Children.. scared of rides!?

[Guest]

My considerably younger brother who is 12 won't even go anywhere where there is a theme park. It's just not for him and would prefer more grown up relaxing destinations but with somewhere still exciting to go.

He wants to go to the USA knowing that my partner and I are going, but I have advised that he waits until he is older so he can appreciate the experience more (and not burn a massive hole in mum's pocket!).

[jemima2]

Me or my kids hate simulators and so far kids dislike spinny rides..as do i ! We adore disney , dlp and wdw. We found loads of rides/ experiences we could do ( we would never dream of going to a uk theme park disney have quite a lot of things for us to do)...the shows, character meets etc. We arnt ride people but adore it 😀

[BevS97]

I would do your reveal quite a while before the trip so you can talk about the parks and everything that you can do that's not a ride.

In fact, I'm not a fan of a big surprise reveal. Will you be upset if you don't get the reaction you are hoping for?

We watched lots of videos and Disney movies so they were familiar with the parks and characters beforehand.

There are so many other things you can do. From little safe rides like it's a small world, to shows like Disneys Philharmagic, meeting characters, street artists etc. You can have a great time without going on a ride that makes your tummy feel funny. However, they need the confidence to go on those smaller rides as the kids can't tell if it's a safe just look at some scenes ride. Or a scarier one from the outside.

[firsttimemouse]

Have you thought about taking him to legoland in the uk. They have a lot of gentler rides there and it might help you to gauge what he'll be comfortable with. My ds 7 is not a big fan of rides. It's our first visit to Orlando and at the moment he's really excited but there have been times when he says he doesn't want to go. We've watched a lot of YouTube videos of the rides so he can prepare himself. What works well for him in other theme parks is him knowing that he gets to make his own mind up about whether he rides or not (although I do really encourage him to give things a go). I think he likes to know he's not going to be forced, I think anxious kids like to know they have some control over things. We will have to see what happens in Florida though, lll be disappointed if he misses too many things but the main thing is he enjoys himself.

I know I wouldn't have got a positive reaction from him if I did the whole reveal thing.

[Gill H]

How about a couple of days at DLP as a taster? Some good bargains to be had and a way to introduce him to gentle rides, shows, characters etc.

[Tor32]

I'm 37 years old and I don't like rides either... my 7 year old is just like me. The fear grabs hold of him before he even goes near it. The first time we went(4 years old) he managed to go on the smaller experience type rides. He wouldn't even try Toy Story Mania. He still loved Disney! The characters, the meals all the other aspects he loved! Roll on last October( he was 7). He had the fear of the unknown so we spent the year beforehand watching videos on YouTube and studying the maps to find all the possible attractions. He made a list for each park of those that he had was willing to attempt. He was braver this time but not much. Some children you can push on and you'll know that they'll be fine but others not. If you pushed my son it would have been a disaster and he wouldn't trust us. He was about to bottle 7DMT but reminded him of the video and he went on. He didn't like it! I was brave and went on it too! It's the stomach churning sensation he didn't like. After that he wouldn't go on Test Track. He started to panic and we decided why should he! It's not something you have to do. We are not all the same. He really enjoyed his holiday and was really pleased with some of the new rides he conquered. Next time I'm sure there'll be a couple of new ones to add to the list. What kind of boy is he? Would he be better prepared or go with the unknown. Although you want to surprise him, maybe it's just not the right way for him. Be assured he'll love it, big rides or not! Show him what there is to ❤️.

[jonsgirl80]

Try not to seem too disappointed if he doesnt appear very enthusiastic - I'm sure he will love it once he gets there.

I have always hated big rides - I mean properly hate them. I feel sick, my heart pounds and I cry (lots)

Over my childhood/teen years I was made to feel very guilty at times and that I was 'a baby' who was causing problems and spoiling everyone elses fun - it was never actually said but that was definitely my perception (Not saying you would do this OP but I have seen/heard it a lot) - I was 'persuaded' a few times to go on things to please other people who said I would be fine once I got on - nope! I wasnt fine - it was awful! Spending even 2-3 minutes being absolutely terrified is definitely NOT my idea of fun.

Some people grow out of their fear some do not. When my DH suggested disney 5 years ago I cant say I was thrilled about the prospect of the rides - (DH and DS10 love them) I agreed on the proviso that if I said "no" to anything there would be no further discussion/persuasion. It really set my mind at rest to have that agreed at the outset.

The wildest ride I went on was pirates of carribean - I still had a brilliant time, never felt like I was missing out and we are currently planning our 4th trip

[papamouse]

our dd6 didn't want to do 7dmt - so she did goofys barnstormer and loved it, so we said 7dmt is easier than this - job done

[Tor32]

Originally Posted by jonsgirl80

Try not to seem too disappointed if he doesnt appear very enthusiastic - I'm sure he will love it once he gets there.

I have always hated big rides - I mean properly hate them. I feel sick, my heart pounds and I cry (lots)

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You sound just like me. On our first trip I was persuaded to do Kali. When I got on I saw the huge (well to me) hill. I started to panic, cry and threaten to divorce my husband. My brother was in hysterics. He wasn't sure the boat was full of water from the actual rapids or my crying/peeing my pants! Hands up I did love it though but that's as far as I go. My legs were shaking for a good half hour after 7DMT. I did conquer Test Travk this year. Still won't do Soarin' yet it's me who leads the charge to go back.

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by katy341

After watching sat night takeaway and commenting to the kids who've never been to Disney oooo wouldn't it be lovely (we've booked for next yr but not telling them till easter next yr) for Ds who is 8 to say I don't want to go 😐...

I asked why is it cos of the long flight? No. Is it too hot? No. I don't like rides!

What on earth do I do now? We've taken him to couple theme parks but he sticks to little rides which is fine for when we are there but I'm worried about the reveal (which isn't for another year! ) but he is timid and shy and very baby like I have a mission to grow him up a little over the next year. Not really for florida purposes more because he just needs it though I don't know how or where to start but... oh gosh has anyone else had this? Dd is polar opposite she will be ecstatic but I am worried x

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Most of the rides are not scary, at least at Disney. So that shouldn't be an issue. Plenty to see and do without scary rides. All depends how scared he is I suppose. If he's scared of say Dumbo, then that would be a real shame.

You could try to ease him in, with theme parks closer to home. It might not be easy though, not if he has a will to say "no". Use of a bribe sometimes helps, or a competition with prizes. Anything to get him to try a ride. Most kids are scared at first. I certainly was.

My son was the same, and at a similar age to yours. I don't back off these things so I made a fuss about it. I didn't force him, but I kept up the pressure and I showed my irritation. I knew he wanted to please me (and the rest of his family of course). Eventually he made the decision to brave one, a ride of his choice. No looking back after that. We had to go back and do everything he'd missed again... and again... and again

Whatever you do, just play it all down, get in the queue and say nothing. Tackle the rides in order of how scary they are, and you might be surprised at how well he copes with each step up.

If you don't toughen him up it only gets worse as they get older.

We managed to get my daughter's husband (in his 30s) onto Space Mountain. He said "no" and looked like a ghost at the thought of it. I was a little more forceful than she was I told him, he'd be fine and just this one ride and if he didn't like it he didn't need to go on anything like it again. He wasn't happy but he felt pressured. He rode it... he loved it