Dinosaur (countdown to extinction) for a 5 YEAR OLD??

[beksy]

I don't know about 5 year olds but I've got a 20 year old sister that REFUSES to even consider it! Of course she could win scardy-cat of the year award so I wouldn't go by her. She wouldn't ride ANY roller coaster until she was 19 and then I had to drag her away from BTMRR. She did do Everest once and enjoyed that and does Splash. I think I've convinced her to try ToT next trip with me on one side and Mom on the other so that's a good plan. She is also afraid of the HM at night and Snow White. When she was little and we mistakenly took her on Snow White, Dad had her shake her finger and the ugly stepmother. This actually seemed to help her make it through without any lasting impression other than not wanting to ride again. Good luck! I'd say go with what you feel. You know your child the best and what he can handle. If after the other rides you think he is going to be ok, I'd go with it. At that age I would have been fine but my sister would not even have gotten close.

[edhunter28]

my sister loves the ride & started going on it when she was 4

[savvychic]

Get him ear plugs.

However cool the ride is to me, I still feel iffy about riding it just because it is SO loud.

The ride isn't too scary just because you're getting bashed around and blasted with sound, you're too jarred up to be able to initiate such an emotion.

I think if a child had earplugs, it wouldn't be as bad. Scary dinosaurs pop out at you, but you swerve out of the way before you can register what's going on.

It's worth going on though, it feels so much like actually going into another world, that it shouldn't be missed.

The Yeti ride would be good to ride to do before. It'll get your blood pumping and it's sort of a confusing ride too. (as in "wait, what's going on?" ) Though, I don't know how tall you have to be for that ride? (There are no drops, it's just fast).


Before going on the ride, say it's a dino zoo, but tell them not to worry because all of the dinos are on leashes that can't be broken. And that since there are so many dinos in such a small space, that they'll need to wear ear plugs.


But yeah, out of all rides, this one would be the hardest for little kids. But... they're dinos, which all kids think are cool... so... maybe?

I have seen so many little 5 year old girls dragging their parents to ride the ride yet again, so... some kids really do love it.

Maybe watch a few dinosaur movies beforehand, too? (Not Jurassic Park- hehe!)

[brownie]

Our son was into dinosaurs when he was younger and we took him on Dinosaur when he was 6. I need to preface his reaction; he does not like thrill rides. He's going to be 12 and still doesn't really want to ride roller coasters or any kind of similar rides. He didn't like Dinosaur.

I think it depends on the child, and you won't really know until they ride it.

[BelleKP]

My DD5 has told us that she wants to ride EVERYTHING this time (she's been to the world twice already ), including Dinosaur. We too are unsure how she will do on this.

Get him ear plugs.

This is a good idea . . . noise bothers her, so this could help for sure. And I like the idea of trying BTMR first . . . for the jarring.
I just don't want to traumatize her!

[iheartdisney]

OK, I'll admit it. This ride scares the crud out of me and I'm, well, old enough to know better.

My 16 yr. old freaked out on it! And while she said she'd do it again if one of her brothers wanted to ride, she wouldn't choose to do it again. Didn't bother me but I'm really old and jaded according to her.

It's so hard to tell if your child will enjoy it or not. I'm with others who have suggested that you consider how well your child separates real from make-believe. Does he enjoy Haunted Mansion, Snow White and other typically "dark" rides? I'd be more concerned with the scariness of the ride rather than the motion.

[Goofy Pluto]

OK, I love Dinosaur. I think it's a great ride, the bouncing doesn't bother me, and the animatronics/atmosphere are great. The last time I was on it was 2001. However my wife is the complete opposite. She's only been on it once and HATED IT! I still regret to this day that I didn't by the picture of her crouching down away from the dinosaur, cowering, when you get your picture taken. Classic!

When were were there in 2007, I didn't even consider taking my 5 yo on it. Maybe she would have but I wasn't pressing my luck. I'm hoping next year, when she's 7, she'll be willing to go. But my son will be 5 then, too, and I'd have a hard time putting it on that one. Pretty realistic and can be scary for kids (and adults, too!).

