Which is scarier for little kids - Pirates or Haunted Mansion?

[Anna131517]

It depends on the kids. My kids didn’t get scared of haunted mansion until they were preschool aged. They’ve never been afraid of pirates.

 

[Specter]

One other thought. Like previously mentioned we did watch youtube videos of the ride w/DD prior to taking her on, but we also got the Little Golden Books about both of the rides. While they are about the DL versions and not the DW versions, there is more than enough overlap that DD recognized things. This made it very fun, trying to spot things she remembered from those prior experiences, like a previous poster mentioned.

 

[piccolopat]

DGS at 2 1/2 did fine on pirates but got scared in the stretching room at HM. I held him and told him it was all make believe and he was fine for the ride portion.

 

[Planogirl]

My son was more scared of the stretching room than the actual Haunted Mansion ride plus it took some effort to talk him into riding. Once he caved, he loved the ride itself.

Pirates was only a little scary for him.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Took my 3yo on both and she was nervous to go on haunted mansion but was fine once actually on it. No issue with pirates at all.

 

[Lsdolphin]

Scariest part of HM for littles is when lights go out in stretching room before you get on doom buggy.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Our kids didn't find either excessively scary - probably HM more than POC. Actually - they found the original Snow White attraction in MK way scarier than either of these!! Of course, that's a moot point now since it's gone - but kids react differently.....

 

[CarolynFH]

It’s been 30 years, but our DD’s plaintive cry of “Daddy, carry….” at age 5 in the HM stretching room is still well-remembered in our family.

 

[MICKIMINI]

When our son was about 7, a friend of mine along with her 5 yo made their first trip to WDW. Our son was a veteran by then, but his buddy screamed and fussed outside of POC. His mom got him in there somehow (I think I blanked it from my memory LOL) and when he got out he was singing "...yo, ho, a pirate's life for me..." and had a ball. I suspect we rode it multiple times after that. It was the mid-1990's after all when you could do such a thing.

 

[hilltopper152]

Neither. My daughter has rode it: 8 weeks old, twice at 1, twice at 2. No reaction. Now she is 3.5 and maybe a little skeptical of some characters in HM but not scared. I also never built it up to be something scary and just tell her its a ride.

Now when I was 5, I about ripped a ladies shirt off in the "stretching room" on HM and must admit that my dad did nothing but add to it by not just explaining its part of the ride. I guess my daughter is tougher than me ha.

 

[juxtapose]

Pirates ride drop has scared both my kids at different ages. HM has too for the stretching room but they have always loved the actual ride. I asked to skip the stretching room when my high anxiety son was little but was told no so we didn’t ride that trip.

 

[wiggy500]

My six-year-old nephew lost it in the stretching room on Haunted Mansion and missed the ride itself. He was fine with Pirates. I'm skipping both with my two-year-old, but I kind of feel like it might go better at a younger age. It's going to depend on the kid. But I wouldn't underestimate how scary Haunted Mansion is if you are not an adult.

 

[robinb]

My daughter refused to go on Pirates for about 2 years. She was about 8 and I am still not sure what scared her. Finally, I said “OK, I like Pirates. We’re going without you. Hang here with your dad’s phone and we’ll be back.” Two times of waiting, she decided that she’d go with us again.

 

[pixiedust33]

Pirates ride drop has scared both my kids at different ages. HM has too for the stretching room but they have always loved the actual ride. I asked to skip the stretching room when my high anxiety son was little but was told no so we didn’t ride that trip.

Oooh I've never heard of someone not being allowed to skip the stretching room! I was definitely planning to ask to skip it, but now I'm worried!

 

[KPeterso]

My nephew hated pirates at just shy of 3. We figured out from asking him that he expected it to be more Jake and the Neverland Pirates that he watched on Disney Junior. Oops! At 4, he was still very skeptical about riding, but the adults overruled him and said we wanted to ride it. He still did not like it. His little brother was not totally phased at the same age. We did not ride it when we went a few months ago, but I am sure he would have been fine now that he is 11.

We never took either of the boys on Haunted. Their mother did not want to worry about them being scared, especially after Pirates. I did not blame her. I think they would be fine now.

 

[katilac]

I'd probably lean toward skipping both of those with a two-year-old, as there are just so many other things to do. Most toddlers are not okay with total darkness, particularly in a strange place.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong: I don't think any of the dark rides aimed at kids have that same total darkness. I cannot see a thing during that part of Haunted Mansion.

 

[pixiedust33]

I'd probably lean toward skipping both of those with a two-year-old, as there are just so many other things to do. Most toddlers are not okay with total darkness, particularly in a strange place.

Our trip was actually last week and we did end up doing Haunted Mansion! It think it scared him a bit because he was hugging me pretty tightly, but he didn't freak out or cry and he said afterwards that "it was dark but I liked it" in a way that he may have been trying to convince himself he enjoyed it haha. We just took a very lighthearted tone and pointed stuff out to him like "look at that silly dancing ghost!" I also gave him a glow stick, on a tip from another mom. Definitely would have been a different story if he was on his own, but he doesn't have a particular fear of the dark and sleeps in pitch blackness.

Now, did he enjoy it as much as the Tomorrowland Speedway and meeting Mickey? No way. But sometimes mom and dad get to have some fun too and I don't think it traumatized him either.

 

[genebean203.5]

My niece, 4yo, will go on Tower of Terror and tell you that it's not scary. She will even offer to hold your hand if you tell her you might be scared. She will not go on Pirates because there is something about that ride in particular that scares her.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

My niece, 4yo, will go on Tower of Terror and tell you that it's not scary. She will even offer to hold your hand if you tell her you might be scared. She will not go on Pirates because there is something about that ride in particular that scares her.

Been awhile but one grandson when 4 loved Tower of Terror but did not like Haunted Mansion as that one was boring

 

[smrice95]

It's the stretching room and the darkness and the screams.

I've taken all 5 of mine several times, ages from 5 months up. None of them have ever been scared on Pirates. Half of them still will not get back on Haunted Mansion.

Agree. The stretching room can be scary. Was for my kiddos. They loved pirates, but it was the scream that did them in. You can skip the room. I wish I had known that because the ride isn't scary.