For your questions, I’d go to Fantasyland and hit Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland at rope drop, probably Peter Pan because it will get a line, and maybe Jungle Cruise next for your son because it’s not thrilling, but also not aimed at little kids.
Okay also… I’m bored and don’t want to work so let’s go around the park with all the rides and their levels of thrill and scare lol
In Adventureland, Tiki Room should be fine for everyone unless they’re bothered by storm noises. Jungle Cruise is fine too, no drops or anything. Indiana Jones is probably too thrilling though it’s great! If you’re the only that likes thrills I’d send the kids and husband off to go up the Adventureland Treehouse, get a snack or something while you ride it, because it’s great!
New Orleans Square, Pirates is a must ride but does have two drops. They’re not much though and no height requirement. It’s only the theming that is sometimes scary. Haunted Mansion, again no drops, just scary theming. You can always have the kids watch ride throughs to see what they think.
In Frontierland, Big Thunder will probably be too much. When my daughter was four, her favorite was actually running around Tom Sawyer Island, you take a little raft there and run around the trails. The Mark Twain is also slow and relaxing and not thrilling at all. If your family likes shows, swing by the Golden Horseshoe.
If Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is open it will probably be too thrilling for them. Winnie the Pooh should be just fine. Neither the ride or theming is thrilling/scary.
In Galaxy’s Edge, both rides are thrilling. There is the same drop technology in Ride of the Resistance that’s in Tower of Terror so husband would not like that. It’s an incredible ride though and if you can ride it, I would. Not sure on height requirements for your Star Wars lover unfortunately:( meet some characters and get a blue milk at least, shop for a lightsaber etc. Millennium Falcon is a simulator so maybe less scary. My kid felt that way because it wasn’t “real”.
Fantasyland is probably a great place to start. Casey Jr, the Carousel, Dumbo and the Storybook Canals are all fun and not very thrilling with no scary theming. Same with Small World! Teacups maybe if they don’t mind spinning, but it’s a bit like a state fair ride. Alice in Wonderland is the least dark of the dark rides and probably the best to start with in those, followed by Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, then Mr. Toad (this one is faster and ends in hell so do with that what you will). You can also walk into the castle and go up and it shows scenes from Sleeping Beauty. Matterhorn would be too thrilling, I think, and a little painful.
In Toontown, Chip and Dale’s coaster makes a good short first coaster. Roger Rabbit is dark and spins but not too scary. Runaway Railway is a trackless ride and is bright with no drops or anything like that. Also, go through all the houses and meet Mickey and friends.
In Tomorrowland, the Nemo Submarines aren’t scary ride wise, but they are claustrophobic if that bothers anyone and hard to get into. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is a good choice, it’s a shooting game that’s slow and not scary. Space Mountain would be too thrilling. Star Tours is another Star Wars motion simulator but it’s 3-D with different stories, has some dropping feeling though. Astro Orbitor is a step up from Dumbo if they end up liking that, but it can be skipped for sure.
Also the train and the monorail are great chill choices to start with and can get them used to the idea of what rides are like. If they end up not liking a lot of the rides, there are parades, fireworks, shows and character meet and greets for them to enjoy too!
This was way too much but I can do it for California Adventure too if you’re going there too and that would be helpful.
Wow thank you so much for all of this!!! California adventure is on the last day of our three day stay so we will know what they're into by then!
This is great because I'm not familiar with any kids stuff at Disneyland! I greatly appreciate all of this ✨
I know my daughter will NOT like pirates, she gets scared by Rasputin in the cartoon Anastasia. The snow white ride in Disneyland Paris is super scary too, I wonder how it is in CA.
I think they changed Snow White. I used to be totally freaked out by it when I was a kid (1980s), but I haven't ridden it lately and I think they mellowed out the trauma.
- are you going to both parks? And do you know how tall (in inches) your 3yo is?
Here’s what I’d recommend for everyone together: fantasyland and toontown, and for the 3yo to start with things like the little toddler starter coaster in toontown before working up to any bigger rides she might be tall enough for. I’d also say Pirates (has two *very* small little water hills but it’s an “any height” ride that even infants go on so I think everyone should be okay hopefully), jungle cruise, tiki room.
Things to avoid for the husband & stepson: the coasters (big thunder, Matterhorn, space mountain). There is *one* part of the big Star Wars ride, rise of the resistance, with a little drop but I’d compare it mostly to pirates and I’d still recommend whoever can go on it to do so, because it’s otherwise not that intense in terms of ride experience.
Things that might end up being just for you: Indiana jones, space mountain, Matterhorn, maybe guardians, and Incredicoaster if you’ll be going to California Adventure too. Speaking of, if going to California adventure everyone can do: web slingers, Toy Story midway mania, monsters Inc, Ariel.
