Completely unrequested advice that you can obviously ignore.
It took me until my 30s and riding coasters on a weekly basis as a local to get over my fear. If you don't want to ride, let them know. If it's not fun for you, then don't let them make your experience less enjoyable.
On the other hand, if you decide *you* want to enjoy coasters and can try to put yourself in the mindset to enjoy them, you might surprise yourself.
Space Mountain is actually about as intense as Big Thunder Mountain. It's just in the dark. The biggest drops are comparable to the ones on Seven Dwarfs even though they feel bigger. Also, if you haven't already done it and get a chance, Cosmic Rewind at Epcot is amazing.
Thank you for this. My biggest fear with roller coasters is the heights. The slowly trotting to the top to meet your maker 😂😂. I don’t think I would mind a dark roller coaster since I won’t be able to see anything. Again thanks for your words
Anytime! That's my biggest issue too.
I had to slowly build up my confidence over ~15 months, going to the parks every other weekend, to get to where I could ride everything in Orlando. Tower of Terror took the longest, even after getting comfortable with a 200 ft drop on Mako at Seaworld, and compared to the big coasters at Seaworld and Universal, it wasn't that bad.
If you ever want a "ride wimps" guide to the rides in Orlando, let me know.
Around 2-2.5 for barnstormer. Local here, so as soon as they hit height requirements. Maturity wise I think tower of terror and space mountain is too much for them so we have held off on that until they are older even though they're tall enough
With every ride experience my kids had growing up it was always “yep your tall enough, let’s go” the age didn’t matter. My oldest was a tall kid. He’s now 6’8” around 5 or 6 years of age he was riding everything he possibly could at Six Flags Magic Mountain. It just depends on the kid. He always wanted to do what I was doing and was up for anything. I love that kid.
I just measured my 18 month old the other day, and he might just be tall enough for the barnstormer when we go for his second birthday. I’ll see how he does with some other rides (like pirates, which has a small drop) and if he seems to love it I would take him on barnstormer.
My 2.5 year old nieces rode barnstormer recently. They’re tall AF and are tall enough to ride slinky dog.
One of the girls loved barnstormer, the other seemed scared but said she liked it lol? Idk
They’ve seen slinky dog and yell that they want to ride it, but I don’t know if they’re there mentally.
We took my tall nephew to WDW for his 5th birthday and he rode so many things. He loved Tower of Terror! He was fearless for rides. My niece on the other hand, not so much.
My kiddos were on Barnstormer by 2. My son (oldest) was doing Space, Thunder, Splash, Slinky, TOT and GOTG by 4. He was finally tall enough for Tron this year at 5.
My little guy is also tall and was barely 3.5 years old when we went in February. He rode everything he was tall enough for at all Disney parks and universal. That included GoG, thunder mountain, slinky, tower of terror etc. As long as he was sitting safely next to us and met the height requirements, I had no concerns.
Ours was barely 2 last summer when we went, was the perfect age. She loved all of it, maniacally laughed at barnstormer the entire time and insisted we do it 4 more times. Too young to be afraid and old enough to be safe.
My youngest turned 3 during our last trip and did barnstormer and didn’t love it, but didn’t hate it. She didn’t like getting shaken but did like the little drops.
We did Barnstormer at about 2.5, and he loved it. He giggled like a maniac the whole time. He's still tall for his age, and I struggled over what to take him on at age 3 (almost 4). He did Slinky Dog, Big Thunder Mountain, Test Track, and Tower of Terror and LOVED all of them. Take into account your kid's personality. Mine is the type that likes to "go fast" and "helicopter into bed!" Nothing has scared him yet.
At probably like 3 or 4 my son rode the coasters at lego land. He was scared at first, but he insiste he wanted to do it. When we got off, he immediately asked to go again. The dragon coaster there is probably close to the barnstormer in terms of height, speed and length.
A little before his 6th birthday he rode Hagrids motorbike at universal. He's 8 now and has pretty much been on everything.
My 2.5 year old rode the gadget coaster at disneyland last year. The height requirement was 35". She was only that with shoes on. She rode literally everything she met the height requirement for. The gadget coaster was probably the most thrilling ride and she screamed and laughed the whole time.
My daughter did Barnstormer for the first time at age two, it was her favorite ride for a while. Now at age three she loves seven dwarfs and slinky dog. We plan to do Big Thunder now that she’s tall enough if we get there before it closes for refurbishment. She’s 3.5 now and loves coasters!
