SDD a bad idea for first ride for five year old?

[OHVolunteer]

We went last February when my daughter was 4.5 (who is generally timid and doesn't like to try new things) insisted we ride it and it was her first roller coaster and she loved it so much she made me ride it with her again (we had rider swap). I am not a fan of roller coasters, so requested we sit in the front and it was fine but she still talks about how much she loved it and can't wait to go back and ride it again.

 

[CanadianEmily]

We went last February when my daughter was 4.5 (who is generally timid and doesn't like to try new things) insisted we ride it and it was her first roller coaster and she loved it so much she made me ride it with her again (we had rider swap). I am not a fan of roller coasters, so requested we sit in the front and it was fine but she still talks about how much she loved it and can't wait to go back and ride it again.

This could very well be what my son would be like. It's so hard to tell. He is very timid in most circumstances, but he blew my mind at 3 years old when he went on the little toddler coaster by himself (usually he's stuck to me) and was less afraid of the ferris wheel than me, lol. So I really don't know. If we do it, we'll definitely stick to the front of the ride.

 

[vwdisney]

If you can, use your fastpass towards the end of the fastpass window and try Toy Story Midway Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers with your son before trying SDD. This will give you a better sense of how your son is reacting to rides generally. As a previous poster stated, Slinky Dog is visible so he will have a chance to make up his mind whether or not he wants to ride. If he has any hesitiation, don't make him ride it. (You could still do rider swap and ride it yourselves, of course.)

My nephew was 8 on our trip a couple of weeks ago and his parents had him ride space mountain early in the trip. He hated every second of it (we have the photo to prove it, too) and was terrified to try any other roller coasters for the rest of the trip. Finally, on the last day of our 10 day trip he was willing to give Seven Dwarfs Mine Train a try and did enjoy it. I think he would have enjoyed trying Slinky Dog if he had not been scared off by his Space Mountain experience. Admittedly, Space Mountain is a way more intense experience, but it does show how going on a ride that is too much can influence your child's perception of many other rides that would actually be fine for them. Just make sure you give your son a chance to make the decision to try it or not. Generally, it is a fun ride and a good early roller coaster that many younger kids would be fine riding. That said, not all kids love roller coasters. I always feel like there should be no pressure on them to try something that scares them. Let them make their own decisions and they will be much more likely to have fun. I also think it is good advice to be in the front part of the train if he does decide to give it a try. I hope it works out well for you.

 

[Random Ninja]

I would show him youtube videos of the ride before going and ride another ride before using the fast pass. You have an hour window so you should be able to get on one or both other Toy Story rides first. At least he’ll be able to see it and can make a decision.

My parents took me on the Matterhorn when I wad 3 as a first roller coaster and told me it was a kiddie ride. I freaked out and had a panic attack on the ride. It took years before I could ride kiddie coasters and I haven’t even been able to get in line for SDD as it “looks” like a roller coaster.

 

[tgarre06]

Ugh, I'm struggling with this. We are spending a Monday-Friday in Disney World in late February. In all of the FP craziness yesterday for MFSR, I ended up dropping my Friday SDD in exchange for that. Then, this morning, I managed to grab another SDD for first thing on Monday morning! That's not how I wanted things to work out at all.

My five year old really thinks he wants to ride SDD, but his ride reference is a toddler coaster at a carnival, and for height, a ferris wheel, which he loved. At the same time, he's scared of the second floor railings at our mall, so his fears are very unpredictable. I definitely didn't want SDD to be his first ride, but I also didn't want to bypass the opportunity to get a FP.

I absolutely won't force him to go on it if he decides he doesn't want to, but I'm worried he will want to, and it will scare him and ruin our entire week. But SDD and MFSR (and RoTR, wish me luck) are what he's most excited about for the entire trip. I should be thrilled to have FPs for both, but I'm definitely worried.

It depends on the kid, but what's your experiences with SDD?

My son was tall enough to ride it when he was 3, and loved it! I understand each kid is different though.

 

[Isabelle12345]

I am wondering the same thing
We are going with my 5year old cautious child and my daredevil 2year Old who will be tall enough to ride... I guess we will make up our mind once we are there’

 

[KrazeeK120]

Ok so, my son’s first trip to Disney was when he was 18 months old. We took him back the week before he turned 3...I don’t think he remembered much, if anything, from his first trip.

