40 inch height requirement

[MikeTheMonster]

My 4 year old is currently 39 1/2 inches barefoot and 40 inches with her sneakers on. How strict will cast members be for the 40 inch requirement rides? I'm assuming they measure her with her sneakers on. Or, do they take that into consideration when measuring her for 40 inches and would in fact consider her to be just short of the height requirement?

 

[ptlohmysoul]

They measure with shoes on, so I'm assuming they take shoes into account when determining proper height requirements.

 

[KateP85]

My 4-year old is about the same - a little under 40 inches with bare feet, a little over with shoes on. He's been measured for every single ride with a 40 inch requirement but he's passed them all. Teach your daughter to stand up tall - not on tip toes, just tall - and make sure she understands that the goal is for her head to hit the stick, not duck under it. I would tell her that she might get on the rides, and she might not, and if she gets turned away, don't make a big deal of it.

 

[Minsc]

It's been a long time since we had to worry about this, but we did find that some CM's were more scrutinizing than others. My youngest daughter was right at 44 inches on a visit. She had been waiting for the day she could ride Space Mountain. The CM measured her on the first attempt and passed her. We rode five times in a row. We came back later in the afternoon, and the CM would not let her on after a halfhearted attempt at measuring her. We didn't make a fuss, because we understand it's for safety (my daughter made a big fuss after we walked away...). That night, we went back, and a third CM measured her carefully, including reminding her to stand up straight, and she passed again.

When you are on the cusp, you may run into situations where it's a no go. Don't let it bother you. It happens.

 

[DizDaD7]

My 4 year old is currently 39 1/2 inches barefoot and 40 inches with her sneakers on. How strict will cast members be for the 40 inch requirement rides? I'm assuming they measure her with her sneakers on. Or, do they take that into consideration when measuring her for 40 inches and would in fact consider her to be just short of the height requirement?

No worries, I'm sure she'll be fine.... Possible a small sock rolled up in the shoe?

 

[bumbershoot]

Teach your daughter to stand up tall - not on tip toes, just tall - and make sure she understands that the goal is for her head to hit the stick, not duck under it. I would tell her that she might get on the rides, and she might not, and if she gets turned away, don't make a big deal of it.

Yep.

And know that just bc the child rides once doesn't mean they'll ride again right in a row. Sometimes the ride itself squashes you down so you don't hit the mark in re-rides.

 

[Micca]

I think the only time they have a child remove their shoes is if they suspect something sneaky is going on. A 4 yr. old in stilletto heels--that's a red flag.

 

[cosmicmommy]

This happened to us with the 44 inch requirement. Cleared for Everest... cleared for Space Mountain... no go on Mission: Space Green and he's 43 11/12 without shoes. We tried remeasuring twice... same thing. I told them their sticks must be different than Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom or wrong, but it wasn't worth arguing. Thankfully, it wasn't one he was super excited to do, so we skipped over to the exit and did the playground while his brothers rode.

 

[ghtx]

This happened to us with the 44 inch requirement. Cleared for Everest... cleared for Space Mountain... no go on Mission: Space Green and he's 43 11/12 without shoes. We tried remeasuring twice... same thing. I told them their sticks must be different than Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom or wrong, but it wasn't worth arguing. Thankfully, it wasn't one he was super excited to do, so we skipped over to the exit and did the playground while his brothers rode.

Being able to skip Mission Space is definitely a blessing in disguise!

 

[maxiesmom]

This happened to us with the 44 inch requirement. Cleared for Everest... cleared for Space Mountain... no go on Mission: Space Green and he's 43 11/12 without shoes. We tried remeasuring twice... same thing. I told them their sticks must be different than Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom or wrong, but it wasn't worth arguing. Thankfully, it wasn't one he was super excited to do, so we skipped over to the exit and did the playground while his brothers rode.

We all shrink a little as the day goes on--our spines compress. And if you just hit the height requirement that little bit can make you not hit it. Likely their sticks were not different, your child probably shrunk just a tad. When they are thisclose even standing slightly different can make the difference too.

Disney doesn't mess around with this one. If they can slide a piece of paper between your child's head and the top of the stick, they are not riding. Arguing doesn't help at all, this is one they don't give on.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just wondering-has anyone had a child who cleared the height requirement at home, but then got to Disney and gotten denied? We have a child who's just 40 inches now (without shoes), and SDMT has a 40 inch requirement, so she's really looking forward to riding it this time. However, I'm so afraid she'll get denied. The only thing that makes me a little more confident is that our vacation isn't for a few more months-time for her to keep growing!

