Height requirements. Here at Disney now!

[wilkeliza]

The thing is, Six Flags does it and they have rides that are much bigger and presumably more dangerous for shorter kids. Somehow they manage to do it in a way that their liability insurance allows, so I don't see why Disney can't. I agree that there are many ways to cheat on the magic band but the old school paper bands are used at many amusement parks both for admission and height identification.

Six Flags can do it because they are usually a local park. Most kids grow up going to Six Flags if they live with in a certain distance of one. My family was dirty poor but thanks to coke promos we went to Six Flags at least one time every summer. So when I was too short to ride mom took me to get ice cream and said maybe next year kiddo while my two older brothers went to ride alone. It was no biggie. Had we gone to Disney that would have been a once in a life time trip. You better believe I would have been crushed to go to Disney and watch my brothers get to ride something thinking it was sometime I would never get to experience because we would probably never be back. There are a lot of families that have similar situations and so when it is a once in a life time trip you will do almost anything to get your kid on that ride including cheating the system. I don't think my mom would have ever let me cheat the system but some parents do because they don't want their kids to miss out on something if they know they won't be able to provide them another chance.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Six Flags can do it because they are usually a local park. Most kids grow up going to Six Flags if they live with in a certain distance of one. My family was dirty poor but thanks to coke promos we went to Six Flags at least one time every summer. So when I was too short to ride mom took me to get ice cream and said maybe next year kiddo while my two older brothers went to ride alone. It was no biggie. Had we gone to Disney that would have been a once in a life time trip. You better believe I would have been crushed to go to Disney and watch my brothers get to ride something thinking it was sometime I would never get to experience because we would probably never be back. There are a lot of families that have similar situations and so when it is a once in a life time trip you will do almost anything to get your kid on that ride including cheating the system. I don't think my mom would have ever let me cheat the system but some parents do because they don't want their kids to miss out on something if they know they won't be able to provide them another chance.

Don't underestimate the roller coaster junkie population..lol. Yes, a 6 Flags or a Cedar Fair park are not anywhere near what a WDW trip is. But.,..those parks have much larger rides, ones which could be a lot more dangerous if something went wrong. So I'm sure they take all of the necessary precautions...safety and liability wise.

 

[maxiesmom]

At Kings Island it's different color bands, you can go to a centralized location..or you can just get measured at every ride. For us the bands save a lot of time, they are placed very snuggly around the wrist..so I don't know how people would switch them

Funny thing is, I have one from a Halloween party, still intact, sitting on my dresser. You can easily get them off.

 

[allaboard]

Dinosaur ride is scary! The first time my 6 year old son rode it, he sat behind me with his sister, and I had our 4 year old with me .... and I swear I hurt my arm trying to reach around the whole ride and make sure he didn't fly out of the ride !!

 

[famy27]

Six Flags can do it because they are usually a local park. Most kids grow up going to Six Flags if they live with in a certain distance of one. My family was dirty poor but thanks to coke promos we went to Six Flags at least one time every summer. So when I was too short to ride mom took me to get ice cream and said maybe next year kiddo while my two older brothers went to ride alone. It was no biggie. Had we gone to Disney that would have been a once in a life time trip. You better believe I would have been crushed to go to Disney and watch my brothers get to ride something thinking it was sometime I would never get to experience because we would probably never be back. There are a lot of families that have similar situations and so when it is a once in a life time trip you will do almost anything to get your kid on that ride including cheating the system. I don't think my mom would have ever let me cheat the system but some parents do because they don't want their kids to miss out on something if they know they won't be able to provide them another chance.

I think you may be overestimating the honesty of SF park attendees I have waited in line for my DD's height bracelet there on many occasions. The bracelets are given at the same place that they give their version of disability passes. In almost every instance, I've heard people planning out how they were going to describe their imaginary disability to get their pass. I don't think any of them would blink twice about fudging with a child's height.

At SF, they have the bracelets and visual clues for the ride attendants, just like they have at WDW. If the ride operator can see that a child is well under the mark, they will pull them out of line and measure again, even if they have a wristband.

Last season, I saw my favorite SF parenting moment. We were in line for Viper, which is wooden coaster with a 48 in requirement. There was a woman a few rows from me who had a little boy in line with her. I'm guessing he was about 5, and he was clearly 4-5 inches under the height requirement. When it was their turn to board, she tried to pull him into the train, but the ride operator stopped him and said he couldn't ride. The mom shoved him through the turnstile exit, jumped on the ride, and left with the kid crying at the exit. Good times.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Funny thing is, I have one from a Halloween party, still intact, sitting on my dresser. You can easily get them off.

