Recommend ride order for nervous riders

[CeCe0906]

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.

Search for" Amusement Labs " on YouTube. They have lots of how the ride is made videos.
Also you might look for "ride name" light on videos . That is what convinced my anxious kid to do Space Mountain. She realized it was more fast turns than steep drops.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

If you have Disney+ they have a series called Behind the Attraction. There are 10 episodes and not every one will likely be of interest, but there is some interesting stuff there.

 

[Supermavs]

Thank you!
Off to check out YouTube videos and yes, we have Disney plus so I’ll look for those as well.

 

[TinkerTay]

If they are more agreeable, I would try to get them to at least TRY a ride once, and make sure to tell them that if they absolutely do not like it, they don’t have to go on it again. My kids were scared of Screamin’ when they were younger, (before it was Incredicoaster) and the last trip we were all on, I finally got them to ride. Of course they loved it, and then it was allllll my son wanted to do, haha! As long as they know that there is an end to the ride, and that they won’t be forced to do it again if they hate it, they might be more willing to at least give it a try... but I definitely recommend watching some YouTube ride-through videos, which will give you and them an idea of what to expect… I think they will love The Little Mermaid ride in DCA, it’s one of my favorites to just relax on, and it’s all visually nice to look at. Interactive rides like Toy Story, Buzz, and Web Slingers will keep them occupied, and people of all ages love those! Hubs and I, and a friend/her kids will be there in 9 days, bummed Pirates will be closed, but hopefully open by the time you go… but you’ll have all of the nighttime shows for your trip! I think you’ll all be fine though, don’t overthink too much, the kids will love it and relax more as they get used to how everything works. Have a great trip!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... 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.

He might enjoy riding on the carousel bench with you. Our kids found that to be relaxing -- it's a ride, but you're not going up and down!
Make sure the ride videos you watch are recent and from DL California (not Paris or Tokyo or WDW) so everyone knows what to expect.
Try looking at DisneylandDaily.com -- there are some good tips there for first time visits with young kids.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

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

I am very surprised to hear that a CM actually checked names. Are you sure this wasn’t for a DAS pass? I have never had a CM check names to LLs (or FPs when they were around). They are usually just trying to get people to scan people in as quickly as possible because slow scanners or people who don’t understand the Genie+ system tend to clog up the line.

OP - You shouldn’t have any issues with your older kids using the younger kids’ LLs. We’ve done this before with no problems.

 

[chezcurrie]

I am very surprised to hear that a CM actually checked names. Are you sure this wasn’t for a DAS pass? I have never had a CM check names to LLs (or FPs when they were around). They are usually just trying to get people to scan people in as quickly as possible because slow scanners or people who don’t understand the Genie+ system tend to clog up the line.

OP - You shouldn’t have any issues with your older kids using the younger kids’ LLs. We’ve done this before with no problems.

The only time was the CM at Indy. No idea why. We were successful using our ME LL from when Matterhorn was down on my 2 eldest so agree it shouldn’t be an issue. Just wanted to explain that the non-rider’s LL isn’t necessarily “unused” if you use Rider Swap as you actually get 2 return LL instead of just one for the re-riders.