[SallyMcQueen]

The only ride my DD5 said she didn't like was Dinosaur. It just scared the beejeezus out of her. But, just two days ago she told me "the next time we go to Disney mom, I want to ride Dinosaur."

[Gooftroop5]

I took my 5 year old last year & he had just turned 5 a month before that. If you ask him he will tell you that he liked it but it was too loud. I asked if it scared him & he said no it just hurt his ears.

We thought about earplugs this trip but we are thinking more about skipping it period this trip.

[AlexinWonderland]

I think if he was seated in the middle right and perhaps had earplugs it would be fine, though the idea that he had to wear earplugs to go on might scare him.

Tell him the dinosaurs are pretending to be mean for fun, because Mickey told them too. I have heard that one used at Haunted Mansion and other scary rides and it seemed to help calm some frightened children.

I think it is definitely worth riding if he is tall enough.

[EmmMOM2]

thanks alice.
I actually do tell him something like that already except i use the term "mickey magic" and that mickey tries to scare you or "trick" you into thinking it's real. He seems to enjoy that term.

[ginger19]

I think it depends on the child. It's fast, loud, bumpy and scary but an excellent ride. I took my 5 year old last time and he came off crying. The good thing is that he sat next to me so I could hold onto him and keep him fairly calm.
Explain the ride before hand, watch video, see how he feels about it. My son who cried the first time, went back on. He was just taken aback at how loud and fast it was.

[Darbylew]

We love the Dinosaur but I can see how it would scare young ones. There is a ride with
Dinosaurs in it that it not as scary and it is at
Epcot. It is called Ellen's Energy Adventure -
Universe of Energy - you might like to try that
one.

[jonahbear2006]

It scared my son the first time. The pic of him was of him shrieking. My girls who are older don't like this ride either, however, I love it and insist on riding it. The 2nd trip I dragged the boy in and told him to try it again. We got to the front of the line and he told me, "here's the deal. I have to poop and I HATE this ride!" He did ride it, cause we waited 45 minutes but he didnt like it one bit.

[dizzneyfan1234]

ive went with a 6 yeaar old and he went on tower of terror expedition everest and rock nd roller coaster w. no problem

[Suz36]

My then 5 yo absolutely insisted on going on Dinosaur, and ended up hiding his eyes and covering his ears the entire ride. It is very intense - made me jump a few times!

[Figment78]

I have no experience with taking a 5yo so I apologize for my lack of contribution here... I just had to say that I love this ride and ride it every time we go - but I spend the entire ride with my eyes closed and my head covered, clutching the bar in front of me for dear life! Everyone, including all of the people checking out the photos after the ride, laughs at me. I don't care - I still like to ride it!

Just wanted to share that so y'all could join in laughing at me.

It is loud, dark, bumpy, realistic and I can see how a child might be really frightened. On the other hand, many a child has been on the ride with me and they too, find my fear amusing, while they are Mr. Joe Cool!

[1stitch]

We took our 5 year old, he was reallly wanting to ride it because his 7 year old cousin told him to. He rode it and before hand I told him if he got scared just to shut his eyes. I also told him how rough the ride was. He did fine. He liked all the dinosaurs and they didn't scare him, he just didn't like the jerky ride. All kids are different and only you will be able to decide if they will like it or not.

[TheVBs]

I'm wishing I'd let our DD8 go on it in May. I didn't actually keep her from going on it, but I did describe it so she'd know what it was like, then she changed her mind. She ended up doing Splash Mtn twice, BTMRR, Kali River Rapids, HM and Soarin', all for the first time. So, I think she probably would have been fine on Dinosaur too. I'll definitely encourage her to try it next time.

[Greenlawler]

I have not seen the inside of Dinosaur even though I have been on the ride often....

I admit it...I am a large man, who loves football, fishing and wrestling. I lettered in three sports in high school but this ride creeps me out! I try to be a good role model for my three sons but this is where I draw the line...I say no to the ride.

Large things jumping out behind corners is not my cup of tea.