46" child on Rock and Roll Roller Coaster?

[MrsPete]

I have a question for those of you who are familiar with the heigth requirements for the Rock and Roll Roller Coaster. One guidebook I have says children 40" tall can ride; I read on another internet site that 48" is the requirement. Can anyone tell me the truth about this?

My 5-year old daughter is 46" tall, and she will be devestated if her older sister can ride while she stands by watching! I want to prepare her correctly for what she can and cannot do!

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[carene]

Hi Mrs Pete!

I posted this question a couple of months ago, and i'm sorry to say that its 48".

Here is a link to my thread :
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=316529

carene

 

[GoldenOldie]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's 48" and always has been. This is necessitated by the overhead restraint system that is used on the ride. They are very strict about the 48" rule as well since it is a safety issue.

 

[era710]

Is there any way to stretch her height with shoes or a high ponytail?

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by era710
Is there any way to stretch her height with shoes or a high ponytail?

A ponytail? I'm thinking that the CMs checking heights know to measure to the top of the head, not the top of the ponytail.

And considering that the height requirement is set by the type of restraints used on the coaster, artificially adding height wouldn't be a very smart idea. If you were talking the difference of a quarter or half-inch, maybe, but we're talking two full inches here. Even if someone DID manage to sneak a kid (wearing 2" platform shoes) past the various CMs checking heights, do you really want a child sitting in a ride seat who doesn't property fit the restraints? We're talking safety here, after all.

No child ever suffered permanent emotional trauma because they couldn't get on a roller coaster. She'll survive to ride another day.

 

[Mic]

It is definitely 48 inches to ride. Our youngest 2 were too short to ride the first 2 years, so it wasn't a problem for DH to take the older 2 and ride while I bought a mickey bar or an "itzakadoozie" for the younger 2. When 3rd child reached 48 inches, though, my youngest DD spent the next 11 months pitching tantrums because she was the only 1 not allowed to ride(and being the youngest of 4, she has that stomping/whining/sighing down to an art). When the ice cream bar was not enough, she ended up with things like waterbottle/spray mister things(lots of $$$ in the parks), and light spinners to pacify her, so I was happy when she finally made the height requirement. If memory serves me, Rockin'Rollercoaster is the only thing that requires a height of 48 inches(but I am not real sure about the new Primeval Whirl in AK...I stopped looking at height restrictions when DD reached the all-important 4 ft!)

 

[MrsPete]

Thanks for the information, folks. I certainly will not try to "stretch" her to 48" -- that's a safety issue. I do, however, want to be able to tell her in advance that she won't be able to ride this one particular ride.

Thanks for the heads-up on the Primeval Whirl as well. I'd read that it requires 48", but since she showed no interest in that ride I was glossing over that one.

 

[kathleena]

Primeval Whirl is also 48", but I wouldn't pass it by for your other child - it is a lot of fun!

DOn't remember when you were going, but maybe the little one will have a growth spurt.....here's hoping.

Nancy

 

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by MrsPete
Thanks for the information, folks. I certainly will not try to "stretch" her to 48" -- that's a safety issue. I do, however, want to be able to tell her in advance that she won't be able to ride this one particular ride.

Thanks for the heads-up on the Primeval Whirl as well. I'd read that it requires 48", but since she showed no interest in that ride I was glossing over that one.

My girls are 2 years apart and my youngest is the daredevil so I know how you feel. Since my youngest is now about 45 inches and can ride Space Mountain things are a bit better LOL. The only things that separate them (like you ) are RnRc and Primeval Whirl - both really fun. Dh and I make sure that we do something special with younger dd while older dd rides. (we use younger dd's park pass to get a fp so both dh and I can ride with older dd). Luckliy for us younger dd loves TOT while older dd dosen't care for it much that makes MGM easy as DH rides TOT with younger DD while I ride Rnrc with older dd and vise versa. At AK it also works out good because we don't spend money on the carney games - except with younges dd while older dd rides primeval whirl - her choice.

Have your child prepared - your right on about that - and let them know ahead of time that they don't meet the height requrements. It seems to help here if we make it the "rules" rather than saying they are to short etc - semantics I know but takes the "blame or fault off the kid". YMMV

Let your younger child decide what special thing they would like to do while oder dd rides. Be prepared though, if its too good the older child may want to forgo the ride for the "other choice!".

