Splash Mountain- what age to take a child on About This Page:

[sbJasmine]

I'm wondering how fast/scary Spalsh Mountian is. I took my 4 year old on the Matterhorn on her birthday (forgetting how fast it was since it had been 20 years since I'd ridden it.) She was scared and hid her face most of that ride. I'm happy to wait until she is older for Splash Mountain but am curious how adventurous of a ride it is. Thanks!

[unewillow]

Actually in terms of scariness, SM is pretty tame. There are a couple of little drops during the "story portion" but the big drop is the only real thriller. I would let her watch the logs go down a couple times and then see if she wants to try it.

[KLBV]

There is more than one hill and the last one is really huge!!! But the rest is not scary at all. You can get a really good view of the last drop from the front of the ride. My kids were 6 and 10...don't know if I would have taken them at 4 or not.

[mom2twingirlies]

Only the 1 big drop. By the end of our trip, after gaining confidence on the other rides, both my just turned 4 year olds rode it, and 2 days later rode it again.

[mcc0313]

There are two little drops I think it was and then the big one. My little one was almost 5 when she went on it, that was all she talked about and she loved it, it is still one of her favorite rides. I would let her watch the drop and also let her know that you will be right there with her, if she feels like she wants to try it then I think she would be fine.

[HeatherD]

My DS was so scared of Matterhorn on his first attempt that he freaked out and a CM asked me to remove him from the ride. Between that and our next trip, we showed him the rides on YouTube...since it was the unknown he was scared of. So, when he was tall enough for Splash Mt last summer, at the age of 4 (and 4 months), he was dying to try it. He LOVED it! And, he so enamoured a CM when we got off, chirping about this being the first trip he gets to ride the roller coasters (he was just 40 inches), that she offered him another ride. Immediately. We turned around and entered the next log from the exit side.

First time through, we'd stayed dry. Second time through, I was wringing out my capris and was soggy for most of the rest of the day! But, it's one of his favorite rides that we don't do often because we usually visit in Dec.

[sbJasmine]

[quote=HeatherD;2831624]My DS was so scared of Matterhorn on his first attempt that he freaked out and a CM asked me to remove him from the ride. Between that and our next trip, we showed him the rides on YouTube...since it was the unknown he was scared of. So, when he was tall enough for Splash Mt last summer, at the age of 4 (and 4 months), he was dying to try it. He LOVED it! And, he so enamoured a CM when we got off, chirping about this being the first trip he gets to ride the roller coasters (he was just 40 inches), that she offered him another ride. Immediately. We turned around and entered the next log from the exit side.

That's a great story! I like the suggestion of letting her watch the last drop to see if she thinks she'd like to try it. She loves the Gadget go-coaster. Although I mistakenly called it Goofy's Gadget the first time and she's run with that name. ;-)

[Two4Disney]

Okay, so we were in line at Splash Mountain and this little girl asks her dad, "Is this like Pirates?" and he says, "No, sweetie, it's like Small World" and then he grinned at us standing nearby.

[ilovedisneyland]

My daughter loves Splash mountain and Matterhorn. Check out this video on Splash Mountain. Let your 4 yr old watch it and see if it's something they want to try.

[sbJasmine]

Thanks everyone!

[ilovedisney0_0]

I would also think that you could stand outside the queue and let your little one watch some of the riders go down the big drop. That is the most 'scary' part of the whole attraction, so if he thinks he is up for it... go for it!

[sharon1970]

My dd has just turned 6 and she has decided that when we go to wdw this year she would like to ride it with me - the other times we've been she hasn't wanted to. I've told her that once we get there if she doesn't want to go on it then its not a problem. We'll see.