This past summer I hosted relatives from out of town to a day at Disneyland. The only child was my nephew who is 3 years old.

Most of us in the group were Disney regulars so we didn't really care about going on the big rides, and so we wanted to make the day special for my nephew. Well, I thought I knew what a 3 year old boy would like, but was I so wrong.

We wandered around a lot and he was a bit overwhelmed by the crowds, and we thought about what he wanted to go on, and we decided on Buzz Lightyear. No drops, just a moving car, and I thought the gun would be cool for a little kid. Well, the noise of the ride made him freak out and he literally went through the ride with his hands over his ears and his eyes closed shut.

After that we couldn't get him to try anything, and ended up wandering around the park begging him to try anything, and having him scream and whine everytime we suggested anything. It was the worst Disneyland experience of my life.

I don't have kids of my own, (and this put me off for another 10 years, I think), so I need advice.

They are planning to come back again next year. He will be 4, but I don't want to make the same mistakes again. How do you recommend I ease him into going on rides without scaring him. I am thinking Storybook land first, and then some of the Fantasyland rides (although, they might be too scary).

ideas?

Um instead of trying to second guess him, why not allow him to 'lead'...give him a guide to the magic map, let him look at it and let him ask about things then he might have things he would be interested in exploring, he might like tom sawyers Island. I wouldn't suggest Storybooks due to Monstro....kids who are skiddish freak about getting swallowed...just a thought.

They should buy him the disney movies on which many of the DL and DCA rides are based and have him watch the movies. When he returns to the parks next year, he will be excited to see his now familiar movie characters come to life in ride form. After watching Finding Nemo many times over, being able to talk to Crush was a highlight of my 3 year olds life. (PS, I think DCA is better than DL for 2 and 3 year old)

"We wandered around a lot and he was a bit overwhelmed by the crowds" Maybe put him or your shoulders or carry him or put him a stroller.

"made him freak out and he literally went through the ride with his hands over his ears and his eyes closed shut. .... begging him to try anything, and having him scream and whine everytime we suggested anything." So you were a parent for one day. Now, experience that every day for two years and you'll get an idea as to what it's like to have a two year old and three year old.

My 3 year old boy was and still is somewhat afraid of the Buzz Lightyear movie, so your nephew is normal. He might of liked the Matterhorn better as my son did (go figure!)

My first recommendation is: Outdoor and bright rides.

My boys are big train buffs and many train rides are mostly outdoors - Casey Jr would be a great place to start. It's almost all outdoors (there are a couple of tunnels but they shouldn't be a problem.) The Disneyland Railroad has a couple of dark sections. I would start it at Main Street which will give you some time "outside" before the tunnels and darker parts.

Dumbo is a great outdoor ride and if he doesn't want to go high, he has control of staying low to the ground for most of the ride. And as MS said, Tom Sawyer's Island is great.

its a small world is a good indoor ride because it's very brightly lit and cheerful.

Dadandfamily had a good suggestion about the movies. My boys live and breath the Toy Story movies and have been going to Disneyland since they were a few weeks old, but my middle son still wasn't wild about the Buzz Lightyear ride until he was almost 5!

If you're going to try a dark ride, I suggest staying away from most of the rides in Fantasyland! :eek: They all have scary elements in them, especially Pinocchio and Snow White. As much as the characters annoy me, probably the tamest and best dark rides to take kids on is Winnie the Pooh. :( I'd wait until you've tried outdoor and bright attractions, first, then let HIM decide if he's ready to go on it. If you know he already has a strong aversion to dark rides, I wouldn't push it.

I confess: I have "Forced" my now 5-y/o to go on Buzz Lightyear. But. This is a child who LOVES the Pooh ride (much to my dismay,) and has been fine on Toad, Alice and Peter Pan. We only forced the issue because we knew he would like it once he got on. He always grumbled about Buzz, then was happy when he got off. Now his biggest gripe about Buzz is that he hates getting the lower score on the game and pouts if he doesn't "win". But that's not about the scariness of the ride ;)

I'm also not above an "incentive" at Disneyland. (Bribe is such an ugly word ;) ). If there's something you already planned to do with the child, you could make it a reward for riding something like Pooh. It could be, "If you are a brave boy and go on Pooh with me, we'll take you on this other ride you're begging to go on" or "The honey popcorn is right by Pooh so we'll get some after we ride."

