height requirements

[kcb]

How picky are they about the height requirements. My dd is close to 40" but not quite will she be left out?

 

[WDSearcher]

If she is not 40" then she will miss out on the rides that require that height. Disney is pretty strict on the measurements, as they are in place for safety reasons. And no one -- neither you nor Disney -- would want to see your daughter hurt because she was let on a ride she wasn't tall enough for.

 

[zurgswife]

Height restrictions are for saftey reasons...I would never want to fudge this one...My dd 7(just turned) is petite and she has missed riding on some of the roller coasters...but there still are rides she can do...like test track, splash mountain....

My older kids either go alone or we baby swap with my dh and I...

 

[liznboys]

There are so many things she can still do, she'll still have plenty of fun! And I agree with the pp that it's for safety reasons, so you really don't WANT her to ride those rides. Have a great trip!!

 

[Grumpy37]

They have height board at rides like Space Mtn, if they don't at least touch the crossbar then they can't ride. Agree with OP about it being a safety issue. Good luck!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

At the Magic Kingdom Both Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Minimum height is 40" Space Mountain's is 44". She will be able to ride Tomorrowland Indy Speedway but not by herself (I ride with the younger ones on this ride just to push the gas pedal but they can still steer the car) Everything else she is good to go on.

At EPCOT both Mission Space and Test Track have 40" height requirments. All others rides she'll be OK with.

At Animal Kingdom she will be able to ride every ride but Primeval Whirl 48" (it is a rough ride I have bruises still from last week)

At MGM Star Tours and Tower of Terror both are 40" while Rock'n Roller Coaster is 48".

Thats every ride that I could find that she would miss out on Nine total, over four parks out of over 100 attractions a good pair of tennis shoes with thick soles may do the job (if it is just a fraction of a inch but safety should alway be first) At her age she may not want to ride any of the nine.

 

[melissap]

They are extremely strict about the height requirement for obvious reasons. We were at WDW last week and my daughter just made the 40" requirement. She is 40.5" barefooted. Of course with shoes, it takes her way over. I saw a girl at Sea World that would not have made the height requirement for the Kraken (which is awesome) had she not had on some some seriously high flip flops. Of course she kicked them off before she rode the ride but AFTER she had been measured. Did you measure your daughter with or without shoes?

 

[FunkDoC]

My three year old is about 39 inches barefoot. We went to Carnival shoes and found her some platform style sandals to enable her to hit the 40" requirement.

I agree about safety being first and I know this is stretching the rules a bit, but I think I know my daughter better than they do. Sure, the sandals made her tall enough for Tower of Terror and Mission Space, but I did not think she could handle these.

My 'too short' daughter really enjoyed Test Track, Star Tours, Splash Mountain (4x) and Thunder Mountain (3x). Her safety is a higher priority to me than it is to Disney. I felt these rides were very safe for her and that's why we went through with it. I have no regrets at all.

That being said, if this is something you decide to do, DON'T make the shoes her footwear for the entire day. We brought the sandals and had her wear her tennis shoes. We would put on the sandals prior to entering the line queue and took them off shortly after the ride. The risers work great for adding that needed inch, but likely won't be comfortable for all day!

 

[matty624]

Originally posted by FunkDoC
My three year old is about 39 inches barefoot. We went to Carnival shoes and found her some platform style sandals to enable her to hit the 40" requirement.

I agree about safety being first and I know this is stretching the rules a bit, but I think I know my daughter better than they do. Sure, the sandals made her tall enough for Tower of Terror and Mission Space, but I did not think she could handle these.

Isn't Mission Space 44" anyway.
We took ds (4) and dd (5) on TOT last year. Ds loved it, dd hated it.
We had no problems last year when ds was 42.5" approx. Except when going on Jurassic Park River Adventure. The CM measured him at the beginning of the line, said he was fine. Another CM measured him half way along the line, also said he was okay. We finally got on the boat, when another CM stopped the boat, made my entire family climb out and remeasured ds, in front of all the waiting line and people on the boat, and declared him to be too short!!!! He must have shrunk in the Florida heat that day!!!
I'm sure everyone was thinking to themselves, look at those awful people trying to get their little boy onto a ride he's too short for. And this was despite him riding it the day before with no problems!!! Completely spoilt that day...
If your child is borderline the right height, it seems to depend on the person measuring them. Make it clear to your child that they might not be tall enough, that way they wont be too disappointed.
I only wish they would measure them at the entrance to the park and decide once and for all whether your child measures up.
Ian