38" not the same at all parks :-)

[MerMermaid79]

We just got back from an amazing 7 day WDW trip. The only downside of the trip was that DD(3) measured different at different parks.
We measured her at home and she is 38" without shoes. So we made FPs for 7DMT and Kali. We get to 7DMT and they measure her and she gets in without a problem. FF 2 days and we go to AK, walk over to the FP line at Kali and she does not make it!!! So our DD had magically shrunk a few inches at the parks and then has thankfully gained those inches back when we got home
We did not make a huge deal of it at the park because we did not want to upset her, but we were bummed because it was one of the very few rides that she could go on at AK and we could all do as a family :-(
As for shrinking while walking all day at the parks, we had a stroller for her and our FP at 7DMT was at 2-3 PM and Kali at 1.30 - 2.30

 

[han22735]

That stinks. Did she have on the same shoes?

 

[bumbershoot]

I know you tried to make an argument against the obvious, but it doesn't fly with this former chiropractor who knows about the body.

The slight dehydration of a park trip and not enough sleep will do that to you! We all shrink as the day goes on (ever had to adjust the driver seat at the end of a long hard day, then adjust it back after a nice long restful night?), and our rest time is when our bodies replenish the fluid insider our intervertebral discs. If you aren't getting enough water or rest (and few of us do during a themepark trip) then you aren't replenishing. And yep, you're going to be smaller.

And slumping down in a stroller isn't going to be that much different than walking.

Not to mention 3 year olds have a hard time standing straight and tall anyway. The concept of trying to hit your head on that measuring bar goes against everything a 3 year old stands for.

It's why we couldn't ride star tours at Disneyland on our first trip, well added to by a jerk cm who had his hand pressing on ds's shoulder. No biggie. We didn't blame the stick. We blamed the cm for pushing down and ds for being a normal 3 year old who didn't actually want to bang his head.

Now he's a crazy-tall 12 year old who wants to measure for everything. It's getting a bit ridiculous since he's inches taller than me lol, but that early lesson of "if you stood straight and tall you could have gotten on) paid off for years.

 

[Micca]

Glad you didn't let it spoil your trip but that is disappointing. Hard to say what the discrepancy was, I know people shrink a bit as the day wears on but that shouldn't be too substantial--a few inches??? Surely not. You were smart not to make a big thing of it, the CMs have to abide by whatever the measuring tool is, there's no hope of getting them to bend the rules.

 

[MerMermaid79]

That stinks. Did she have on the same shoes?

Yep - same sneakers .
We did do rider switch and she had fun watching from the overlook. At this point she was so used to not going on some rides and just watching big brother that it didn't faze her much.

 

[MerMermaid79]

Glad you didn't let it spoil your trip but that is disappointing. Hard to say what the discrepancy was, I know people shrink a bit as the day wears on but that shouldn't be too substantial--a few inches??? Surely not. You were smart not to make a big thing of it, the CMs have to abide by whatever the measuring tool is, there's no hope of getting them to bend the rules.

Yeah - that's why we didn't argue with the CM. But it is good to know for the future too. This was the kids' first trip so they were happy to ride on any rides - I am sure it will be different from the next time onwards when they are older and know what the different rides entail.

 

[MerMermaid79]

I know you tried to make an argument against the obvious, but it doesn't fly with this former chiropractor who knows about the body.

The slight dehydration of a park trip and not enough sleep will do that to you! We all shrink as the day goes on (ever had to adjust the driver seat at the end of a long hard day, then adjust it back after a nice long restful night?), and our rest time is when our bodies replenish the fluid insider our intervertebral discs. If you aren't getting enough water or rest (and few of us do during a themepark trip) then you aren't replenishing. And yep, you're going to be smaller.

And slumping down in a stroller isn't going to be that much different than walking.

Not to mention 3 year olds have a hard time standing straight and tall anyway. The concept of trying to hit your head on that measuring bar goes against everything a 3 year old stands for.

It's why we couldn't ride star tours at Disneyland on our first trip, well added to by a jerk cm who had his hand pressing on ds's shoulder. No biggie. We didn't blame the stick. We blamed the cm for pushing down and ds for being a normal 3 year old who didn't actually want to bang his head.

Now he's a crazy-tall 12 year old who wants to measure for everything. It's getting a bit ridiculous since he's inches taller than me lol, but that early lesson of "if you stood straight and tall you could have gotten on) paid off for years.

We figured that it was the body's natural tendency to shrink after long days at the parks - but she was atleast a good inch shorter than the stick, and that kind of took us by surprise.
She still managed to have a good time and was happy to go on Kiliminjaro safari right afterwards and see her favorite lions.

 

[JohnneeO]

We all shrink as the day goes on (ever had to adjust the driver seat at the end of a long hard day, then adjust it back after a nice long restful night?), and our rest time is when our bodies replenish the fluid insider our intervertebral discs. If you aren't getting enough water or rest (and few of us do during a themepark trip) then you aren't replenishing. And yep, you're going to be smaller.

This is obviously how my DD went from the Rebel Spy to being rejected from Star Tours during evening EMH, all in the same day. (We got 4 paper FP's for our trouble, which she used to ride Star Tours again later in the trip!)

 

[mickeyluv'r]

(slight) Discrepancies in measuring sticks at various rides have long been reported on the DIS.

I can't speak to the present, but in the past, one was well reported here at Mission: Space. The ride used 2 different sticks: the first was at the entrance to the queue, the second was further into the queue. Many kids made it past the first checkpoint, only to deemed too short at the second measurement!

