Dear Disney: can you please do something about the height requirement inconsistencies?

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Right, but the whole point is not whether they measure them or not, it's whether the measurements are consistent. You can measure my kids a million times if you want. But those measurements need to be consistent. Because what's actually frustrating is when kids do clearly meet the height requirement but are still not allowed to ride. This is what needs to change. The inconsistency. Measurement is not subjective.

I agree with this point. It's confusing for kids if they are tall enough at one station and not at another a short distance away. The answer shouldn't be, oh, well just teach your kids that measurement at Disney is inconsistent and subjective and they might have to deal with disappointment because reasons. With as much as people spend on tickets, and given that time is a valuable commodity in the parks, it's on Disney to find a way to fix this so that it is consistent. Wristbands are a great idea. You could potential have measuring stations at the ends of lines as a backup so that if someone tries to slip a wristband off their taller kid and put it on an obviously too-short kid, then they could be pulled aside and remeasured. That would catch the cheaters while enabling the barely-tall enough kids to sail by, saving time and frustration for almost everyone.

 

[KrazeeK120]

The answer shouldn't be, oh, well just teach your kids that measurement at Disney is inconsistent and subjective and they might have to deal with disappointment because reasons.

BINGO.

The “common” height restriction seems to be 40 inches. There are some lower and a few higher, but 40 inches seems to be the “magic” height to get onto most rides. 40 inches is a 3 year old. 3 year olds just don’t have the reasoning to understand why measuring points can be different, no matter how much preparation is given by parents.

My son recently turned 4 and is 40.5 inches without shoes. We will be going in May and I hope by that time, he is significantly tall enough with his shoes on that we don’t run into any problems at the 40 inch rides. He really wants to try Splash.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

BINGO.

The “common” height restriction seems to be 40 inches. There are some lower and a few higher, but 40 inches seems to be the “magic” height to get onto most rides. 40 inches is a 3 year old. 3 year olds just don’t have the reasoning to understand why measuring points can be different, no matter how much preparation is given by parents.

My son recently turned 4 and is 40.5 inches without shoes. We will be going in May and I hope by that time, he is significantly tall enough with his shoes on that we don’t run into any problems at the 40 inch rides. He really wants to try Splash.

make sure he understands that he needs to hit the bar not duck under. make look like measuring stick at home and have him practice. had a grandson who didn't want to hit his head. he missed many rides until he decided to hit it

 

[Klayfish]

To me, this whole thing is silly. As long as humans are involved, there is going to be some bit of inconsistency. This height measurement thing happens at WDW, Six Flags, Water parks, state fairs, you name it. When you're talking fractions of an inch, it can wind up becoming a judgement call. It can also wind up being something to do with the childs' posture. At the first check point, they stand tall. The next one, they slouch ever so slightly.

Plenty of people find ways to get past the rules. We did. We bought the tallest (thickest sole) flip flops/slides/shoes we could find for our kids, so that they got that extra lift and told them to stand super tall. Even with that, or without, we still experienced some inconsistencies in measurement just like everyone else. Did I like it? No. Can it be frustrating? Sure. At the same time, unless there's going to be some kind of laser measurement system, you're going to get a bit of inconsistency. That's not a WDW thing, it's a human thing.

 

[KrazeeK120]

make sure he understands that he needs to hit the bar not duck under. make look like measuring stick at home and have him practice. had a grandson who didn't want to hit his head. he missed many rides until he decided to hit it

He’s got that down! He was tall enough for the 38 inch rides last time and I prepared him to hit the bar.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

This is 100% unacceptable. No kid, who passed the entrance height requirement, should have to wait hour(s) in line to be told they can't ride, at loading. One check point is enough. If they are tall enough at the main entrance, that should be it.
In addition to the major disappointment the kid experiences, time is money at DW. A 1-2 hour wait, only to accomplish nothing, could be spent on another ride.
Not hitting the height requirement at the main entrance of ride is disappointing, but you can then move on to another ride. If the kids makes it past that checkpoint, in their mind, they believe they will be riding.

This is a safety thing. There are parents who will try to breeze their kids by the first checkpoint when the cm isn't paying attention. I have a daughter who was exactly 40 inches on our last trip and I understood the reasons for it. That said, I agree it's outrageous not to give some kind of anytime fastpass as a consolation to a kid who just waited on line for an hour. That should be the appropriate remedy.

 

[tzolkin]

My youngest is now taller than both my husband and I, but we had the same issues back when he was little.

When you’re in the parks look at the measuring sticks. Half of them are not even on level ground so how could they possibly be consistent?

We had one experience on Test Track— son was very obviously above the bar at the entrance and the CMs were high-fiving him and all excited that he could ride. When we got to the loading area there was a very young CM who just couldn’t decide if he was tall enough or not so she called over someone else (supervisor?) She too was back and forth on whether she thought he was tall enough or not. Asked him to stand up straight, tried to slide a card between his head and the bar, etc before ultimately deciding that he could not ride.
We were of course very disappointed. I recognized that the CMs were just doing their job and I think they were actually wanting him to be tall enough to ride and they felt sad that he had to miss out.

But the thing is, there’s absolutely no way that the width of a piece of paper was going to magically make him safe or unsafe to ride. There has to be at least an inch (likely much more) built into the height requirement for safety. It should not need to be something where someone has to inspect so closely and come down to a judgment call. It should be either you’re definitely too short or you’re brushing up against the bar so that’s well within the safe height to ride.

 

[SteveMouse]

Three points of note:

1. How much tolerance should a tool permit? 1 inch in 40 is 2.5%. That’s not a lot (and thats assuming that the environment is perfect, with an absolute level surface.

