Height Requirements question...

[Blueyed Girl]

I don't think this one has been asked before. I could be wrong but didn't find anything on search...

I just measured DS and he is EXACTLY 40 inches tall now. My question is, on the rides where the requirement is 40 inches tall, is that 40 INCHES or OVER 40 inches?? I know he won't be able to ride very many of them (the 40 in ones) due to the scary factor and his age. But there are one or 2 that I think he would enjoy.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Kick Save]

The bar at the entrance to the attraction is 40" high, if he hits his head on it, he's in. So, I guess technically speaking, the requirement is OVER 40"...like 40 1/16".

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Ahh, Gotcha!! Thanks for the info. Unless he grows a few centimeters in the next week, he won't make it.

 

[disney-super-mom]

They'll have him stand under the bar. If his head hits the bottom of the bar, then he's in. If not, then he can't ride. Also, if he happens to make it past the ride entrance CM, don't be surprised if the ride loading CM measures him again before letting him on the ride. We've had this happen to us several times when our youngest was close to the 40 inch mark.

What's also a possibility is getting one CM to measure him and say he's fine, so you go ride the ride. Then later you decide you want to ride the same ride again, only this time the "new" CM says he's too short and can't ride. So you tell the CM that your son has already been on the ride today, and the CM will say, "Well, I'm sorry but I don't see that he's tall enough, so he won't be able to ride." That's happened to us before too.

Good Luck and I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

They'll have him stand under the bar. If his head hits the bottom of the bar, then he's in. If not, then he can't ride. Also, if he happens to make it past the ride entrance CM, don't be surprised if the ride loading CM measures him again before letting him on the ride. We've had this happen to us several times when our youngest was close to the 40 inch mark.

What's also a possibility is getting one CM to measure him and say he's fine, so you go ride the ride. Then later you decide you want to ride the same ride again, only this time the "new" CM says he's too short and can't ride. So you tell the CM that your son has already been on the ride today, and the CM will say, "Well, I'm sorry but I don't see that he's tall enough, so he won't be able to ride." That's happened to us before too.

Good Luck and I hope you have a great trip!

Awww, that stinks! Ok, well I just won't get my hopes up and I'll try not to "build up" the 40 in rides to him so that he's not so disappointed.

Thanks so much!

 

[conniehar90]

That happened to us too! DS was sooo disappointed to not be able to get back on Space Mountain after having ridden it that morning.

 

[robinb]

Awww, that stinks! Ok, well I just won't get my hopes up and I'll try not to "build up" the 40 in rides to him so that he's not so disappointed.

Thanks so much!

Honestly, at only 2 he's too little to know the difference if he's tall enough or not. I just wouldn't tell him he might be able to go.

In addiion ... IMO, he's also probably too young for most if not all the 40" rides. Kids need maturity to go on the thrill rides and not just height. I would hesitate to bring a 2 year old (even if he was close to 3) on rides like Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain or Big Thunder. Of course, all kids are different and you may think you have a fearless speed demon on your hands . I would still consider skipping the 40" rides with him this trip. There is nothing worse than scaring a kid on a ride and then having to wait for years for him to get over it. I know ... I couldn't ride Splash Mountain for 2 years after I convinced my DD to do it once when she was 3. At 7 she is now a "coaster girl" and loves even R&RRC.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Yes, it does kind of stink.

Personally I wish that they had a system where the child only needed to be measured one time, and then get a hand stamp or something showing that they can go on ALL rides with 40" height requirements (or 45" height requirments, or 54" height requirements, or whatever). All that the CMs would have to do is see the hand stamp and that's it. It would be soooooo much easier, for both the CMs AND the children. I mean really, it must be kinda hard on the little guys to be able to ride an attraction one time, they end up loving it so they want to ride it again, only to be told "NO, you can't ride it this time." Then you know what happens.....

 

[disney-super-mom]

Honestly, at only 2 he's too little to know the difference if he's tall enough or not. I just wouldn't tell him he might be able to go.

In addiion ... IMO, he's also probably too young for most if not all the 40" rides. Kids need maturity to go on the thrill rides and not just height. I would hesitate to bring a 2 year old (even if he was close to 3) on rides like Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain or Big Thunder. Of course, all kids are different and you may think you have a fearless speed demon on your hands . I would still consider skipping the 40" rides with him this trip. There is nothing worse than scaring a kid on a ride and then having to wait for years for him to get over it. I know ... I couldn't ride Splash Mountain for 2 years after I convinced my DD to do it once when she was 3. At 7 she is now a "coaster girl" and loves even R&RRC.

She didn't say that her child was 2 years old. She said that there were only one or 2 rides that she thought he might enjoy that has a height requirement of 40 inches.

I agree with what you're saying though. Start with the smaller, easier rides, and work your way up according to the child's comfort level.

 

[robinb]

She didn't say that her child was 2 years old. She said that there were only one or 2 rides that she thought he might enjoy that has a height requirement of 40 inches.

I agree with what you're saying though. Start with the smaller, easier rides, and work your way up according to the child's comfort level.

I got her son's age from her signature:

Dad Mom Son(2) Spencer(12 1/2) RIP Miss you bunches!

If her son is OK with Goofy's Barnstormer, then maybe she can move up to some scarier rides. I was certain that my 3 1/2 year old, barely 40" tall DD would love Splash Mountain. I was wrong. She did love Soarin' though and I think that would be OK for a 2-year old ... and maybe Test Track.

