Height requirement differences

[kohlby]

I had this question. My guy is 43.5" tall right now and we are heading to Magic Kingdom for one day before our Disney Cruise in February. I am certain he will be over 44" in shoes, but wasn't sure if the measurements account for shoes or not. Do they? Seems to be a mixed bag. I am less concerned about disappointing him because I know I can manage expectations, and more concerned about potentially wasting a fast pass on Space Mountain if he won't hit the 44" mark. What would you do?

The way I handled a child I thought might be too short was tell her that she wasn't tall enough but we would measure her at the ride so we knew how much she needed to grow for the next trip. If the child makes it, do let him know that there's a chance he might not be tall enough at the next measurement spot - as there's one inside the ride too. When my daughter made it surprisingly through the 40", I expressed my surprise to her and let her know there was one more place to get measured and there was a chance she wouldn't make it - since she didn't make it at home.

As for wasting a fast pass, it's not really a waste if the family is doing it together since you can use child swap. Also - though I wouldn't get special shoes - new sneakers before the trip might help. Not getting special ones, but newer ones might have a little more height and still fall within normal safety considerations. And though I've heard of them making people taking off their shoes, I haven't heard of it with normal shoes before. My daughter who has a history of being borderline on many, many trips has never had to take her shoes off. She always wears regular sneakers. (Not always purchased right before our trip, though they were before the 40" trip due to her needing some then. We all wear running type sneakers in the parks due to comfort and they will add some height).

 

[NYHeel]

Also to note, CMs may ask for the child to remove their shoes (especially on RnR). Don't pick sneakers that help your child be taller it will backfire and for good reason.

What good reason? If your child wants to go on a ride that they might be a half inch too short for, I'd try every trick in the book to get her on. It's not like a ride that's deemed completely safe for a 48" kid is going to become unsafe at 47.5".

4 years ago I managed to get my then 3 year old daughter on splash mountain twice despite being about a half inch or a quarter inch too short.

 

[tink9702]

That's weird because it's part of the checklist for each attraction to physically measure each height stick to make sure they're the correct height. Or just make the Cast Member feel bad for doing their job. It's up to you.

You're assuming that I said something inappropriate to the CM. I did no such thing. I turned to my DD and said "aww, that's too bad, but we'll ride it next time we come to Disney." and we walked away. Of course the CM's are just doing their job and I would never ever say anything to make them feel like the bad guy but to be realistic, if the ground is not flat and your child is standing in a lower spot the stick is going to measure more than 40". So the sticks are probably accurate, but it doesn't mean your child will pass the 40" mark on every ride. The point of my post was to warn the OP to beware that getting on one ride will not guarantee getting on the next. Whether that's due to the actual height of the sticks, the uneven ground, the child's spine compressing or the child not standing as straight in all cases you need to have a backup plan and be ready to handle your child's disappointment.

 

[Muskegon78]

We plan to do BTMRR and splash mid morning and hopefully repears of both after dinner so I'll be interested to se eif she meets the height at all or both timeframes

 

[famy27]

We actually had sort of the opposite experience on our Nov trip. DD was very close to 40 in our measurements at home, but I didn't think she would make it. DH wasn't even going to have her try, as he didn't want her to be disappointed. She ended up being able to get on every ride we tried. She was measured twice at Dinosaur and BTMRR, once at ToT, Soarin, and Splash, and not measured at all at TT. We did practice having her hit her head on a stick, and I think that helped a lot.

 

[nono]

Try having short kids...my child just cleared 48" and turned 9 while on our last trip. He's a shrinker during the day, for sure. Interestingly, the second time he rode R n R on our last day, he wasn't even checked at the second checkpoint. Apparently the adrenaline from that first ride earlier in the morning gave him poise, or something!

 

[AngiTN]

BUT - the only measurements are "theirs" when you are at the parks. So using "true" measurements will get you no where at the parks. Just a lot of frustration if she doesn't pass. Also note that there will not only be the first check point but another one later on. She can pass the first and not pass the second. So, be prepared.

And, as always, my advice. If she doesn't pass the first check point, get some ice cream for her (and you). If she passes the first check point but not the second check point, get some ice cream for her (and you). If she passes both check points and goes on the ride, when it's done, get some ice cream for her (and you).

That totally goes against the earlier statement in this thread that all sticks are measured and uniform

Once DD was tall enough we were fine. I guess we didn't go when it was close

 

[jessicadisneygirl]

I agree the sticks are not all uniform. My daughter measured well above 40" at Stitch. We didn't ride that but I wanted to see if she would be tall enough for Splash before walking all the way over there. We went directly there and she wasn't even close to 40". I said something to the cast member and she said each rides measuring must be done at that ride and some might be slightly different. She then indicated the wood platform the child stands on for Splash measuring and you could literally see two grooves in the platform, I assume from kids feet standing on it all day every day. The stitch measuring stick was mounted in concrete.