Another strategy is to give him a choice: "Which ride do you want to go on first? Dumbo OR it's a small world?" Then you're giving him some power over the situation. It's likely that feeling overwhelmed is leaving him scared and feeling powerless. Giving him some power in the situation may help him feel braver. After letting him pick the rides for awhile, throw in Winnie the Pooh. You sit in Honey Pots. They Bounce. There's a Blustery Day and a Birthday Party for Pooh. There are Heffalumps and Woozles which are silly looking elephants and characters!" (Don't say "monsters"!)

If you're going over to DCA, definitely take some time to watch the Pixar movies, especially Monsters Inc. The Bug's Land rides are all outdoors so they're very low-intimidation. DO NOT go on It's Tough to be a Bug. That attraction should have more warnings on it. Giant Spiders fall from the ceiling, a wasp stings you in the back and a poisonous bug squirts at you. Yeah, not "kid friendly" :mad:

Adrienne

I just took a 4 y/o. (She's a girl, but still...) She loved Small World. She loved meeting Minnie and wandering in her house, and enjoyed walking through Donald's Boat. (The tree house would have been cool too...but, there was a crowd near it and that freaked her out. *sigh*) She liked Winnie The Pooh; we promised to hold her "very tight". She actually went on that one twice.

She did not really like Snow White or Alice in Wonderland (She said Alice was too high) The carousel's a good bet. Character autographs were pretty much her favorite thing to do. Pirates is slow and calm, it might work for a little boy. Jungle Cruise would also be good, and probably Tiki Room. (And his parents can run do Indy if he's confident with you...)

I second the trains and Tom Sawyer Island, essentially anything he can ease into will be good. My kids always liked to watch until they understood what was happening, then take part.

DCA is also a GREAT place for kids. Wandering around the water play areas was her second favorite thing about Disneyland. I wish we'd gone there sooner...we could have taken turns letting her run loose and bringing the older dd on rides. The trick is to remember that little kids don't know what to filter out, they can easily get overwhelmed by the bombardment of images and colors and sounds. And they measure things differently than you do...They can spend two hours watching a snail's progress and deem it the best day ever while you're thinking the poor things were so bored they had to stare at a snail.

You have already received some great advice in this thread. I really concur with the suggestion to familiarize the child with the Disney characters via the movies and TV. One good show to try is the new "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" show on Disney Channel, a very toddler-friendly intro to the core characters.

It might also help to look for local non-Disney rides to help accustom the child to the concepts. In many communities, carousels and miniture trains are easy to find. It also could help to try a visit to a local fair or zoo, to help accustom him to crowds.

Finally, be aware that toddlers develop and change very rapidly. There is a good chance the child will react very differently than the last visit. My best advice is to remember that a visit to Disneyland with a child usually is very different than without. Let the kid set the pace and approach to the day and try not to force it into pre-conceived expectations, good or bad.

-Jeff

What JeffG said!

Our 3 1/2 yo daughter had problems with loud noises and dark rides with fast motion an refused to go on many of the rides. She lit up when she saw the carousels and asked to go on them many times.

Since we went in June, she has changed to much! She will be almost 6 months older on her next visit and we will have a completely different time, I am sure.

My daughter also loved character meals. If your nephew still likes Buzz, you can find out where the Buzz CM hangs out (ask at City Hall) or try and book a character meal that features Buzz or another of his favourites.

You might want to let him talk about how he feels about the Disneyland rides and have discussions with him, rather than trying to "convince" him of anything. Hoping you have a great trip!

My kids have been going to Disneyland since before they could walk. But even then, I was careful about what I took them on. I followed their lead, deciding to move to something more "scarey" depending on how well they did on the ride before.
Both my kids LOVE LOVE LOVE POTC. But they are terrified of Snow White. They both love characters, but don't care for the face ones.
You have some great advice on this thread. You have to let him ease in to the parks and let him do things at his own pace. Especially at 4, he is going to want to feel like he is in control, and let him. Try to go at his pace, and if he isn't comfortable with going on something, tell him that is ok, but let him know that he can always come back to it later.
My now 5yo went on Splash when he was just 40 inches, he rode it 2 times, and won't step foot on it now. But he loves BTMRR. It really is about comfort, while they may like one ride, they may not like something that is very similar, or less "scarey."