How do I make my son grow 2 inches

[MyDizneyBoyz]

Or you could just casually distract the CM ("Hey, look over there! Is that Dumbo coming in for a landing?") and slap a ready-made stick-on graphic over the "you must be this tall" sign which lowers the height a few inches...

Or go on a covert mission to swap out all the ride height sticks with ones a tad shorter...

Or put your son in a shirt that says "I'm 40 inches tall. Just trust me, okay?" and hope for the best...

 

[TheCharmingLizard]

Or put your son in a shirt that says "I'm 40 inches tall. Just trust me, okay?" and hope for the best...

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

 

[sohappy]

That shirt would be sooooo awesome on a one year old! Seriously thinking of making one for my guy if he doesn't make it to 40 inches!

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

When my teenaged son, who now towers over me, was too short to use the "cowboy boot exemption" to get on the ride, we would...

Head to fantasy land and do Philharmagic or do HIS fastpass rides of choice Peter Pan's Flight or Winnie the Pooh Ride.

He got an extra ice cream treat once per day when the "big 'uns" were on their rides.

We took him to get a cool Star Wars picture made while the others did the Star Wars rides.

We did the Barnstormer while the others did Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The only ride that was really hard for us was Soarin' because his big sister and father both came off and said, "I don't know why you can't ride. You would fit in the seats and it doesn't make sense why you can't ride." The other rides he was pretty willing to avoid if we told him he could get hurt because he was too small.

When his perfect dad and all knowing sister gave the ride their approval he just about melted into a puddle of frustration/sadness/anger/unfairness. He has very rarely had a melt down in public, but that day we were "that family." He took it so hard.

So, just a thought, warn the riders to back up the Disney height restrictions or say nothing at all, but convincing a little one he could ride, when he won't be allowed to do so is a recipe for disaster.

I hope your trip is sprinkled with all the best pixie dust.

--Eeyore's Wife

 

[smwslp]

I feel your pain. My youngest is only 35.5 now and we want to be able to take her on Kali River Rapids in September....keeping my fingers crossed for a growth spurt this summer. We have decided that since this is both of my kids first time, that if one can't go on a ride, we will skip it as a family. I am sure that is not the right decision for everyone, but my girls are only 2 and 4, so explaining will be much harder than just skipping the ride and doing something else we can all enjoy together!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I don't know how adventurous your son is, but there's a chance even if he was tall enough, he'd be too afraid to ride the rides.

DD was right on the 40in mark when we went in September. We'd been looking at the WDW website for a couple months before the trip and talking about the rides. She saw Soarin' and said she wanted to do it. I prepped her all along that she might not be tall enough, and told her that she needed to eat all her veggies so she'd grow. I measured her at least once a week in those months leading up to the trip. I was pretty sure she'd pass the 40 inch mark. She kept talking about wanting to do the "flying ride". We went to Soarin' first thing in Epcot, sign said it would be a 20 minute wait. Cool! They didn't even measure her. The wait turned into 45 minutes and when we got up there, ready to board, she chickened out. I had about a dozen people around us in our boarding group encouraging her, telling her how much fun it would be, etc. No go. We left the line and walked out. She refused to try all the 40 inch rides. Oh well... maybe next year.

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

lol our ds is waaaaay tooooo short as well! im measuring him weekly now! lol im hopingfor 7 inches in 3 and a bit months!!! i knowthis is totally unlogical and wont happen but i can dream!!! hes just turned two and is so short hes only well just the other day 33 inches. i think the child swap will be a disaster for us!

 

[allboyzz]

I don't mean to hijack your thread but
how tall do you need to be for most of the rides (especially the coasters)? My youngest is 8 years old and 49 inches tall. He LOVES thrill rides (all he talks about are rollercoasters). I'm just hoping he will be able to ride most of the rides this time around...

 

[PrincessMom4]

My 4 year old is short (38inches) and we are going in August so I hope he grows 2inches (or more) in 2 months.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Honestly, see if you can find Heelies in his size - and take out the wheels. Now there's always the chance that the CM will notice the shoes and not let him ride anywa but those shoes have a huge base.

My dd5 is 44" now and she is taller than most of her peers so I'm not so sure that your child will make it this trip. We went when she was almost 3 (3 weeks away) and she was only 35" and just barely made the Barnstormer. We would take her to browse gift shops, get a snack, etc. while we waited for our child swap.

 

[crisi]

Split up. In the morning take your younger daughter and go on all the Fantasyland rides - have Dad and the older one go on Space/Splash and BTMMRR (there are only a few rides in each park with height restrictions). Let there be some special rides for her - your older one doesn't need to go on Pooh.

Another thing - let your kids grow into rides - mine have been six times - my oldest is now almost eleven. The only thing he hasn't been on yet is Rock n Roller Coaster. If you are going to be repeat visitors, its nice to have something to look forward to. My daughter has been tall enough for Tower of Terror for years (she's almost ten) and has let herself be psyched out about it so she hasn't been on it. But since Disney really doesn't change too fast having something you haven't done yet gives you something to look forward to. I think part of her reason for not going on it is she has so much fun working herself up over it before each trip (I'm going to, I'm going to).

