Too Short to Ride

[YoMickey]

My soon to be 4 year old son is 39 1/2 inches tall(with shoes). We leave in a month and I can't imagine him growing 1/2 an inch in 32 days.

40" seems to open up a whole new group of rides.

What can you suggest we do? He's been so patient the last few trips with his older siblings.... I just don't want him to have to wait at exits with me or his mom this trip.

He even started eating his vegetables so he could grow big!

[debf]

Is that 39 1/2 with shoes on? If not measure him with the shoes he will be wearing in the park. Some shoes have a pretty thick sole.That might get him to the 40 inches.

[YoMickey]

Yep, that is with shoes. I'll edit the original post. Thanks. We haven't added hair gel or a hat yet. We'll wait to see how much he grows this month. His older two siblings are good for about 3-3 1/2 inches per year. He's more active than they were and growing at a slower pace.

[Callas]

Someone had links to shoe inserts. Can that someone repost them again. I am in the same boat as you. He is just barely under 40 inches.

Hehe... I can't wait for this thread to develop : )

[Mama Lo]

Two years ago we had this same problem with our DS. We went to Target and bought him "tall" shoes. They were sneakers that had substantial heals. We carried them with us in the stroller so he didn't have to wear them the entire time.

We did have a bad experience at Soarin, he stood up at the bar and the CM there took out a credit card type thing and she could barely slip it between his head and the bar, that denied him the ride. He was very sad. He had just ridden Test Track and various other 40" rides.

Good luck!

[TxMickeyLover]

Originally Posted by Mama Lo

We did have a bad experience at Soarin, he stood up at the bar and the CM there took out a credit card type thing and she could barely slip it between his head and the bar, that denied him the ride.

We have seen this happen a few times. Also, a couple of times, we saw CM's ask children to remove their shoes if it looked like they were only tall enough because of the shoes they were wearing (i.e. big soles).

[asoko]

My son grew about 2 inches in less than 2 mos. I did his checkup in July and remembered thinking he would never grow enough to ride the 40 inch rides, by the time Sept trip came around he had grown and was able to ride Star Tours, Soarin, and Test Track.

I have a friend who's 5 year old grew 5 inches over the summer before school.

[YoMickey]

So there is hope!

What were they feeding him?? get me the diet plan!

How about sending my Jack-Jack some of that pixie dust!

[brymolmom]

I wouldn't wait at exits....Do something fun instead. We all know there are a ton of things shorter kids can do at WDW.....So while the others ride a 'bigger' ride - go ride Dumbo or (my dd's favorite when she was under 40'') - go get a Mickey Ice Cream bar. Maybe change your plans to set a specific amount of time each afternoon for the bigger kids(and parent) to go do all the bigger rides while one parent and child do other fun things. Then, the next day - swap parents so each parent has a chance to go with each group of kids.

DD was about 39 and 3/4 the last time we went that she DIDN'T get on the rides. I had prepared her and she was good natured about not getting on (of course, I told her we'd be getting ice cream instead - so it's a win/win). I had secretly hoped that she WOULD pass the height test and we even tried on Splash a few different times, but no good. So I was glad I had prepared for that outcome.

[YoMickey]

yea, we usually do have a diversion or two up our sleeves. We've also prepared the older two that we won't be abusing our fastpass strategies and riding Soar'n 3 times a day as well. Did I mention it's our third trip in 12 months. It's also our last trip for 2-3 years.

[ParrotBill]

Originally Posted by Mama Lo

the CM there took out a credit card type thing and she could barely slip it between his head and the bar,

Good luck!

Yikes, was she trained by the TSA or something? Sounds like airport security.

[MHSweb79]

No, I'm sure she wasn't trained by the TSA! Believe me, the CM's have seen every trick in the book to make short kids a little bit taller. Since the rule is there for safety, they enforce it pretty rigorously. As they should!!!!

The OP has admitted that their DS is a half-inch too short. So the best strategy would be to prepare him with alternatives to riding these attractions, rather than trying to figure out a way to make him appear taller than he really is.

[YoMickey]

The intent of the thread was to find out other peoples experiences. I think some of the rides could be 38". We are prepared to find alternative activities for him but at the same time, I would absolutely love to hear more about what other people have tried. I think that would be comical.

[KimK2006]

It is much easier with girls, b/c they can wear the tall flip flops. Measure him a week or so before the trip. If he is still too short, look for the tennis shoes with bigger soles. Prepare him in case they do make him take his shoes off. (Mine were never made to do this, but I have read where others were asked to.) Also, teach him to stand up straight. This makes a difference, too. If he doesn't make the cut, take him for something "special" - a Mickey bar, ride on his favorite ride, etc.

They will sometimes give him a "special" fastpass to use for the ride the next time he comes and is tall enough. They did this to my DS when he was probably 1/4 of an inch too short for RNR. He was crushed, but it was fun to make a big deal of it the next year when he was tall enough.

Tell him to drink his milk and make those bones grow!

[RMulieri]

Disney is very strict with height restrictions, and are quite attuned to parents trying to "Fudge" their childs height. I would prepare your child ahead of time for the possibility of not being able to ride .