Am I just being a crazy, paranoid mama?

[gigem_aggies]

My middle daughter just turned 5 a few weeks ago. I just measured her today and she's right at 44 inches--just barely. We've got another month before our trip, so I'm assuming she'll grow a little before we leave. But...I can't even imagine her on Space Mountain. I can't imagine her not sitting right next to me. I'm not that worried about her being scared because she's a dare devil. But, I AM scared that she won't be safe. Am I being crazy? Our youngest is too short to ride, so I can do a rider swap without an issue. I'm just wondering if 5 and barely tall enough really is too short or I'm being a worry wart for nothing.

 

[mister morrow]

I'm 15 now, and I vividly remember my mom worrying like crazy over this; you're not alone
I remember I went on when I first reached the age limit and I had a blast. I feel as if most people are afraid of the dark- not the ride itself. If she's up for it, I think you should let her go! If you are very worried like my mom was, you could always have her in the middle

 

[Accident]

If she wouldn't be safe, they wouldn't let that height ride. This is more a mom situation than a daughter situation Ease her into the rides, instead of doing space mountain where she sits alone first. start with something like barnstormer and gauge how she likes it.. It will also give you a chance to see how she's being safe and ready and you can share that moment of the next level of ride with her. One of my favorite and oldest disney memories is dad taking me on my first big boy coaster.

Also something to note that you tend to be smaller as your spine compresses during the day so if she's right on the edge of a ride you may want to prepare her for the possibility that she could get to the ride, get measured and not be tall enough. It goes a long way to lessening the blow if it happens. Also keep that in mind and those rides, you want to be early in the day.

 

[BrianL]

Wil she be safe? Yes. The height restrictions are determined by the engineers who design the ride and the restraint system. They almost certainly err on the side of caution. If she is 44 inches then it will be safe for her to ride under all normal operation conditions for the ride. I'd say let her go for it and have a great time.

 

[Order66]

You're being a worry wort for nothing. The height minimum is set at a number for a reason. It means the restraints are safe down to that number. We just returned last week where my friends 44" daughter rode Space Mt. a half dozen times, the last few hands up the whole ride and loved it. My sons also rode it at age 6 and just over the minimum height. Though if it makes you more comfortable, the seats are close enough that directly behind her you can put a hand on her. I like to do this to my 16 year old by telling him I'm just making sure he doesn't fall out..... to annoy him.

 

[gigem_aggies]

So, what you're saying is I'm crazy? Ok, ok, ok. I get it. It's a mom thing. Sigh. I guess I can play it by ear because we have to do a rider swap anyway since my youngest is too small. Hubby and oldest daughter can ride, get the swap pass, and then I can ride with either my middle daughter if she's up for it and tall enough at that moment or oldest can ride with me again.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

If you are second guessing yourself and your choice to let her ride Space Mountain, perhaps skip it this trip.....

 

[Koz]

Remember that if you measure your kid at just 44 inches first thing in the morning, they will be just under that by the afternoon. Spine compresses ever so slightly as the day goes on.
Learned that the hard way last trip when my son was tall enough for Space Mountain first thing in the AM but thrn just a hair short at 3pm.

 

[Order66]

If she's 44" barefoot, with shoes she'll be fine. My friend's daughter was only stopped to be measured a couple times. Only once at Space Mt. With her normal sneakers on she was a good inch over the minimum. We had more CM's question her age than her height. She's 8 years old but such a tiny thing she looks younger. A few tried to tell us she couldn't ride with her 9 year old brother. We simply told them she was 8 and they let it go......surely believing we were lying.

 

[kandb]

My son loves all rides but didn't like SM, he went on it for the first time last year when he was 6. He said it gave him a headache.

 

[Alesia]

Disney is not in the business of killing kids. She'll be fine.

 

[No.1000]

Space Mountain is really not a very intense coaster, the dark just makes it seem that way. There are no loops or giant drops. I took my dgd when she was 5 and she got off begging to go again. That said, you still have to be ok with it. Have fun whatever you decide.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

If she's tall enough, she'll be fine. She might be afraid of the fact that the coaster is in the dark and she can't see the track, but that isn't a safety issue. You can always seat her in front of you and put a hand on her shoulder if you're super nervous about it.

