Disney with kids who don't meet height requirements

[21hearts]

We've gone a few times and our son just hit 40 inches. Its not a hassle for us because I'm not a big thrill ride person so I would be sitting most of the rides out anyways. For those I like we just do rider swap.

Some of my best memories have come from me waiting with the kids while DH is on a ride.

 

[RMulieri]

On our daughters first trip she was under the 40" height requirement.We baby swapped for the rides she was too little for, and we had a blast

 

[DisneyJoo2008]

Glad to read this (the good stories about kids having fun under the height requirement!) My little man is 38" (2yrs) so glad to know he'll be very very OK!
xxx

 

[MushLRC]

Seems to be a theme here in reply but I agree that height is not a problem. We have been going with babies and little guys for a few years now and there are only a few things that have height requirements. If there is ANYwhere to go with littles it is Disney. I was sadly disappointed when we went to Cedar Pointe in Ohio expecting the same level of manageability with little ones. That was a bit NOT!!

 

[raydurz]

When I was at AK aout 4 years ago, one of the saddst things I saw was a little girl crying because she couldn't go on Kali River Rapids. By the time I got off the ride, she was still there, but instead she was smiling and laughing. She was having a great time squirting all the riders with the water gun. So don't worry, you'll find kids under 40" something to do.

 

[ThreeBeans]

Yes we've heard of the baby swap but don't really want to go that route...

Well, that's your choice

1. Almost everything in the parks has no height restriction.

2. For those things that do, either you use the baby swap or don't ride.



Now, if this is a once in a life time event, and you don't intend to ever return (due to finances), maybe you should wait a year or two until you can all ride (and no one is scared even though he meets the requirements).

If this is NOT a once in a life time event, relax and realize that Disney is about a lot more than thrill rides and is truly a fantastic place to be in its own right even if you have to skip the Rock n Roller Coaster.

I have three kids. The oldest is 4'2" and could ride almost everything. The two little ones are 40" and and 44" and had to sit a few things out. It really wasn't a big deal.

 

[TDC Nala]

Disney has plenty of attractions that do not have height requirements at all.

It appears the OP isn't worried about the kids having fun, but about the adults who will be disappointed that they won't be able to ride thrill rides together.

If you or your family will be extremely disappointed that they can't ride the more "thrill" type attractions, then maybe it is better to wait. If the kids are old enough, kids club for an evening is a possibility. Or plan a trip without the kids, and then take a family trip later, when everybody meets the height requirements. I'm sort of expecting replies that are incredulous that anyone would plan a WDW trip without the kids, but a lot of people do it.

 

[Raenstoirm]

I'm sure my kids would have fun but I'm wondering about myself and the mrs? We like to go on the more adventurous rides and if our kids can't, not quite ideal.

What if your kid doesnt WANT to ride those rides?? What if your 8 year old hates roller coasters? Are you going to make him ride it because daddy wants to ride? Or let him stand alone for an hour while you are in line? Not to be totally rude, but you sound so selfish! Dh and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this fall (at Disney no less). We dont have kids yet because we arent ready to not be selfish, but when that time comes and we have a family we will devote our lives to our children! Cant you see the wonder through your kids eyes and experience their joy and not think so much about yourself? If you really don't want to vacation with your kids leave them with grandma!

 

[troynkasey]

We have DD 5 1/2 and DD 2 1/2. My first dd has been 6 times. Starting at 6 months old and every year there after (6 mos, 1.5 yrs, 2.5 yrs, etc.) My second dd is on the same cycle. Both were born in November and we traditionally go in June. Needless to say, we're pros at going when they're not of "legal" height. When they are that little, I feel like you can enjoy the park for the park and not the thrill rides and all that. Both girls had eyes as big as golf balls their first two trips going through it's a small world. The music, colors, and little people was stimulation overload! We also hit all the shows, did as many character meet and greets and let the girls "sight see". We had fun and they had fun. It was very relaxing. We let them take naps in the stroller and that allowed us to take an hour or two hour break somewhere in the shade and people watch.

