Question about rides and clingy kid!

mousefan215 · May 25, 2017

hey guys ... what is your experience with riding attractions with children sitting in your lap? I'm not talking BTMR or 7DMT...( I'm talking Winnie the Pooh , HM, Little Mermaid, TSM) those that have lap bars but not a rollercoaster type. I know my 1 year old will sit on a lap with no problem. But what about my very clingy and scardy cat 3 year old?? At what age/size do they not let a child sit on your lap for the rides? I can just see my daughter freaking out because she wants to sit on my lap and can't

brooke789 · May 25, 2017

My experience is it is not an option on many rides.

Last trip my 2 year old rode on my lap on:
Pooh, peter pan, haunted Mansion, safari

Was not allowed on lap (thus did not get to ride) on:
Tomorrowland and the family raft ride at blizzard beach

Based on your list I think shell get to ride any of those! The lap bar must be the secret for laps.

KrazeeK120 · May 25, 2017

I think it probably just depends on space. We were there 2 weeks ago with our 18 month old (33.25 inches, 30 lbs) and the only ride where he sat on my lap was Dumbo (and like rides) because there wasn't enough room on the bench for all 3 of us. I was more comfortable with him sitting beside me on the rides quite honestly. But I think you'll be fine if the bar can lower. Hopefully someone else will be able to provide more concrete answer for you.

mousefan215 · May 25, 2017

Thanks guys... I'm hoping that as long as the lap bar can lower down on us ( which it should) that they will let my 33 lb 36 " tall toddler sit on my lap. She might surprise me and want to sit next to me, we have until October for her to get out of her clingy stage, but I'm not optimistic! Lol... I know she will enjoy the rides, but when she's apprehensive about something, she HAS to be sitting on me! I think for safari and rides with bench seating, she'll be ok sitting between my husband and I ... maybe

StitchesGr8Fan · May 25, 2017

We had a different experience when we took our 1 year old (and later 2 year old). We were told she had to be sitting in seat and could not be on our laps for all rides.

wilkeliza · May 25, 2017

Technical rule in attractions is anything older then an infant has to be on their but facing forward on the bench not in a lap. Once a child can support themselves sitting up on their own they really prefer them to be on the seat. Lap bars pretty much guarantee butt on seat.

DLgal · May 25, 2017

My experience is that most CMs will make a kid older than about 2 sit on the seat, especially if there is any sort of restraint. You can lap sit on the boat rides,railroad, etc. You have to remember that restraints exist on the slower rides in case of a sudden e stop, and you would NOT want a toddler to get crushed between an adult body and the lap bar in that case.

DisneyWorldbuff · May 25, 2017

CMs always make my kids sit flat on the seat of any ride. Specifically on Pooh, Toy Story Mania and Peter Pan I can remember being told that my toddler had to be fully seated next to me. Thankfully, she is much better about it now. I hope it works out for you, have a great trip!

westie55 · May 25, 2017

I have taken DS to WDW 3 times and DL once, all before age 2. Our most recent trip he was 21 months old and 29 lbs. He's tall for his age and could definitely pass for 2. He sat in my lap even on rides with lap bars on all 4 trips. Not once were we told he needed to be seated on the bench. He was able to sit up on his own every time we went, so that didn't seem to be a factor in our experience. I have no experience with bigger children, however.

KrazeeK120 · May 25, 2017

mousefan215 said:
Thanks guys... I'm hoping that as long as the lap bar can lower down on us ( which it should) that they will let my 33 lb 36 " tall toddler sit on my lap. She might surprise me and want to sit next to me, we have until October for her to get out of her clingy stage, but I'm not optimistic! Lol... I know she will enjoy the rides, but when she's apprehensive about something, she HAS to be sitting on me! I think for safari and rides with bench seating, she'll be ok sitting between my husband and I ... maybe

Kids can sit on laps for the safari, but they made it very clear that the child CAN NOT be passed back and forth between parents once the vehicle was moving. They had to pick a parent and stick with that parent for the duration.

ajwolfe · May 25, 2017

I think for the most part CMs are going to tell you that she needs to sit with her butt on the seat between you all. Also, I think I would take some time explaining to her that she will need to do that and this is the safest thing for her that way it will help resolve a potential melt down later on.

mousefan215 · May 25, 2017

Reasoning with a toddler ( well, my child) is hard to do when she's a little scared. We will make the best of it and if we have to exit the ride because she won't sit beside me, then we will. I would never put her in a position of danger, I didn't think that on the slow moving rides it would be dangerous for her to sit on me. I see children sitting on parents laps all the time in the rides, I was just wondering if there was a specific cut off that they don't allow it. Thanks for all the replys

