Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5. THE VISUAL IMPACT OF THE ATTRACTION ITSELF
As previously discussed, the
sights in various attractions range from falling boulders to lurking buzzards, from un-
derwater volcanoes to attacking hippos. What one child calmly absorbs may scare the
owl poop out of another child the same age.
6. DARK
Many Disneyland attractions are dark rides—that is, they operate indoors in a
dark environment. For some children, this fact alone is sufficient to trigger significant
apprehension. A child who is frightened on one dark ride, for example Snow White's
Scary Adventures, may be unwilling to try other indoor rides.
7. THE RIDE ITSELF; THE TACTILE EXPERIENCE
Some Disney rides are downright
wild—wild enough to induce motion sickness, wrench backs, and generally discom-
bobulate patrons of any age.
A Bit of Preparation
We receive many tips from parents relating how they prepared their children for the
Disneyland experience. A common strategy is to acquaint kids with the characters
and the stories behind the attractions by reading Disney topics and watching Disney
DVDs at home.
Thanks to half the population of California walking around the parks with video
cameras, you can view a clip of every attraction and show on
youtube.com
.
Videos
of dark rides aren't stellar but are good enough to get a sense of what you're in for.
The mother of a 7-year-old found YouTube quite effective:
We watched every ride and show on YouTube before going so my timid 7-year-old
daughterwouldbeprepared,andwecutoutalltheonesthatlookedtooscarytoher.
She still did not like, and cried at,
It's Tough to Be a Bug.
A mother from Gloucester, Massachusetts, handled her son's preparation a bit
more extemporaneously:
The 3½-year-old liked It's a Small World [but] was afraid of The Haunted Mansion.
We just pulled his hat over his face and quietly talked to him while we enjoyed [the
ride].
Small-Child Fright-Potential Chart
As a quick reference, we provide this chart to warn you which attractions to be
wary of and why. The chart represents a generalization and all kids are differ-