 

[Minniemoo15]

Just wondering-has anyone had a child who cleared the height requirement at home, but then got to Disney and gotten denied? We have a child who's just 40 inches now (without shoes), and SDMT has a 40 inch requirement, so she's really looking forward to riding it this time. However, I'm so afraid she'll get denied. The only thing that makes me a little more confident is that our vacation isn't for a few more months-time for her to keep growing!

SDMT is only 38 inches

My dd is JUST 40 inches too , so we aren't sure if she will make Splash or BTMRR but at least she will get to ride SDMT for sure!

 

[dmband]

I'll tell you the time I got pissed and argued it was after the child was measured outside and told ok, then we wait an hr in line to be told at the front no

 

[maxiesmom]

I'll tell you the time I got pissed and argued it was after the child was measured outside and told ok, then we wait an hr in line to be told at the front no

That can happen. If they are close they will measure outside of the ride and right before they go on. Unfortunately people do sneak kids into line, I've seen it happen, so they have to measure twice. It sucks, but it can happen.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Yep, kids shrink as the day goes on. When DS was 4 1/2, he was about 44 1/4 inches with shoes. He didn't meet height only once.

But, DW knows how to do spinal manipulations. We took him aside, she did her thing, and he came back and passed easily just a couple minutes later.

 

[bumbershoot]

Just wondering-has anyone had a child who cleared the height requirement at home, but then got to Disney and gotten denied? We have a child who's just 40 inches now (without shoes), and SDMT has a 40 inch requirement, so she's really looking forward to riding it this time. However, I'm so afraid she'll get denied. The only thing that makes me a little more confident is that our vacation isn't for a few more months-time for her to keep growing!

Yes.

Therefore....

Teach your daughter to stand up tall - not on tip toes, just tall - and make sure she understands that the goal is for her head to hit the stick, not duck under it. I would tell her that she might get on the rides, and she might not, and if she gets turned away, don't make a big deal of it.

I'll tell you the time I got pissed and argued it was after the child was measured outside and told ok, then we wait an hr in line to be told at the front no

Useless. And it was likely because your child was slumping. That's what happened to my son at Star tours. He didn't know to stand straight and tall for the second measurement and he failed it.

 

[Simba's Mom]

SDMT is only 38 inches

My dd is JUST 40 inches too , so we aren't sure if she will make Splash or BTMRR but at least she will get to ride SDMT for sure!

Thanks! Now we know she can do it.

 

[MickeyCruzin]

My son wore cowboy boots. He is very small for his age. We asked Disney the rule about what type of shoes they can wear. They said that they need to fit and the child must be able to walk safely in them. When in doubt, make sure the shoes push them well over the mark. They are Very strict.

 

[cosmicmommy]

We all shrink a little as the day goes on--our spines compress. And if you just hit the height requirement that little bit can make you not hit it. Likely their sticks were not different, your child probably shrunk just a tad. When they are thisclose even standing slightly different can make the difference too.

Disney doesn't mess around with this one. If they can slide a piece of paper between your child's head and the top of the stick, they are not riding. Arguing doesn't help at all, this is one they don't give on.

Hence why I said I didn't argue it. But the compression thing wouldn't have affected him - it was two different days. He was probably slumping. But I didn't argue. The girl who was nice about it suggested the playground so he wouldn't be upset and she got a smile and a thank you. The girl who was a snot about it got a dirty look, but not arguing.

 

[BadRomance]

This happened to us with the 44 inch requirement. Cleared for Everest... cleared for Space Mountain... no go on Mission: Space Green and he's 43 11/12 without shoes. We tried remeasuring twice... same thing. I told them their sticks must be different than Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom or wrong, but it wasn't worth arguing. Thankfully, it wasn't one he was super excited to do, so we skipped over to the exit and did the playground while his brothers rode.

We had this exact same experience last week for mission space:green! We weren't upset, but dd4 was distraught and thought she did something wrong so we rode spaceship earth as a family instead because that's the same ride to her apparently. So no harm no foul. But she cleared all the other 44" rides easily.

They must be sticklers at mission space- or maybe their measuring sticks are a little off? In one of our past Disneyland trips, she measured just a hair too short for goofy's sky school (42") and the castmember who measured her gave her a cute little fastpass card that said come ride this ride when you're tall enough and come to the front of the line! I thought that was cute.