CMs asking kids to remove shoes for height check

[GigiDisneyfreak]

We are going to be in a similar situation next month. My daughter is a dare devil and right at the cusp of 40 inches, I'm dreading making the first check and not the second.

One of our local amusement parks actually measures kids when they arrive and gives them a colored band to show what rides they can go on. I'd much prefer this system at disney as it removed the subjectivity in measuring that appears to be rampant.

I am in the same boat as you. I leave in 5 weeks and DGD is a dare devil at the cusp of 40". She doesn't know we are going or about any particular rides but I am afraid when she sees BTMRR a full fledged meltdown may ensue if she can't ride. I have only measured her barefoot so maybe she will have a growth spurt before we go. I don't want to attempt it unless I know she is 40" barefoot.

 

[cruisingmom1977]

If it didn't matter why isn't the requirement 37 inches?

Let's assume my son grows half an inch in his legs before our next trip but not any in his torso. That wouldn't make any difference in how the safety bar fits him but would it suddenly be safe?

 

[aaarcher86]

I always thought this was a poor excuse. The colored bands work perfectly fine for such purposes elsewhere and Disney isn't hesitant to use them themselves when it suits their needs, like the hard ticket events. People try to cheat any system, and the bands are made to be very tamper resistant. As long as the CM who places it does it properly and a child has an actual hand at the end of his/her wrist the bands would work better and more consistently than measuring sticks at the front and back of every queue with different CMs applying different standards.

Most places don't get the traffic Disney does.

And as for hard ticket events, since you have to pay to get the band people aren't putting them on people who didn't pay. Even at those events they're measuring at the rides.

 

[teambeaman]

They let DS ride barnstormer when he was almost 2 and he was 35" with no shoes. At first it looked like he didn't make it, but when we asked him to stand up straight he actually bumped the top of his head on the sign and the CM let him through. We rode multiple times that trip. No one ever asked him to take off his shoes and he was wearing skechers.

 

[Kalea]

Last year, my 3-yo DD was 40 inches in shoes. She was frequently measured at the line entrance, but she was not measured at the 2nd station. She was never asked to remove shoes.

We did practice with an T-shaped bar, and made sure she understood that her head was supposed to touch the bar.

 

[surferdave]

Most places don't get the traffic Disney does.

And as for hard ticket events, since you have to pay to get the band people aren't putting them on people who didn't pay. Even at those events they're measuring at the rides.

It is refreshing to see a different reason given. But I think everything about having higher volume works to Disney's advantage. All the other places charge less per guest than WDW anyway, and Disney would be spreading the base costs of the bands over a greater volume than the other places that do use them can do.

I know that Disney doesn't use the bands at the hard ticket events to confirm rider height. I brought them up to say Disney finds them reliable for other purposes.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I'm prepared to be flamed here but...OP...how much height do these shoes add to your son? My son in just shy of 37 inches flat footed. Regular sneakers make him just shy of 38 inches. I would like something that will make him a shade over 38 so I don't have to worry about the "double measure"...

...and to those that will tell me that half an inch is jeopardizing my kids life...give me a break...half an inch or an inch isn't making a safety difference on any of these rides.

No flame here, I get it! So my little guy is around 37.9 depending on the measuring tape and time of day in his normal sneakers. In these UA ones he is about 38.1. So these add about 2/10 more of an inch than his regular Spiderman sneaks. Good luck, hope it works out for ya!

 

[Robo]

I know that Disney doesn't use the bands at the hard ticket events to confirm rider height. I brought them up to say Disney finds them reliable for other purposes.

Totally different situation.

"William and Roberta Guestrider" would each need a party wristband, and their kids,
"Little Billy and Little Bobby" would also need party wristbands to be in/stay in MNSSHP.
So, they all are wearing the bands.
No need to attempt to swap them.

BUT, if we are talking about a regular day at WDW, and the use of
"height wristbands..."
if Little Billy was 48 inches and Little Bobby was 43 inches, it would not be a stretch to see a situation where it would be very tempting for them to "swap" Billy and Bobby's wristbands to allow Bobby to ride more attractions.

The whole family could not ride a ONCE, but Bobby could ride with Dad on another time through.

 

[Alesia]

I always thought this was a poor excuse. The colored bands work perfectly fine for such purposes elsewhere and Disney isn't hesitant to use them themselves when it suits their needs, like the hard ticket events. People try to cheat any system, and the bands are made to be very tamper resistant. As long as the CM who places it does it properly and a child has an actual hand at the end of his/her wrist the bands would work better and more consistently than measuring sticks at the front and back of every queue with different CMs applying different standards.

The small park near me used to have a central measuring station, but the park became more popular and they had to stop using it for the same reason that WDW did. There was just too much abuse. What's the point of having a central measuring station if you have to measure kids at the ride anyway because you can't trust that the wristband is on a child that is actually tall enough?

 

[Alesia]

I know that Disney doesn't use the bands at the hard ticket events to confirm rider height. I brought them up to say Disney finds them reliable for other purposes.

Yes - non-safety related purposes. That's a totally different animal.

 

[surferdave]

Tamper resistant seals are inexpensive, easy to use, and easy to spot when tampered with (at least as easy as spotting elevator shoes on a kid). They are used world wide in plenty of safety applications. If Disney isn't using them it's because they don't want to be bothered with them and are willing to let the front line CMs make the call and take the heat at an individual ride level and absorb any dissatisfaction caused to guests, since they can always boat in more. They should stop blaming cheating guests, I have little doubt that more undersized kids are getting by the current setup than would if they used the bands.

