Height Requirement / Age question

[Katholicchik]

Rides only go by height requirements right? They're is no reason to worry that my 2 year old (with no band) would be denied access to like Splash Mountain or Star Tours as long as he's 40 inches (he's just at 40 and shoes will put him over by a half inch).

He's quite the daredevil, so I'm not worried about him getting scared; though we'll start with Mine Train and build from there.

I'm trying to make sure I'm not overlooking anything / anticipating any possible snags on our dream vacay

TIA!

 

[Kathryn777]

No, they only check height. My 3 year old was a daredevil and tall, he got seriously freaked out by some rides . Kids can act different at Disney

 

[godders]

Yep, only height requirement but CMs will not let a child ride if they are visibly upset about going on a ride even if their parents are insisting they will be fine (not that you ever would and it sounds like your little one wouldn't bat an eye lid anyway) but just a heads up.

Have you thought about trying barnstormer first instead of Mine train as it's the tamest roller coastery type ride at WDW? Mine Train can be quite thrilling even for adults

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Be advised Disney 40 inches and reality 40 inches are not the same. My kid was pediatrician 39 3/4 tall without shoes last trip and missed the requirement on BTMRR by at least 1.5 inches, but he cleared Star Tours by half an inch.

 

[Katholicchik]

Yep, only height requirement but CMs will not let a child ride if they are visibly upset about going on a ride even if their parents are insisting they will be fine (not that you ever would and it sounds like your little one wouldn't bat an eye lid anyway) but just a heads up.

Have you thought about trying barnstormer first instead of Mine train as it's the tamest roller coastery type ride at WDW? Mine Train can be quite thrilling even for adults

Great tip. Thank you. I haven't gotten to ride the Mine Train yet as it was only being built last time we were in the parks. I just guessed it was tamer since the height requirement is only 38. Happy to hear it's pretty exciting

 

[Katholicchik]

Be advised Disney 40 inches and reality 40 inches are not the same. My kid was pediatrician 39 3/4 tall without shoes last trip and missed the requirement on BTMRR by at least 1.5 inches, but he cleared Star Tours by half an inch.

What!?? Nooo. Don't tell me that.

 

[Katholicchik]

Do they care if the shoes have a good wedge heel on them? Going to find some thick soled sneakers or something then.

 

[Katholicchik]

Also we're not going until end of September / early Oct so hopefully he'll grow another inch. Maybe. He's 98 percentile for his age. He's like a little weed.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Do they care if the shoes have a good wedge heel on them? Going to find some thick soled sneakers or something then.

This has been debated often here. People claim to have seen CMs make kids take off shoes before, but we've never seen that. For our last trip we purposely bought our son a pair of Skechers with at least a 1 inch sole and no CM even looked once.

 

[Katholicchik]

This has been debated often here. People claim to have seen CMs make kids take off shoes before, but we've never seen that. For our last trip we purposely bought our son a pair of Skechers with at least a 1 inch sole and no CM even looked once.

I guess we'll just go with it then. Que sera. I don't think any of us will be heart broken if he misses some rides. Plenty to do in Disney!

There's a good chance the 7 year old will chicken out anyway. Lol. He is 10x more fearless than his older sisters.

 

[Sparkly]

I'm pretty sure the Disney height requirements are fairly accurate.

 

[Katholicchik]

I'm pretty sure the Disney height requirements are fairly accurate.

ok fingers crossed. Was wondering how many people found discrepancies between rides / parks and how often.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I guess we'll just go with it then. Que sera. I don't think any of us will be heart broken if he misses some rides. Plenty to do in Disney!

There's a good chance the 7 year old will chicken out anyway. Lol. He is 10x more fearless than his older sisters.

That's the perfect attitude to go in with! When we missed the height on BTMRR we made a joke of it, even the CM chimed in, and walked over to where Woody and Jesse were meeting guests.

 

[Katholicchik]

No, they only check height. My 3 year old was a daredevil and tall, he got seriously freaked out by some rides . Kids can act different at Disney

Do you recall which ones? Maybe I can steer clear of them. Was it Splash Mountain? I remember riding that when it opened and I was quite small and wasn't scared. But I was scared for the longest time of Big Thunder. Hard to tell I guess. I'm more or less thinking of Star Tours, but that may freak him out the most anyway since I doubt he can understand it's simulated. Or maybe he'll think it's really cool. Or maybe I'll scar my kid for life.

 

[mesaboy2]

ok fingers crossed. Was wondering how many people found discrepancies between rides / parks and how often.

There will always be discrepancies when it's close. Success or failure depends on many things: shoes, time of day, measuring sticks, stance, and CMs. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I've never found a discrepancy, personally. One of our trips fell right when our son hit 40 inches, and he was only measured about half the time. Experienced CMs can spot 40 inches pretty accurately, IMO. We've had a few "earning my ears" CMs who have measured him since that trip, including on our trip last week, and he's now almost 45 inches! LOL.

 

[Spork24]

I'm pretty sure the Disney height requirements are fairly accurate.

My brother went just last month with a 40ish inch daughter. She was measured by multiple sticks, passed some, missed others that were supposedly the same height by an inch.

Before that, I would have agreed with you. You would think it would be pretty standard, but it's not.

 

[Katholicchik]

I've never found a discrepancy, personally. One of our trips fell right when our son hit 40 inches, and he was only measured about half the time. Experienced CMs can spot 40 inches pretty accurately, IMO. We've had a few "earning my ears" CMs who have measured him since that trip, including on our trip last week, and he's now almost 45 inches! LOL.

I'm just worried they'll be suspicious because he won't have a band. Though I assume everyone will think we're just lying about his age for free park admission, but we're really not and he's really going to be only two still in Sept/Oct -- he's a December birthday! I am expecting him to be just over the 100 percentile when he's 3...uh if that's possible? idk lol My oldest daughter is only at the 6th

 

[Spork24]

I'm just worried they'll be suspicious because he won't have a band. Though I assume everyone will think we're just lying about his age for free park admission, but we're really not and he's really going to be only two still in Sept/Oct -- he's a December birthday! I am expecting him to be just over the 100 percentile when he's 3...uh if that's possible? idk lol My oldest daughter is only at the 6th

Many off property guests don't have bands. He won't be the only one without one, just the only one in your group. I doubt that will be an issue. The only time it might come up would be for a fast pass, but it should be easy enough to explain. You should be fine.

 

[Katholicchik]

Many off property guests don't have bands. He won't be the only one without one, just the only one in your group. I doubt that will be an issue. The only time it might come up would be for a fast pass, but it should be easy enough to explain. You should be fine.

Ok thanks