I had posted this pic on Facebook bc my son had grown 2 inches in 3 months..lol..and was thrilled to get the 44 inches bracelet. I guess it's possible, but I think it would be difficult to switch.

 

[wilkeliza]

I think you may be overestimating the honesty of SF park attendees I have waited in line for my DD's height bracelet there on many occasions. The bracelets are given at the same place that they give their version of disability passes. In almost every instance, I've heard people planning out how they were going to describe their imaginary disability to get their pass. I don't think any of them would blink twice about fudging with a child's height.

At SF, they have the bracelets and visual clues for the ride attendants, just like they have at WDW. If the ride operator can see that a child is well under the mark, they will pull them out of line and measure again, even if they have a wristband.

Last season, I saw my favorite SF parenting moment. We were in line for Viper, which is wooden coaster with a 48 in requirement. There was a woman a few rows from me who had a little boy in line with her. I'm guessing he was about 5, and he was clearly 4-5 inches under the height requirement. When it was their turn to board, she tried to pull him into the train, but the ride operator stopped him and said he couldn't ride. The mom shoved him through the turnstile exit, jumped on the ride, and left with the kid crying at the exit. Good times.

What is the point of the wristband then? If they can still pull a kid for measurement based on visual queues and even just if they want to and negate the wristband then why have the wristband at all?

 

[Sevey13]

So just came back from Hollywood studios...it's our 1st day here and my 3 year old was turned away from the Starwars ride which you have to be 40 inches. I swear I measured and measured at home with sneakers and he measures 40 1/2 inches. Even the dr's office he's 39 3/4 without sneakers. Are the height bars off?? Is he going to be turned away from all 40 inch rides now. I have dinosaur planned 2moro at AK. He loves dinosaurs and is looking forward to it. Now I'm not so sure he'll be able to get on...and splash mountain and big thunder mountain. Sighhhhh.

Just remember that the height restrictions are there for the kids' safety. You don't sound like someone who would get mad at a CM for not allowing their kid on the ride, but an unfortunate number of people do. Disney isn't even the one who sets some these requirements, but state/federal amusement regulatory bodies. They spend a lot of time testing not just the physical aspects of how a ride will shake young bones around but the psychological impact the sounds/lights/etc. will have and roll all of that in to the height requirement. Obviously some kids grow/mature faster, but there's not much we can do about that. It's all about safety.

 

[BrittyRo]

There's always the classic "fold the maps up and stuff them in the shoes". If you know the child is tall enough (measured at home), you might just need to give them a little lift to make sure Disney knows they're tall enough...

 

[famy27]

What is the point of the wristband then? If they can still pull a kid for measurement based on visual queues and even just if they want to and negate the wristband then why have the wristband at all?

It speeds up the process. You don't have to stop to be manually measured twice at every ride. If you aren't trying to cheat the system, it does make a big difference, especially for kids who are very close. My older DD is 58 inches now, so we don't even have to bother, but when she was 54.5, we always got the wristband. It's the same at SF and Busch Gardens.

The visuals are a double check to prevent people from swapping bands and cheating. But they don't stop you and line you up against the measuring stick if you have a wristband unless it looks like you are visibly under the line.

 

[Kimberly9701]

There's always the classic "fold the maps up and stuff them in the shoes". If you know the child is tall enough (measured at home), you might just need to give them a little lift to make sure Disney knows they're tall enough...

Ha Ha!! no joke..this is one of the things I was talking about in an earlier post. When my sister was literally like 1/8 of an inch too short..my mom stuffed her shoes!!lol. The girl was in 3rd grade and still couldn't ride some of the attractions that first graders were going on! #shortgirlproblems My son is 47.5 inches right now...48 is the next one to open up a lot of the bigger rides...we got awhile before the 52" though. It's driving him nuts!

 

[jormom1030]

I amazes me that a height requirement is used for rides where you SIT DOWN. Some children have long legs and a short torso and some have longer torsos and shorter legs. There should be a model of the ride where a child has to reach a mark when SITTING. Than I would truly believe that the height requirement is for safety.

 

[maxiesmom]

It speeds up the process. You don't have to stop to be manually measured twice at every ride. If you aren't trying to cheat the system, it does make a big difference, especially for kids who are very close. My older DD is 58 inches now, so we don't even have to bother, but when she was 54.5, we always got the wristband. It's the same at SF and Busch Gardens.

