How safe is Space Mountain for those just meeting height requirement?

[unrequited23]

She will be completely safe. I wanted to remind you that the ride will be smoother the closer you are to the front of the coaster. Even the middle will be better than the back. If it's my kid's first time on a specific coaster I will avoid the back, so they have a smoother, more enjoyable ride.

 

[brockash]

My daughter is 43.75 inches in height and 44.5 with shoes on. The height requirement is 44 inches at space mountain.

I was looking at the pictures of the restraint system on the ride and it does not look very robust (please bear with me as a worried parent ). My daughter is also slim. Could anyone please provide any input on how safe it would be for someone just meeting the height requirement?

I went on the ride 4-5 times but do not remember much about the restraint system.

Thank you!

It's totally fine. My dd went on at 4.5...just made 44 with her shoes on. She'll be fine

 

[tinkerjo]

I don’t know why but I was always terrified that my DS would get thrown from this ride. We have several pics of me holding the back of his shirt or shoulders. It’s just so jerky. We never had a problem, but I was always worried. My husband was more worried (and still is) about splash mountain.

 

[maranara]

FYI - my daughter loves roller coasters. But she was so terrified on Space Mountain that she sobbed for quite awhile afterwards. It wasn't the ride - it was the set up. You're sitting in line, not next to each other. So when my daughter got a little scared, there wasn't a parent next to her to hold her hand. Shaky roller coaster + in the dark + feeling like you're all alone...a miserable combination for some kids.

 

[DisneyOma]

I've come off Space Mountain with a sore neck, a few bruises, and rattled bones As long as she has good muscle tone she should be okay. She might get knocked around a bit though.

 

[Deploraboo]

OP - had same issue with my son. So I sat behind him and literally held his shoulders the whole time, but wasn’t easy. Note that each car is a three seater (not side by side but one, one one).

 

[pjacobi]

In general, engineers tend to be very conservative around safety requirements. If the height requirement is set at 44 inches, I'm sure that the height requirement is at least 20% to 50% more than then actual requirement. At a minimum, that is almost a 9 inch range of extra protection.


-Paul