Dinosaur with 5 year old?

[Robo]

Look at the kids in this picture. My best friend's DS was 5 at the time. He's in the front. My DS who was 8 at the time is in the second row.

That says it all.

And what it says is,

GET ME OUTTA HERE!

 

[ahill004]

Took my DD5 when she was 4 and she loved it. Still talks about it. BUT she is totally fearless when it comes to rides. (We did explain to her that they could not get to her). She also rode Tower of Terror at 3 years old and loved that (did not get this fearless thing from me). I think you know your kid best. I showed her the dinosaur ride on youtube videos ahead of time and explained that they would be huge and the ride itself would be VERY loud so she knew what to expect. She cannot wait to ride it again in September and keeps telling her very petite younger sister (who probably won't be tall enough until she is 20) that she gets to ride the Dinosaur ride again!

 

[Hannathy]

The only thing that bothered my 5 yr old was it was too loud. He liked it but said the volume could be lower-and I agree.The next time he just kept his hand over his ears to dull the sound.

 

[kmk1180]

Loving dinosaurs is not the same as loving to be EATEN by dinosaurs.

 

[Mason's Mom]

We rode this last year my DS was 4. He liked the ride but we were shaken to death. The ride is soooo rough. I myself was scared. I had my hand over my sons eyes for most of the ride. I am guessing this is why he was ok with it. I am thinking we might skip this ride this year.

If you have any type of back or neck issues do SKIP this ride!!!!!

 

[bdiddy]

My DH took our 4.5 yr old daughter last year and she loved it. She's not scared of a thing though. DH did say when they came out that it was really rough. He normally will put an arm around her next to him on rides but he said once the ride got going he had to hold on with both hands it was throwing him around so much, he was worried about smashing her. He said at one point in the dark he actually though "my god, i hope she's still in the car with me". Of course she was but it he said it was an intense ride.

She loved it though and I'm sure will go on it again if we go in Dec. DH said I can take her this time!!

 

[disneygirl29]

My 4 yr old went on it lat year for the first time... LOVED IT!

My 6 yr old (then) had rode it before and wasn't a fan... but rode it again and that time loved it!

This year my kids are 5 and 7 and they are both looking forward to it!!!!

 

[Rora]

I'm 23, love ALL types of rides, but this one scares me to death.

Giant, robotic dinosaurs really aren't my thing (actually, they really frighten me, ) but the actual ride part is really fun!

OP, I guess the only way to find out if your 5 year old likes it is to take him on it and hope for the best. Good luck!

 

[dzorn]

Only you know your child. Mine will be 10 and turning 8 on this trip and don't think we will be riding it this trip. If you are going to try it I would wait till closer to the end of the trip, because once they ride something that scares the heck out of them all dark rides may be out even ones you think they may like.

Denise in MI

 

[allyphoe]

My DD rode Dinosaur at 5, at her request. She'd been doing the other 40" rides (including ToT, but not including Stitch because no adult was willing to sit through it) since she was 3. She rode it twice in a row before she had had enough.

When we went back at 6, she rode it once and was satisfied. She's not one to let a ride get the best of her.

Very rough and very loud. I don't think the dinos bothered her at all, though.

 

[RayRing]

My 7 year old DS wanted to give it a try.
He may have been tired, but towards the end of the preshow, he stated forcefully, that he did NOT want to go on the ride.
We took our DS 7 and DD 6 out the "chicken door".
I don't recall anything practically scary in the preshow, but it took my DS several minutes to calm down after we left, and were back in the sunshine.

So far we have been lucky enough to go to WDW every couple of years.
I figure if they don't do things now, it will just leave more to do and discover later.
I feel it is better to skip a ride, then risk blowing a good part of the day, calming down a kid.

However, you just never know with kids.

I thought that they would be scared of Test Track. However, by the time they got to the fast loop, they had their hands in the air, and laughing out load.

 

[fairestoneofall]

DS (age 4) rode it. He loved it, but did bury his head in my arms at some points. That said, he still wanted to ride it again. DS (almost 7) wouldn't ride it at all. I didn't make her--she's more sensitive to stuff like that.

So, it all depends on the child. It definitely isn't just the age--it's the temperament of the child too.

 

[DutchsMommy]

DS rode at that age and while he didn't freak out on the ride, he has since refused to ride, which tells me he was scared. It is also super bumpy/jerky. My vote is no for Dinosaur, personally......

 

[GrillMouster]

I think the dinosaurs at Universe of Energy in Epcot might be more appropriate for his age.

 

[cuucuu4karaoke]

My DS is 6-1/2 (can't forget the "1/2" or I get in BIG trouble!)

His first time on Dinosaur was when he was 3-1/2...yep...that's right. He's very tall for his age so he was able to go on most rides on our first trip.

He LOVED Dinosaur. I was hesitant to let him on. I kept telling him ahead of time that it was all pretend and it was funny and when we went in and something 'heavy' was there...I would say look! That's SOOO funny! and I'd point and laugh very loud. He started laughing too and had no problems.

Then we took him to see it's tough to be a bug and started screaming and crying and had to be taken out when the spiders dropped from the ceiling.

go figure.

 

[JoBird]

Maybe you should ride it first to get a better understanding of the nature of this ride and then you'd know if you think your child could handle it.

It scares the tarnation out of me.

Every picture of me on it has me covering my ears and screaming.
And I know every time I ride it what's coming.

Jo

 

[Mom2twinboys]

When my DS was 5 he insisted that he wanted to ride Dinosaur (his twin brother wanted nothing to do with it) so he and I rode together and he said he loved it. He also said he kept his eyes closed the entire ride . That being said this ride scares me!!!!

 

[ginadarling__]

My DS is only 4, turning 5 in september and she rode Dinosaur for the first time in May, and she loved it.

She was a little scared, but I told her to make a funny face at the dinosaurs and it'll scare them away. It totally worked and she wanted to ride it over and over.

 

[LilGMom]

Like others have said this is a very jerky and rough ride. Not to mention it can be pretty scary and is very loud.

We took our oldest on it when he was around 5 because he is a daredevil and not much scares him. Big mistake! It completely freaked him out and he didn't want to try it again for almost two years. We'd ask but it time it was very quick "No". A couple of years later we took our then five yr. old niece on it and she loved it (that was the year my oldest finally got back on it ) My youngest doesn't really care for loud things that jump out at you so I won't be taking him on it for at least a few more years.

You know your child best. If nothing else have your youngest walk through the que, watch the preshow and then ask if they still want to ride.

 

[ShannonMB]

Wow! Lots of brave kiddos out there!!! I'm impressed. My soon-to-be-9 DD is finally THINKING about trying Goofy's Barnstormer on our next trip. We shall see...

I love thrill rides, especially at Disney! I really, really love Dinosaur as well, but I scream like a terrified baby on it. I don't think the scariness of this ride can be underestimated, seriously. I've only been to AK twice, but both times I saw kids crying on the way out.

If I were debating on whether a 5 year old should ride, I'd definitely give it a test run beforehand. There's NO WAY my dino-loving, TRex restaurant-loving chicken of a DD would have survived! (well, she might have survived, but we could probably have crossed just about every other ride off our list for the rest of the trip!).

Good luck!