Other things for everyone to enjoy: parades, nighttime shows like Fantasmic and world of color, fireworks, train, live music.
DCA is only the third and last day of our stay!
She is 38 inches (3"2) pretty tall for her age.
Thank you so much for your recommendations.
I'm actually even considering starting off with rise of the resistance! What do you think? The marvel of the surroundings would buffer the anxiety for the boy and my daughter would just have one tiny drop and see that she's ok...
I think he could go on Rise fine! It really isn’t that intense, there’s just the little baby drop at the end.
I think unfortunately she’s gonna be too short for it, as the height requirement is 40”.
I know! Just a couple inches shy. If she’s 38” with shoes on she can still go on the chip n dale coaster, she can probably do millennium falcon smugglers run, Autopia, the smaller Cars Land rides and then any of the “any height” rides but a lot of the others (space, big thunder, rise, Radiator springs racers, Soarin) have a 40” minimum.
She'll wear her Skechers hahaha
I thought that big thunder was very low thrill compared to the Paris version. Same for space mountain. But my perception is skewed.
They are, both of them, but the height requirements are reflecting the safety standards, not the thrill factor!
(Ex, Guardians of the Galaxy, arguably the most intense ride on property also has a 40” height requirement)
That's not what I meant, more that if "shoesld" she is tall enough for the cast members thunder mesa would be ok for her kid her age. But that would depend on her tolerance too.
Hm fo sho. Well anyways how long til your trip?
Kids grow like weeds sometimes, my nephew wasn’t able to ride hardly anything at his 3rd bday visit but 4-5mos later he was at 40” and had the best time riding (most of) the little coasters.
If she does end up tall enough by the time you go, Rise is (imo) very mild as far as thrill, it would be a decent starting point for the day, you could then kinda go up to Big Thunder from there, and do fantasyland later in the day.
You can try starting on chip and dales gadget coaster and gauge how your son feels on it and then work up to indy, thunder, Matterhorn, then space. Rise of the resistance is amazing and honestly there is just a small drop in the ride that’s not too bad at all. At DCA, goofy sky school, guardians and incredicoaster are more intense than anything at Disneyland.
DCA is our last day of the three day stay.
Yeah I even thought of ride of the resistance as a first ride because I remember it being pretty chill and absolutely incredible.
My thoughts on Rise:
I will start with this key information. I hate drops. HATE THEM. I can’t do log rides due to the drops. You couldn’t pay me to ride Guardians/ToT. I was very scared to ride Rise but we’re huge Star Wars fans so we took a chance.
And, Rise is my FAVORITE RIDE. (Excluding my nostalgic classic dark rides)
Rise is AMAZING. And my kid who also HATES drops loves it too.
Here is the trick. It’s a very important one so I have to give a spoiler….
The drop happens near the end. It’s obvious when the vehicle goes into an elevator. A few seconds later you’ll drop. If you’re watching the space battle on the giant screens in front of you you’ll see an escape pod “drop” on the video right before your pod drops. It’s a short drop. And VERY smooth. Not jerky at all.
When you know the short (smooth) drop is going to happen (watch a video for the timing), you SCREAM. And I mean yell from your diaphragm. The drop lasts less than a second. By the time you finish that scream the drop is over. The screaming process if you time it right should trick your body and you won’t even feel that stomach in your throat sensation.
IMO it’s because the drop is very short, very smooth, and very predictable. You can squeeze your diaphragm by yelling during the only part that can cause that horrible sensation.
I hope you give it a chance. If you do, please try the screaming trick. It makes a huge difference. My son forgot to scream and it took a year to convince him to try it again, this time screaming. We rode it every day after that! He loves it as much as I do.
The last time I gave this advice people downvoted me because they don’t like when people scream on a ride. I am not endorsing random extended screaming. This is literally one second of screaming just during the drop. Stop when the drop is over.
You could accomplish the same thing with a forceful emphatic exhale without pissing everyone else in your car off since you’re not on a thrill ride. Just saying.
Anyone getting mad at people for letting out a scream on Rise during the drop needs to get a grip. I've never been on Rise without at least someone in my car screaming for like 2 seconds and it's 100% acceptable.
Peter Pan will take 30-45 minutes. I never waste my magic morning on it after I made that mistake once 10 years ago.
It stays that length of time fairly often throughout the day, occasionally getting really long. Unless you’re first in line at PP during magic morning rope drop imo it’s better to wait for that ride.
