Tall children- Big rides

[LLamb]

Just measured my two kids as we are back at Universal in May.

DS is 6 and is 54in/4ft6in so he is now excited as he is tall enough to ride the Hulk!
Not sure I’m too happy about this as I think once he is there and in the queue he will get scared.

Anybody else have kids that have been ok with big rides fairly young?

He did ride tower of terror when he was 3!

[AliceCooper9]

My 7 year boy old he is about 140cm did all the thrill rides in WDW and US. He ran around and wanted to do them all. He would have done the Hulk again and again but once was enough for me.
He is looking forward to doing Busch Gardens!

[TheHughesCrew]

My boys have never been to Orlando but I think DS2 was 7 or 8 when went to Thorpe Park and did Swarm, Stealth, Colossus etc. Hes a real adrenaline junkie. No idea how these compare to the likes of Hulk though...

[lizzie145]

the queue isn't scary and if you plan it right you cant almost walk on.

[LLamb]

Thanks everyone, I think we will just have to see what he is like when we get there. He did everything he could ride at Universal last year and loved them all.
I just don’t want to be one of those parents with a screaming kid getting on the ride!

[dizzy1]

My son was 7 when he rode every coaster at Universal, Islands, Sea World and Disney. Loved them all. It depends very much on the individual child. Maybe warm up to it with the less intense rides first if you're unsure - Expedition Everest, Hagrid ride etc. Let him take the lead.

[belle&tink]

My just turned 7 year old will be tall enough too and is very excited. She has also said she wants to ride summit plummit!

[rafjen]

I've had my 4 year old on Slinky, Tower Terror, Big Thunder, Splash SWMT, Test Track and he's keen to rpt them next time so didn't scare him off. Splash an slinky are his most talked about post trip. My son was 9 before he could do hulk but he loved it- he was a bit worried in the queue but my husband explained how it went and he was fine. My 8 year old was gutted not to do Rip ride rocket - just too short. I think if they want to try let them but make sure they know what to expect- maybe show them videos and don't force it if they change there mind at the time. You know them best- how are they likely to react.

[floridasgirl]

Originally Posted by LLamb

Thanks everyone, I think we will just have to see what he is like when we get there. He did everything he could ride at Universal last year and loved them all.
I just don’t want to be one of those parents with a screaming kid getting on the ride!

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You dont have to be the parent with the screaming kid, noone would ever want that! If he gets to the front and doesn't want to go on, just ask the staff to let you through the exit!

[Tinkjon]

I've got one daredevil and one scaredy-cat My son would easily have gone on Hulk at 6 but my 15 year old almost cried! Just be led by him and make it entirely his decision (which I'm sure you would do anyway). The worst thing I ever did was try and convince one of mine to go on The Haunted Mansion when they were younger - lots of "you'll be fine!" and "it's not that scary!"s and he did it. He hated it and it put him off so much that he then refused to go on ANYTHING - even Small World From then on we didn't give him any of our own opinions at all - just told him matter of fact what each ride entailed and left it entirely up to him and it was so much better. One time he wanted to do one ride (I forget which) but changed his mind. We said "sure, no problem" and walked out and then half an hour later he decided he'd give it a go after all. Being in control of their own decisions is the key.

This is all common sense anyway but I just thought I'd add my experiences!

One other thing is whether they'd be scared of the movement of the ride or the theming. Hulk queue isn't in the slightest bit scary and DS loves it. The Kong Skull Island queue, in comparison, terrifies him and he won't go on it, despite it being an extremely mild ride.