The first ride we went on was SDD. He begged and begged to ride it. He HATED it! Then, the next day, be begged to ride 7DMT and hated that too! He liked other rides he went on and it didn’t at all ruin the trip. We are going back in May. He’s 4. He says he doesn’t want to ride those 2 rides, but wants to ride other stuff. So even if it doesn’t go well, you may be able to just move along.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Just because it’s your first FP, that doesn’t mean it has to be your first ride. Get there at RD, ride something else first to get warmed up, and then see if he’s up to SDD.

Alternatively, keep looking to modify it to a later time that day. You found this time slot, and another is bound to show up if you just manage to be looking at the right time. Best times to look are a bit before 30 days (people cancelling packages for full refund), about a week before (people canceling trips with room-only reservations), and the day/night before and morning of, as people just alter their plans.

 

[TEM1234]

My son is very hesitant. He rode SDMT and said it was a one and done for him, but then when he rode SDD he wanted to ride again. He didn’t like barnstormer the first time he rode it and hated pirates. Now 12 months later he is enjoying SDMT and barnstormer. ( he still can’t stand pirates or star tours though)

 

[MomOTwins]

Just because it’s your first FP, that doesn’t mean it has to be your first ride. Get there at RD, ride something else first to get warmed up, and then see if he’s up to SDD.

Alternatively, keep looking to modify it to a later time that day. You found this time slot, and another is bound to show up if you just manage to be looking at the right time. Best times to look are a bit before 30 days (people cancelling packages for full refund), about a week before (people canceling trips with room-only reservations), and the day/night before and morning of, as people just alter their plans.

Good point! Rope drop Toy Story Mania. That's easy peasy, and right next door to SDD.

 

[Aj1129]

I think it just depends on the child. My DS rode SDD for the first time at 3 years old and he loved it. He also had very little prior experience on coasters and I wasn’t sure what he was going to think of it. He came off ear to ear smiling. You won’t know until you try.

 

[OkanaganAmanda]

My daughter had just turned 4 when we went to Disneyland and we rope dropped, so headed to Tomorrowland and being her first ride EVER (not even a local carnival), jumped on Space Mountain. She defintiely was freaked out and timid after that, but a few hours later was itching to try Big Thunder, and proceeded to call it her favourite ride EVER. She is a timid kid on a good day, so all I can say is letting them get caught up in the magic and try things they want to do if they are keen, as you never know what they might think of it.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Personally, I would not recommend SDD as his first ride. I would go to MK, start with Barnstormer and then work your way up to 7DMT and BTMRR. It's he's ok with BTMRR, he will probably be fine with SDD. I understand ditching the SDD FP+ is kind of a bitter pill to swallow, but SDD is pretty intense and if you have no frame of reference for how he might react to it, it may not be a good start to your vacation.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Personally, I would not recommend SDD as his first ride. I would go to MK, start with Barnstormer and then work your way up to 7DMT and BTMRR. It's he's ok with BTMRR, he will probably be fine with SDD. I understand ditching the SDD FP+ is kind of a bitter pill to swallow, but SDD is pretty intense and if you have no frame of reference for how he might react to it, it may not be a good start to your vacation.

Except that Barnstormer is an older ride with a jerkier, rougher feel. SDD and 7DMT are newer and smoother. For some kids, the feel of the ride can be a bigger factor than the speed.

 

[tinkerjo]

Good point! Rope drop Toy Story Mania. That's easy peasy, and right next door to SDD.

This!!! 100%

 

[Kate_45]

I wouldn't avoid it for the sake of doing some contrived build up. Our ideas of easier and scarier don't always correspond to others and what if this is the case and you've gone to all this effort only for him to be put off by sdmt and not even look at slinky dog.

You know your child best. What I would probably do is arrive. Make a "that looks fun" comment as we go past it to midway mania and then use the queue for that to gauge how keen they are to go on slinky dog during the what shall we do after this conversation.
I would explain before we got on that this might be the most grown up rollercoaster and that not to worry if he doesn't like it as there are other smaller ones you think he'll love.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Except that Barnstormer is an older ride with a jerkier, rougher feel. SDD and 7DMT are newer and smoother. For some kids, the feel of the ride can be a bigger factor than the speed.

