How consistent are height checks?

[Timmy Boy]

handstamps are a good idea

Unfortunately, those can be transferred to smaller kids as well (just like wristbands), just by rubbing the back of their hands together.

 

[RMulieri]

Unfortunately, those can be transferred to smaller kids as well (just like wristbands), just by rubbing the back of their hands together.

and other techniques..We has this problem when I worked at Six flags and we used the stamps.It is why we stopped using stamps and bands..people cheated the system and left the park liable

 

[boufa]

And don't forget a person actually loses height during the day as the cartilage in the spine compresses. So if borderline, go in the morning.

Just when I thought I had overplanned and thought of everything

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

When we were taking our DD on Space Mountain, if she stood in the FP line they measured her as tall enough, but if we were in the regular line she wasn't. There must be some type of slope there. It was hard to explain to her that she couldn't ride the ride that she had just gone on. Go figure!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

and other techniques..We has this problem when I worked at Six flags and we used the stamps.It is why we stopped using stamps and bands..people cheated the system and left the park liable

Then why not do what they do at the clubs, or what they did at the clubs when dear goddaughter was over 18 but under 21? The clubs used sharpies and had their own internal secret codes and symbols. DGD would come home with both arms covered in sharpie; her BFFs would also have sharpies but not the same sharpies. . . Anywho, it meant that the bartenders knew to give them cokes but not booze. The consequences for letting those girls have booze were extremely stiff - no way would the bar have allowed it; Disney could do something like this at the beginning of the day for kids using a certified, level measuring device. They could even require stocking feet if it was just the one time each day!

 

[mesaboy2]

Then why not do what they do at the clubs, or what they did at the clubs when dear goddaughter was over 18 but under 21? The clubs used sharpies and had their own internal secret codes and symbols. DGD would come home with both arms covered in sharpie; her BFFs would also have sharpies but not the same sharpies. . . Anywho, it meant that the bartenders knew to give them cokes but not booze. The consequences for letting those girls have booze were extremely stiff - no way would the bar have allowed it; Disney could do something like this at the beginning of the day for kids using a certified, level measuring device. They could even require stocking feet if it was just the one time each day!

Ooh, I want my little girl covered in various secret codes in Sharpie marker for all her princess pictures please! (Not.)

 

[bwilcox]

Then why not do what they do at the clubs, or what they did at the clubs when dear goddaughter was over 18 but under 21? The clubs used sharpies and had their own internal secret codes and symbols. DGD would come home with both arms covered in sharpie; her BFFs would also have sharpies but not the same sharpies. . . Anywho, it meant that the bartenders knew to give them cokes but not booze. The consequences for letting those girls have booze were extremely stiff - no way would the bar have allowed it; Disney could do something like this at the beginning of the day for kids using a certified, level measuring device. They could even require stocking feet if it was just the one time each day!

If you try hard enough and bring the right supplies, it's not that hard to wash Sharpie off. Not that I've done that or anything.

 

[katie111]

I hate this! I have very small boys. My DS8 is just measuring around 48 inches and my DS4 is measuring right around 40 inches. I'm taking them alone along with their above average sister who is 9. Which means I have no idea which rides they will be able to go on. And I can't really even send the two older ones on a 48" ride alone because I don't know if DS8 will make it through the second check point. This is so frustrating! I totally get that its for safety reasons but how "safe" can it be if its based totally on whether or not there is a slope where they measure you.

 

[bwilcox]

I hate this! I have very small boys. My DS8 is just measuring around 48 inches and my DS4 is measuring right around 40 inches. I'm taking them alone along with their above average sister who is 9. Which means I have no idea which rides they will be able to go on. And I can't really even send the two older ones on a 48" ride alone because I don't know if DS8 will make it through the second check point. This is so frustrating! I totally get that its for safety reasons but how "safe" can it be if its based totally on whether or not there is a slope where they measure you.

Of all the rides at WDW, only 2 have a height requirement of 48" (Primeval Whirl and RNR). Hopefully it won't be too big of a deal.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We have, fortunately, never had an issue with making one check-point and not the other. Our youngest was just over 40" on one trip and he consistently hit the marker. I will say that when he was close, I always prepped him ahead of time for how to be measured. Instead of measuring him against the wall and making a mark, I taped a piece of paper on the end of a bookcase. (Walls are often not square or level top to bottom.) I marked 1" increments on the paper and labeled them starting at 38", then carefully taped that paper on the bookcase so my lowest mark matched the actual height from the floor. Then, I would use a clipboard or stiff cardboard and hold it perpedicular to the measuring guide at the desired height (40" or 44") and tell him to stand under it and try to bump his head on it. That is more like the height check at Disney so I would have a better idea of where he stood. If he could hit the board at 40" he was OK on the rides there. Before our January trip, I thought he was pretty close for the 44" attractions, when I did this and thought, "he might make it, he might not," but he hit every one of them wearing his regular sneakers.

I never go by our doctor's measurements - they always seem to be high.

