Surprisingly Scary Disney Attractions for Little Kids

By: Justin and Diana

We have incredible memories of taking our kids to Walt Disney World when they were little.  Our youngest child was tall, so he could ride all of the rides at age two.  We never had too much of a problem with the kids being afraid of attractions, with the exception of my daughter and number two below.  For the most part we kept them away from rides like the Haunted Mansion that are obviously scarier.  However, some of the attractions that you think are kid friendly can be a bit scary for small kids.  I am not telling you to avoid these attractions, because they are great.  I just think you should be aware….

1. Mickey’s Philharmagic – This is a wonderful 3D movie.  However, it is a dark theatre, the noises are loud, and there is a LOT of audio and visual input.  This is one of our favorite attractions and almost everyone loves it  but once in a while a child will have a bit of a meltdown when the lights go out.

2. Any character photo, especially masked characters –

“YAAAAAaaaa, we are going to meet Mickey, or Minnie, or Captain Hook….” You have waited in the line, the kids have been antsy, they have their autograph books out, and pens in hand.  You round the corner and there is Mickey. But picture him through the eyes of a 1 year old.  Now he is a rodent 3 times your size who is missing some fingers and has a head the size of a small car.  My advice, try some princesses before the masked characters.  

3. Voyage of the Little Mermaid (the show, not the ride)– Ursula is huge and evil.  Some kids don’t like that.

4. It’s Tough to be a Bug – There are more screaming petrified kids in It’s Tough to be a Bug than any other attraction at Walt Disney World.  It should be a cute show right?  The truth is, it is a cute, great show.  But it is 3D, and it gets dark like Mickey’s Philharmagic.  On top of that there are a few surprises that are frightening to kids.  Without any spoilers, let’s just say that the bugs are big, and some of them are not as nice as others.  This attraction is normally full of screamers.

Are there any other attractions that should have made our list? Comment below.