Barnstormer to 7DMT to BTMRR to Space is what worked for my DS (this was pre-SDD), so I'll stick to my recommendation. The fake drops on 7DMT can also be very scary for a younger child and can be a bigger factor than the feel of the ride.

 

[Jetapss]

Ugh, I'm struggling with this. We are spending a Monday-Friday in Disney World in late February. In all of the FP craziness yesterday for MFSR, I ended up dropping my Friday SDD in exchange for that. Then, this morning, I managed to grab another SDD for first thing on Monday morning! That's not how I wanted things to work out at all.

My five year old really thinks he wants to ride SDD, but his ride reference is a toddler coaster at a carnival, and for height, a ferris wheel, which he loved. At the same time, he's scared of the second floor railings at our mall, so his fears are very unpredictable. I definitely didn't want SDD to be his first ride, but I also didn't want to bypass the opportunity to get a FP.

I absolutely won't force him to go on it if he decides he doesn't want to, but I'm worried he will want to, and it will scare him and ruin our entire week. But SDD and MFSR (and RoTR, wish me luck) are what he's most excited about for the entire trip. I should be thrilled to have FPs for both, but I'm definitely worried.

It depends on the kid, but what's your experiences with SDD?

My middle child is my cautious child - won't do anything remotely dangerous. Last year, when she was four, she was finally big enough to ride SDD & other roller coasters. SDD was the first one we planned to go on. She initially said she didn't want to do it so I bribed her & said if she rode it with me, I'll hold onto her tightly & buy her a Mickey ice cream. She got on, looked absolutely terrified during the whole ride but when we got off, she said it was the best thing ever and we ended up riding it 2 more times. She still talks about it today & is so excited to go back to ride it. She was not a fan of Star Tours or ToT but those did not deter her from trying others. I'd say let him try it.

 

[CanadianEmily]

My middle child is my cautious child - won't do anything remotely dangerous. Last year, when she was four, she was finally big enough to ride SDD & other roller coasters. SDD was the first one we planned to go on. She initially said she didn't want to do it so I bribed her & said if she rode it with me, I'll hold onto her tightly & buy her a Mickey ice cream. She got on, looked absolutely terrified during the whole ride but when we got off, she said it was the best thing ever and we ended up riding it 2 more times. She still talks about it today & is so excited to go back to ride it. She was not a fan of Star Tours or ToT but those did not deter her from trying others. I'd say let him try it.

I did finally manage to switch my Alien Swirling Saucers FP to before my SDD one, so we'll at least be able to go on that first, lol. We might try to do Star Tours beforehand as well. If he's doing okay, I don't see a problem with doing SDD as long as he wants to. To be fair, I'm a little nervous about it myself. If it was just me, I'd pass on anything resembling a rollercoaster. Now he's been telling me that he'll hold MY hand so I'm not scared, lol. He has started sliding down gigantic snow hills face first, so he'll probably be okay, lol.

 

[mustinjourney]

there are many 5 year olds that can handle it no problem -- and there are quite a few that will freak out.

In my case, my oldest daughter will try anything and she will ride anything as soon as she's tall enough. For example, she rode TOT and Dinosaur when she was not quite 5. I also got her on Mission space, and she was freaking out during the preview show...but I convinced her it'd be ok. She thought it was the best ride ever.

My younger daughter on the other hand -- not nearly as much of a thrill seeker. We took a trip in Summer 2019 (she was not quite 4) and she was just tall enough for 7DMT and SDD. She had previously done barnstormer and loved it, so I figured she'd want to do the new stuff.

She was fine with 7DMT but she REFUSED to go on SDD. I tried for 5-10 mins to convince her that it wasn't that scary...but I think with it being so out in the open (as compared to 7DMT), it just scared her too much. Oldest daughter was delighted b/c that meant we got to do rider switch, so she got to ride it three times instead of once (she also got to use sister's FP).

I went back last week with just youngest DD (now 4.5 years old), and she loved SDD! She also loved TOT and wanted to ride it multiple times. One thing I did was talk about the ride prior to the trip, and I also used a bribery technique. She LOVES Disney popcorn -- so I told her if she'd at least try SDD and ToT, then she would get popcorn. If not, no popcorn the whole trip.

So I'm either father of the year or someone needs to call CPS. I'll leave it up to you to decide how best to appeal to your child.