Recommend ride order for nervous riders

[Supermavs]

We will be in the parks June 12-17 (1 day break in there).
I will have my whole family of 11, which is myself, dh, and kids aged 25, 22, 21, 18, 16, 11, 11, 8, and 8.

The situation is this:

The older 3 are only here for the first 2 park days (DL then DCA, no hoppers) and plan to keep this a family day for most of the DL day but love thrill rides. The college kids are happy to help the littles get their first taste of Disney, but it won’t last all day.

My two 8 yr olds are nervous about rides.

What is the best order to hit a bunch of rides in the first hour while keeping everyone happy and NOT overdoing it for the first few rides. My youngest son is sensitive to loud noises, fast movements, and heights. My youngest daughter does better but needs a person able to touch her (sit with or hand hold, something reassuring)

I think Peter Pan would be great for both since while it flies, you don’t really experience the nervousness of falling. But the waits get long so quickly that it will rankle the older kids who want to be maximizing rides.

Any suggestions?

My ultimate hope is that they will get used to rides and be open for more exciting things as the days go on.

Also: first visit for the 4 youngest.

Thanks!
Becky

 

[starlite_]

mmhh tall order. Do your oldest kids want to ride Fantasyland rides at all? If they want thrills they are gonna hate spending the first hour doing the "kid" rides. I would suggest going to Tomorrowland. Star Tours seems like a nice middle, and from there you can see if the 8 year olds would be able to handle Space Mountain. Buzz Lightyear is also there which could work if they can't.

I also think that if they can't maybe you guys don't need to do all rides together at the beginning. Thrill seekers can hit up Space while the kids can do Autopia for example. You have lots of days for the kids to get used to the rides and go on the Thrill ones later.

For loud noises, I've seen lots of folks give their kids noise cancelling headphones to help them.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I love your idea of starting with Peter Pan. That has the added benefit of enabling your older kids to hit Matterhorn afterwards while the younger kids could do another Fantasyland ride instead - all staying in the same general area but taking that one ride apart. Then you can try BTMRR, which has some scary-ish visuals, but in general is a really great coaster even for 8 yr olds. You can sit next to your daughter and reassure her. Then for Splash you can have the older kids ride while the younger ones try Winnie the Pooh. From past experience, if your kids are at all skittish, just seeing the drop will put them off the ride, but it is such a favorite for so many.

You can also do a similar swap for Space Mtn if the younger ones really don't want to go, they can try Buzz instead. (or as starlite says, just start in Tomorrowland and see how Star Tours goes).

For DCA, you could start with RSR - it has a bit of excitement, but doesn't look at all scary, so should reassure the kids. You might want to skip GotG with them entirely if they don't want to do dropping rides (I love the theming, but I do not enjoy the ride mechanics at all). Incredi-coaster looks pretty scary as well, and there is a chance your 8 yr olds may not be tall enough, so that might not matter anyway. but there are lots of things for the younger kids to ride while the older kids try it out. As a family, you should be able to do Soarin, and TSMM, and any of the other rides.

 

[Bossy22]

We start every trip with Dumbo. Nice open air, some height but not scary at all. We then go to 1 more FL ride before heading to Big Thunder. Big Thunder (although quite the thrill) doesn't leave the ground and is pretty smooth. Thats our technique lol

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

Are the 8 year olds spooked by "bad guys" or mostly the logistics (ie height) of the ride? Meaning, do they understand the evil Queen and Captain Hook are just characters or is that going to be an issue too?

Are you getting Genie+? I kind of agree to split up for rope drop and allow the older ones to knock out a couple big ones and then meet you in Fantasyland. The young ones need some warm up rides in Fantasyland, the older ones need to maximize precious time at rope drop.

I know if you push too much, too fast you will lose their nerve. I am surprised so many are suggesting BTMRR! I would think kids could be scared because of it looks like it is out of control and you get too much of a preview in the line.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

It might be really worth while to check out a guide book like Unofficial Guide to DL 2022, and read up their descriptions of the rides and which ones are loud/have drops/etc. It has been very useful for me!