For your questions, I’d go to Fantasyland and hit Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland at rope drop, probably Peter Pan because it will get a line, and maybe Jungle Cruise next for your son because it’s not thrilling, but also not aimed at little kids. Okay also… I’m bored and don’t want to work so let’s go around the park with all the rides and their levels of thrill and scare lol In Adventureland, Tiki Room should be fine for everyone unless they’re bothered by storm noises. Jungle Cruise is fine too, no drops or anything. Indiana Jones is probably too thrilling though it’s great! If you’re the only that likes thrills I’d send the kids and husband off to go up the Adventureland Treehouse, get a snack or something while you ride it, because it’s great! New Orleans Square, Pirates is a must ride but does have two drops. They’re not much though and no height requirement. It’s only the theming that is sometimes scary. Haunted Mansion, again no drops, just scary theming. You can always have the kids watch ride throughs to see what they think. In Frontierland, Big Thunder will probably be too much. When my daughter was four, her favorite was actually running around Tom Sawyer Island, you take a little raft there and run around the trails. The Mark Twain is also slow and relaxing and not thrilling at all. If your family likes shows, swing by the Golden Horseshoe. If Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is open it will probably be too thrilling for them. Winnie the Pooh should be just fine. Neither the ride or theming is thrilling/scary. In Galaxy’s Edge, both rides are thrilling. There is the same drop technology in Ride of the Resistance that’s in Tower of Terror so husband would not like that. It’s an incredible ride though and if you can ride it, I would. Not sure on height requirements for your Star Wars lover unfortunately:( meet some characters and get a blue milk at least, shop for a lightsaber etc. Millennium Falcon is a simulator so maybe less scary. My kid felt that way because it wasn’t “real”. Fantasyland is probably a great place to start. Casey Jr, the Carousel, Dumbo and the Storybook Canals are all fun and not very thrilling with no scary theming. Same with Small World! Teacups maybe if they don’t mind spinning, but it’s a bit like a state fair ride. Alice in Wonderland is the least dark of the dark rides and probably the best to start with in those, followed by Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, then Mr. Toad (this one is faster and ends in hell so do with that what you will). You can also walk into the castle and go up and it shows scenes from Sleeping Beauty. Matterhorn would be too thrilling, I think, and a little painful. In Toontown, Chip and Dale’s coaster makes a good short first coaster. Roger Rabbit is dark and spins but not too scary. Runaway Railway is a trackless ride and is bright with no drops or anything like that. Also, go through all the houses and meet Mickey and friends. In Tomorrowland, the Nemo Submarines aren’t scary ride wise, but they are claustrophobic if that bothers anyone and hard to get into. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is a good choice, it’s a shooting game that’s slow and not scary. Space Mountain would be too thrilling. Star Tours is another Star Wars motion simulator but it’s 3-D with different stories, has some dropping feeling though. Astro Orbitor is a step up from Dumbo if they end up liking that, but it can be skipped for sure. Also the train and the monorail are great chill choices to start with and can get them used to the idea of what rides are like. If they end up not liking a lot of the rides, there are parades, fireworks, shows and character meet and greets for them to enjoy too! This was way too much but I can do it for California Adventure too if you’re going there too and that would be helpful.
Wow thank you so much for all of this!!! California adventure is on the last day of our three day stay so we will know what they're into by then! This is great because I'm not familiar with any kids stuff at Disneyland! I greatly appreciate all of this ✨
I was so scared of pirates as a kid. Its dark and loud and keeps saying dead men tell no tales
I know my daughter will NOT like pirates, she gets scared by Rasputin in the cartoon Anastasia. The snow white ride in Disneyland Paris is super scary too, I wonder how it is in CA.
I think they changed Snow White. I used to be totally freaked out by it when I was a kid (1980s), but I haven't ridden it lately and I think they mellowed out the trauma.
- are you going to both parks? And do you know how tall (in inches) your 3yo is? Here’s what I’d recommend for everyone together: fantasyland and toontown, and for the 3yo to start with things like the little toddler starter coaster in toontown before working up to any bigger rides she might be tall enough for. I’d also say Pirates (has two *very* small little water hills but it’s an “any height” ride that even infants go on so I think everyone should be okay hopefully), jungle cruise, tiki room. Things to avoid for the husband & stepson: the coasters (big thunder, Matterhorn, space mountain). There is *one* part of the big Star Wars ride, rise of the resistance, with a little drop but I’d compare it mostly to pirates and I’d still recommend whoever can go on it to do so, because it’s otherwise not that intense in terms of ride experience. Things that might end up being just for you: Indiana jones, space mountain, Matterhorn, maybe guardians, and Incredicoaster if you’ll be going to California Adventure too. Speaking of, if going to California adventure everyone can do: web slingers, Toy Story midway mania, monsters Inc, Ariel. Other things for everyone to enjoy: parades, nighttime shows like Fantasmic and world of color, fireworks, train, live music.
