Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey schoolsinger- How young are these kids? I used to go with my church youth group and we walked around WDW by ourselves at 13 years of age. I personally would have no problem letting two 10 year olds board a ride alone as long as I waited for them right outside the ride exit. Yes, you should disappoint the two kids if the third is too frightened to ride. Missing out on a theme park ride is not that big of a deal, even if the kids think it might be.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey The alternative to disappointing the two kids is taking all three on the ride and frightening the scared child so much that he doesn't want to do anything for the rest of the day, and then you're all up the creek without a paddle. If I were scared and forced to go on a ride I didn't want to go on, I would be frightening and ticked off at the adult for making me do it. There are other things in the park that everyone can do together. One bad ride could ruin someone's trip, which in turn could ruin EVERYONE's trip. Since you claim that you aren't a teenager, schoolsinger, be an adult and think about your actions and their effects on ALL of the kids you're with.
Originally Posted By schoolsinger I think a lot of this comes down to knowing the individual kid. If the kid has been on small roller coasters and did not like them, then I doubt the kid will like bigger ones. In that case it is not wise to bring them on a big coaster. However, if the kid has liked everything he/she has been on so far, the kid might like something a little bigger. In that case it might be a good idea to encourage (a guess I shouldn’t say force) the kid to ride.
Originally Posted By crazyformickey schoolsinger I am afraid you are not going to change one's mind on this. Making a anyone go on a ride they don't want to could do more damage then good. You can talk it out with the child if they decide great but if not then you lose out on one ride. There are still tons of rides at WDW you can go on together.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey On one of my niece's first trips to WDW, she rode Rock n' Roller Coaster but refused to get on Space Mountain. I tried to explain to her that it was much less intense than RRC, but she still refused, at which point I gave up. I'm not sayng you shouldn't try to ease someone's fears so they can experience an attraction, but you shouldn't bully them or make them feel guilty if they don't want to ride. I would NEVER use schoolsinger's "hey, you have a better chance of dying in an auto accident" argument to make someone feel better about a ride. Now that she's older, you can't keep my niece off anything at WDW.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Eventually the kids decide to ride most of the attractions -- my youngest did 2 years ago-- after not riding : Space Mountain Splash Mountain ToT RnRc Star Tours etc. she just decided one trip that she was going to give one a whirl -- Space Mountain was first and she was almost sick waiting in line - but was determined and she ended up liking it and went on everything... She didn't like ToT and hasn't been back on - but hey, it's always been her choice. I would never have forced her...we always worked around it...and never made her feel bad about being scared either..( OK her older sister did give her some grief ) - but not us as parents.
Originally Posted By schoolsinger >>>There are still tons of rides at WDW you can go on together.<<< You do have a point there. Most of the stuff at Disney is suitable for the whole family. Now, with a park like Magic Mountain it can be a different story. Magic Mountain is primarily a coaster park. I can tell you that Magic Mountain is not much fun with someone who does not do coasters. This may sound cruel, but I have told couple of my friends that if they want me to invite them to Magic Mountain, they better ride some coasters.