Ultimately, you know your child or children and what they like. You also have your own expectations. If watching shows and taking it easy isn't your cup of tea, then I'd wait.

 

[RMulieri]

Yes we've heard of the baby swap but don't really want to go that route...

If it is just you and your spouse that meet the height requirement, than you don't really have another option..Unless of course you bring another adult with you to act as babysitter, or you hire a babysitter one evening so you can get some park time sans kids..Even if they do meet the requirement, some rides they may not want to ride.Kids are afraid of things, and to make them ride something they don't want to just because you do can seriously backfire on you for the rest of your trip.We used the baby swap when we went..It was not ideal since no one likes to ride alone, and its much more fun riding with your spouse.But it is better than NOT being able to ride at all.We had a blast anyway

 

[conniehar90]

We have been taking our kids since they were babies (they are now 13 and 10). They always had a great time - there is so much to do there. Babies can go on so many rides. We took advantage of child swap for the high thrill rides. Yes, you have to ride alone, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

That said, the trips when the kids were really little - they don't remember much. Pictures help with the memories. And we have the memories of them enjoying themselves. I guess the trips when they were really young were more for us because we love Disney.

As someone else said, if this would be a one time trip, I would wait until they are old/tall enough. If you plan to come back, it is nice to bring the kids at different ages to experience their different interests. My DD10 no longer cares about the princesses but I still have those memories of her when she was 4 and loved to meet them!

Kids grow up fast and before you know it, they will be out of the house and you and the mrs. can take an adult trip to go on Thunder and Splash and relive the memories of when your kids were little.

 

[WDSearcher]

Yes we've heard of the baby swap but don't really want to go that route...

In that case, then yes ... it will probably be better for you to wait until the kids are all tall enough to ride everything you want to ride.

Baby swap is set up for parents to be able to ride all the height restriction rides when the kids are too short. It's not ideal, if what you want to do is ride together, but literally thousands of families use that system every day and have a great time. But it sounds as though you have an idea of how your vacation is to be and you don't want to consider options that aren't ideal. And so ... your best bet is to wait until your kids are tall enough to ride everything. That way you don't have to pay extra for the kids' clubs at night and you don't have to deal with baby swap.

But you may also want to pick up one of the many Disney guidebooks and check to see exactly how many rides your kids can NOT go on vs. the number of rides they can, and then determine if not being able to ride a handful of stuff exactly the way you want to ride them is worth postponing an entire vacation. That's a call only you can make.

 

[Dreamer8]

What if your kid doesnt WANT to ride those rides?? What if your 8 year old hates roller coasters? Are you going to make him ride it because daddy wants to ride? Or let him stand alone for an hour while you are in line? Not to be totally rude, but you sound so selfish! Dh and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this fall (at Disney no less). We dont have kids yet because we arent ready to not be selfish, but when that time comes and we have a family we will devote our lives to our children! Cant you see the wonder through your kids eyes and experience their joy and not think so much about yourself? If you really don't want to vacation with your kids leave them with grandma!

Selfish? Because I want to make sure the people who are paying for the trip get to do what they want as well? Okay I guess we are then. Like I said earlier in the thread, I plan to do all the rides that Disney plans to offer but going on Dumbo isn't exactly going to get my juices flowing.. I'm not big into the character dining experiences but I plan to book 2 so my kids can enjoy themselves.. it doesn't need to be 100% about the kids..

Someone recommended KIDS CLUBS which sounded like a pretty good idea.. I think I will look into that a little more. Seems like a good solution for a few days on the trip.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Selfish? Because I want to make sure the people who are paying for the trip get to do what they want as well? Okay I guess we are then. Like I said earlier in the thread, I plan to do all the rides that Disney plans to offer but going on Dumbo isn't exactly going to get my juices flowing.. I'm not big into the character dining experiences but I plan to book 2 so my kids can enjoy themselves.. it doesn't need to be 100% about the kids..

Someone recommended KIDS CLUBS which sounded like a pretty good idea.. I think I will look into that a little more. Seems like a good solution for a few days on the trip.