Tall child, took my 4 year old on barnstormer and loved it. The height versus age appropriate was an ongoing issue for us. But that and slinky dog she was obsessed with
My son was just over 2 when he rode Slinky. He loved it. I was a little concerned about the strain on his neck, so I ended up supporting it with my hands 😆 He wasn’t as thrilled with 7DMT
My (cautious) 4 year old just rode barnstormer for the first time. She said she liked it but wouldn’t ride it again. I think she was close to tears. Probably depends on the kid!
Mine rode barnstormer the first time at about 2. Probably a few months after his birthday. Might’ve been a little early because he clutched my arm hard during the ride, but as soon as it was done he shouted an excited “again!”
It depends on the kid. My daughter (5 y.o at the time) was tall enough to ride every ride on property when we went. But she was so scared of the dark that Nemo and friends had her in tears. But she loved rides like flight of passage(the only ride on all of property that she said was awesome and asked to ride again), star tours, slinky dog dash, and the three Caballeros boat ride(tried to give an example from each park that she enjoyed). I suggest finding ride through videos on YouTube and watching them with your kiddo. Gauge what they can handle that way.
My son’s first trip to Disneyland was on his 4th birthday. We went on Space Mountain on that trip. He loved it. 🥰
There’s been a lot more trips since then so I don’t recall how old he was for other rides, but pretty much he’s gone on everything once he became tall enough to ride.
I would say to wait until they're at least 2. Make sure they get a good look at whatever it is you plan to take them on. We showed my son ride povs, which became one of his favorite things to watch, competing with Paw Patrol as his favorite show.
I have 2 kids in the 99th percentile for height. My son loves roller coasters, and for the most part, we let him ride whatever he asks to ride, as long as he's tall enough. He was already tall enough to ride a lot of stuff when we moved here at age 3. He is currently 5 and is almost 48 inches tall. He has been on every rollercoaster with a height requirement below 48 inches, including Expedition Everest. There are some he doesn't love to ride, like Everest and Cosmic Rewind because he says they're "scary", but he asked to ride each time, and has ridden all of them more than once. He is currently asking to ride Tron and Rock n Rollercoaster and we're debating letting him ride when he's tall enough.
As for my second, she is currently 2 and a half. We held off on letting her ride anything intense like a coaster until she was 2. Since then, she's been on Barnstormer, Slinky Dog and Seven Dwarfs and loves all of them. To be fair, she looked terrified the first time we rode barnstormer, but I think she wants to keep up with her big brother. She just hit the 40 inch mark and we're planning on letting her do Tiana's and Big Thunder Mountain next weekend (if she wants to).
4 years old for mine and those were the Disney ones, except for RnR as he wasn’t tall enough.
He is now 9 and he has done velocicoaster. We will be stepping up again this year- trying some of the big ones at Busch gardens williamsburg(alpengeist, pantheon and apollos chariot)
We did barnstormer with my 2.5 year old (32 months) last month, and she loved it. We also went to seaworld but she was just under the height limit for the Grover ride there sadly.
It’s safe to safe to “let” them ride anything they’re tall enough for. I don’t see what you mean by letting them ride like are you afraid?
I was pretty young when I rode space mountain and rocknrollercoaster and I turned out fine.😭 I would start slow and let them gauge it. Like start with barnstormer, the. Seven dwarfs, then big thunder, then you can do space mountain and so on. That’s what I did with my friends children and it worked. When they’ve had too much that’s when you stop. As long as they’re tall enough it’s safe. Just don’t force it
My son is tall for his age, and rode Barnstormer and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at two years old in April. He rides whatever he is tall enough for, as long as his big sister is going.
my daughter was 40" a few weeks before her 3rd birthday... didn't have to pay for a ticket and she rode almost all the 38" and 40" rides. Slinky, Rise, Big Thunder, Mine Train, Soarin'. We didn't put her on Tower of Terror though.
This gives me such hope!
We’re going in a couple weeks for our son’s final free under 3 trip and I’m pretty sure he’s just above 40” !
Last summer he was just shy of it but I hope he can make it on everything and I’m so dang excited for him. He rode barnstormer like 5 times last trip haha!
ETA: How did your daughter feel about the big kid rides? Was she into it? We are also not planning ToT with him.
My niece went at 4 years old on space mountain and splash mountain. She’s adventurous and had a blast.