TJ

 

[BrerMom]

When #2 couldn't ride and #1 could, I let him buy a pin of that ride to trade. It worked out very well, especially since his sister had to buy all of her own pins (because she could ride all the rides )

 

[QuickGold]

Yep, 48"

For more ride restrictions @ MGM, try http://www.mgmstudios.org/riderestrictions.html

 

[AZKathy]

Originally posted by MrsPete
. I do, however, want to be able to tell her in advance that she won't be able to ride this one particular ride.

Good idea. We thought our DD was tall enough and she SOBBED outside of the ride when she missed the height by a bit. It is certainly better to let her down easy at home than right outside the ride when she is really excited to go on the ride.

 

[joloco]

we had same problem too. It was "easier" to distract dd at RNR because siblings and dad went into a building, we went on TOT again and had a special snack. Prim Whirl was much more difficult to distract, since when other family members were on ride she had to watch. VERY difficult for a five year old to do.
If you do have "taller" kids, do the kid-swap, at least the older ones get to go on twice, and mom and dad don't have to miss out. have fun. We're hoping to be 48" tall by May!!!

 

[Crazy4mandms]

I'm glad I looked at this thread because I have the same problem and I JUST addressed it with my kids. My 11 year old can ride everything and I just told my 7 year old he can't ride the whirl and RRC....he got upset but then I reminded him of ALL THE THINGS HE COULD RIDE and showed him pics of thunder mtn, space mtn, etc....problem solved (I could never imagine having to bribe my kids when they pitch a fit whether they are at the World or not!)

 

[BrerMom]

Originally posted by Crazy4mandms
(I could never imagine having to bribe my kids when they pitch a fit whether they are at the World or not!)

Buying a pin or some other trinket is not a bribe UNLESS the kid is acting like a jerk and the parent is trying to buy their cooperation. The comments on this thread seem to refer to unsolicited rewards for behaving well even though the child was obviously disappointed.

 

[shafke]

We had the same problem at a different place. DS was just at the line for 42". Before leaving home we explained that he might not be able to ride because he was not yet 42". We started this about 1 month or so before leaving so that it had a chance to sink in (kids can be thick headed). When we finally got there he was OK and when we measured him at the sign at the ride entrance he just made it and was able to ride. What you do not want to do is prepare your child as if they can go on a ride if there is any question about whether they will or will not be able to ride.

 

[tjmw2727]

I am sorry, but I don't consider letting the younger child do something special a "bribe". We are all on vacation, the older (taller) child can choose from either activity, unfortunately younger child can not. Letting a child have an alternate ride, an ice cream, play a carny game or trade a pin while another child rides a ride is not IMHO a bribe. Neither of my children has "pitched a fit" even without a back up plan.

TJ

 

[welovedis]

Hope this helps anyone who is wondering about height or other restrictions:

http://www.wdwig.com/rr.htm

I used this alot in the past with DS and will do so again if he is not 48" by our next family trip in January.

A neat thing we found out was if they do not meet the height requirement, the CM can give them a certificate that says when they are tall enough they can go to the front of the line or something like that. Sorry I don't remember it exactly but DS got one when he was 3 and desperately wanted to ride RnR, even though we told him well beforehand that he was way too small. The CM just got one of these out, asked his name & handed it over. I thought it was great and so did DS. After our trip I put it in his scrapbook so I'll have to go back and read exactly what it says.

HTH!

 

[Mike]

I think WDW could help us parents by having a centrally located measuring station where kids could get their height checked and be given a color coded bracelet to signify their height range (one color for under 40", another for 40-42", etc, - or whatever ranges makes sense). This way we can avoid having our kids who are borderline going to the attraction with high hopes only to find out that they are 1/4 inch too short. If the kids are measured at the front of the park, parents will know what their kids can and cannot ride and they can avoid certain attractions and not have to deal with the disappointment. Parents that have kids that are both tall enough and not tall enough could split up before getting to the attraction to avoid the whole "why does he get to go on and I don't" routine.
I realize that there are logistical issues that would need to be worked out to provide this service, but it certainly doesn't seem implausible.

 

[welovedis]

Mike-this is actually utilized at the Paramount parks (for sure at Canada's Wonderland) as we did this for DS last summer. Sure was great not to have them stop and re-measure DS all the time like they did at WDW last trip.

From Paramount's CW website:

Stop by Guest Services at the Front Gate, the Height Stations on International Street, or your favourite ride and we’ll be happy to measure your child’s height.

There was a short line to at the Heigh Station but when they measured him they gave him a colored plastic bracelet to wear for the day. The color was determined by his height.