I understand that being an ER nurse makes my world a little skewed towards all the things that could possibly go wrong, so I wanted some other opinions.
My granddaughter turned 2 at the end of October, 2017. They took her for her two year check-up, and she is 49" tall. (Yes, she is very tall. Both of her parents are over 6'.) Pediatrician said she is fine to ride the rides in Disney World.
Even though she is tall enough, I have hard time with the idea of taking a 2 year old on rides like Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, etc. Little kids aren't just smaller versions of adults. Their anatomy is different such as their head being larger compared to the rest of their body, etc.
Has anyone taken a young child on a roller coaster?
I'll meet you at the Rainbow Bridge.
At 2 I'm not sure I would have her ride anything that isn't side by side seating, more like Splash Mt. DH had my son on Splash and BTMRR the week before his 3rd birthday and he did fine but again DH was seated next to him.
- Lynn -
INTERCOT Staff: Theme Parks, DVC
If she's not old enough to need a ticket to enter the park, she probably isn't old enough to ride the 'coasters.
This is just my opinion with nothing concrete to base it on, so take it with an entire ocean of salt, but I would NOT risk it.
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We took our 2 year old (he was three months shy of three) on the Barnstormer and 7 Dwarves. He thoroughly enjoyed both!
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VWL Mom;2509677 wrote: At 2 I'm not sure I would have her ride anything that isn't side by side seating, more like Splash Mt. DH had my son on Splash and BTMRR the week before his 3rd birthday and he did fine but again DH was seated next to him.
This is a good rule of thumb. I'd see how she does on something like Barnstormer and 7 Dwarves before moving to something more intense like Splash. I would not feel comfortable with the single seating on Space Mountain.
My 9 year old is 46 inches tall, so I might be looking at this a bit conservatively.
-Laura
Engineer by Day... Imagineer in my Dreams!
I had my daughter on the Matterhorn (Disneyland) at 2.5 years. It was at the time it was a large seat with two seat belts. I was able to hold her the whole time. She became a thrill ride junkie...lol
Marci
Many visits. Live 20 minutes from the parks.
Work at Universal Studios in Diagon Alley. Ollivanders/ wand magic.
I definitely see your point about the larger head and so on - aside from what she might enjoy or be comfortable with, I think I would definitely avoid taking her on anything that might whip her around too much. I think something like Splash is okay, but not Space - along those lines. Yes, your perception might be different from the average - but I don't think that means it is skewed...it more likely means that your knowledge of anatomy gives you much better insight into what could be dangerous! (whiplash, in particular?)
I didn't even think of the single seating. I was so focused on what g-forces could do to a body. At 2, I don't think she would understand the ride and just get scared if she was by herself.
Thanks for sharing what you guys have done and the advice. I talked it over with my DD and we decided to try Barnstormer and 7DMT for our trip in May. Even though she is big for her age, she is definitely a young two. We may try Splash and Big Thunder depending on how much she matures before the trip. She is a daddy's girl, so she won't have any problems sitting with him.
I can't ride most of the more adult rides, so I will just keep her while they ride them.
I'll meet you at the Rainbow Bridge.