Edited to add:
One thing to keep in mind is that you probably won't be able to both maximize thrill rides AND keep things magical for your youngsters, so you'll have to decide which is your priority. If the family together time is the most important aspect of the trip, remind the older kids how wonderful it will be to experience the park through the younger kids' eyes. Invest in G+ so if/when you do split for rides, the older kids won't have to wait quite a long and you can have a better time meeting up. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to make everyone happy though - just try to work with the older kids so they know what your expectations are re: family time, and with the younger ones to understand how much their siblings enjoy the thrill rides. Hopefully they will be able to enjoy the together time and understand any separate time

Edited again to add:
Also - maybe your older kids can stay late after night time shows and catch some of the thrill rides at DL then? It won't work as well for DCA, but it might be a good strategy for DL.

 

[Supermavs]

Ok wow great responses so far.

1-the college aged kids are great with helping the littles experience their first Disney trip, though they won’t want to spend the entire day like that.

2-they are ok with scary images (ie Evil Queen) It is definitely more of a mechanics of the ride issue, esp for my son.

3-I think my daughter could build up to BTMR but that would be really pushing it for my son (the loud noise at explosion, and the stomach dropping sense and speed)

All of my other kids were thrill seekers and would ride anything they were tall enough for, so this is a very new experience for me.

 

[chezcurrie]

One thing you could do is watch some ride-alongs with your youngest and see how they react. Also don’t forget about rider swap. Your older kids could benefit from some double rides if your DS wants to sit out. Have a wonderful visit, and remember the real magic of Disney isn’t the rides but what happens in the “in between.”

 

[Federalist45]

Ok wow great responses so far.

1-the college aged kids are great with helping the littles experience their first Disney trip, though they won’t want to spend the entire day like that.

2-they are ok with scary images (ie Evil Queen) It is definitely more of a mechanics of the ride issue, esp for my son.

3-I think my daughter could build up to BTMR but that would be really pushing it for my son (the loud noise at explosion, and the stomach dropping sense and speed)

All of my other kids were thrill seekers and would ride anything they were tall enough for, so this is a very new experience for me.

Fantasy Land for sure: Peter Pan, Alice, Dumbo, Storybook Land, Snow White, Casey Jr. would be my rough order.

You may want to watch a ride through of Mr. Toad to determine whether your 8 year old will want to ride it. Perhaps even show it to him. Pinocchio can also be a challenge.

I agree that I would buy Genie+ for the older kids and probably Rise ILL. Or, buy genie+ for them and let them know it's up to them whether to buy the Rise ILL. If they have genie+ and plan to close the park down, they should be able to ride everything that they want to.

 

[Supermavs]

I’ve read conflicting things about getting Genie+ for younger kids who won’t be likely to ride bigger rides. But if they don’t have it, then I suppose if we all got it for small word, they couldn’t come in line.

Can I book a genie+ ride for them and if they don’t want to, another kid use it?

How does rider swap work in all this? If we do rider swap is genie+ irrelevant?

 

[Lumpy1106]

EXCEPT for spinners (Teacups, Mission:Space) where you could end up with motion sickness, I say rip the band-aid with full vengeance. Does it look like fun? It is - just go do it. A graduated approach you are suggesting is a lot of work and IMHO, a little silly.

 

[starlite_]

I’ve read conflicting things about getting Genie+ for younger kids who won’t be likely to ride bigger rides. But if they don’t have it, then I suppose if we all got it for small word, they couldn’t come in line.

Can I book a genie+ ride for them and if they don’t want to, another kid use it?

How does rider swap work in all this? If we do rider swap is genie+ irrelevant?

You should be able to book say Thunder Mountain for the older ones with the kids genie+. Everyone gets 1 of each ride. It might be a really good way to help the older ones get more rides in.

 

[Supermavs]

EXCEPT for spinners (Teacups, Mission:Space) where you could end up with motion sickness, I say rip the band-aid with full vengeance. Does it look like fun? It is - just go do it. A graduated approach you are suggesting is a lot of work and IMHO, a little silly.

