How Strict Are Height Requirements?

[Deb & Bill]

Is the 'take shoes off' thing an urban myth? Wouldn't that be a violation of policy: to be in a park without shoes?....

Hardly. The child isn't walking around the park. They are just being measured without their thick soled, platform shoes that they can hardly walk in.

 

[JB Meier]

Dave:

Good call on the bullet points to prevent needless exposition, and good information included.

Our trip in Sept. of this year saw our 41" princess be measured repeatedly, both at the front and the back, and I completely agree with their stringency on the issue.

If we would have been that concerned with her riding the bigger rides, we would have chosen to go in the future.

-JB-

 

[matthewhavens]

OP, we were in your exact same situation last year with our DS 3 who was basically the same height as yours. We were there for 7 days, hit all parks, and rode almost every ride with a 40 inch requirement.

1. We were never asked to take his shoes off
2. They were very strict with making sure his head hit the bar
3. The 40 inch bars are closer to 40.5 or 41 inches
4. Big shoes and double liners are the key
5. Don't listen to all those who will scold you for this tactic, the 40 inch rides are more than safe (It is not like this is RnR or Everest). We did Thunder Mtn, Splash Mtn, Star Tours, etc...

As for shoes, we used timberland work boots.

Kid loved the boots and they look good with pants on. Also used double liners by pulling shoe liners out of another set of boots. Only down side to the boots is they hurt when the kid kicks you, so if you plan on carrying him a lot or doing shoulder rides (or method of kid movement) be prepared.

I love the Timberlands idea! Thanks.

 

[smitch425]

Fun in the Florida sun in a pair of clunky work boots??? OP, try measuring your son in his normal tennis shoes against the wall first thing tomorrow morning. You may be stressing over nothing. Best of luck!

 

[Masiri]

There was only one ride where she didn't quite measure up, and the CM let it slide, which was Stitch's Great Escape. And honestly, I don't even know why there are restraints and a height requirement on that ride anyway, as it's indoors and doesn't really move. It's more of a show than a ride, and there's no concern about someone going flying out of a ride vehicle or something.

I heard this was changed from something like 35 to 40, just to keep younger kids off of it (because it's scary), not for safety issues.

 

[Traveliz]

My daughter has worked on height restricted rides for five years now and has never had anyone take off their shoes. She has pushed fluffy hair down. Normal boy shoes are not going to be a problem; if he came in in high heels well then maybe yes they would have him take off his shoes as it would be obvious the intent was to be taller.

Liz

 

[LilyWDW]

My daughter has worked on height restricted rides for five years now and has never had anyone take off their shoes. She has pushed fluffy hair down. Normal boy shoes are not going to be a problem; if he came in in high heels well then maybe yes they would have him take off his shoes as it would be obvious the intent was to be taller.

Liz

She may have never asked, but I know a few Disers who have witnessed it happen. It is just not worth trying to bump up the kids height with different shoes. Just wear what he normally wears so that he is comfortable in the parks.

 

[smitch425]

My daughter has worked on height restricted rides for five years now and has never had anyone take off their shoes. She has pushed fluffy hair down. Normal boy shoes are not going to be a problem; if he came in in high heels well then maybe yes they would have him take off his shoes as it would be obvious the intent was to be taller.

Liz

I have personally seen it happen a few times, but no boys, just girls. Each time was for wedge style flip flops/sandals. Two girls (they were twins) didn't meet the requirement and were turned away. I felt so bad for them, but rules are for their protection, and the parents didn't react poorly to the news, unlike others I've seen. Yikes! I feel for CMs. They have a tough job sometimes.

 

[kathie859]

OP--I just wanted to interject another "thumbs up" to having your child practice standing up straight. Use a ruler on top of his head to get him used to it. We did this with one of the grandkids who was borderline and it worked well and he wasn't intimidated by "the stick".

 

[ps17]

Fun in the Florida sun in a pair of clunky work boots??? OP, try measuring your son in his normal tennis shoes against the wall first thing tomorrow morning. You may be stressing over nothing. Best of luck!

Agreed - a pair of Nike Shox or equivalent can easily add a half inch to the height.

Also if you are still concerned, go ahead and add one of those heel insert things - and before everyone cries foul about exceeding safety, the OP's kid is only half an inch away so it isn't too much a stretch - AND - we are talking Splash Mountain here. It isn't like trying to stretch an inch to get onto a more extreme ride such as Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Rocket, or even Space Mountain for that matter.....

 

[nansmama]

They definitely do turn kids away--on our last trip I saw it happen three times. If he's not tall enough I would just tell him he's probably not going to get on the rides. That way if they let him on, it's a nice surprise for him.

