Hi all,

What is your opinion on preparing kids for what they will see on rides - especially the ones they might find scary? I think it is a good idea but DH thinks it is setting them up to be scared. Perhaps it is all just in how you word it? In particular, I am thinking about the Matterhorn. I know DD would love the ride but I am not sure how she will take the Abominable Snowman...:eek:

Thanks

What a great question! It really is a fine line between prepping them and freaking them out, isn't it?

A lot of it depends on your kids ages. Do they understand "scary but fun" yet? My DS 7 has an understanding of the concept. When he was younger things were either scary or fun.

If you know your kids are the type to freak out over something, and be upset for quite sometime afterward, I would probably warn them, and then let them decide if they want to go on the ride. If not, I would probably have them go on it, and then comfort them later if they were scared. I took this approach with my son when he was younger. He would not have gone on the Matterhorn if I had told him about the Yeti. The first time he went on it, he was unnerved by the Yeti, but loved the ride. I'm glad I didn't tell him because now it's his number 1 favorite ride.

Hi all,

What is your opinion on preparing kids for what they will see on rides - especially the ones they might find scary? I think it is a good idea but DH thinks it is setting them up to be scared. Perhaps it is all just in how you word it? In particular, I am thinking about the Matterhorn. I know DD would love the ride but I am not sure how she will take the Abominable Snowman...:eek:

Thanks

LisaP wrote an article about this very subject (http://www.mouseplanet.com/akrock/ak050614lp.htm) that you might find helpful.

My daughter went on the Matterhorn a week before her fourth birthday. It was the first trip that she was tall enough to ride. I had read in a thread here about a mom who told her child that the Yeti was the one from Monsters Inc. I repeatedly told her beforehand that he was very loud and thats how yetis say hello. She was startled the first time she saw him (he's very loud) but loved the ride.

That said, I must mention that my daughter is not like most her age. Her favorite rides are POTC and HMH. She is not easily scared. She likes the witch and flying monkeys from Wizard of OZ, the 3 headed dog from Harry Potter and the Nightmare Before Christmas movie. She thought Ursula the sea witch and the evil Queen from Snow White were happy because they laugh all the time.

I think you have to consider your childs personality and age. Are they scared watching the movie the ride is based on? Do they understand that it is "Pretend" and that nothing at Disneyland can really hurt them? Are they timid on the slides or swings at a park? Are they scared of loud noises? Do they get anxious easily?

I waited to tell my daughter about the yeti until a couple of weeks before we left. That way she couldn't dwell on it. I also gave her the option of skipping the ride if she wanted to.

My eldest son is the kind of kid who doesn't do surprises well. I learned this going to doctor's appointments. If I didn't let him know we were going to the doctor's office or give him the 'heads up' what would happen, he was really apprehensive. If I let him know: "We're going to the doctor's. You'll need 2 innoculations at this visit. They will be shots. They will hurt for just a bit like a sharp point and then it will be over. If you move, it will be worse. If you just sit and get it overwith, it will be done. I promise you that it will be quick."

So I've taken this approach with M and rides, too. It's Haunted Mansion. The first part is the scariest part. It gets dark and people will scream. It will be loud but it will not hurt you and I will be right there with you...

Other parents have said that their children do better with no information. It's definitely a "Your Mileage May Vary" issue. How does your daughter do before a visit to the doctor's or the dentist? Maybe that will help gauge how she handles anxious situations?

We told M about the Yeti. And we told him that his name is Harold but not everyone knows that his name is Harold. It's a fun "secret" about Disneyland. That made Matterhorn much more of an adventure for him and a challenge to find Harold!

Adrienne

www.visionsfantastic.com has some amazing video clips og the attractions, incuding the Matterhorn and 2004 Haunted Mansion holiday. It is an amazing website.

I also prepped my kids when they became old enough to realize that they were afraid. I have taken many friends with 2-3 year olds to the park who didn't tell them anything only to have a freak out during/after snow white or HM. Then they had to convince them to get on other rides which are not scarry but appear to be dark, one who was even too scared to ride pooh even though she loved seeing him at the park. Tell them before hand and let them choose to ride. I think they deserve to know, as long as you don't over do it. I think your kids feed off of your emotions so if you act like it is a big deal you will get a big reaction.

Also as a suggestion for young children taking their first trip, try something simple and not to dark for their first ride like It's a Small World. Easy going song, not to dark inside and would get them used to the concept of a ride.

Also as a suggestion for young children taking their first trip, try something simple and not to dark for their first ride like It's a Small World. Easy going song, not to dark inside and would get them used to the concept of a ride.

That was my son's first ride.

..er, not counting the tram. :)

Thanks for all the tips. I especially liked the videos from the Visions Fantastic web site. I am not sure I will show them to the kids but the Matterhorn one in particular reminded me of what the ride is like so I can tell them what to expect! (I have not been to DL since '99 - I am so excited to go back :) )

I do think I will prep my kids for the scarier rides and probably end up skipping a few. Thank goodness for parent switch! Also - I was planning on doing some of the milder dark rides first so we will see how it goes.

Thanks, cstephens.

