Height armbands?

[awesson]

What happens on Indiana Jones if you get to the front and you are too short to ride? Do they have a height thing at the front of the line? We will already have one adult waiting with the youngest so if we get to the front and he can't go it would be bad.

This happened to my daughter 2 years ago on Indiana Jones, she was not checked until we had been in line for quite a while, a CM asked her to come over and get measured, we measured her before we left and she was exactly 46". They measured and re measured her and finally told her she couldn't ride, because according to their measuring they could probably "slide a piece of paper between the top of her head and the cut off point" She was devastated, and all that measuring caught the attention of the people in line who also felt so bad for her, and voiced it to the CM. I never thought that this being later in the day could have been an issue as I have read on this thread....
However, it was nothing that a few extra rides on POTC while waiting for the rest of the group to get off of Indiana Jones couldn't fix!

 

[kristenm514]

This happened to my daughter 2 years ago on Indiana Jones, she was not checked until we had been in line for quite a while, a CM asked her to come over and get measured, we measured her before we left and she was exactly 46". They measured and re measured her and finally told her she couldn't ride, because according to their measuring they could probably "slide a piece of paper between the top of her head and the cut off point" She was devastated, and all that measuring caught the attention of the people in line who also felt so bad for her, and voiced it to the CM. I never thought that this being later in the day could have been an issue as I have read on this thread....
However, it was nothing that a few extra rides on POTC while waiting for the rest of the group to get off of Indiana Jones couldn't fix!

Ack!! That would be really frustrating! I am nervous about this happening with DD, for the 42" rides, especially because they're mostly things we'll be doing later in the day. I get that the CMs have their own butts to look out for, and so will err on the side of caution...but being one sheet of paper too short?! Boo!! That seriously bites.

 

[Disney Dreams]

I get that the CMs have their own butts to look out for, and so will err on the side of caution...but being one sheet of paper too short?! Boo!! That seriously bites.

It's not about them watching their own "backs." it is a height requirement set by an outside authority. The height requirement is that a person must be X" tall. To avoid the, "What's close ENOUGH" debate that parents would certainly attempt to enter in to, it's a hard rule. Either you ARE tall enough or you ARE NOT, no human judgement involved. So, if they can slip a piece of paper between the top of a head and the marker, the person is - without debate - not tall enough.

- Dreams

 

[kristenm514]

It's not about them watching their own "backs." it is a height requirement set by an outside authority. The height requirement is that a person must be X" tall. To avoid the, "What's close ENOUGH" debate that parents would certainly attempt to enter in to, it's a hard rule. Either you ARE tall enough or you ARE NOT, no human judgement involved. So, if they can slip a piece of paper between the top of a head and the marker, the person is - without debate - not tall enough.

- Dreams

I think that when it is EXACTLY at the line like that, then yes, it does become a matter of judgement. I'm all for iffy calls being an automatic "no", but one person may perceive that exact measurement as just under the line, while one may call it even. I promise there are people who had CMs let their kids that are just at the line go on, while others in the same situation are turned away.
I imagine those who are extremely cautious are being so out of concern for their jobs and consciences.

At any rate, I was only commiserating at the frustration of being so close, yet so far. I'd never argue over a height requirement, even in such a situation.

 

[bumbershoot]

He doesn't seem that close to me, but the last thing I want to do is tell him he can ride when he can't. It's the ride he's really excited about. He'll turn 8 when we are there so sitting up and holding on shouldn't be a problem. We'll just be sure to have him measured at the first of the line and if he is close I will mention that it looks like he can go or something that is cautiously optimistic.

At 8 he will be fully capable of standing straight and tall, and almost certainly won't end up with the piece of paper problem.

My son, at 3, had that problem b/c the &(@)$ CM decided to push down on his shoulder, and DS was too little to understand that he needed to stand straight and tall. And after that experience (which was at the *second* height check at Star Tours, and he was TOTALLY tall enough if the CM had taken his hand off, but I wasn't there and DH is bad under pressure) we realized that if you're just at the height mark BUT too immature to stand straight and tall enough to hit the mark, then it's for the best that you not ride.

And the side benefit is that even today DS remembers that this happened, and he knows 100% that no ride is for sure. He might not hit the height mark, a ride might be closed for the day, a ride might close while we're in line. It has resulted in a much more flexible child.

But at 8, yeah, he'll be mature enough to KNOW to stand straight and tall, and not let slouchiness mess with his ability to ride.



Indy has a height stick under the shelter where the CMs stand! If you don't know if the child is tall enough by Disney stick standards, check them first! If they are borderline, they've got to stand straight and tall, and YES, have all must-do rides at the very beginning of the day if there's any question.

And if there's any question, never take any ride for granted. Riding Screamin' once might squish their intervertebral spaces down enough to make a second ride impossible *that day*. Make those first rides count!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I think that when it is EXACTLY at the line like that, then yes, it does become a matter of judgement. I'm all for iffy calls being an automatic "no", but one person may perceive that exact measurement as just under the line, while one may call it even. I promise there are people who had CMs let their kids that are just at the line go on, while others in the same situation are turned away.
I imagine those who are extremely cautious are being so out of concern for their jobs and consciences.

At any rate, I was only commiserating at the frustration of being so close, yet so far. I'd never argue over a height requirement, even in such a situation.

Their head has to hit the measuring stick (a good thing to remind kids because they sometimes duck under it). So if they are exactly tall enough then they shouldn't be able to slide a piece of paper in between. The top of they head should touch the bar.

We had one CM at the entrance of what's now Goofys Sky School measure my DD when she was right at 42". They may have been able to slide a piece of paper in between but they were aware that the ground at the measuring stick was pretty uneven. They let her go in line so she could be remeasured at the top (on a level platform), and there she was definitely tall enough. If you've seen people "let kids go that are close" that may be a reason....some of the outside sticks are slightly off and the more experienced CMs may know how much leeway they have because ultimately the pre-boarding measurement is the final say.