how strict on height requirements???

[kjmickeymom]

does anyone know how strict the parks are with the height requirements for the rides. my daughter is 47 inches tall and i have noticed a lot of the rides require children to be 48".my son will be going on all those rides and being my daughter is quite the "daredevil" i know she will be so disappointed if she cant get on as well. we are going to try to get her sandals with an inch of heel. do you think they will notice? are they really strict or will less than an inch affect her chances? thanks everyone!!!!!

 

[jimmybop]

it depends on the height line that the CM uses, and their judgement. They do have the final say. Even if one ride lets them on, and another one dosent.

and remember, its for your child's safety, they have the hights for a reason

 

[Jordan's MOM]

They are very strict!! They will measure your daughter carefuly at least once and possibly at several points in the line. It is reported that the sticks are slighty over the required height so even with the inch shoes it might be a no go. There really are not that many 48 ince rides at WDW ,though I think there are a lot more at Universal if that is in your plans and I do not know how strick they are there. R&R is a 48' and I think maybe the new coaster at AK. All the mountains are less than that as well as most of the other thrill rides. Just remember that the heights are set for safety reasons. R&R uses shoulder restaints and goes upside down! You want to make very sure your daughter meets the requirments to be safe!! She will have a blast even if she has to wait on a few things.


jordan's mom

 

[mommie3]

I think most of them are around 40"

 

[TreeOfLife]

Let me tell you this by experience; Please follow the height guidelines at the parks.

When my little one was 3 1/2, we wanted to ride the runaway steam train at MK together with his brother. He was barely an inch shorter than required so the CM just went like :"Eh.. it's OK". I HAD to grab that kid down in those curves or he'd slipped right out into the air!

Be very careful with thin little kids! Those safety bars weren't made for them.

 

[Michelemouse]

Goofy's Barnstormer 35"
Kali River Rapids 38"
Splash Mountain 40"
Big Thunder Mountain 40"
Dinosaur 40"
Body Wars 40"
Test Track 40"
Tower of Terror 40"
Star Tours 40"
Space Mountain 44"
Rock n' Roller Coaster 48"
Alien Encounter 48"
Primevil Whirl 48"

I think that's all of them. In our experience the Disney measuring sticks are a good inch over my measuring tape so prepare your daughter for the worst and hope for the best.

Even if she can't ride the 48" & over rides she'll only miss out on 3 things.

 

[AKASnowWhite]

We went thru this with our quite-tall-for-her-age-daredevil-DD! At not quite 5, she was just a TINY BIT too short for RNR....she attempted to stuff her shoes with napkins to make herself taller (her idea, not mine!). I'm not at all opposed to thick-soled shoes, but those platform-style sandals are just a bit much, IMO. The poor kid needs to be able to WALK in the darn things!

Anyway.....

Watch carefully as the CM measures your child! I've seen CM's who have the stick resting on the *corner* of the bottom, which doesn't give an accurate measure. If the CM that is doing the measuring doesn't have the BOTTOM of the stick FLAT on the ground, the TOP of the stick will be HIGHER than it should be, making your child appear SHORTER than they really are! It can easily make a difference of an inch or more!

 

[erinch]

my 5 yo dd was just at 48" last time, and a rock n roller!
she would get through one check point, then not another. we finally had her "officially" measured and got some sort of stamp or wristband at guest relations so we didn't have to go thru it. If she's almost 48" you might slip thru with taller shoes--but they might make her take them off. both ways happened to us.

Even if she makes height, i would experience alien encounter yourself before you let her. My dd is now 7 and 52"--and I'm still not letting her on it

 

[dahess]

I think it depends on the CM. We would however not let one of our children ride a ride that he/she was not tall enough for even if the CM said it was "OK", although that never happed to us.

 

[grinningghost]

Very strict! When DD was 4 she was short for her age. She didn't get on any of the big rides. When she was 7, she was barely 48", but a daredevil nonetheless. I did what many parents detest, I put heel lifts in her sneakers. If she had been more than an inch too short, I never would have done that - but she was just scraping 48", and was more than ready to ride everything. With the lifts, she was over 48" easily and had no trouble getting on the rides.

 

[Elk34]

And incidentally, why in the world is Primeval Whirl a 48" height requirement ride. It certainly isn't a high speed ride that warrants it in my opinion. How can Space Mountain have a lower height requirement. It doesn't make sense to me. Maybe it has something to do with how passangers are secured and that PW is a bench type seat and SM is individual seating but it certainly doesn't make sense to me.