Betty Rohrer · May 25, 2017

mousefan215 said:
Reasoning with a toddler ( well, my child) is hard to do when she's a little scared. We will make the best of it and if we have to exit the ride because she won't sit beside me, then we will. I would never put her in a position of danger, I didn't think that on the slow moving rides it would be dangerous for her to sit on me. I see children sitting on parents laps all the time in the rides, I was just wondering if there was a specific cut off that they don't allow it. Thanks for all the replys

you would not know about an E stop before it happens but any ride with her on your lap with a lap bar you risk pushing her against the bar and that includes slow rides. question how do handle riding in car seat when she doesn't want to?

mousefan215 · May 25, 2017

Betty Rohrer said:
you would not know about an E stop before it happens but any ride with her on your lap with a lap bar you risk pushing her against the bar and that includes slow rides. question how do handle riding in car seat when she doesn't want to?

Sorry, but no need to be rude. People ride the attractions at WDW all the time with infants strapped to them and it is allowed. If a sudden stop could be THAT dangerous, I would hardly think CM's would allow any babies/children on the rides. And comparing a ride for pleasure to a vehicle car seat is hardly the same. Of COURSE I buckle her up in my car regardless of wether or not she wants to. Why would I force her to ride a ride if she didn't want to and she would cry the whole time and ruin the experience for people around us?? Thank you, but the question I asked was about size of child being allowed to sit on my lap and if there was a size/age limit and a few people have kindly answered my question.

Betty Rohrer · May 26, 2017

mousefan215 said:
Sorry, but no need to be rude. People ride the attractions at WDW all the time with infants strapped to them and it is allowed. If a sudden stop could be THAT dangerous, I would hardly think CM's would allow any babies/children on the rides. And comparing a ride for pleasure to a vehicle car seat is hardly the same. Of COURSE I buckle her up in my car regardless of wether or not she wants to. Why would I force her to ride a ride if she didn't want to and she would cry the whole time and ruin the experience for people around us?? Thank you, but the question I asked was about size of child being allowed to sit on my lap and if there was a size/age limit and a few people have kindly answered my question.

I was not being rude just asking because if not allowed it is not allowed any more than car seat. I know my daughter was worried about lap bar and her 4 month old on a couple of rides and Toy Story was one of them which is where I am coming from

katyjeka · May 26, 2017

If you are concerned that she won't sit beside you they will let you leave the line. I understand a "clingy" child, we have one, but at that age we found very little that she could ride while on our lap. I don't believe the above was being rude but rides do often come to a sudden stop and the bar could be very close if you have a child that is 3. We were "mean" parents but if our little one wouldn't take a seat we just left and tried something else. She eventually realized that she was missing a lot and decided to take a seat. Have a great trip.

mousefan215 · May 26, 2017

I agree with you, we will just leave the line and move on. No big deal, I was just trying to get an idea ahead of time. What I found rude with the above, was asking me if I buckled up my child in a car seat if they didn't want to, which of course I do, very different than forcing a child on a ride if they don't want to ride. Thank you for your reply

Edited: replying to katyjeka, forgot to hit reply button for her comment

mousefan215 · May 26, 2017

Betty Rohrer said:
I was not being rude just asking because if not allowed it is not allowed any more than car seat. I know my daughter was worried about lap bar and her 4 month old on a couple of rides and Toy Story was one of them which is where I am coming from

ok, thank you. I just know there can be inconsistencies with what CM's allow and don't allow. Was just looking for personal experiences from people so that I could be prepared.

Betty Rohrer · May 27, 2017

mousefan215 said:
I agree with you, we will just leave the line and move on. No big deal, I was just trying to get an idea ahead of time. What I found rude with the above, was asking me if I buckled up my child in a car seat if they didn't want to, which of course I do, very different than forcing a child on a ride if they don't want to ride. Thank you for your reply

Edited: replying to katyjeka, forgot to hit reply button for her comment

it is not different if it is for the safety of your child that the child sit in own seat of ride no difference than car seat. I have a sister in law who still holds her now grandbabies in car because she feels it is safer if child cries when being put in car seat

KrazeeK120 · May 27, 2017

Betty Rohrer said:
it is not different if it is for the safety of your child that the child sit in own seat of ride no difference than car seat. I have a sister in law who still holds her now grandbabies in car because she feels it is safer if child cries when being put in car seat

I think there's a pretty big difference between, say, Journey of the Little Mermaid and a car traveling 70 MPH down the freeway. Plenty of people have reported being able to wear infants on several rides, and we were explicitly told on Dumbo and the safari that it's fine to hold kids. For other rides, OP will just have to ask the CM if their child is too big to be held (because yes, at some point, it would be a safety issue as the child should be a certain distance away from the lap bar).

Question about rides and clingy kid!

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Colorado

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Share this page