Haunted Mansion - Ok for a 5 year old?

[Princess Serendipity]

I think, as has been mentioned, that it really depends on your child, and no one on this board will know your child as well as you do. You have the posters whose children are fine to go on it at five, and then you have kids who are like I was: terrified out of my mind by the ride at age 9.

If I were in your shoes, I would talk to your kid about it. Is she afraid of ghosts? Can she easily separate fantasy from reality? Is she really imaginative? The ride itself may not be scary, but ideas can get stuck in your imagination and run away with you to not-so-happy places. Can your daughter sit through a "scary" (relative to children, of course) movie and be okay as long as she's told it's not real and none of it can hurt her?

I hope that whatever you choose, you all have a fun and safe trip and really enjoy yourselves!

 

[vcgirl925]

My kids have been riding it since they were infants.

 

[Tinkerbell424]

Hi!

I remember riding The Haunted Mansion when I was 5. The only thing that scared me was the part when the buggy tilts back while you are transitioning into the graveyard. I always loved the ride, and still do... but the tilt and the stretch room was enough to freak me out when I was young! It's totally up to you. I think she'll be okay, but if she gets scared easily and speaks up about it, I would just have her skip it.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[bdoyledimou]

my daughter has loved it since she was 2 years old -- she thought of it as silly and funny -- when she was 10, we went with our neice -- also 10 -- who went into hysterical fits as soon as we passed the portraits (right at the beginning) and who was in such a state that she refused to return to any park for the next 3 days and would break down crying jsut passing it the next time we went to MK later in the week.

gsuge your child -- not just their age --

 

[vane321]

Haunted Mansion is one of the rides I remember the most from when I went to Disneyland when I was 5! I wasn't scared at all

 

[godders]

My parents took me on it when I was nearly 5 and it scared me (the bit where there appears to be a ghost in the buggy) and I haven't been able to go on it since (I'm now 24). Tried when I was 15 and had a panic attack.

I love horror films (especially zombie ones) but there is just something about ghosts. I have had no other problems with rides other than HM (although I am determined to force myself to man up this next trip!). I also am petrified of anything that says "do not touch the live actors." Think it stems from an overactive imagination that has trouble rationalizing that it's not real :-S

But anyway, I know loads of people that haven't had a problem with it. Think looking at youtube clips is a really good idea (oh if only they had that back in the early 90s!)

 

[think-like-tink]

Both of my kids love it.


I was 11 and a scaredy cat when I rode the first time, and the ghost in the buggy scared the tar out of me.

 

[michsig]

I was actually too afraid to go on HM when I was 9 for some reason. Everything scared me though lol. Now it's one of my favorites!

 

[Frozen2014]

ASK THE CM to skip the stretching room and go right to the buggy..

Thank so much for all the great replies!

What exactly is the stretching room? Is it at the start, or end?

If there are just certain parts that she can close her eyes, then it would be ok. The part that I remember from when I was a child was looking in the mirror and seeing ghosts sitting next to me. Really cool! (But think that might frighten her). Don't remember when that occurs.

 

[Kalea]

My 3-yo loved the thrill rides, and surprised me by being a little iffy on the Haunted Mansion. After she rode it the first time, she said she didn't want to ride again. But a couple days later, rode without a problem.

Almost a year later, she still happily tells people about the ghost that came home with us.

 

[williamscm3]

Thank so much for all the great replies! What exactly is the stretching room? Is it at the start, or end? If there are just certain parts that she can close her eyes, then it would be ok. The part that I remember from when I was a child was looking in the mirror and seeing ghosts sitting next to me. Really cool! (But think that might frighten her). Don't remember when that occurs.

The stretching room is at the very beginning before you actually get on the ride...and from there I can't tell you anything else about it because that's as far as we got with my son! Lol He was 4 at the time and it didn't go over so well

 

[kmb584]

Thank so much for all the great replies!

What exactly is the stretching room? Is it at the start, or end?

If there are just certain parts that she can close her eyes, then it would be ok. The part that I remember from when I was a child was looking in the mirror and seeing ghosts sitting next to me. Really cool! (But think that might frighten her). Don't remember when that occurs.

The hitchhiking ghosts are at the very end.