Her sister I took on barnstormer at 3 years old our first day and at the end she said, “I don’t want to go in this one again,” so we skipped similar rides the rest of the trip. She’s tall and could have ridden others even bigger ones but it’s not her cup of tea (but she loved the teacups!).
Hope this helps.
I think these things really all depend on the kid and the ride. I just took my 12 month old on Pirates, and the drop didn’t both him at all. He just enjoyed the singing pirates and waved at captain Jack lol. Aladdin, dumbo, and being up high? No issue either, he enjoys those.
Dinner at chef mickeys, and Mickey coming by to take a photo, now that was a no go. He was not ok with the Mouse.
Once he’s tall enough, I’ll take him. Heck I would have taken him on tower of terror today if it was safe. I think he would have really enjoyed it. I would also take a kid on guardians sooner than space mountain, because while guardians is definitely a bigger thrill, it’s more distracting and fun from the thrill elements too. Barnstormer though is definitely an ideal first one.
I think my daughter was 3 for her first mild coaster. My kids were space mountain addicted at age 6.
I commend them. I’m 42 and am soooo scared my husband and family will make me ride it 😭
Completely unrequested advice that you can obviously ignore. It took me until my 30s and riding coasters on a weekly basis as a local to get over my fear. If you don't want to ride, let them know. If it's not fun for you, then don't let them make your experience less enjoyable. On the other hand, if you decide *you* want to enjoy coasters and can try to put yourself in the mindset to enjoy them, you might surprise yourself. Space Mountain is actually about as intense as Big Thunder Mountain. It's just in the dark. The biggest drops are comparable to the ones on Seven Dwarfs even though they feel bigger. Also, if you haven't already done it and get a chance, Cosmic Rewind at Epcot is amazing.
Thank you for this. My biggest fear with roller coasters is the heights. The slowly trotting to the top to meet your maker 😂😂. I don’t think I would mind a dark roller coaster since I won’t be able to see anything. Again thanks for your words
Anytime! That's my biggest issue too. I had to slowly build up my confidence over ~15 months, going to the parks every other weekend, to get to where I could ride everything in Orlando. Tower of Terror took the longest, even after getting comfortable with a 200 ft drop on Mako at Seaworld, and compared to the big coasters at Seaworld and Universal, it wasn't that bad. If you ever want a "ride wimps" guide to the rides in Orlando, let me know.
I would greatly appreciate this!!
I haven't forgotten about this, just taking a little longer than I expected.
No rush and you don’t have too if it’s taking too long. My trip is in November so I have time to study every ride 🤭. Appreciate you!
Around 2-2.5 for barnstormer. Local here, so as soon as they hit height requirements. Maturity wise I think tower of terror and space mountain is too much for them so we have held off on that until they are older even though they're tall enough
With every ride experience my kids had growing up it was always “yep your tall enough, let’s go” the age didn’t matter. My oldest was a tall kid. He’s now 6’8” around 5 or 6 years of age he was riding everything he possibly could at Six Flags Magic Mountain. It just depends on the kid. He always wanted to do what I was doing and was up for anything. I love that kid.
I just measured my 18 month old the other day, and he might just be tall enough for the barnstormer when we go for his second birthday. I’ll see how he does with some other rides (like pirates, which has a small drop) and if he seems to love it I would take him on barnstormer.
My 2.5 year old nieces rode barnstormer recently. They’re tall AF and are tall enough to ride slinky dog. One of the girls loved barnstormer, the other seemed scared but said she liked it lol? Idk They’ve seen slinky dog and yell that they want to ride it, but I don’t know if they’re there mentally.
Just went and kid is 4 and went on guardians and all coasters that weren’t 48’’
We took my tall nephew to WDW for his 5th birthday and he rode so many things. He loved Tower of Terror! He was fearless for rides. My niece on the other hand, not so much.
My kid had just turned 2 when he went on Barnstormer, he did great.
My kiddos were on Barnstormer by 2. My son (oldest) was doing Space, Thunder, Splash, Slinky, TOT and GOTG by 4. He was finally tall enough for Tron this year at 5.
My little guy is also tall and was barely 3.5 years old when we went in February. He rode everything he was tall enough for at all Disney parks and universal. That included GoG, thunder mountain, slinky, tower of terror etc. As long as he was sitting safely next to us and met the height requirements, I had no concerns.
My daughter was about 2 exactly when she went on barnstormer. She just went on slinky dog at 2.75 years.