Well, we adopted our youngest 5 internationally. They’ve come with some extra trauma we need to be aware of, so for my 8yo son I’m particular, I don’t want to push him too hard and ruin this trip for him. Thanks for the input though. That was more the style with my older kids. It could be that this goes much easier than I expect. Then again, he is the kiddo who grabs tightly to the pole of a carousel horse and scrunches up his eyes to handle being on it.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I do NOT recommend the rip the bandaid style. If things go poorly you've basically ruined the day for everyone. I think the ease into it approach makes the most sense, especially by starting before you even head into the parks by watching ride videos, and letting the young ones decide for themselves to start. Encourage some risk taking/adventure as they get used to it! The park itself and all the sights and sounds might be a tad overwhelming at first, even without the excitement and anxiety surrounding rides, so easing in while maybe more work is likely going to pay off with a better park experience.

 

[CeCe0906]

Took my then 8 year old granddaughter to WDW last summer. She has some anxiety/sensory issues and had some things in her head, fast is ok, but not high. High is ok, but not too fast. What helped her and was fun vacation planning was to watch YouTube videos of the rides. Especially the dark indoor rides that she couldn't see. That way she could pick her first rides and we went from there.
Her first ride in all of WDW? The Carousel But by mid morning we were doing Big Thunde, Rise and other thrills. My suggestions are to do a couple together. Small World maybe, then one of the dark rides like Alice or Snow White. Jungle Cruise would be a good together one. Then split up for a few rides together. Maybe by then Big Thunder together could work.

 

[lastbestplace]

Here now with my 10 year old who really dislikes loud noises. Radiator Springs racers & big mountain were hard for her as they are very loud. RSR especially because the speakers are right next to your ears. I did not think to bring noise canceling headphones but they would have been a good idea.

 

[Wesley815]

They can also watch YouTube videos of nearly every attraction, of course not the same as in person but gives a good idea what the ride does prior to trip.

Spoiler

Even a few adults I've shown videos of Rise to so they understand it's a very gentle ride except for last drop/quick motion simulator part (it's loud though so probably not the best in your case)

 

[chezcurrie]

Can I book a genie+ ride for them and if they don’t want to, another kid use it?

How does rider swap work in all this? If we do rider swap is genie+ irrelevant?

Some CM check the name on the LL, some do not. You likely could use their LL for an older child.

How Rider Swap works is you all would get your LL for the ride (say, Big Thunder) and when you scan in you would say you want to do a Rider Swap. They will scan everyone’s LL and issue you and up to 2 more members of your party a Rider Swap. You would then stay out with your DS and when the rest of your peeps are done riding you and the 2 predetermined re-riders would go through the LL.

So no, Rider Swap does not make Genie+ irrelevant as you all must have a LL, and in your case I think Genie+ would be beneficial to your DS and DD to not have to wait in as many lines. We get Genie+ for our youngest as there is plenty for us all to ride together in each park to make it worth it.

HTH

 

[shosh1530]

Just want to say I think you are wise for easing a nervous kid into rides. We misjudged our 5 year old's ability to handle rides on our first DL trip. He loved Star Wars so we did Star Tours first for him (he has sensory issues, fear of the dark, etc.) and he screamed to get off the entire ride. He only lasted at the park for about 2 hours that morning. The next day I coaxed him onto Pirates (because he loves all things pirates) and he cowered and cried on the floor of the boat.

For our next trip (age 10) we watched ride videos, talked at length about what the experience would be like, and followed his lead. He no longer is afraid of the dark rides, but does worry about big drops.

Some other rides you can consider to start in addition to Fantasy Land: Jungle Cruise, It's a Small World, Buzz Light Year, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Disneyland Railroad.

 

[Supermavs]

Oh I love the watching video ideas! He is super engineer minded. Are there any videos that show how the rides work? He might like to see that and may encourage him to try the experience.