We then left and returned with my niece to have her measured. She is the same age and general size but looks quite different. However, that day the girls were dressed the same in Minnie dresses. My niece easily measured over 40" but the CM wouldn't give us a bracelet. She started to call for a manager when I asked what was wrong. She thought we had brought back the same child in a different taller pair of shoes! So apparently this is something people do.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

What good reason? If your child wants to go on a ride that they might be a half inch too short for, I'd try every trick in the book to get her on. It's not like a ride that's deemed completely safe for a 48" kid is going to become unsafe at 47.5".

4 years ago I managed to get my then 3 year old daughter on splash mountain twice despite being about a half inch or a quarter inch too short.

Because you are creating a false impression of the height of the child. Successful circumvention of the rules does not make it okay nor did it make the ride safe for your child.

Unless you had a hand in engineering the ride, you really cannot make any proclamations about safety for those too short to ride.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Try having short kids...my child just cleared 48" and turned 9 while on our last trip. He's a shrinker during the day, for sure. Interestingly, the second time he rode R n R on our last day, he wasn't even checked at the second checkpoint. Apparently the adrenaline from that first ride earlier in the morning gave him poise, or something!

I feel your pain. I think my child will legally need a booster until she is 16. Lol. She is still hovering around 3-4%ile for height. She is a small fry for sure. She didn't hit 40 inches until right at age 5. She is tiny.

 

[NYHeel]

Because you are creating a false impression of the height of the child. Successful circumvention of the rules does not make it okay nor did it make the ride safe for your child.

Unless you had a hand in engineering the ride, you really cannot make any proclamations about safety for those too short to ride.

Whatever. If Disney is engineering rides that are perfectly safe for 40" children but unsafe for 39.5" children then we're all in a lot of trouble. If the safety were that close they should be measuring the kids seated since that's how they are on the ride. So a 40" kid with longer legs may actually be shorter when sitting than a 40" kid with shorter legs and a longer torso. Instead Disney makes a universal height decision of 40" because they know it's a safe ride for anyone (regardless of body type) in that height range.

I'm not talking about putting your kids on stilts. Just wearing sneakers (maybe an extra quarter inch over regular shoes) and wearing the kids hair up (for girls). I'm just trying to make my kid, who might be a tiny bit too short depending on time of day, more likely to get on. Putting your kid in the best possible situation to be able to go on a ride he/she really wants to and one that, at least I believe, is perfectly safe.

 

[DavidNYC]

I agree the sticks are not all uniform. My daughter measured well above 40" at Stitch. We didn't ride that but I wanted to see if she would be tall enough for Splash before walking all the way over there. We went directly there and she wasn't even close to 40". I said something to the cast member and she said each rides measuring must be done at that ride and some might be slightly different. She then indicated the wood platform the child stands on for Splash measuring and you could literally see two grooves in the platform, I assume from kids feet standing on it all day every day. The stitch measuring stick was mounted in concrete.

We then left and returned with my niece to have her measured. She is the same age and general size but looks quite different. However, that day the girls were dressed the same in Minnie dresses. My niece easily measured over 40" but the CM wouldn't give us a bracelet. She started to call for a manager when I asked what was wrong. She thought we had brought back the same child in a different taller pair of shoes! So apparently this is something people do.

Have never heard reports of someone being "well under" and "well over" at different sticks of same height. It's millimeters difference if any and they are strict so a millimeter and different times of day can make a difference but not by large margins.

Also - what "bracelet" - disney does not give out bracelets for height verification. Are you mixing this up with a different park?

 

[DavidNYC]

I feel your pain. I think my child will legally need a booster until she is 16. Lol. She is still hovering around 3-4%ile for height. She is a small fry for sure. She didn't hit 40 inches until right at age 5. She is tiny.

Same here - DD at the 3% mark. Didn't hit 40 until the 5 year old trip - just under 44 with sneakers at 6 years 4 months so hoping we hit 44 by April. Close enough I think she'll make it.

I was laughing when we went to six flags this weekend - she was clearly a little under the stick for 44 - it hit her headband - but they let her on everything! Big difference it enforcement!

 

[jessicadisneygirl]

Have never heard reports of someone being "well under" and "well over" at different sticks of same height. It's millimeters difference if any and they are strict so a millimeter and different times of day can make a difference but not by large margins.

Also - what "bracelet" - disney does not give out bracelets for height verification. Are you mixing this up with a different park?

By well over I mean that at Stitch her head was hitting against the horizontal measure line by quite a bit. I even asked her to slouch a bit and her head did not fit under. At Splash she stood as straight as possible and she was still short of the horizontal bar enough that I could see through the crack. To me that is a fairly significant difference. Granted those are the only two we had her measured at so maybe it was an anomaly.

