1 parent, 2 kids, 1 won’t do big rides

[jojo82]

I’m taking the kids on my own in June. They are 16 and 10. My 10 year old daughter won’t ride big rides yet even though she’s tall enough for nearly all of them. My question is what do I do with my daughter when my son and I are riding something that my daughter won’t tolerate?

I don’t mind not riding but my son doesn’t want to go on everything on his own. I’m really hoping my daughter decides to try the rides as I know once she does she will love it. It’s rides like TOT, RNR, hulk etc.

Do I get her a drink and a seat near the ride exit and just leave her 😳 that’s sounds terrible, I know. Daughter is very mature And responsible for her age.

What do others do in this situation? Thanks.

[deb286]

I think if this was me I would err on the side of caution and stay with my 10 year old and let my older child ride alone. I know its not as fun to be on your own, but I'm sure there are a ton of rides you can all ride together and have fun on. You just don't really know how long you'd be leaving her for and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with that at that age.

[Scaramouche]

I’d make her queue if I’m honest. If she doesn’t want to ride she can take the other exit and wait for you to come off. That way she’s not left while you’re stuck in the queue.

Hopefully by that time she might decide to go on it. As you say it’s not everything, so I would compromise. Your son can do a few on his own, your daughter can queue a few times and then just not ride.

[bex85chelt]

My neice chickened out (very sensibly as it turned out ) of Dr Doom and i was alone with my step daughter the CM said she would take her out the exit door and she could wait there - i knew where she was and she wasn't alone out in the crowd, plus we were only separated for a minute or 2

[Gill H]

There is always a chicken exit. I have seen most of them!

If you go together as far as the chicken exit and then she goes out, she will (a) only have a few minutes to wait, and (b) probably be in a gift shop! Win win...

Also, the big rides tend to be the ones worth getting FP+ for. So if you get FP+ for everyone, you won't be queuing very long either. I know it feels like a waste of an FP, but unless she would be going on something alone, she wouldn't be using it without you anyway. And once you have 'used' your 3 FP+ (which she will even if she doesn't ride) you can all get more together.

[JessBlu]

Queue together and put her in the family room when you ride.
We did this with my 12 year old this summer.

[shack69]

as others get her to Q and take the chicken line at the ride , there is one on all rides. she could hold the bags. She will only be waiting a couple of minutes on most rides.
The only one i can think of which may be differnt is FOP as she will have to do the pre shows and then jsut at the very end not ride, but suspect she would love that anyway.

[Rescuer]

I’ve left ds at the exit with his phone but only if the line is tiny. The only time we had an issue was the time he did chicken out at the mummy at the last minute. We came off the ride and there was no sign of him. We thought he’d wandered down into the gift shop, no sign of him. We looked for him and I reported it to the tm in the shop. Turns out he was still at the loading area wondering where we were. Longest 10 minutes of my life.
He is under instruction that he needs to go in the line and wait at unloading for us on our Easter trip to universal as it will be heaving. He’s worried though that he won’t be able to back out, hence why I left him at the exit a couple of times, a bit more conversation - reassurance will be required I think.
Again though you know your child and can assess the situation at the time. That’s my feeling about what’s right for us too.

[pad406]

My DS was a bit like your DD, wouldn't ride any of the bigger rides. Then one day he decided to try Hulk (of all things ) and has not looked back.

He still won't do TOT though, but that's more to do with he has a thing about lifts.

Guess what I'm saying is they do it in their own time. In the meantime I think queue and 'chicken exit' will work best for you.

[ratmanscoop]

Not to be pushy but it's worth a shot. My niece wasn't quite 8 during our last visit and although not tall enough for the biggest coasters we managed to blag her onto increasingly intense rides until by the end of the holiday we had her riding Rock'n'Rollercoaster and enjoying it. Big rides aren't for everyone, but by age 10 it's worth trying at least one big headliner, you never know how you might get on.

Failing that, as others have said, there's always the chicken exit, that way they can stay with you while you queue - some queues can be quite long, it'd be a long time for them to sit, not just unattended, but with nothing to do.