 

[ShayBells]

They are TOO strict. Okay I might be a little mad lol. DS came up to the bar at space mountain. I mean you could MAYBE fit a piece of paper in between his head and the bar. And they said no. He was soo upset. :sad2

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

We are very strict. If there is even the tiniest of gap between the height stick and his head, we won't let them in.
Don't spike the hair either, we push the hair down.
If we can see space between the head and stick, no go.

 

[surferdave]

We are very strict. If there is even the tiniest of gap between the height stick and his head, we won't let them in.
Don't spike the hair either, we push the hair down.
If we can see space between the head and stick, no go.

Are you a CM? If so, I'm curious, does Disney ever check the height of the sticks? If so what is an acceptable deviation?

I was really glad DD9 was about 49" this last trip so I didn't have to worry about this stuff anymore.

 

[tarak]

As others have suggested, I'd measure him standing straight, back against the wall, with the shoes he's going to wearing throughout the day. I definitely wouldn't sacrifice foot comfort for extra height. Not suggesting anyone here has, but we always have our kids wear shoes that are well broken in. We're lucky that height hasn't been much of an issue because our middle daughter won't ride anything the least bit scary and our son is still unsure about going on anything faster than the Barnstormer. If he's close, just be prepared that he might not get to ride. Our last trip, the family in front of us argued for what felt like five minutes that their child should go on Primeval Whirl, even though he didn't meet the height requirement. I don't if he'd ridden it before and that's why they were upset. But it was obvious to me the kid was too short.

 

[JEWLSVERN]

I really wish Disney had a consistent way to do this. At Busch Gardens this summer they had a height check at the entrance and the kids were given colored wrist bands based on their height. It would be so much simpler to just do this once.

I too have a child who is very close the the height requirement. She needs to grow a half inch before February so she can ride the 44 inch rides. I know it's for her safety but its really frustrating for her to be let on one day or one ride and not the next.

 

[drstrangelove]

I laid DS3 on he floor and pulled out the measuring tape...39.5 inches.

He's so close to so many great rides at Disney. I know socks and shoes will get him closer and we've got 29 days until our trip, so he could always pick up a quarter inch.

The trip is for me, DW, DD5 and DS3. We don't like to split up and have never done any rides with height restrictions. We really just want to do Splash Mountain and may not get back to the World for a number of years.

Just how strict are the CMs with the height requirements? Are they more lenient with certain rides? Do they measure at more than one point in the line? I know I'll get burned with this one but do you have any tricks for getting that extra half inch?

My son at age 3 pretty much only wore his "construction boots" every day of his life, so they came with us to disney. I did not think of it, but they probably add 1/4 inch to his height over regular sneakers or shoes. He was just at 40 inches at this time. He rode all the 40 inch rides and was never questioned for his shoes, but we had CM at the front and end of the lines measure him almost always. He passed every one though.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Our trip 2 trips ago I was all excited that my son had reached 40 inches on our wall at home. Upon our trip to Disney he was no where near the 40 inch sticks. We must be terrible measurers or something. Just be prepared to be off in your measurements. Our 40 incher appeared to be more like 38 inches according to the Disney sticks. Also, the rides with height requirements are pretty rough, and it's hard for little ones to hold themselves properly in the rides. Even at 41 inches, we constantly had to make sure we had arms behind my son's head or it would get smacked on the back of the ride vehicles. Or quick stops would send his face flying into the lap bars. Thunder Mountain in particular was rough for him, so I don't think it's only a height thing, but also a strength thing too. Little kids just aren't strong enough hold their bodies properly through the rough rides.

 

[JMW123]

Fun in the Florida sun in a pair of clunky work boots??? OP, try measuring your son in his normal tennis shoes against the wall first thing tomorrow morning. You may be stressing over nothing. Best of luck!

While I understand your concern, I am guessing that you have not worn work boots in a while, much less timberlands. Far from clunky, they are actually more comfortable and easier to wear than any sneakers I have ever worn. These boots are designed for people on the feet 12 hours a day carrying heavy loads, climbing ladders, etc... Sure they are not made for running or cutting back n forth in basketball, but for plain old walking and standing around, they are actually the best option. Since Disney last year, we have had to keep buying more work boots because that is what our DS loves as his everyday shoe. The only downside is they can be expensive if you pay retail, luckily we live a few miles from Timberlands HQ, so we can buy them at the factory store during friends and family sales for around $25.

 

[cseca]

My kid was 39.25 (officially measured at the Doc's office a week before our trip). With her shoes (normal flat shoes), she was right on the money (her head was slightly on top of the bottom of the bar)
They let her on Splash, BTM (her FAVORITE), TOT (her least favorite), Soarin, and TT (her second favorite).

So have fun!
They might ask to measure your child repeatedly but no worries