 

[maxiesmom]

Tamper resistant seals are inexpensive, easy to use, and easy to spot when tampered with (at least as easy as spotting elevator shoes on a kid). They are used world wide in plenty of safety applications. If Disney isn't using them it's because they don't want to be bothered with them and are willing to let the front line CMs make the call and take the heat at an individual ride level and absorb any dissatisfaction caused to guests, since they can always boat in more. They should stop blaming cheating guests, I have little doubt that more undersized kids are getting by the current setup than would if they used the bands.

Tamper resistant seals are easy enough to get off, if you really want to. Heck, I have one on my dresser right now, perfectly intact. The only way Disney can be certain a child is the right height and a stamp hasn't been transferred, or a wrist band hasn't been moved from one child to another, is to measure.

I have little doubt that the system currently in use is the best one for WDW. And the most accurate.

 

[Alesia]

Here's the issue: There's a tragic accident on a ride and a child is killed or seriously injured. That child is wearing a wristband that certifies that he is tall enough, but as it turns out, he isn't. Disney is liable. That's all there is to it. It doesn't matter that Disney insists that the parents switched the wristbands. Disney will be financially responsible. That's how our legal system works.

And that is why Disney will not take the chance.

 

[Gracie09]

Tamper resistant seals are easy enough to get off, if you really want to. Heck, I have one on my dresser right now, perfectly intact. The only way Disney can be certain a child is the right height and a stamp hasn't been transferred, or a wrist band hasn't been moved from one child to another, is to measure.

I have little doubt that the system currently in use is the best one for WDW. And the most accurate.

Yup. Am I the only one that went to college here? The bars often tried to do wristbands or stamps for those over 21 and it took a couple weeks to figure it out but transferring them became simple. If you couldnt slip it right off a small scissor and piece of scotch tape and unless someone was using a magnifine glass to look for the cut you didn't see it.

 

[surferdave]

Tamper resistant seals are easy enough to get off, if you really want to. Heck, I have one on my dresser right now, perfectly intact. The only way Disney can be certain a child is the right height and a stamp hasn't been transferred, or a wrist band hasn't been moved from one child to another, is to measure.

I have little doubt that the system currently in use is the best one for WDW. And the most accurate.

Then that one wasn't very tamper resistant to start with, probably improperly placed. I've worked with them plenty enough, although the ones I use usually have serial numbers for identifying hazardous material that has to be tracked per federal regulations, similar to the ones they use as IDs for parents in maternity wards. If it's placed on you right then unless your wrist is thicker than your hand you can easily see when it's been removed. They get improperly placed a lot at bars and water parks by careless workers.

 

[Alesia]

Then that one wasn't very tamper resistant to start with, probably improperly placed. I've worked with them plenty enough, although the ones I use usually have serial numbers for identifying hazardous material that has to be tracked per federal regulations, similar to the ones they use as IDs for parents in maternity wards. If it's placed on you right then unless your wrist is thicker than your hand you can easily see when it's been removed. They get improperly placed a lot at bars and water parks by careless workers.

And that is exactly why a theme park would be very foolish to use them. No system is 100 percent perfect, but having 2 different CMs measure at the same ride helps to decrease someone slipping through due to human error. Having one central measuring station for all rides does not.

 

[LilyWDW]

Then that one wasn't very tamper resistant to start with, probably improperly placed. I've worked with them plenty enough, although the ones I use usually have serial numbers for identifying hazardous material that has to be tracked per federal regulations, similar to the ones they use as IDs for parents in maternity wards. If it's placed on you right then unless your wrist is thicker than your hand you can easily see when it's been removed. They get improperly placed a lot at bars and water parks by careless workers.

I can easily make my hand and wrist the same size, meaning it would be 100% possible for me to slip off one of the tamper resistant bands without it being obvious. And I have done it on multiple occasions. The only way to make it not possible would be to make the band so tight that it would be dangerous on its own.

And if Disney doesn't want to use them, for whatever reason, that is their prerogative. Some of it has to do with liability. Some of it most likely also has to do with the fact that you get SO many families there on any one day, that it creates a bottleneck. Who really cares which is the reason?

 

[spewey]

Here's the issue: There's a tragic accident on a ride and a child is killed or seriously injured. That child is wearing a wristband that certifies that he is tall enough, but as it turns out, he isn't. Disney is liable. That's all there is to it. It doesn't matter that Disney insists that the parents switched the wristbands. Disney will be financially responsible. That's how our legal system works.

And that is why Disney will not take the chance.

This makes complete sense, but at the risk of taking your point off track, any rider injured for nearly any reason will result in a finding of liability for the park.

Example - you get on Kali Rapids after walking past 600 signs warning you you will get wet. You get on the raft. You realize you will get wet. You don't want that. You unbuckle your belt, stand up and (despite a ride op yelling at you to stop) jump off the raft INTO THE WATER. Your leg is broken as a result. You therefore sue the park.

This actually happened (at another park). The rider won a settlement.

 

[siskaren]

Someone who didn't want to get wet on a raft ride stood up and jumped into the water?

 

[spewey]

Yep. Probably not even in the top 100 stupidest things people have done at amusement parks.