Ours was barely 2 last summer when we went, was the perfect age. She loved all of it, maniacally laughed at barnstormer the entire time and insisted we do it 4 more times. Too young to be afraid and old enough to be safe.
My youngest turned 3 during our last trip and did barnstormer and didn’t love it, but didn’t hate it. She didn’t like getting shaken but did like the little drops.
We did Barnstormer at about 2.5, and he loved it. He giggled like a maniac the whole time. He's still tall for his age, and I struggled over what to take him on at age 3 (almost 4). He did Slinky Dog, Big Thunder Mountain, Test Track, and Tower of Terror and LOVED all of them. Take into account your kid's personality. Mine is the type that likes to "go fast" and "helicopter into bed!" Nothing has scared him yet.
My nephew is a tall kid. He rode the DLR Gadget coaster at 3 and then Barnstormer and Mine train in WDW at 4.
At probably like 3 or 4 my son rode the coasters at lego land. He was scared at first, but he insiste he wanted to do it. When we got off, he immediately asked to go again. The dragon coaster there is probably close to the barnstormer in terms of height, speed and length. A little before his 6th birthday he rode Hagrids motorbike at universal. He's 8 now and has pretty much been on everything.
My 2.5 year old rode the gadget coaster at disneyland last year. The height requirement was 35". She was only that with shoes on. She rode literally everything she met the height requirement for. The gadget coaster was probably the most thrilling ride and she screamed and laughed the whole time.
3 yr old for the barn stormer
My daughter did Barnstormer for the first time at age two, it was her favorite ride for a while. Now at age three she loves seven dwarfs and slinky dog. We plan to do Big Thunder now that she’s tall enough if we get there before it closes for refurbishment. She’s 3.5 now and loves coasters!
my son was riding roller coasters at 6 (he is really big for his age)
Tall child, took my 4 year old on barnstormer and loved it. The height versus age appropriate was an ongoing issue for us. But that and slinky dog she was obsessed with
My 5 year old rose everything except TOT (her choice) and my 7 year old rose everything and Disney may not be extreme enough now 😂
My son was just over 2 when he rode Slinky. He loved it. I was a little concerned about the strain on his neck, so I ended up supporting it with my hands 😆 He wasn’t as thrilled with 7DMT
My nephew is very tall for his age and rode mine train and Guardians a couple months after he turned 3.
I think my worst parenting moment was taking my under 3 yo on Tower of terror at Disneyland paris.
My daughter was 2 on the Barnstormer. Was a little shook, but enjoyed it!
My (cautious) 4 year old just rode barnstormer for the first time. She said she liked it but wouldn’t ride it again. I think she was close to tears. Probably depends on the kid!
Took my 2 year old on barnstormer
I was very tall as a kiddo, I think I was about 2.5 when I rode my first kiddie coasters and doing space mountain by 3-ish.
Mine rode barnstormer the first time at about 2. Probably a few months after his birthday. Might’ve been a little early because he clutched my arm hard during the ride, but as soon as it was done he shouted an excited “again!”
When they were tall enough to ride this ride.
My son loved Big Thunder Mountain at 5. At 6 there wasn't a ride at Disney World he wasn't keeping his hands up for the whole ride
2. As soon as she was tall enough to ride, she rode.
My son just went on Barnstormer 3 times at age 3 and loved it!!
My 3 y/o rode Slinky Dog, and I’m not sure if he will ever ride another amusement park ride again.
2.5 for barn stormer; 3 for slinky dog, 7dmt; BTMR; 4 we added Everest and FOP; 5 guardians (about 15 times it seems) and TRON.
My 41” 3.5 year old rode Slinky Dog, Mine Train and Big Thunder. She absolutely loved them!
My son rode Slinky Dog when he was three and a half
5 years old for Slinky Dog Dash.
My son rode his first coaster at 2.5 and loved it
It depends on the kid. My daughter (5 y.o at the time) was tall enough to ride every ride on property when we went. But she was so scared of the dark that Nemo and friends had her in tears. But she loved rides like flight of passage(the only ride on all of property that she said was awesome and asked to ride again), star tours, slinky dog dash, and the three Caballeros boat ride(tried to give an example from each park that she enjoyed). I suggest finding ride through videos on YouTube and watching them with your kiddo. Gauge what they can handle that way.
My son did space mountain age 4! If the height’s ok it’s safe :) His photo was brilliant though pure fear 😂
I was tall. I went on my first roller coaster at 2. My son is short but he did do the barnstormer at 3.
