How old was your child when s/he hit 40 inches?

[cush1]

DS was 40 inches with his shoes on when he went to his first trip two weeks before his 3rd birthday. He went on Splash Mt, Test track and Tower of Terror and loved them all.

My little girl reached 40 inches right before she turned 4 yrs old.

 

[scrappinannie]

We have a trip coming up in October. It will be the third trip for our son, who will be two months shy of 4 years old, to be exact. I measured him in February, and he was 39 1/4, so I assumed he'd hit that "magical" 40 inches by October. I haven't measured him lately, but I'm going to tonight! In the meantime, while I'm procrastinating at work, I was wondering what age other kids were when they were finally able to do those 40 inch rides. He really, really, really wants to do Splash this year!

Our son is just like yours, 3 yrs old and almost 40 inches tall. He will be 4 in November and we are also going to the World in October. He *might* be tall enough in tennis shoes but I haven't checked lately. I am wondering if Disney has some sort of height check you can do like at other amusement parks so that he is measured once, cleared and good to go. We live not too far from Cedar Point and have annual passes so we go a lot...finally learned to get the kids height measured as soon as we get there and get the wrist band that states their height so we don't have to worry about getting denied a ride for being too short. That happens more than you'd expect. Plus, did you know that kids SHRINK as the day goes on?

 

[MrsTeddy]

My son was 39" at 3 when we went so not tall (or brave either!) for the big rides but at his 4 yr appointment last month he was 42"! So for our surprise December trip in hoping he will be interested!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Our son is just like yours, 3 yrs old and almost 40 inches tall. He will be 4 in November and we are also going to the World in October. He *might* be tall enough in tennis shoes but I haven't checked lately. I am wondering if Disney has some sort of height check you can do like at other amusement parks so that he is measured once, cleared and good to go. We live not too far from Cedar Point and have annual passes so we go a lot...finally learned to get the kids height measured as soon as we get there and get the wrist band that states their height so we don't have to worry about getting denied a ride for being too short. That happens more than you'd expect. Plus, did you know that kids SHRINK as the day goes on?

No, Disney does not do this. They tried it at some point, but found that parents would have an older child get measured and get the band, then cut it off and re-affix it to a younger, smaller child. So that didn't work. Any child that may be close to the height requirement is measured before getting in the queue, and may be measured again before getting into the ride vehicle. (This is because parents have been known to take advantage of a distracted CM and sneak the under-height child into the queue.) So be prepared that your child may be measured twice and if either time is found to be under the height requirement, he/she will not be allowed to ride. Ride the big rides first thing! Make sure you coach your child on how to stand up nice and tall and that he/she wants to hit his head on the measuring stick (it's like an inverted L and the child's head has to hit the cross bar to be tall enough). Many kids will shrink down and shy away from hitting their heads, but you want them to hit it on the measuring stick.

 

[DadLightyear]

My son was about 40.5-41 inches during our last trip (this past June), and he's 4 years old. He absolutely loved Splash, Big Thunder, Star Tours, Soarin'!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[hurlball]

5 yo

 

[sweetnjmom]

My son just had his 4 year well visit and is 40.5 inches tall (55% for height, so average).

 

[asmit4]

Generally speaking- 4th birthday = 40 inches....that's right around the 50th percentile on the charts. However there is a WIDE variance on this. Some kids hit it as early as 3yo and others hit it at 6yo. My son was 34.75 inches at his 18 month visit so I'm guessing he will hit 40 right around 3yo.

 

[mousehunter3]

My kids are all tall. I can't recall how old my older two were, but my little guy was 40" at 3 years old. We are going to Disney a few weeks after he turns 5 and he JUST hit 44". Yay! Expedition Everest here we come!

 

[kristinradico]

My son is 5.5 years old and just hit 41 inches. He is one of the smaller kids in his Kinder class.

 

[sturowski]

When he turned 4.. We went to Disney 2 months before he turned 4 and he was barely 40 inches. He wanted to go on splash mountain so bad. The next day he wore his socks and tennis shows instead of crocs and he was the 40 inches

 

[Howgreat]

Our son was 41 inches on our trip in December and he was 3 years and 5 months old.

 

[shelbyf31]

My son was 23 months but my daughter was 3.5.

 

[mama2emi]

My little girl will be 4 in December and measured at 43.5 inches last month at the pediatrician so we are hoping she can ride Space Mountain! She keeps watching the videos and wanting to go on the 'moon ride'

 

[merdie]

I'm guessing DD was 3.5 or so. She measured 43 inches at her 4 year check up.

 

[Woodmnky]

My son is 33 months (we are going in Dec right before he turns 3). I measured him yesterday and he is above the 40 in mark that I measured from hard floor and made a mark on the wall. I am actually kind of sad about this because I feel that he is too young emotionally to deal with some of the bigger rides and I have heard that we may have an issue getting a rider swap pass since he is tall enough to ride.

 

[Mousemommy1]

It is so funny how wildly kids can vary even within the same family. My oldest DD was already 47.5" tall at the age of 5 (she is now 9 and now 55" tall). My youngest will turn 7 in November and is only 45".

 

[Ginny Favers]

She was about 2" past the measurement when we went in August and she'd just turned 4. So, probably 3 1/2.

My oldest, though, was over 40" right when she turned 3... I remember her being scared to death on Splash Mountain! Now, it's her favorite ride.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

My oldest DS and DD are twins and they reached 40 inches in height at around 3.5 years old, probably a few months earlier for oldest DD because she is tall for her age (95th percentile) and hovers over her twin brother . My youngest two kiddos reached 40 inches also around 3.5 years of age. On our most recent Disney trip DS4 was between 42-43 inches tall and that trip was a couple months after his 4th birthday.

 

[bostongrl88]

DD just had her 4 year well check and was 40.75in.