 

[Kelly014]

I was in the same boat as you last year. DD was five and right at 44 inches. Space mountain made me so nervous but of course she was just fine! I honestly didn't enjoy the ride much because all I could think about was her falling out, which I know is completely ridiculous but my brain wasn't interested in logic at that moment in time.

 

[bumbershoot]

DS was 6.5 on our first WDW trip and I hated the idea of him on Space. (especially since Space at Disneyland is so different and so much better, and you sit next to the kid) I literally had my hand on his shoulder the whole time, which was ridiculous. 1: it hurt me because it meant I was leaning way forward the whole time and 2: what on earth was I going to do with my one hand in case of emergency? 3: it irritated him.

Flash forward about 2 years to the first time he (we) went on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal, and I pretty much did the same thing. They have funky weird restraints that go around your waist, and while on it and later on I couldn't figure out how they would keep anyone in. I had my arm over my restraint and around to his, and I was holding onto his arm. We both ended up bruised; me on the inside of my arm where it was smashed against the restraint, and on his arm where I was gripping him.

We have our worries. It's OK. The 5 year old's trip isn't going to be destroyed by not going on Space if you really can't handle it.

 

[pd1138]

My middle daughter just turned 5 a few weeks ago. I just measured her today and she's right at 44 inches--just barely. We've got another month before our trip, so I'm assuming she'll grow a little before we leave. But...I can't even imagine her on Space Mountain. I can't imagine her not sitting right next to me. I'm not that worried about her being scared because she's a dare devil. But, I AM scared that she won't be safe. Am I being crazy? Our youngest is too short to ride, so I can do a rider swap without an issue. I'm just wondering if 5 and barely tall enough really is too short or I'm being a worry wart for nothing.

I know this because I have been there too. My oldest was at the 44 inch mark on one trip and I said no way to space mountain! We took him on EE and Mission Space with no issues, but I wasn't keen on letting him go on SM because I couldn't sit next to him. He wanted to go on really bad. We were at MK on three different days that trip and it wasn't until the later part of the last day we were there did I finally get over MY fear of letting him on and went on with him. I finally realized that I haven't heard of all these kindergarteners falling off SM day after day. That thought helped me with my fear that he would be ok.

Btw he had a blast and the standby line was short so he did it three times that afternoon.

Ironically my first trip on SM was when I was five too!

Now it's 48 inches and RnR for this trip in August. Here I go again.....

 

[pmaurer74]

I understand. My dd will likely be about 15 before I let her ride SM. She has sensory issues though.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Kids who barely make the height requirement ride Space Mountain every day and not one has ever fallen out.

Height requirements for these rides are set by the engineers and other professionals who design them. They have a built-in cushion of several inches to make up for the fact that not everyone is proportioned the same (some are longer in the legs, some in the torso, etc). If the child is tall enough (without "cheating"), they're safe to ride. Whether or not they'll like the ride is a different issue.

 

[kamik86]

A few notes:

Space mountain really is a tame coaster, what makes it seem faster and bigger is the lights in the dark. Space mountain is the slowest coaster in all of disney world (I assume that was still true the tour where I was told this was before mine train) yes the barnstormer is faster in places.

Engineers go massively on the side of caution for safety issues for exactly the reason of someone that is really close to the border getting hurt. If they think that everyone will be safe at 41 inches they are going to make the requirement a certain percentage higher for safety. Then have you noticed that all of the disney heights can be put into buckets (40 inches, 44 inches, etc No ride has a 43 inch requirement) so if the manufacturer said the limit was 43 inches they would up it to 44 to fit in their buckets. Due to this anyone right on the border to be allowed to ride is plenty tall enough to be safe.

AS for being next to her what would you be able to do for her in the middle of the ride for safety anyway. I think the only things woudl be to make sure she is buckled properly at the start (which the CMs do and seem to check extra well for kids) and to hold her if she was scared. If she is scared you can hold her 30 seconds later still.

 

[Delirium]

I had the same fears as you, except I was a paranoid DAD. When she road, I reached both my arms over and held down both her shoulders. She loved the ride. I was extremely sore for 2 days afterward.

Was it necessary? From a purely logical perspective, no. For my sanity as a parent? Yes. She's bigger now and I don't feel like I have to do that any longer, but turn back the clock, and I would do the same thing again.