mean...the ride operators just seem to have more empathy for little kids than teenagers and adults!)

That wouldn't happen to be that school-carnival-staple "Music Fest (or whatever-they-call-it-in-your-neck-of-the-woods)" ride, would it? Dang! That thing is brutal, especially if you are on the wrong side of the whole centrifugal force prinicple. Ouch. Hate being the person on the "outside" end of the seat. Ouch.

~PrincessAriel~
08-08-2004, 12:41 PM
Wow, didn't know the screaming got to some people (or kids) whenever I ride it, especially at night when we're all hyped up, I love to scream and pretend that I'm scared during the elevator ride. Sorry kids :|

Lilo
08-08-2004, 01:32 PM
In my experience, the screamers are usually AP-holders who go to the park in the afternoon/evening for a half-day-or-less trip and scream as part of the fun in riding HM. So I actually think early morning is a good time to ride HM for less older screamers. But then you have more little tots in the morning. I'm not sure about the scream statistics for them. Rather than risk it, though, Wendi, I would just ask to use the alternate entrance.

By the way, HISTA and Bug's Life still scares even friends and I, not just our little brothers and sisters...It's mostly just the mice in HISTA, but the bugs in general on BL... ;)

cstephens
08-08-2004, 01:42 PM
The ride isn't the issue! It's the rude guests! It's really becoming a problem on this ride. I wonder how they will address it...

"They" meaning Disney? I'm not sure how they'd be able to regulate rude guests. And, really, something that some people might consider rude might not be considered so by others. I don't think it's rude to scream per se in the elevator. I do think it's a bit rude to scream at the top of your lungs if you have a piercing scream when you're doing it just to do it. I always expect it, so I'm prepared for it. Others may not be. And I can certainly understand how small children can be frightened by it, but I'm not sure how to solve that issue either.


In my experience, the screamers are usually AP-holders who go to the park in the afternoon/evening for a half-day-or-less trip and scream as part of the fun in riding HM.

Just curious - how do you know that the screamers are APs? Is it an assumption you're making based on something you heard or observed, or are they displaying their APs or saying specifically that they're APs?

Lilo
08-08-2004, 01:54 PM
Because my friends and I, fellow AP holders and occaisional HM screamers, ask some of them. It's a weird tradition of ours thats been going on for a couple years now. :p We don't ask everyone and we don't always ask anyone, but we usually ask them if they're real close to us. When we don't ask, I've seen a lot of them with their APs in their AP lanyards. I do make assumptions about some people, though, based on a group of them knowing and imitating the entire HM spiel. I'm not saying non-AP holders don't memorize and/or imitate the spiel, nor am I saying all AP holders do memorize and/or imitate the spiel, but a lot of them do.