Disney for little folks

[mommykatt]

Hi all! We are planning a trip to WDW in two years (I think the wait will kill me!) and I thought I'd toss this out to all of you. Has anyone gone to any of the Disney parks with a dwarf?
My almost 2yo has been diagnosed with growth hormone dificiency, a form of dwarfism. At this point we are still running test to see about hormone therapy to help he grow taller. at 22 months she is barely the size of an average 1 yo. This week her endo said he thinks she may make it to 4' or so without any help. She'll be four when we go and will be trying to keep up with her then 8 yo sister. Her sis is on the tall side for her age and can already ride most of the rides at Disneyland (she's 47.5"). How do we explain to her that she can't ride all those ride her sister will get to? We can use the stroller so she doesn't tire out too quickly. Other than the height and tiring issues, are there any others I should prepare for?
Thanks!

Kathleen

 

[SueM in MN]

We have not had a lot of posts from little people here, but I have seen some in the parks.
I think the best thing for you is to be prepared with knowledge about which attractions do have height restrictions, so that you know upfront which ones will be a problem. I don't have time right now to look for it, but the DIS main site ( www.wdwinfo.com ) does have a height calculator where you enter the height of the person and the calculator comes up with a list of attractions they will be able to ride at that height.
If you have another adult, maybe you could do things as a family that all of you can do. Then split up and have the other adult take your older child on things that the younger one can't do. We have done that because there are things that my youngest DD can't ride either because they are too hard to transfer her from her wheelchair or they are not safe for her because of her disabilities. I don't know what my DH does when he goes with her, but when she and I go alone, we make an adventure. At every turning point, she decides which way to go and when we get to an attraction she can go on, she decides "Go or not go". If she wants to ride the boat in Mexico 3 times in a row, that's what we do. She likes the chance to boss around her mom once in a while.

 

[SaratogaShan]

I don't have any good advice to add as far as rides go. Just wanted to mention that when you book your hotel room, you may want to consider a handicap accessible room because the beds are low to the floor and all of the counters are lower. This may give her more independence while at the resort.

Happy planning!

 

[BillSears]

I don't have any good advice to add as far as rides go. Just wanted to mention that when you book your hotel room, you may want to consider a handicap accessible room because the beds are low to the floor and all of the counters are lower. This may give her more independence while at the resort.

I thought the wheelchair accessible rooms tended to have higher countertops and beds. Higher countertops to allow a wheelchair to slide under for access and higher beds to make transfers easier.

I don't really have much advice on the ride problem. At 4 years old your younger daughter would probably be unable to ride the coasters even without her growth hormone dificiency. But you're right that there are some lower height restriction rides that she might "normally" have been able to ride but will be unable to ride. I really don't have a suggestion on how to help your daughter cope with this, it's unfair but unfortunatly life isn't fair. I've spent time waiting for others to ride rides that I couldn't, it's frustrating and depressing but you suck it up and keep going. Try to concentrate on the fun things you can do. Maybe you can split up the kids and have a parent take your younger daughter to something she really enjoys while the older daughter rides her rides.

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

I can't ride hardly any of the wild rides because I have no trunk support. I ride all the wheelchair accessible rides and transfered to Soarin' with a person to completely support me on both sides. Still, I always have a fantastic time. We love the shows and there are no height restrictions. The 4D shows are awesome (there are 4), Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Sounds Dangerous, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Lights Motor Action, Festival of the Lion King, and all the night shows. Those are the ones that come to the top of my head. She can ride a lot of rides and many of the wilder rides have interactive exhibits at the end that she could enjoy. Some rides that are popular have no height requirements like Kilimanjaro Safaris. Focus on what she can do. When the older sister goes on a ride she can't, let your younger daughter pick the next ride/attraction (within reason). Use FP for the rides not everyone can ride...

Have fun!!

Christamae

 

[joanchris]

. She'll be four when we go and will be trying to keep up with her then 8 yo sister. Her sis is on the tall side for her age and can already ride most of the rides at Disneyland (she's 47.5"). How do we explain to her that she can't ride all those ride her sister will get to? We can use the stroller so she doesn't tire out too quickly. Other than the height and tiring issues, are there any others I should prepare for?
Thanks!

Kathleen

We were at Disney one month before DDs 7th birthday.....with her sandals on she was not tall enough to ride Primevil Whirl, which she badly wanted to ride. She would have been tall enough with her sneakers (the CM who measured her before we got in line even encouraged her to stand up taller), but we forgot to wear them that day. She was disappointed but got over it quickly enough. At age 4 a "typical" child would not be tall enough to ride some of the rides, so, at least until she's older, the problem will not be any different than with any younger/older child combination.
Have a blast when you go, it will be great no matter how tall your DD is

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Wow , like a previous post said, " there usually arent' too many posts for little people". So when i read it i was surprised. My daughter is going to go through the testing with her endo doctor to see if she lacks growth hormone. But she is older than your daughter, she will be 5 in june and she is the same size as her 2 and a half year old cousin. we are going to disney again next april, but we also went last year, so DD was 4, she really didn't get upset over rides she wasnt' tall enough to go on, because most of the rides that were her favorites were rides we could all go on together anyway, like Dumbo(her favorite) alladin's carpets, cinderlla's carousel, winnie the pooh, etc... Well good luck you will have fun, there are so many rides your DD will never complain over the few she won't be able to go on