Is Thunder Railroad too intense for a 4.5 yo boy?

[Northernlites]

He did enjoy the great Goofini!

 

[lolale]

Just left WDW today. My sensitive 4.25 year old boy did it but didn't like it. He said he never ever wanted to do that again... Maybe when he was 107 years old. We did the Barnstormer and that was better, but he still wasn't a fan of it.

 

[Belle-To-Be]

He did enjoy the great Goofini!

Depends on the 4/5 year old. . . my daughter has loved it since she was 4. I cannot, however, get her on the Barnstormer. Go figure. They're all different, just like us.

 

[BubblyTrip]

My DS was barely four last year (and just barely tall enough to ride) and adored it. But he is a kid that has always loved thrill rides. He was on a kiddie coaster at two. I also kept my arm around him the whole time. If he loved Goofy and he's generally not risk averse, then he'll probably be good.

 

[PeanutButterMom]

My DS (Jelly) was 4.5 and LOVED it. It was the #1 ride he was looking forward to after watching the planning DVD 50,000 times. My daughter is much less into thrill rides in normal settings, but LOVES them at Disney. She enjoyed BTMRR also.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

DD loves coasters, but hates dark rides with monsters and villains. I wasn't sure how she would take Big Thunder Mountain Railroad when she was 4. The word "thunder" intimidated her. But she was fine with "that train ride over there". She rode it beside me the first time, in total silence. I asked her if she liked it as we walked through the exit gates. She didn't answer verbally, she just grabbed my hand and dragged me back into the queue for another ride. (All subsequent rides included copious giggling, hands in the air, plus a few fake screams for the bats and earthquake.)

 

[Kristina4109]

Totally depends on the kid. My daughter is 8 and still will not go near it.

 

[DisneyGal24]

DS4 rode it last year just after he turned 4 and loved it! His 7 year old sister was riding it though and there was no way he was going to miss out on it.

 

[itsmeamanda]

My four year old loved it last year. Splash Mountain, not so much. Haha

 

[disney212]

My 26 year old son screamed like a 4 year old and refuses to go back on it to this day. He was 17 when he rode it and 6'2. He is a museum curator and travels the world but is a chicken on that ride, to be honest he is a chicken on 99% of rides. Ha ha ha

 

[smiths02]

My son loved it at 5 while POTC was iffy, and I'm not sure if he'll ever go on Haunted Mansion again.

 

[FargoBear]

My son (4 years, 1 month) loved it. He also loved Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, etc.

 

[BubblyTrip]

My son loved it at 5 while POTC was iffy, and I'm not sure if he'll ever go on Haunted Mansion again.

Mine was iffy on Pirates too! Thrills good, scary not so much. I want to take him to HM so much, but I'm holding off. But we will be all over the two Mountains he's tall enough for!

 

[LisaTC]

DD loves it, loves Splash Mtn, too. Goofy's was a bit scary for her..???? Hated Dinosaur at AK. I don't like coasters at all, but LOVE BTMRR!

 

[mm1971]

He did enjoy the great Goofini!

The ride itself was never an issue with my kids when they were young and they are not big roller coaster riders. The negative that they kept mentioning and didn't like was the loudness of the ride. It has the old chain and pulley system to pull the coaster up the hills and it is really loud.

The ride itself, our family really enjoys. There are no big hills, just some fast corners. I would say show him what it looks like on youtube and let him decide before you go.

 

[jiminykrikkit]

I have been showing my 3.5 year old (turning 4 on our trip and already tall enough) the YouTube POV videos of lots of the rides he can do. He thinks BTMRR looks cool, so we'll probably try it. He loved Barnstormer last April (he was 2.5).

He's tall enough for ToT too, but we won't be trying that! Haha.

 

[rlh75]

I will let you know in three weeks....LOL!!!

I am hoping my 4.5 year old will love it!!

He watches everything he can about WDW and then asks "did brother ride that"...I say nope he was chicken......He says "Then I will definitely am riding it then!"

Brother is 12...LOL!!!

 

[LisaTC]

One thing and don't know if this will be a possibility...don't let him ride it after dark. That ride takes on a whole new experience in the dark. I didn't like it! LOL

 

[jenwillis212]

We went when my daughter was 5 and it was one of the first rides we rode. My hubby and I were positive she would love it because she is so adventurous and not really scared of anything. We couldn't wait to get her on it! Boy were we wrong. She hated it and we had issues getting her on just about every ride after that. She is 7 now and still remembers not liking rides. We are going in Nov. and I am just hoping she will enjoy things more this time. We will NOT be putting her on any roller coasters!!! Maybe wait until later in the trip and build up to the more thrilling rides.

 

[tomgreen41]

I'm always surprised at how young kids can be to ride some of the rides at Disneyland and WDW. My twins went on the Matterhorn when they were 4 or 5. I remember thinking they were young, but if Disney says its okay, it must not be that bad. They loved it!