 

[Hope73]

My daughter was crushed two visits ago when she could not ride the timekeeper at AK. Our last trip I found some tennis shoes that have very thick soles. She was right at the 40 mark and I didn't want a question. they are pretty strict I have seen them ask kids to take hats off or flatten a poneytail down.

 

[bcindric]

A few years back we had a very similar problem with our son. He was borderline on many of the rides at 40". He was able to get on a couple times but other times they said he wasn't tall enough. We ended up buying a pair of infant socks, folded them in half and slipped them into the bottom heel part of his shoe. That did the trick every time.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Honestly, at only 2 he's too little to know the difference if he's tall enough or not. I just wouldn't tell him he might be able to go.

In addiion ... IMO, he's also probably too young for most if not all the 40" rides. Kids need maturity to go on the thrill rides and not just height. I would hesitate to bring a 2 year old (even if he was close to 3) on rides like Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain or Big Thunder. Of course, all kids are different and you may think you have a fearless speed demon on your hands . I would still consider skipping the 40" rides with him this trip. There is nothing worse than scaring a kid on a ride and then having to wait for years for him to get over it. I know ... I couldn't ride Splash Mountain for 2 years after I convinced my DD to do it once when she was 3. At 7 she is now a "coaster girl" and loves even R&RRC.

Thanks for your concern. ToT and BTMR are not even close to being on my list of rides for him. I was thinking more along the lines of Soarin'.

 

[RainbowsMist]

I'm in that boat too! My DD will be almost 5 when we go in 5 weeks and she's BARELY 40" with her crocs on. I think she's 39 1/2" without. I'm REALLY hoping she takes a growth spurt from now until then....lots of veggies we tell her! BUT I'm really worried she won't get to do much and it just won't be a good time for any of us if we can't include her.

Any *tricks* to get that extra 1/2 inch? I would NEVER put her on anything that would scare her or make her uncomfortable or anything that would risk her safety.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

He's 2 and will be 3 in March. The very top of his head is skimming the 40 in mark right now so he probably won't be allowed to ride. That's ok, though. This is definitely NOT going to be our last trip. He's got plenty of time to enjoy all the other rides as he grows.

Thanks for the info! We are soooo ready to go!!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

I'm in that boat too! My DD will be almost 5 when we go in 5 weeks and she's BARELY 40" with her crocs on. I think she's 39 1/2" without. I'm REALLY hoping she takes a growth spurt from now until then....lots of veggies we tell her! BUT I'm really worried she won't get to do much and it just won't be a good time for any of us if we can't include her.

Any *tricks* to get that extra 1/2 inch? I would NEVER put her on anything that would scare her or make her uncomfortable or anything that would risk her safety.

Actually, there are PLENTY of rides for them even if they can't get into the 40 inch range. I really think the only ride I would take my DS on if he was able to ride would be Soarin'. But, that's just me. I'm paranoid about scaring the poop out of him and then he won't want to ride ANYTHING. (like a previous poster mentioned.)
We will just take our time and if there is a ride that DH and I want to ride we will do the baby swap. No biggie.

And you will be AMAZED at how much she grows between now and then. We didn't think that DS would even make it to the 40in mark at all by now. He has grown 2 inches since I booked this trip in November!

 

[disney-super-mom]

I got her son's age from her signature:


If her son is OK with Goofy's Barnstormer, then maybe she can move up to some scarier rides. I was certain that my 3 1/2 year old, barely 40" tall DD would love Splash Mountain. I was wrong. She did love Soarin' though and I think that would be OK for a 2-year old ... and maybe Test Track.

Ahhhhhh, and didn't read her signature. Well now that my foot is in my mouth.....Sorry about that.

I also didn't take my very tall two year old on Splash, BTMRR, Space Mountain (40" at DL), the Matterhorn, and not in a million years on TOT, because I just didn't think he could handle them. However, he LOVED Star Tours. We didn't ride Soarin' until he was a little over 3 years old (I think it was closed when he was 2.5), but he loved that too.

 

[marciemi]

Just wanted to add that there have been several threads here saying that the height bar at Soarin' is a bit higher than all the other 40 inch rides. Over the past few months, I've probably seen 5 people that said their kids got on every other ride (40 inch) but were turned down at Soarin'. So unfortunately, it sounds like that would be the least likely one for him to make.

On the other hand, if you do try it and he doesn't make it (and is close), don't automatically rule out all the other 40 inch ones if you or he decide you want to try them. My kids all rode Big Thunder and Splash as soon as they hit the 40 inch mark (one was 2 when he went on Big Thunder and used the sock trick mentioned above to make sure he'd make it - he'd ridden Star Tours with no problem, but had been turned down for Big Thunder the previous day - go figure!). I think kids that age would love Splash and if you don't play up the fall (and just kind of hold them) that most enjoy it. I personally (and I'm a whole lot older than 2!) would love Splash Mountain so much more without the big drop! It's such a fun show and then you have to go get wet (our last trips have all been in the winter!).

Good luck!

 

[mom22boys]

What a tall two year old!!! My youngest DS will turn 4 in April. We are heading to WDW in May. He is barely 40 inches. We keep measuring every couple of weeks. He really wants to ride Soarin', Star Tours, BTMR, Splash, and Kali (I think that is only 38"). He has watched his big brother ride all of those rides on our last two trips and he can't wait to try them. He will be crushed if he doesn't get on them.

 

[Skippy24]

My youngest is 4 1/2 and just barely over 38". I'm very much hopeing that there will be a growth spurt between now and October.