Less than an inch short

[smoochie]

My dd is abou 39 and 1/2 inches. Do you think I can get her on the 40 inch restriction rides?

 

[jctwizzer]

If the CM;s do their job, NO>

 

[SouthFLMommy]

No, probably not.

 

[rcraw45425]

they wouldn't let our DD7 on Primevil Whirl in Oct. but she was all enough in Feb.

 

[GoldenOldie]

The height requirements for rides are there for safety reasons. Disney allows their CM's no discretion when applying them. Your best bet would be to tell your daughter ahead of time that she will not be able to go on certain rides. It saves the scene that inevitably happens when they don't exceed the height of the measuring stick.

 

[Bakerswife]

I have always wondered about this though because this is a height restriction based on safety, however, if a child was wearing a pair of shoes with a higher than normal sole on them they would meet that requirement. This happened to our daughter. She chose between two different pairs of shoes she had with her. If she had chosen the other pair she would have met the requirement as she was just about 1/4 inch off. Anyway, always wondered about this. I completely understand why they say this though.

BW

 

[eblondie]

When in Disney ive quite often seen CMs wave children through...even when they have quite clearly not reached the bar they are using to measure!

 

[sters]

When we went on the Kali River rapid ride, my daughter was way, way short of the ride requirement, as reported in many guidebooks. However, to my great surprise, they had a booster seat or safety bar or something that allowed her to ride! Since she is my daredevil, unlike her older brothers, this was a delight to the entire family. This would not be the case on the coaster rides, Splash mountain etc.

 

[aubriee]

When we were there in January I saw a CM ask a little girl to take her shoes off, before he measured her. He also pressed her hair down. She was wearing a pair of flip flops that were really tall and had her hair up. It was a little too obvious that the parents were trying to give her a little more height. This was on Primeval Whirl. She did not get to ride by the way.

 

[WDSearcher]

When in Disney ive quite often seen CMs wave children through...even when they have quite clearly not reached the bar they are using to measure!

In many of those cases, the parent has already told the CM, "We're using child swap", and so the child walks through the line with parents, but waits while they go on the ride. Just because a child is waved through doesn't mean they're riding.

 

[WDSearcher]

When we were there in January I saw a CM ask a little girl to take her shoes off, before he measured her. He also pressed her hair down. She was wearing a pair of flip flops that were really tall and had her hair up. It was a little too obvious that the parents were trying to give her a little more height. This was on Primeval Whirl. She did not get to ride by the way.

It makes me laugh sometimes, what people will do to add height, thinking that the CMs won't notice. My favorite was the kid with the baseball cap stuffed with newspaper -- the parents apparently not thinking that the CM was smart enough to notice that the shape of the kids' head was a bit ... abnormal. The first CM took the hat off, tossed out the newspaper, and THEN measured the child. He was almost 2" too short!

 

[sk!mom]

Why would you want to? Height restrictions are a safety issue. If those rides you so important to me I would delay my trip until my child grew a half inch.

 

[DEff]

My 3 YO was JUST 40" and they checked her darn near every time, even on her second or third time on the same ride.

Donna

 

[joliesmom]

My DD was about a half an inch too short to ride Splah Mountain and she got turned away the first night. Well the next night (don't flame me) I took a pair of her socks and rolled them and placed them under her heels in her sneakers. She loved SM.

 

[WDSearcher]

I'm sure hundreds of people a week fudge on their kids' heights to get them on rides. And, generally, a quarter of an inch or so isn't going to put a child in harm's way. But Imagineering and Ride Safety have set standards, and those are what WDW follows.

The one thing most folks don't remember -- or may not know -- is that if they manage to get a too-short child on a ride, and that child is hurt, the CM who measured the child could be terminated, and the ride might be closed down until everyone is re-trained and all the rules are re-examined. Which means all the other folks standing in line will have to miss their ride experience. Even if the parents admit to having duped the CM to get their child on the ride, the CM still takes the fall, quite possibly along with managers or other CMs who were there as well.

I understand the desire to get kids on rides, particularly if it's a rare trip to WDW as opposed to an annual one. But do know that you are taking a chance (however slim) with your child's safety, and that even a small injury on a ride can have major consequences. Your child may not be seriously hurt, but the CMs and ride folks will end up affected either way.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

No.

I've seen CMs make kids remove their shoes/take off hats.

The height restrictions are there for safety.

 

[jennat]

Go ahead and Flame me, I say Blah, blah blah...pick good shoes A half an inch will NOT make the difference between safety and not safe. Don't pick obvious shoes but you are so close, it seems any shoes will do. In fact if you are measuring without shoes, you should be fine with them. You should have marked your post ...Only sneaky people apply that is where I come in . Just kidding, but she should be fine. Also when are you going. She could easily row a half an inch unless you are going right away.

Smiles all....just having fun!!

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I have one DD who is 47" and the other is 39". Fortunately our trip is not until Sep so I have a good shot of both of them crossing that mile stone they are just below. the hardest part will be telling DD2 she cannot ride a couple of rides due to her height. She is my daredevil and will want to try everything.

As an FYI, on our last trip, DD2 was too short for Goofy's Barnstormer. At the time, she almost always wore her hair like Pebbles from the Flinstones. Well her hair touched the height bar, but it was clear she was too short. I jokingly made a comment to the CM that her hair made her tall enough, but the CM very seriously told me hair doesn't count. I smiled and said no problem! I had no intention of actually taking my DD on a ride she was too short for, but the CM's do take safety requirements seriously!

 

[cindy21494]

We had this concern when we went in February. Our DD was right at the 40" mark with shoes. Now this is what drives me crazy, the first ride we tried was Tower of Terror (DH's idea not mine ), but she was just skimming the bottom of the bar . We were told that she needs to be just over it so that the bar will not pass over her head. This was fine by me, I was afraid she would be scared and not want to try another ride the rest of the trip.

The next ride we tried was Star Tours. She was at least a full inch over the bottom of the bar! She loved this one BTW. After that she got on Splash Mountain ( she was just over the bar). We also got her on Dinosaur (which she loved and still talks about), her head just touched the bottom of the bar.

I say to try each one. It seems that the height bars are all different and you never know unless you try.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Fizban257]

I'm all for safety, but I'm also hoping desparately that my little guy grows another inch or two before July so he can ride Splash Mountain. He still may not go on Space Mountain and a couple of others regardless of height, but he really wants to ride Splash--and I want to ride it with him.