Can my 4 year old ride Splash Mountain?

[klmorg]

My 4 year old daughter weighs 37 pounds and is just at the 42 inches tall (with her tennis shoes on) so I know they will let her on the ride...she wants to ride it...I am just curious if it will be safe for her? Have any of you had your little ones on? I don't want her to 'fall out'!! She rode Goofy's Barnstormer in 2007 and LOVED IT!!

41 days till we head to Disney POR 2009

 

[rluey29]

I don't think she will fall out but she may fall forward if your not holding her. I think that may be more of an issue. I just used my arm to hold my little one when he rode it.

 

[miksilver]

My tall 3 year old rode it last May. My DH wanted me to hold onto her for dear life, but I compromised and just put my arm around her. It was no big deal. We'll hopefully ride again this May and I'm sure my grip will be less than before. She LOVED it!

 

[kadesha]

My 4 year old rode it in November. There is one part inside the ride that is pretty "roller coastery." When it dipped and went back up she hit her head on the padding in front of us. She cried the rest of the ride. She was so terrified of doing the big drop after that. Now she refuses to ride anything with the slightest waterfall--including Pirates, which used to be her favorite ride. It was a BIG mistake for us!

 

[DonaldTDuck]

The same thing that keeps my 280 pounds in the log will work on your daughter too. She is heavier than air, so gravity takes care of everything. She, and you, will love SM. For your anxiety, you can hold her hand on the big drop.

 

[brendaziz]

My son went on it at age 4 and age 3 w/ no problems at all.
I think it's a great beginnner thrill ride.

 

[prncess674]

The same thing that keeps my 280 pounds in the log will work on your daughter too. She is heavier than air, so gravity takes care of everything. She, and you, will love SM. For your anxiety, you can hold her hand on the big drop.

Yep, it is all physics.

 

[klmorg]

The same thing that keeps my 280 pounds in the log will work on your daughter too. She is heavier than air, so gravity takes care of everything. She, and you, will love SM. For your anxiety, you can hold her hand on the big drop.

Lol....thank you..that makes me feel better. She rode pirates and barnstormer so I know she will like the ride. My whole family LOVES Spalsh Mountain and BTMR...and we are SO excited that our littlest member will be joining us in two of our favorite rides this year!!!

 

[tiggertabi]

Yep, she'll be fine. I think that the slide feels much steeper than it really is, which is why they don't have seatbelts or anything in it. I just make sure to put my arm around my daughter (who hated Splash Mountain, much to my dismay!)

 

[Mickey'n'Me]

Disney has height restrictions for a reason. I would think if there was any chance of her falling out or getting seriously hurt, the height restriction would be taller than it is. We plan on taking our 4 year old in August. Have a GREAT trip!!!

 

[PoohsFan1]

When my oldest first went to Disney (she was 4 at the time) she rode Splash and BTMRR. All we did for splash was hold onto her leg and she was fine....she loved it and for BTMRR I just put my arm around the back of her....she loved that one as well. Now my 5 year old (who was too little to ride any of these rides the last time) will be able to ride these and is so excited because my oldest DD still talks about them.

 

[klmorg]

Wow I am so happy to read all these posts!! Everyone I read makes me feel better. She is tall but she is so petite I was just worried about her...but you all are putting my mind at ease! She has watched our video of our 2007 trip with everyone but her on the ride (and me of course as I was the one filming!) and she has watched a ton of clips of the ride including the drop and she is so excited to ride it!

More stories please!!

 

[laughinplace199]

DS (now 7) first went on Splash when he was 4. He was 41 in and 32 lbs and we had no issues. I put my arm around him on the last big drop, but after a few rides, he didn't want me to do that anymore. He absolutely loved that ride!

 

[CLR4321]

Yes! She is size-wise tall enough...and as far as falling out, gravity will hold her in as long as she stays seated. There are no seatbelts on the ride, you just sit in your log. SM at WDW does seat 2 seats per row...so you will be sitting next to her, and if it makes you feel more comfy, you can put an arm across her when going down the drops. She will be fine! My DS rode SM at DL last year when he was 3 and a half. He loved it...started to cry a bit when we got wet on that first drop, but we started singing along to the songs really loud and he was laughing within seconds for the rest of the ride.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

My son is just a little bit smaller than your daughter and he rode SM 3 times in October. It's one of his favorite rides. He rode with my DH. DH said that he did put his arm around our son and that he leaned into my husband on the drop, but I think that was more for comfort.

 

[jenseib]

The plan for us is to ride in March. My DD is 42 inches and 32 pounds.
My off topic question is, where do you get the least wet? I don't want to get too wet, but I'm sure she will love it. LOL! But honestly it would be a better day if we are not drenched.

Also I thought I read, myabbe misunderstood, that SM has only 2 seats per row, but I'm sure thats wrong. isn;t it three or four. I would have to pull out old pictures, but I'm sure there is at least 3 in a row.

 

[PHXscuba]

My DD was about the size of your DD when she rode Splash Mountain for the first time and she did fine. She was 42 inches, and we put her hair in a high ponytail to make her look taller. She still got measured a lot!

I do remember a thread on the Disneyland board a while back about a taller height requirement for sitting in the very front on Splash Mountain because of the bonk-your-head-on-the-front-of-the-log problem a previous poster referred to. I don't know if WDW is doing the same thing or remember if it's set up exactly the same, but you might want to consider that if she is barely tall enough.

It's a great day when they gbet tall enought for new rides!

PHXscuba

 

[BrerRabbit_fan]

Two small children can fit in with one adult, maybe that's why you remember three. In DL, you sit in a row, one behind the other.

 

[Leajess99]

My 4 year old daughter weighs 37 pounds and is just at the 42 inches tall (with her tennis shoes on) so I know they will let her on the ride...she wants to ride it...I am just curious if it will be safe for her? Have any of you had your little ones on? I don't want her to 'fall out'!! She rode Goofy's Barnstormer in 2007 and LOVED IT!!

41 days till we head to Disney POR 2009

My dd went on it and she did not want me holding onto her but I did it anyway just to make me feel better as I had never been on it. I was more scared than she was.

 

[klmorg]

The plan for us is to ride in March. My DD is 42 inches and 32 pounds.
My off topic question is, where do you get the least wet? I don't want to get too wet, but I'm sure she will love it. LOL! But honestly it would be a better day if we are not drenched.

Also I thought I read, myabbe misunderstood, that SM has only 2 seats per row, but I'm sure thats wrong. isn;t it three or four. I would have to pull out old pictures, but I'm sure there is at least 3 in a row.

I have heard that the middle to the back of the log gets you the least wet. In 2007 the kids got me in the front of the log and I can assure you will get wet there!! And in looking at pics... there are two per row in the logs....however I did see one or two pics with two small kids and an adult.

Also slighty off topic...my 4 year old will also be doing Kali River Rapids in AK for the first time, and that one you get really wet on!!