 

[maxiesmom]

I hate this! I have very small boys. My DS8 is just measuring around 48 inches and my DS4 is measuring right around 40 inches. I'm taking them alone along with their above average sister who is 9. Which means I have no idea which rides they will be able to go on. And I can't really even send the two older ones on a 48" ride alone because I don't know if DS8 will make it through the second check point. This is so frustrating! I totally get that its for safety reasons but how "safe" can it be if its based totally on whether or not there is a slope where they measure you.

I don't think your child is any more safe when they just hit the mark than they are if they are just beneath it. It comes down to the fact that there has to be a cut off point somewhere, and Disney has to stick to it exactly. There can be no almost tall enough, or you would have a bunch of parents saying "Well, if Jimmy can go on and he is a quarter on an inch too short, why Can't Sarah Jane go on when she is only a third of an inch too short?" The line has to be drawn somewhere, and they have to stick to it.

I don't blame Disney at all. I blame all the parents who think it is a cute idea to try to get around any other measurment devise. Can't use wrist bands, as people will take them off and put them on another child. Can't use hand stamps, as people will just rub their kid's hands together. Can't just measure once at the beginning of the line, as one parent will distract the CM doing the measuring and the other will run by with a child who is clearly too short. Seen that happen with my own eyes!

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Unfortunately, those can be transferred to smaller kids as well (just like wristbands), just by rubbing the back of their hands together.

Wouldn't the stamp be backwards then?

 

[LilyWDW]

Then why not do what they do at the clubs, or what they did at the clubs when dear goddaughter was over 18 but under 21? The clubs used sharpies and had their own internal secret codes and symbols. DGD would come home with both arms covered in sharpie; her BFFs would also have sharpies but not the same sharpies. . . Anywho, it meant that the bartenders knew to give them cokes but not booze. The consequences for letting those girls have booze were extremely stiff - no way would the bar have allowed it; Disney could do something like this at the beginning of the day for kids using a certified, level measuring device. They could even require stocking feet if it was just the one time each day!

Once you spent enough time in clubs during college, you learn all the tricks to the trade. There is no fool proof systems besides IDing everyone every time.

So, that is what Disney decided to do. They don't want to risk someone too small getting on so they decided that everyone that appears to be too small must be measured at every ride.

 

[john1928]

As already mentioned, they are very consistent about checking, but wildly inconsistent on the results. Having a borderline kid is annoying, but as long as you set the expectation that they probably won't be able to ride, then it's a positive if they make the cut.

Last September our 2 year old was 40"+ on every ride we tried (BTMR, Splash, ToT, Soar'n etc.) for 10 days down then (some were close, some with lots of room to spare), and somehow short of 40" at Dinosaur for all 5 attempts on two different days.

This spring we had the same thing for the 42" rides at the local amusement park, though he's grown enough for that to not be an issue anymore. I'm pretty sure he'll come up short of 44" when we're back at Disney this December, so probably no worries this time.

 

[bwilcox]

Wouldn't the stamp be backwards then?

Not if you transfer it twice.

 

[wmharley]

When we were taking our DD on Space Mountain, if she stood in the FP line they measured her as tall enough, but if we were in the regular line she wasn't. There must be some type of slope there. It was hard to explain to her that she couldn't ride the ride that she had just gone on. Go figure!

see my post on the 1st page. the floor is sloped.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Not if you transfer it twice.

Oh my gosh. People are truly desperate, aren't they?!

 

[SamJane]

Last September our 2 year old was 40"+ on every ride we tried (BTMR, Splash, ToT, Soar'n etc.) for 10 days down then (some were close, some with lots of room to spare), and somehow short of 40" at Dinosaur for all 5 attempts on two different days.

Dinosaur's measuring stick is definitely off! We were just there with our DD who is right at 40". She was able to get on all the 40" rides with the exception of Dinosaur. She bumped her head on some of the measuring sticks but consistently measured a full inch short at the one at Dinosaur.

It was annoying that after being measured and riding Soarin' 3 times, she wasn't able to ride it again on our last day at Epcot. It was hard to explain that one to her. But that was the only incidence of that we encountered.

I wish there was a better system in place. I'm not sure what it could be, but it is very frustrating for everyone.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Dinosaur's measuring stick is definitely off! We were just there with our DD who is right at 40". She was able to get on all the 40" rides with the exception of Dinosaur. She bumped her head on some of the measuring sticks but consistently measured a full inch short at the one at Dinosaur.

It was annoying that after being measured and riding Soarin' 3 times, she wasn't able to ride it again on our last day at Epcot. It was hard to explain that one to her. But that was the only incidence of that we encountered.

I wish there was a better system in place. I'm not sure what it could be, but it is very frustrating for everyone.

This exact same thing just happened to us last week at Star Tours. DS2 rode Star Wars multiple times and then we went back to ride it again our last day he didn't make it. We tried a couple different times and he never made it that day. He was so disappointed, but I think it bothered me more them him--it hurt me to see him so disappointed and not understand why he could ride it one day and not the next.

 

[Rip]

And don't forget a person actually loses height during the day as the cartilage in the spine compresses. So if borderline, go in the morning.