35"
Barnstormer (the kiddie coaster)

38"

Kali River Rapids

40 "

Dinosaur (which is really scary and very bouncy)
Soarin
Test Track
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Splash Mountain
Stitch's Great Escape
Star Tours
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

44"

Expidition Everest (roller coaster)
Mission: Space
Space Mountain


48"

Priveval Whirl (a 'mouse' coaster)
Rockn Roller Coaster

 

[santa's surpriz]

My dd is six and short for her age and my little dare devil...my plan of attack at WDW is the BBB. They fix her her with enough height to get on the rides! Spike up his hair and see what happens!

 

[TheCharmingLizard]

You all are amazing.

Thanks for the tips and the experience!

Sadly, I'm from Northern Wisconsin, so I'm not sure when we'll get back to Disney.

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

haha love that idea!!!

My dd is six and short for her age and my little dare devil...my plan of attack at WDW is the BBB. They fix her her with enough height to get on the rides! Spike up his hair and see what happens!

 

[captnJacksmommy]

this thread is great!!! My little boy is 2 almost 3 and is 37 and3/4 in tall in socks. I havent tried with shoes on but I may try the heeley things!! Thanks guys!

 

[sdoll]

Stellapedia - HA! Do they make Armani for kids?

captnJacksmommy - he turned 3 in March.

Then don't feel so bad! My son turns 4 in july and we are praying he will be at 40 inches. We are going to buy the Nike's with the lift to them. Let's hope they make him tall enough.

 

[crisi]

Disney CMs are on to high hair, high shoes. And one thing that they tend to be really strict on is height for rides - its a firing offence for a Disney CM to let someone under height ride - and it violates their insurance clauses, creates liaiblity - all in all, they take it pretty seriously (there are a lot of rules Disney has that they don't take seriously). So chance of a spikey do or tall shoes being successful is really slim (it might work).

If this will be your only trip to WDW, postpone it until your kids can ride the majority of things they are likely to want to ride. You are warned however that a lot of people go to Disney for their only Disney vacation and start making plans for a return trip.

 

[Gretchen3ajoshmom]

I'm the mom of a short guy too.... Andrew was 6 last summer and was not tall enough for Rockin' Rollercoaster - his 8 year old sister was... My DH took her and our older son on and I had Andrew and our baby - we went to the candy store around the corner and he picked out crazy colored M&M's in a cone shaped bag. My daughter ended up more upset that she did not get M&Ms!!

 

[TheCharmingLizard]

Disney CMs are on to high hair, high shoes. And one thing that they tend to be really strict on is height for rides - its a firing offence for a Disney CM to let someone under height ride - and it violates their insurance clauses, creates liaiblity - all in all, they take it pretty seriously (there are a lot of rules Disney has that they don't take seriously). So chance of a spikey do or tall shoes being successful is really slim (it might work).

If this will be your only trip to WDW, postpone it until your kids can ride the majority of things they are likely to want to ride. You are warned however that a lot of people go to Disney for their only Disney vacation and start making plans for a return trip.

So... we're leaving in less than 3 weeks, but I should postpone it? After my kids have been takling nonstop about it since January? That's not reasonable.

And while this isn't going to be our only trip to DW, most likely we won't be going back for at least 5 years - and unfortunately our kids will be out of the googly-eyed wonder stage by then.

And... thank you for the information, but... which post of mine made you think I was really serious? The part where I suggested steriods or the taffy puller. Oh wait. I think I was just thinking that part.

Please - I know that my child's safety comes first. Like I said earlier, I was mostly just venting and asking for advice about what to do when the jealousy arises.

 

[crisi]

So... we're leaving in less than 3 weeks, but I should postpone it? After my kids have been takling nonstop about it since January? That's not reasonable.

And while this isn't going to be our only trip to DW, most likely we won't be going back for at least 5 years - and unfortunately our kids will be out of the googly-eyed wonder stage by then.

And... thank you for the information, but... which post of mine made you think I was really serious? The part where I suggested steriods or the taffy puller. Oh wait. I think I was just thinking that part.

Please - I know that my child's safety comes first. Like I said earlier, I was mostly just venting and asking for advice about what to do when the jealousy arises.

I didn't think your post was serious at all, you seem realistic that your youngest won't be able to ride everything and seem more to be looking at hints on how to soften the blow. I wasn't directing my post at you at all. You are going to go and have a wonderful time and I'm sorry you took offense.

My post was directed more at the hair and shoes posts, which I do suspect are serious - and I suspect that some of those people may be disappointed to discover Disney is onto those tricks. A little height to the hair or not choosing your lowest shoes might work - anything obvious likely won't. And for an 'only' trip, you may have to choose what is important to you - the googly eyed wonder, or being able to ride Mission:Space - you may not get both.

(Even with flat hair, when my daughter was three and four they would make sure her skull cleared the bar for rides. Also, you (general you, not CharmingLizard) should be aware if your kid is really close that the measuring bars used are not 100% consistent, you may clear at the entrance, but not at the ride point. Or you might clear on one ride, but not another. Arguing with the CM is not generally a successful strategy, and sometimes results in security being called.)