BTW we thought our 4 year old was about a 1/4' to short for SM but that with her hair poofed up and thick soled shoes she might make it. But, she wasn't even close. I think the WDW height sticks are even more restrictive than a true measurement.

 

[KIMHELMS99]

Last year we took our 6 yo granddaughter. She was just 48" tall. They were very careful when measuring her but I feel they were fair. They told her told stand tall but not on toes.

She was able to get on all the rides after being measured but we had also told her if she could not it was so she would not be hurt
( we didn't want her to be disappointed but safety is first).

Have fun.

Kim

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

while they do check height most of the ride operators are not terribly strict. But this is what we did on our last trip. My son was only a quarter of an inch to short to ride the rides he wanted. So we went to Kmart and bought the thickest soled sandels that we could find. Then I pulled some handy dandy hair gel out of my make-up bag and spiked his short hair up. After that he did not have a single bit of trouble getting on any of the rides. we now refer to my loving son as "spike" in honor of his days at IOA/US.

 

[KDawnLily]

My son, 5yo, is 47 3/4'' at the time we went and none of the CM's at PW or RnRRC let him on. He is a crazy daredevil.. went on ToT about 5 times before I started to get a little light headed myself... he still wanted more. (We went to MK, Space Mountain and he found another favourite ride.)
He got into Alien Encounter though... Big Mistake on my part. (Still regret letting him in that one. I told him it would be too scary.. warned him about all the happenings inside and gave him more than 1 chance to change his mind.... Poor thing was crying at the end and I was feeling VERY guilty at not keeping with my first response of "No-Way-Too Scary)

This time around all he is talking about is going on Big Thunder Mountain, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Test Track and "finally", he says with exasperation, "I'm going to be tall enough for the Rock n' Roll Roller Coaster".

 

[erinch]

I know of someone who had a just 48" dd and none to spare.
They took 2 measuring tapes with them (so they could prove they didn't jimmy the tape) and proved she was 48" when the measuring stick said not.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi.. with shoes on your daughter may squeak through... but they do quite often check the kids and turn people away...

Best to not wait in line for 45 minutes and then be sent away... THAT is frustrating.

>>^..^<<

 

[DisneyKidds]

As others have mentioned, be aware that they may measure more than once. One time my DD made the measurement at the entrance to Splash Mountain and we thought we were in. Turns out the CM at the loading area measured her again and said no go. Once I got over my dismay, I had the CM measure her again. If things are close, make sure they measure carefully. Have your daughter stand straight up against a flat, level object. On Splash I had my DD stand with her back against the garbage can. When the CM took a more accurate measure she was tall enough and she got on.

 

[eeyore0062]

The 48" rides include RnR, Alien Encounter and Primeval Whirl. I would assume that when Mission Space opens it will also be a 48" ride.

Most everything else is 44" (Space Mountain) or under, so she really won't be missing much if she isn't allowed on. The important part is to prepare your DD for the fact that she may not be able to ride this year... but she will always have something new to look forward to next time.

I know my DD was barely over 48" when she 1st rode RnR, and she had on tennis shoes that were had a slight lift, probably no more than 1/8 inches--- they were just the ones she wears everyday. They must have measured the poor child 3 different times for both RnR and Primeval Whirl every time we went on it (and we held our breath everytime)... but I had well prepared her for the fact that she might not be able to go on it, so when she was allowed, it was that much more special.

As Jimmybop said, the height restrictions are put there for a reason, and with people getting as sue happy as they are with theme parks and carnivals, it isn't any wonder that they are super strict with the measurements. I am glad that they think enough of our safety to be diligent.

Good luck to you, and I hope that your DD isn't disappointed.

 

[erikthewise]

Just about all the height requirements are concerned with restraint devices and safety, and *not* with thrill level, age or maturity. In particular being 48" does *not* mean that someone is ready for Alien Encounter! I had a blast in this attraction, but it is aimed toward teens/adults and you need a very solid sense of reality vs. fantasy.

 

[kjmickeymom]

thank you everyone for the info!
first and foremost so everyone knows neither my "tall enough" son or "not quite tall enough" daughter will be going on alien encounter- i decided that a long time ago! i was mainly hoping she could got on r&rc and the "WATER PARK RIDES" because she is an proficient swimmer. i think maybe she can go on some of the waterslides if either myself or my husband accompany her...not sure yet.
as far as her shoes, dont get the wrong idea - i wouldnt subject her to platforms at the age of 5-but in actuality she is only 3/4" off and that amount of heel is found in most childrens shoes today. but it seems to me that since that might not give her enough height anyway , my husband and my son can go on the
r&RC while her and i do something more tame. thanks for the heads up notice!!