It might be fun sometimes to measure the ride sticks used for accuracy. As a society, we tend to just assume measurements are accurate, but who knows? When was the last time you checked to see if the gas pump was REALLY giving you a gallon of gas? The box of cereal really contains 16 ounces?

We KNOW Disney has a creative understanding of time....(per the accuracy of posted waits).


While shrinking probably does occur, my bet is that the measuring devices aren't 100% accurate. That and kids not standing fully up.

Think about it, how many people think they want to ride Splash, but chicken out at the last minute. If your family made a big effort to be at Splash for rope drop, or used a FP, then you might not eagerly incur their wrath by openly chickening out.

Alas though, if you aren't QUITE tall enough to ride, then it isn't YOUR fault, right?

 

[loutoo]

When was the last time you checked to see if the gas pump was REALLY giving you a gallon of gas? The box of cereal really contains 16 ounces?

I have not checked these things, but they are checked multiple times a year by our state government and are "sealed" as a symbol of their accuracy. I don't think that ride measuring sticks receive that level of rigor

 

[mistysue]

Just taking a moment to be a bit jealous of 3 year olds getting on those rides... My youngest was 5 on our last trip, we go every summer and it was his first time being allowed on the barnstormer! Yeah, he was under 3' until just after his 5th birthday. He just turned 6 and next week we will finally get to do splash together as a family.

 

[wilkeliza]

I have not checked these things, but they are checked multiple times a year by our state government and are "sealed" as a symbol of their accuracy. I don't think that ride measuring sticks receive that level of rigor

Measuring sticks are suppose to be checked for accuracy every day but formally checked quarterly. I don't think there is any government agency checking that but it is apart of the safety audits of attractions that Disney does.

 

[JohnneeO]

(slight) Discrepancies in measuring sticks at various rides have long been reported on the DIS.

I can't speak to the present, but in the past, one was well reported here at Mission: Space. The ride used 2 different sticks: the first was at the entrance to the queue, the second was further into the queue. Many kids made it past the first checkpoint, only to deemed too short at the second measurement!

It might be fun sometimes to measure the ride sticks used for accuracy. As a society, we tend to just assume measurements are accurate, but who knows? When was the last time you checked to see if the gas pump was REALLY giving you a gallon of gas? The box of cereal really contains 16 ounces?

While shrinking probably does occur, my bet is that the measuring devices aren't 100% accurate. That and kids not standing fully up.

Outside of Star Tours, we noticed that the ground outside the entrance is not level. So, depending where the CM places the stick in relation to where the child is standing can impact the measurement result in either direction.

 

[Jennasis]

There are a bunch of reasons why a kid may pass muster at one ride but not another. Stick could be inaccurate (but which one?), kid could have shrunk (it's a real thing), kid might not be standing up all the way, and on and on.

I would lean towards the measuring sticks being fine and shrinkage as the likely culprit. Glad your DD took it all in stride.

 

[HydroGuy]

We just got back from an amazing 7 day WDW trip. The only downside of the trip was that DD(3) measured different at different parks.
We measured her at home and she is 38" without shoes. So we made FPs for 7DMT and Kali. We get to 7DMT and they measure her and she gets in without a problem. FF 2 days and we go to AK, walk over to the FP line at Kali and she does not make it!!! So our DD had magically shrunk a few inches at the parks and then has thankfully gained those inches back when we got home
We did not make a huge deal of it at the park because we did not want to upset her, but we were bummed because it was one of the very few rides that she could go on at AK and we could all do as a family :-(
As for shrinking while walking all day at the parks, we had a stroller for her and our FP at 7DMT was at 2-3 PM and Kali at 1.30 - 2.30

Hmmm. Maybe she should not hang with those dwarves in the future?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I have not checked these things, but they are checked multiple times a year by our state government and are "sealed" as a symbol of their accuracy. I don't think that ride measuring sticks receive that level of rigor

Suffice it to say, accuracy is always relative, but small improvements in accuracy can = amazing outcomes.

How often does the average gas customer think to check for that seal?

When I searched this topic, the first hit I found was an NBC news story about a Maryland inspector. In Maryland, pumps only get checked every other year, and 12 percent are cited for shortchanging customers, though some 16 percent were doing the opposite.

An NPR article reported that the standard measure used to check gas pumps has an allowance of 6 cubic inches per 5 gallons, which = just under 1/2 a cup per 5 gallons. So with that much of an error, the pump still gets a seal!

Gas pumps are not 100% accurate, though the error can go both ways.

 

[mom2rtk]

Maybe she didn't really want to ride Kali and didn't try to "hit" the stick?

 

[RachaelA]

We had a similar issue with EE at AK last fall. The CM even said their stick was off and 'most would have let her on but he wasn't going to' but she measured fine at Space Mountain the next day.

 

[DisneyOma]

Suffice it to say, accuracy is always relative, but small improvements in accuracy can = amazing outcomes.

How often does the average gas customer think to check for that seal?

When I searched this topic, the first hit I found was an NBC news story about a Maryland inspector. In Maryland, pumps only get checked every other year, and 12 percent are cited for shortchanging customers, though some 16 percent were doing the opposite.

An NPR article reported that the standard measure used to check gas pumps has an allowance of 6 cubic inches per 5 gallons, which = just under 1/2 a cup per 5 gallons. So with that much of an error, the pump still gets a seal!

Gas pumps are not 100% accurate, though the error can go both ways.

1/2 cup per 5 gallons is less than one percent. .5 cups/80 cups times 100% = .625% That's not anywhere near being described as "So with that much of an error."

To address the height check differences - yes, the ground level makes a difference. If the area is textured pavement, sloped for drainage, etc, there may be a discrepancy. Ask the CM to move the stick to another area (right there, not across the walkway) and see if there is a difference.