The visuals are a double check to prevent people from swapping bands and cheating. But they don't stop you and line you up against the measuring stick if you have a wristband unless it looks like you are visibly under the line.

To me, that would just slow down the lines. If the CMs have to eyeball every child that walks by, and then stop and pull them out to measure. So now you have a huge line to wait in to get measure and banded, and you still have the chance of being plucked out and measured. So for some it would actually slow down their ride experiences. And still wouldn't fix those kids who are just near the right height--if the measure is what they will go by and not the band. It would be even worse for the child to think they were clear to get on a ride, after all they have the "official" and, and then be told nope, not quite.

 

[Kimberly9701]

To me, that would just slow down the lines. If the CMs have to eyeball every child that walks by, and then stop and pull them out to measure. So now you have a huge line to wait in to get measure and banded, and you still have the chance of being plucked out and measured. So for some it would actually slow down their ride experiences. And still wouldn't fix those kids who are just near the right height--if the measure is what they will go by and not the band. It would be even worse for the child to think they were clear to get on a ride, after all they have the "official" and, and then be told nope, not quite.

The ride line waits at the theme park we go to usually range from 30-90 minutes. There's days where this can be shorter (rainy days) and then some Saturdays where they can pass a 2 hour wait. From all of our experiences I've always seen the bracelets speed up the line...definitely not slow it down.

 

[famy27]

To me, that would just slow down the lines. If the CMs have to eyeball every child that walks by, and then stop and pull them out to measure. So now you have a huge line to wait in to get measure and banded, and you still have the chance of being plucked out and measured. So for some it would actually slow down their ride experiences. And still wouldn't fix those kids who are just near the right height--if the measure is what they will go by and not the band. It would be even worse for the child to think they were clear to get on a ride, after all they have the "official" and, and then be told nope, not quite.

I've never seen a kid that looked close pulled out of line and rechecked. Only if someone were obviously under the line have I seen them pulled. They don't make you measure at the stick at all. You just walk into the queue. It's a situation where they have railings or a stick by the front gates onto the ride and by the ride itself. If you are visibly and considerably below that, they could (and would) pull you, but that is super-rare. At BG and SF, my DDs were never remeasured at any individual attractions once they had their wristbands. We got to SF many times per season, and I've only seen two kids pulled in that time and both were well under the line (and I'm guessing had taken a sibling's wristband).

 

[Kimberly9701]

On a total side note-- our park implemented a photo package plan this year...similar to MM, but no magic shots . I purchased it the day came out and am thrilled!!
They also offer a meal plan- which we don't do. Does Six Flags do this as well?

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

My family always tried to "cheat" ride heights with my little sister. Higher shoes...hair up..etc.lol. Poor girl was always the shortest in her age group.
If a child is just under a height requirement they aren't in danger. Ride heights have become so much more strict over the years. Were they more dangerous then? I don't think so..I think now companies try to limit any kind of liability since we seem to live in a sue happy world.

I think we'll need to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Sevey13]

My family always tried to "cheat" ride heights with my little sister. Higher shoes...hair up..etc.lol. Poor girl was always the shortest in her age group.
If a child is just under a height requirement they aren't in danger. Ride heights have become so much more strict over the years. Were they more dangerous then? I don't think so..I think now companies try to limit any kind of liability since we seem to live in a sue happy world.

That would be true if Disney was really the ones setting the height requirements. They have to adhere to government standards and industry standards. The Suits in management may not even have a say in what the height requirement is. Check it out: http://www.iaapa.org/safety-and-advocacy/safety/amusement-ride-safety/regulations-standards.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I think we'll need to agree to disagree on this one.

This is my son, just after turning 5, being shot 300 feet in the air at 100 miles per hour, in Orlando. However - the exact same ride at Kings Island states he must be 48". Parks determine their heights differently, depending on the state you are in. Florida is actually less strict than most..which is why Disney has lower ride height requirements than most other theme parks.
I wish they were all uniform. But yes, I'll agree to disagree We all have different opinions.

 

[Kimberly9701]

That would be true if Disney was really the ones setting the height requirements. They have to adhere to government standards and industry standards. The Suits in management may not even have a say in what the height requirement is. Check it out: http://www.iaapa.org/safety-and-advocacy/safety/amusement-ride-safety/regulations-standards.

Oh lol posted at the same time. See my above comment