How can I get my 10 yr old son to ride Haunted Mansion? - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Ya know, I don't force my neice to do anything... unless we are on the ride and she wants to bail. She knows while in line that once we're on the ride there's no getting off until it's over. She's six. If she doesn't want to go on something - either with us talking about it, or her viewing it up close, then she doesn't go on it. Oh, boo hoo, I didn't get to go on it with her or at all. It's better to not make the whole experience become threats and anger and what not to force a child to get on a stupid ride. What if they hate the ride even afterwards? You'll still be dealing with the crap - and you'd be part of the problem. The name is scary to kids, the idea of ghosts is scary.
I dealt with a one week trip where a child (not my neice) was forced on everrything. all week long she cried and said she wasn't having any fun and that she hated disney. yeah, sounds like a GREAT idea.
I don't think you mentioned it... Do you have each family member choose at least one activity (every day, every other day - whatever works)? Sometimes this kind of behavior is a protest, "Everyone else gets to do what they like, why can't you all do something I like?"
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Each parent knows their child better than anyone else. There have been things/events I made my children do and they usually end up enjoying it. Then there are other things I have decided not to force it. My son was 9 when he went on HM for the first time(before we left he talked about how he wanted to do HM and couldn't wait) and sure enough in the middle of the line he wanted to back out. He wasn't the one who screamed and hollered to get everyone's attention but enough whining that I was sure the people closest to us thought I was being mean. When we got off he said he didn't know if he ever wanted to ride it again. Later that same week, he said he didn't think it was so bad!! Now at 16, it HAS TO BE THE FIRST RIDE IN MK!!!! BOY, WHAT A CHANGE!!!
Not a parent & you know your ds best so take this for what it may be worth. Since he hasn't given you any real reason for not wanting to ride, maybe try making a deal with your ds. He rides it once & if after having ridden it once he never wants to ride it again you won't make him. Of course both of you have to live up to this so he has to ride it once & if he says he never wants to ride it again you have let it go & not try to cajole, guilt, bribe or make him ride it again.
We have similar issues with my son (now 14). We, especially DH, tried everything to get him to ride rides that everyone else will go on but he won't budge. We've even tried bribing with pins and MONEY However, after years of dealing with it, we have decided to let him sit it out. The rest of us will not change our plans, but he can choose not to go along. (In your case, that may mean doing a ride swap or utilizing FP so you can ride in separate shifts). My son LOVES many things about Disney but sadly many of the rides he won't go on. Some day he will decide to go on his terms but we have a much more pleasant vacations when there is not so much stress about getting him to ride. I say let your son be and when he's ready, he will. But be clear you won't change your plans either. Good luck!
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Okay - for one thing - there's a response above that is pretty snotty, and IMO wasn't necessarily called for. I know my son & I know if he were to actually ride HM, he would probably think it wasn't that bad after all. I hate that he sits it out and misses out on what it actually is.
That being said - I am not going to force him. But in some cases, if I didn't give him a nudge, he would never try new things.
And it's not all dark rides he doesn't like. He's absolutely fine on Buzz Lightyear, he was fine after Stitch, and he realized that Pirates wasn't worth being upset over. If he can't see the ride and it's inside a building -- he gets a bit anxious and if it weren't for us trying to explain what the ride is -- he'd have never tried them.
I absolutely will NOT exclude him because there's a couple rides he won't go on. There are several I won't go on either (SM, RnRC, ToT), but there's still enough to do/see/enjoy that for us -- we still very much love Disney and it's a great vacation for us.
I'd just like him to give this ONE ride a chance, that's all. Because I know he'd actually like it (while watching the video on youtube of the entire ride, he knew everything was fake and we discussed how things work & how there's a huge room dedicated to the servers for the rides which hold all the sound clips, etc etc -- he's very interested in those kinds of things, but yet he is just not budging....). Oh well.
He'll sit it out and perhaps he'll one day realize how silly he was being.