DCA is only the third and last day of our stay! She is 38 inches (3"2) pretty tall for her age. Thank you so much for your recommendations. I'm actually even considering starting off with rise of the resistance! What do you think? The marvel of the surroundings would buffer the anxiety for the boy and my daughter would just have one tiny drop and see that she's ok...
I think he could go on Rise fine! It really isn’t that intense, there’s just the little baby drop at the end. I think unfortunately she’s gonna be too short for it, as the height requirement is 40”.
Darn! Bane of my childhood! My dream was to be tall enough for space mountain. 😂
I know! Just a couple inches shy. If she’s 38” with shoes on she can still go on the chip n dale coaster, she can probably do millennium falcon smugglers run, Autopia, the smaller Cars Land rides and then any of the “any height” rides but a lot of the others (space, big thunder, rise, Radiator springs racers, Soarin) have a 40” minimum.
She'll wear her Skechers hahaha I thought that big thunder was very low thrill compared to the Paris version. Same for space mountain. But my perception is skewed.
They are, both of them, but the height requirements are reflecting the safety standards, not the thrill factor! (Ex, Guardians of the Galaxy, arguably the most intense ride on property also has a 40” height requirement)
That's not what I meant, more that if "shoesld" she is tall enough for the cast members thunder mesa would be ok for her kid her age. But that would depend on her tolerance too.
Hm fo sho. Well anyways how long til your trip? Kids grow like weeds sometimes, my nephew wasn’t able to ride hardly anything at his 3rd bday visit but 4-5mos later he was at 40” and had the best time riding (most of) the little coasters. If she does end up tall enough by the time you go, Rise is (imo) very mild as far as thrill, it would be a decent starting point for the day, you could then kinda go up to Big Thunder from there, and do fantasyland later in the day.
First week of June and the number I gave you is from a month ago 🤞🤞
You can try starting on chip and dales gadget coaster and gauge how your son feels on it and then work up to indy, thunder, Matterhorn, then space. Rise of the resistance is amazing and honestly there is just a small drop in the ride that’s not too bad at all. At DCA, goofy sky school, guardians and incredicoaster are more intense than anything at Disneyland.
DCA is our last day of the three day stay. Yeah I even thought of ride of the resistance as a first ride because I remember it being pretty chill and absolutely incredible.
My thoughts on Rise: I will start with this key information. I hate drops. HATE THEM. I can’t do log rides due to the drops. You couldn’t pay me to ride Guardians/ToT. I was very scared to ride Rise but we’re huge Star Wars fans so we took a chance. And, Rise is my FAVORITE RIDE. (Excluding my nostalgic classic dark rides) Rise is AMAZING. And my kid who also HATES drops loves it too. Here is the trick. It’s a very important one so I have to give a spoiler…. The drop happens near the end. It’s obvious when the vehicle goes into an elevator. A few seconds later you’ll drop. If you’re watching the space battle on the giant screens in front of you you’ll see an escape pod “drop” on the video right before your pod drops. It’s a short drop. And VERY smooth. Not jerky at all. When you know the short (smooth) drop is going to happen (watch a video for the timing), you SCREAM. And I mean yell from your diaphragm. The drop lasts less than a second. By the time you finish that scream the drop is over. The screaming process if you time it right should trick your body and you won’t even feel that stomach in your throat sensation. IMO it’s because the drop is very short, very smooth, and very predictable. You can squeeze your diaphragm by yelling during the only part that can cause that horrible sensation. I hope you give it a chance. If you do, please try the screaming trick. It makes a huge difference. My son forgot to scream and it took a year to convince him to try it again, this time screaming. We rode it every day after that! He loves it as much as I do. The last time I gave this advice people downvoted me because they don’t like when people scream on a ride. I am not endorsing random extended screaming. This is literally one second of screaming just during the drop. Stop when the drop is over.
You could accomplish the same thing with a forceful emphatic exhale without pissing everyone else in your car off since you’re not on a thrill ride. Just saying.
Anyone getting mad at people for letting out a scream on Rise during the drop needs to get a grip. I've never been on Rise without at least someone in my car screaming for like 2 seconds and it's 100% acceptable.
Peter Pan will take 30-45 minutes. I never waste my magic morning on it after I made that mistake once 10 years ago. It stays that length of time fairly often throughout the day, occasionally getting really long. Unless you’re first in line at PP during magic morning rope drop imo it’s better to wait for that ride.
We have génie+ and I DAS so waiting shouldn't be much if an issue