Here is some info on kids clubs to get you started. You may want to consider in room services b/c your kid will be too young for kids clubs, its 4-12 and potty trained. It is also only offered in the evening. Kids Night Out gets some good reviews on here.

 

[Colleen27]

Yes we've heard of the baby swap but don't really want to go that route...

In that case you probably should wait at least until your smallest child is 40" or 4yo, so you can either ride most things together or utilize the kids' clubs for an adult evening or two to hit the bigger rides.

I'm curious, though, why you don't want to use the baby swap? It is so efficient and there are so many nice areas near the height-restricted rides for the parent who is with the too-small child(ren) to wait that we've found it to be a very pleasant experience overall. I worried over it a bit when we were planning our first trip with a clearly-too-small child because other destinations aren't nearly so little-kid-friendly and I always end up sitting some things out, but Disney is the gold standard for finding convenient, creative ways for the whole family to enjoy the trip.

 

[WicketsMom]

We've done three trips with our 4-year old, all before he was over 40". On two of those, my brother and sister-in-law and our nephew came along and we would swap out watching the kids and we still got to ride together since there were four adults available. No one missed out on anything because we could go to a kid-friendly ride while one set of parents were on the thrill ride, then we'd swap places. The only time we had a problem was the second trip where my nephew was 42" and my son was just 38" so one could ride and the other couldn't. That started the tears flowing more than once and all he talks about now is how he will be riding Tower of Terror and Soarin' when we go back in October! (We made a 40" mark on the doorframe and he has been measuring to see when he was tall enough.)

 

[ktlm]

Don't forget that just because your kids meet the height requirement does not mean that they will agree to go on the thrill rides. DD has yet to set foot on Big Thunder even though she has been tall enough on our last 2 WDW trips and our last 2 DL trips. She also refuses Space Mountain even though she has been tall enough at WDW and DL.

Just because your kids may not be able to ride the bigger rides doesn't mean you can't and you don't have to use baby swap, we never have. Use the single rider lines where available, and if the ride doesn't have that, use fast pass. We trade off. When she was little we would do it while she was napping in the stroller, DH and I would each take a turn watching her, while the other did a thrill ride. Now, since she doesn't really nap anymore, one of us will take her to ride small world again or into stores or whatever while the other one rides the thrill ride and then we switch.

 

[DisneySarah80]

After reading this thread, I measured my youngest DD. I did it barefoot, and shes only 39in!!! We have just under 4 months till we leave, so that, plus the fact that she will be wearing shoes when measured, I'm hoping she will be atleast 40in when we get there!!!
Having said that, it wont be the end of the world if shes not....

 

[disnut8]

I'm curious how many of you traveled or travel to Disney eventhough your kids don't meet the height requirements? It seems like so much of a hassle if the kids aren't going to measure up rather than just waiting until they're tall enough.

I went through a very bad accident that left me (at my current age of 49) with a broken neck. There are a few things I cannot do. However, laying in my hospital bed, I starting things of the thing I CAN do and quickly realized it wasn't worth the effort to continue - there simply were too many things I COULD do.

Don't focus on CAN'T. Why bother with that? Not with Disney. Look at CAN.

We're going with my grandson in January and I know there will be things he CAN"T do. But he won't mind. Because we will take him on everything he CAN do. And he won't care about CAN'T and I hope that stays with him for the rest of his life.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Yes we've heard of the baby swap but don't really want to go that route...

Well then you will have to wait until they all reach the height min. I guess.

This is the amazing thing about having an only. We don't need to wait for anyone else to grow! and until then Child swap is perfect! And there is no hassle with one child for anything. I think OP what you might not see that Disney isn't 100% about the rides. Alot of it is about the experiences. The magic will leave once they are 9 or the same time Santa no longer exist. They really think that it's Mickey, and not a guy in a costume. They believe that Tinkerbell just lit up the castle! Those are moment you won't get with an older child.

What is so off putting about child swap OP?