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I think making him stay behind and miss out really made him rethink showing his butt about everything....once he realized that he wasn't going to stop the rest of the family from having a blast, he straightened up real quick!
Dana, this part is why I think it sounds like a real punishment. Not to start a fight or anything, but I just can't imagine going to WDW with some children and leaving one small child behind. But then it's your family and you have to do what you feel is best.
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My youngest DS wouldn't ride HM for the longest time. It frustrated me because I knew him and I knew that if he tried it he would like it.
We asked him to ride every time we went but he wouldn't budge.
Finally, (when he was about 10 I think) we convinced him to try it by arranging for just him and my DH to ride it by themselves. And that my DH would do what we call "smushing" which is where he lays his arm across your shoulders or around your back, depending on the ride and applies pressure (no kidding he still has to do this for me on some rides, LOL) .
It needed to be on his terms and on his timing but when he finally tried it, he loved it!
Good Luck!!
Sarah, you know your son better than anyone, so you know how much you can push.
Many kids, and adults for that matter, are afraid of the unkown. If you can't see what the ride looks like then it can be frightening to some.
My niece, Stinky, was one of those who was not only afraid of the unknown, but of the ride because it was dark. Who knows what can pop out at you in the dark. She was 9 the first time I took her to WDW and some of the rides she hesitated on. What I did was took my small penlight on my key ring on the dark rides. When I could see that she was frightened I turned on the light, pointing it at the bottom of ride car so she was comforted but it didn't bother others.
Ask him if it is the ride being dark is what is bothering him, the unknown, or what it is. I know you've talked to him about the rides, but just what is it that makes him not want to ride it?
Or you could bribe him with a Mickey Bar. (just kidding on that part)
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Once upon a time, in a place called River Country, a scared little boy climbed the stairs of the giant water slide in Whoop n Holler Cove. The water at the outlet of the slide was rumored to be over his head...way over. And he could just barely swim.
But his father had promised that if he rode the slide, he would catch him at the bottom, and reward his bravery with the Shogun Warrior thingy that he had lusted over at the toy store in Ft Pierce. Once at the top of the slide, with heart racing, the lad plunged into the abyss, knowing that if he survived, he would own the toy of his dreams.
His father caught him, he scored his toy, and thus began a lifelong pursuit of danger and stupidity .
Honestly, I wouldn't mind resorting to bribery. Because I know if he just tried it ONCE he'd realize there was no reason to put up such a fuss about it.
But I'm not sure he'd fall into it..... I'd have to think of something REALLLLLYYYYY good to bribe him with. LOL!!
We talked to our then 3yr old DS about "Mickey Magic" when he was scared to try a new ride. We told him nothing bad happens at Disney and that he should try new things to find his favourite and we would write a postcard to his friend about his new ride.
Now he's nearly 7yrs and still talks now about "Mickey Magic". He tells everyone that he has to try every ride (that he is tall enough) and if he doesn't like it he can decide not to go again. This works for us!
However last year after spending 3 weeks with friends in WDW and Vegas we went with just my family to Six Flags in Texas and my DS did the double loop roller coaster and didn't even realise until he was watching the next group of riders. Once it was pointed out we had to wait again in a long line because he was so enthusiastic about his achievement. I took him to TDR in June and he wanted to ride "Raging Spirits" (360 loop) but it was closed due to an accident.
This same DS tells EVERYONE how he went on Tower of Terror THREE times in one day but refuses to EVER go again because it's too scary looking out over the parks that high up-lol.
Good luck - time and an ice cream may just make everything okay for your DS.
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However, after years of dealing with it, we have decided to let him sit it out. The rest of us will not change our plans, but he can choose not to go along. (In your case, that may mean doing a ride swap or utilizing FP so you can ride in separate shifts). My son LOVES many things about Disney but sadly many of the rides he won't go on. Some day he will decide to go on his terms but we have a much more pleasant vacations when there is not so much stress about getting him to ride. I say let your son be and when he's ready, he will. But be clear you won't change your plans either. Good luck!
. But then it's your family and you have to do what you feel is best.
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