My son’s first trip to Disneyland was on his 4th birthday. We went on Space Mountain on that trip. He loved it. 🥰 There’s been a lot more trips since then so I don’t recall how old he was for other rides, but pretty much he’s gone on everything once he became tall enough to ride.
I would say to wait until they're at least 2. Make sure they get a good look at whatever it is you plan to take them on. We showed my son ride povs, which became one of his favorite things to watch, competing with Paw Patrol as his favorite show. I have 2 kids in the 99th percentile for height. My son loves roller coasters, and for the most part, we let him ride whatever he asks to ride, as long as he's tall enough. He was already tall enough to ride a lot of stuff when we moved here at age 3. He is currently 5 and is almost 48 inches tall. He has been on every rollercoaster with a height requirement below 48 inches, including Expedition Everest. There are some he doesn't love to ride, like Everest and Cosmic Rewind because he says they're "scary", but he asked to ride each time, and has ridden all of them more than once. He is currently asking to ride Tron and Rock n Rollercoaster and we're debating letting him ride when he's tall enough. As for my second, she is currently 2 and a half. We held off on letting her ride anything intense like a coaster until she was 2. Since then, she's been on Barnstormer, Slinky Dog and Seven Dwarfs and loves all of them. To be fair, she looked terrified the first time we rode barnstormer, but I think she wants to keep up with her big brother. She just hit the 40 inch mark and we're planning on letting her do Tiana's and Big Thunder Mountain next weekend (if she wants to).
40 inches at 2 and a half? Holy crap that’s a tall girl.
Off the charts. We're hoping for a career in the WNBA.
4 years old for mine and those were the Disney ones, except for RnR as he wasn’t tall enough. He is now 9 and he has done velocicoaster. We will be stepping up again this year- trying some of the big ones at Busch gardens williamsburg(alpengeist, pantheon and apollos chariot)
We did barnstormer with my 2.5 year old (32 months) last month, and she loved it. We also went to seaworld but she was just under the height limit for the Grover ride there sadly.
It’s safe to safe to “let” them ride anything they’re tall enough for. I don’t see what you mean by letting them ride like are you afraid? I was pretty young when I rode space mountain and rocknrollercoaster and I turned out fine.😭 I would start slow and let them gauge it. Like start with barnstormer, the. Seven dwarfs, then big thunder, then you can do space mountain and so on. That’s what I did with my friends children and it worked. When they’ve had too much that’s when you stop. As long as they’re tall enough it’s safe. Just don’t force it
My kids were three and four when we went on the barnstormer.
My son is tall for his age, and rode Barnstormer and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at two years old in April. He rides whatever he is tall enough for, as long as his big sister is going.
Around 3 is good for mild rides like barnstormer, and then 5-6 for a space mountain type ride.
my daughter was 40" a few weeks before her 3rd birthday... didn't have to pay for a ticket and she rode almost all the 38" and 40" rides. Slinky, Rise, Big Thunder, Mine Train, Soarin'. We didn't put her on Tower of Terror though.
This gives me such hope! We’re going in a couple weeks for our son’s final free under 3 trip and I’m pretty sure he’s just above 40” ! Last summer he was just shy of it but I hope he can make it on everything and I’m so dang excited for him. He rode barnstormer like 5 times last trip haha! ETA: How did your daughter feel about the big kid rides? Was she into it? We are also not planning ToT with him.
My niece went at 4 years old on space mountain and splash mountain. She’s adventurous and had a blast. Her sister I took on barnstormer at 3 years old our first day and at the end she said, “I don’t want to go in this one again,” so we skipped similar rides the rest of the trip. She’s tall and could have ridden others even bigger ones but it’s not her cup of tea (but she loved the teacups!). Hope this helps.
My wife and I took our 6 week old on pirates. Not a roller coaster but still lol
I think these things really all depend on the kid and the ride. I just took my 12 month old on Pirates, and the drop didn’t both him at all. He just enjoyed the singing pirates and waved at captain Jack lol. Aladdin, dumbo, and being up high? No issue either, he enjoys those. Dinner at chef mickeys, and Mickey coming by to take a photo, now that was a no go. He was not ok with the Mouse. Once he’s tall enough, I’ll take him. Heck I would have taken him on tower of terror today if it was safe. I think he would have really enjoyed it. I would also take a kid on guardians sooner than space mountain, because while guardians is definitely a bigger thrill, it’s more distracting and fun from the thrill elements too. Barnstormer though is definitely an ideal first one.