We were at MK on Dec 11 and they were giving a stick-on paper bracelet like the one you get for MVMCP. Each ride had a seperate color and it was only given if you had to be measured. My niece is about 41 and she rode several things that required measurement and had quite the collection of bracelets by the end of the day. Maybe it was a test for that day? We were also there the 6th and didn't ride anything with a height requirement but I don't recall seeing any other kids with the bracelets.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Have never heard reports of someone being "well under" and "well over" at different sticks of same height. It's millimeters difference if any and they are strict so a millimeter and different times of day can make a difference but not by large margins.

Also - what "bracelet" - disney does not give out bracelets for height verification. Are you mixing this up with a different park?

Only Kali has a bracelet that I am aware of and that is so attendants know the child requires the special seat with the bar that lowers down.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Whatever. If Disney is engineering rides that are perfectly safe for 40" children but unsafe for 39.5" children then we're all in a lot of trouble. If the safety were that close they should be measuring the kids seated since that's how they are on the ride. So a 40" kid with longer legs may actually be shorter when sitting than a 40" kid with shorter legs and a longer torso. Instead Disney makes a universal height decision of 40" because they know it's a safe ride for anyone (regardless of body type) in that height range.

I'm not talking about putting your kids on stilts. Just wearing sneakers (maybe an extra quarter inch over regular shoes) and wearing the kids hair up (for girls). I'm just trying to make my kid, who might be a tiny bit too short depending on time of day, more likely to get on. Putting your kid in the best possible situation to be able to go on a ride he/she really wants to and one that, at least I believe, is perfectly safe.

All parks make a universal decision based on the construction of a ride and the restraints involved. This is nothing new.

I remember not being able to ride Space Mountain when I was little. And my shorty missed a lot of rides. I was fine. She was fine. Plenty of other things to do. Except at DHS. We went twice and after the second time when she wasn't interested in shows, we avoided it until she was 40 inches. Now she has a much better time. The best possible situation for her is to not place her in situations she is too small for.

 

[dlavender]

When we went in October, DS 3 was not tall enough for BTMRR, however, was just tall enough for Splash (same height requirement, right next door). We measured him before going and he was right at 40. The sticks definitely vary, or the ground, or perceptions, or gravity. Who knows?

 

[NYHeel]

All parks make a universal decision based on the construction of a ride and the restraints involved. This is nothing new.

I remember not being able to ride Space Mountain when I was little. And my shorty missed a lot of rides. I was fine. She was fine. Plenty of other things to do. Except at DHS. We went twice and after the second time when she wasn't interested in shows, we avoided it until she was 40 inches. Now she has a much better time. The best possible situation for her is to not place her in situations she is too small for.

On our last trip 4 years ago, my youngest was 3. She was just under 40" and wasn't able to get on any of the 40" rides. We prepared her for it and she was ok with it, but it did make the entire trip much more difficult since my boys (ages 5 and 9 at the time) wanted to do whatever thrill rides they could get on. She never cried (at least not about that) and didn't throw any tantrums. With the exception of one unrelated incident she was great the entire trip. But it was clear that she really wanted to go on those rides.

For whatever reason, I somehow managed to get her on Splash Mountain twice and she loved it. The first time the attendant at the top felt bad that she was so close and let her through and the one at the bottom never measured her. The second time nobody at all measured her. If there was a harmless way to get her to be a half inch taller I definitely would have done it. She would have had a much better time and my wife (who insisted on staying with her) would have had a much better time.

This time around she's about 48.5-49 inches without shoes so Disney isn't a problem. She'll just have to miss a few rides at Universal. Having all your kids height eligible for the rides you want to do makes planning for the trip and the trip itself much easier.

I just don't see anything wrong with trying to get your kid that extra quarter to a half an inch so that he/she can go on as many rides as they want.

 

[Day-Day]

All parks make a universal decision based on the construction of a ride and the restraints involved. This is nothing new.

I remember not being able to ride Space Mountain when I was little. And my shorty missed a lot of rides. I was fine. She was fine. Plenty of other things to do. Except at DHS. We went twice and after the second time when she wasn't interested in shows, we avoided it until she was 40 inches. Now she has a much better time. The best possible situation for her is to not place her in situations she is too small for.

We were doing the child swap way back on our first visit when our daughter was 2.5 years old and her older brother got to ride Space Mountain. She had no understanding of why she couldn't ride and told us, "I'm not little, I'm big". Neither one of us parents wanted to take her off somewhere and not get the chance to ride ourselves so it was a little tough.

 

[maxiesmom]

That totally goes against the earlier statement in this thread that all sticks are measured and uniform

Not really. If a child is close to the height cut off point a difference in how they are standing can mean a different measurement.