2. Errors in measurement happen in other places as well.

3. Why not simply wait until your child is a bit taller? Parents are building perhaps unreasonable expectations.

 

[JakeAZ]

3. Why not simply wait until your child is a bit taller? Parents are building perhaps unreasonable expectations.

If the child is tall enough, he / she should be able to ride. Period. It could be 5/10 years before some of these families come back. It's very likely they won't be coming back 6/12 months later when the child is significantly over the bar...

All people are saying here is the measuring should be standardized.

"Everybody does it" isn't a reason to not change.

 

[mjkacmom]

Three points of note:

1. How much tolerance should a tool permit? 1 inch in 40 is 2.5%. That’s not a lot (and thats assuming that the environment is perfect, with an absolute level surface.

2. Errors in measurement happen in other places as well.

3. Why not simply wait until your child is a bit taller? Parents are building perhaps unreasonable expectations.

Dd16 and ds16 went to WDW at the age of 4 and haven’t been back, for most, it’s a one and done.

 

[JakeAZ]

Dd16 and ds16 went to WDW at the age of 4 and haven’t been back, for most, it’s a one and done.

They can safely go back now and have no issues!

 

[maxiesmom]

If the child is tall enough, he / she should be able to ride. Period. It could be 5/10 years before some of these families come back. It's very likely they won't be coming back 6/12 months later when the child is significantly over the bar...

All people are saying here is the measuring should be standardized.

"Everybody does it" isn't a reason to not change.

It is standardized. Disney uses measuring sticks. The problem is more the kids being measured. Are they standing tall, or slouching a bit, or afraid to hit the bar? What kind of shoes do they have on today vs yesterday? Is it later in the day when we all are a bit shorter vs the start of the day? All of that can make a difference for a child who isthisclose to the proper height for that ride.

Disney won't go to wristbands. They have tried it in the past, and apparently not liked the results, as they haven't gone that way. Probably cause there are too many ways to beat that system, and because they don't want o have guests wait in yet another line, and they don't want to pay for all of those bands. So yeah, it would be great if there was a perfect measuring system out there. But given that we have humans measuring other humans, there will be some error. No way around it.

 

[LSUmiss]

It is standardized. Disney uses measuring sticks. The problem is more the kids being measured. Are they standing tall, or slouching a bit, or afraid to hit the bar? What kind of shoes do they have on today vs yesterday? Is it later in the day when we all are a bit shorter vs the start of the day? All of that can make a difference for a child who isthisclose to the proper height for that ride.

Disney won't go to wristbands. They have tried it in the past, and apparently not liked the results, as they haven't gone that way. Probably cause there are too many ways to beat that system, and because they don't want o have guests wait in yet another line, and they don't want to pay for all of those bands. So yeah, it would be great if there was a perfect measuring system out there. But given that we have humans measuring other humans, there will be some error. No way around it.

Well if it is that important that the safety of the child is at stake then it should be more accurate.

 

[maxiesmom]

Well if it is that important that the safety of the child is at stake then it should be more accurate.

Well if it is that important that the safety of the child is at stake then it should be more accurate.

Seems like the system they have now does err on the side of caution.

 

[Klayfish]

Well if it is that important that the safety of the child is at stake then it should be more accurate.

The safety of the child isn't at stake. When was the last time you heard of an incident? I'm willing to bet there is a HUGE safety margin of error built it. So if requirement is 40", reality is that they're safe at 36", so if the child is 39.5" and sneaks through it's inconsequential. No different than stroller ratings. A stroller rated at 100lbs can really carry 150lbs with no problem. A car rated to tow 3500lbs can really tow 5000lbs no problems.

 

[LSUmiss]

The safety of the child isn't at stake. When was the last time you heard of an incident? I'm willing to bet there is a HUGE safety margin of error built it. So if requirement is 40", reality is that they're safe at 36", so if the child is 39.5" and sneaks through it's inconsequential. No different than stroller ratings. A stroller rated at 100lbs can really carry 150lbs with no problem. A car rated to tow 3500lbs can really tow 5000lbs no problems.

That’s my point. So the hand wringing of the CM at the 2nd measuring point is ridiculous unless the kid egregiously is not tall enough & snuck through the first measurement post somehow.

 

[Klayfish]

Ah, got it. Sorry I misunderstood. I totally agree with that. Guess it's almost a no win situation for them. They could probably get in trouble, and where do they then "draw the line"? If they let a kid 1/2" too short, then the next kid is 3/4" short, will the parents flip out if they're rejected?

 

[mom2rtk]

Ah, got it. Sorry I misunderstood. I totally agree with that. Guess it's almost a no win situation for them. They could probably get in trouble, and where do they then "draw the line"? If they let a kid 1/2" too short, then the next kid is 3/4" short, will the parents flip out if they're rejected?

I get it too. But the line has to be somewhere, and someone will always barely miss it.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the CM's are threatened with their jobs if they let someone through who is too short. For Disney, it's all about preventing any liability.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Its a shame they dont do the highth wristbands like some other parks... measured once and done.

 

[Klayfish]

I get it too. But the line has to be somewhere, and someone will always barely miss it.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the CM's are threatened with their jobs if they let someone through who is too short. For Disney, it's all about preventing any liability.

Totally agree. I do wonder if it's more for liability than it is customer service (i.e. people complaining). Don't know, I'd just be curious.

Its a shame they dont do the highth wristbands like some other parks... measured once and done.

As others have pointed out, that would actually be worse than the system they have now.