Speaking of that article, my Char tried Matterhorn for the first time this fall (8yrs old) and probably would have liked it except for that crazy Harold guy. :rolleyes: She even plays VMK and is very familiar with him. She is sensitive to loud noises, and no matter how much we talked through the ride, it didn't really help when she finally rode it. Oh well. She did try HMH again this year and did much better with it--as well as gadget's go-coaster for the first time a few weeks ago, so she is definitely moving forward.

A good rule of thumb is always to start very small and work up slowly. There's always the next visit.:)

It's funny what bothers some kids. On A's first WDW trip at 4.11 years old, all she talked about was going to see Ariel in Voyage of the little Mermaid. She watched our old interactive WDW CD ad nauseum (8 years ago). So, we get to the theater and A wants to know why the seats are wet; I had no idea there was a wall of water and mist and could see she was totally focusing on the wet seats. Sure enough, about 1 minute into the show, she had to leave -- could not take the water mist. Who knew?

My point is -- I think you should prepare kids for what you know they're going to encounter. But you should also be prepared for surprises. If you know your child doesn't like loud, then buy some earplugs for them to put in; not only does it help solve the problem, it puts them in charge of the problem. If you know the 3-D attraction is going to bug them, put them on your lap or don't have them wear the glasses. If water in their face is going to be a problem, let them wear your sunglasses.

You can't always predict what will scare or worry them. I've also been wrong a bunch of times - things that I thought would scare A, she scoffed at. If you've been honest and up front about telling them about attractions that you think'll bug them, then I think they'll trust you more and won't be as concerned about possible issues. YMMV.

Great idea on Harold and the Matterhorn! I will adopt it for our four year old. What other tricks have people successfully used on their kids for:

1. Snow White and the witch?

2. The Haunted Mansion stretch room? (A scream contest, perhaps?)

3. The thunder sequence in the Tiki Room?

4. Monstro in Pinnochio and/or Storybookland?

5. The Pirates in POC? (Although it will be closed when we are there :( )

Also as a suggestion for young children taking their first trip, try something simple and not to dark for their first ride like It's a Small World. Easy going song, not to dark inside and would get them used to the concept of a ride.

Because so many people and books suggested it, the first ride we took our then 2.5 year old on was It's a Small World, and he hated it. As soon as we got inside he panicked because of the loudness (believe me, it was really loud for some reason) and I think the dolls' electronic hydrallic noises freaked him out too. It sort of tramatized him for the rest of the day. No one in my family cares for that ride, so I should have known. *chuckles*

If I would have been able to do it all over again, I would have started with something "outside" like Dumbo, Casey Jr., or the Canal Boats.

I highly recommend the Visions Fantastic site tho. My kids can now see the rides before they go on them so that they will be more comfortable. My son (who is now 4) still doesn't want to have anything to do with IASW, but is really looking forward to Alice in Wonderland, Pooh, and all the rollercoasters he will be able to ride.

Great idea on Harold and the Matterhorn! I will adopt it for our four year old. What other tricks have people successfully used on their kids for:

1. Snow White and the witch?

2. The Haunted Mansion stretch room? (A scream contest, perhaps?)

3. The thunder sequence in the Tiki Room?

4. Monstro in Pinnochio and/or Storybookland?

5. The Pirates in POC? (Although it will be closed when we are there :( )

This may be a bit gross but my kids always think it is funny when we come out of monstros back end if you know what I mean;) and we would always tell my baby that the witch in snow white was dressed up for halloween. The haunted mansion is another story, since I explained to my kids when they were young that the older kids though it was fun to scream in there even though it isn't really scarry, I often hear my nine year old comment when the lights come on, "stupid teenagers!" I then remind him that very soon he will be a "stupid teenager" too.:D

My 2 year old daughter LOVES Tiki Room. The thunder doesn't bother her at all.

I think it's because of all the preparation I did for her regarding the ride. She first rode it when she was eighteen months old. 2 days before we went to Disneyland, I told her stories about this amazing place called the Tiki Room, which was at Disneyland. I taught her a couple of songs, and we sang them together.

I showed her pictures of the birds and the tikis, and we talked about the names of all the birds.

We danced to the songs from a CD, and drummed with the tikis. I taught her that the word "Tiki" means a carving of a funny face.

When the thunder "note" of the attraction comes up, both on the CD and also in the show, I talk right in her ear and tell her to keep cheering and clapping louder so that we can make the thunder happen! She loves it!

This is still her favorite attraction. She wants to ride it multiple times per visit, even though it frightens the bejeebers out of her friends.

There was a moment the second time she ever went where once we got inside she wasn't sure if she wanted to see it. We discussed that we would sit right by the door, and that we'd go out as soon as she said so. Once the show started, she forgot all about that, she remembered how much she loves it. That slight moment of trepidation is long gone, and she's seen it multiple times since.


I think you could do that with any ride almost. Talk about the entire ride, roleplay it, teach them the songs. Teach them the characters. Let them know what the ride will be about. To her, there's nothing scary in Tiki Room. Even the thunder is fun.

I think you could do the same for pirates or haunted mansion. Not sure about Snow White, that thing's just TOO scary! ;-)