 

[Indio]

All my kids have been riding since they were babies. None of them have ever been afraid. There's no real people in it and nothing jumps out at you - in the graveyard scene a few things pop up behind the tombstones, but nothing really scary there because the Grim Grinning Ghost song is playing so loudly. I've found for the most part, my kids reactions mirrored my reactions. So if I was laughing and having a good time, they were too. If you don't appear scared, they are more likely not to be scared. Have a great time! It's our all time favorite ride!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

We first started taking my daughter on Haunted Mansion back when she was 2 and she loved it. She was kept asking to ride it. The only time she got scared was when she was in the stretching room with a group of teenagers. When the lights when down, one of the teenages let out a blood curtling scream and yelled, "We're all going to die!" Her friends thought it was hilarious. The rest of us didn't. Anyways, my daughter loved and continues to love it. One thing that I think helped was reminding her that it was in Mickey's park and that Mickey is all about silliness and fun. He'd never make anything that would hurt us. We also listened to the music all the time before our trip and talked about how they were just "grinning ghosts" coming "out to socialize". They were just wanting to laugh and play with is and were doing it in their own silly way. She also enjoyed us pointing out hidden Mickey's because they were little reminders that "Mickey made this so it can't hurt us."

 

[starsweeper]

We took our older kids at 2.5yo & 3.5yo, and took our younger two kids last year who were 2.75yo & 1.75yo. We just make light of everything and keep them distracted during the stretching room. None of our kids have been scared of the actual ride.

 

[Raya]

Thank so much for all the great replies!

What exactly is the stretching room? Is it at the start, or end?

The stretching room is at the start - it's actually a pre-show before the ride. Here's a quick walk through - stretching room, walk to queue, get on a 'doom buggy' (just like the ships on Peter Pan), changing portraits scene, doors with things behind them, library of ghost authors, Madame Leota seance scene, ballroom ghosts scene, attic with the bride, tilt down to graveyard, hitchhiking ghosts.

I think a 5 y.o. would do well with a little prep. So in the stretching scene, as someone suggested, she could look for the alligator or the ballerina. In the hallway with the knight there's a hidden Donald (an image on a chair back). In the ballroom there are plenty of pretty dresses and a birthday cake. She could look for the puppy dog or decide which of the bride's wedding dresses looks prettiest. If you talked her through it, pointing out all the details I don't think she'd get scared.

That said, I love Halloween, I adore the mansion, and I still get slightly spooked on occasion. But that's part of the fun.

 

[MSSANDRA]

So depends, and knowing your child does not always guarantee success. DS HATED it at 5. He was, for some reason, terrified. Now this is the kid that loves wild rides, has seen way too many super hero PG13 movies and is very much rooted in reality in every area. NOPE....scared him to death. We were there a few months ago and at 7, he still does not want to go near there. Now this is not typical, and most 5 year olds are just fine, but since I scared my child, thought I would share!!!

 

[BJSforVols]

2 years ago, my 5 year old DS hated it and was scared to death from riding it. We go again this October and he is 7. I'm hoping he will ride it this year, but I'm afraid he won't considering how much he was scared of it two years ago.

 

[leahlefler]

We took the kids to Disneyland in 2012 (they were almost-5 and 6 years old at the time). They were fine on the Haunted Mansion, but the pre-show stretching room was the scariest part for them. We had talked about the ride and that part in particular, so they were ready for it. We called it the yelling room.

We also have an old DVD... a Disneyland Sing-along movie. It is outdated (from the '80's or early '90's?) - we got it online and it shows many of the rides at Disneyland (not WDW, but close enough) - including the Haunted Mansion. My kids LOVED this video so they weren't as scared as they might have otherwise been.

We talk a lot about how Mickey makes jokes and the difference between real and pretend. We laughed at the ghosts at the end of the ride and pretended to pick their noses.. it was my kids' favorite part of the ride.

I have to say, though, that almost nothing scares my younger boy. The only ride that scared him was Winnie the Pooh, and I still can't figure out what made him freak out on that ride!

 

[tianafan]

My then 4yr old DD did Haunted Mansion two years ago. She was a little bit afraid but with Mommy next to her and lots of jokes about how silly it is, she survived and wants to go on it again this trip.