Daughter has a rare form of dwarfism...

[Kymack]

Our youngest daughter has a rare form of dwarfism...she is 4 years old, 26" tall and weighs 20 pounds. She will most likely never be tall enough to ride any of the height restriction rides, which makes us sad because she is a real daredevel - even moreso than her average height 7 year old sister. Does anyone have any tips on how to make her lack of height not so discouraging at WDW? i.e., Splash Mountain, etc.
Also, because of her size and the fact that she wears glasses, the characters always seem to make a bigger fuss over her than they do for her sister. This makes us feel bad for big sister. Anyone else experience these situations?
Thanks,
Michele...Disney bound in late November.

 

[teri]

hmmmmm.... how about those water parks? Is there a height restriction on the water slides?

Water mice are great fun, my husband loves to take the kids out on the lagoon for a joy ride in those at least once every trip.

Bike rides... the surrey bikes look so darn dangerous to me they seem like they should be a joy ride... actually I think they should be banned, but what the heck, people have a lot of fun on them.

Hmmm. I will try to think of something else...

Oh, and about the character greeting issues, just tell the character to please pay attention to the other one and they ususally will. It goes both ways, sometimes autistic or very shy kids get overlooked because they don't make eye contact and you have to advocate for attention from the characters.. just use the same tactic for the sibling, advocate for her.

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[SueM in MN]

I agree with teri's advice about making sure the characters pay attention to both kids.
Now for the rides, some of the things she can go on that a daredevil would like are the Buzz Lightyear ride; she can spin herself as much as she likes (and her companion can stand). The Astro Obiters in Tomorrowland also don't list a height and they are scary enough that I won't ride them (like Dumbo, except they are rockets and the ride itself loads 2 stories in the air).
There is no height restriction on the Barnstormer (a small roller coaster in Mickey's Toontown). There is an age requirement of 3 years, but they don't say anything about height.
The Maelstrom in Norway is pretty scary (dark, ther are trolls and you go down a falls backward in your boat) without having a height requirement. There are some rides that are perfectly still where you get the illusion of movement becasue the movie is taking place all around you. They are realistic enough that they make my SIL motion sick, so your DD will probably like them. They are the Timekeeper in Tomorrowland, O Canada and the China movie in Epcot. You stand for these, so you might have to hold her up or move around to get the best spot where she can see more than just the backs of people. The movie in France is not 360 degrees and you get to sit down, but it comes around you enough to make you feel like you are moving.
You may find it is not much of an issue this trip since she is only 4. There may be enough kid type rides to keep her happy, especially if older child is more of a chicken than she is.
Hope this helps. We have the situation where our oldest DD is pretty much a chicken and youngest DD, the daredevil has things we know she would love. like Space Mountain, that she can't go on becai=use we could not keep her seated safely (even if we could figure out how to load her on).
Good luck and have fun.

SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES

 

[padams]

when we went to WDW in Feb Barnstormer had a height restriction (I think it was 36"). However, other suggestions for "daredevil" rides for your child are the Pirates (boat ride, small drop, won't get wet but ride is dark and "scary" (but probably not too scary). Also, the Haunted Mansion doesn't have height restriction- it's just scary enough for dd to love it. I have one child who is tall enough for almost all of the rides and one who isn't even close. Either DH or I just take shorter DS to do something else that's fun (another ride, a snack, a quick shopping trip) while big brother rides with the other parent. Have fun!

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm not sure what the story about Barnstormer is because it is listed in the Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities as just having aan age limit, not a height requirement. Our MK map from March 23, 2001 does not list it as having a height requirement, but if someone else said it did when they were there, I guess I would not get your DD's hope up until you can get there and find out what the story is. Maybe they changed it and just did not update their maps..

SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES

 

[padams]

We went to WDW in Feb (2/01). At the barnstormer, a cm stood at the entrance with a measuring stick just like you see at the mountains, etc. DH, older DS, and I had been telling our 3 year old befor the trip that he could ride this year, and I was really sweating when I saw the stick-lol. He was tall enough so I didn't ask the cm how tall the stick is. However, I did ask her if the policy had changed because on previous trips, I had seen the sign that said you have to be 3 years old. She said that the requirement had changed because a height requirement is easier to enforce. My guidebooks all still say 3 years old too, but maybe next year's books will have the updated information.

 

[Kymack]

to everyone who helped with my post. I'm sorry to hear about the 36" height restriction for the Barnstormer - Mackenzie was able to ride that when she was 2 years old...now she won't be...oh well...same thing happened here at home on the Ocean City Boardwalk - they lowered the height restrictions and now she can't ride most of the boardwalk rides...it's hard to explain to a young one...thanks again...Michele