Is there a way to avoid having your childs height checked at every ride?

[peyjax]

We are so excited that my son is 39 and half inches. With his crocks he is just over 40. We really dread having his height checked at every ride. I am sorry those things just do not seem to be consistent. Can you go to guest relations and have him checked at the beginning of the day and him recieve a bracelet or something? I know they do that at the local amusement park here, just wondering if they had the same thing at Disney?

 

[Skylarr29]

Nope, I don't think there is. Also, if he is very close to the height they 'may' ask him to take off his crocs just so you know. They take it VERY seriously.

 

[GoochiGirl]

The rides that did check my DD's height were checked with her shoes on. She was wearing flip flops and they did not ask her to take them off.

 

[JulielovesDisney]

No, the CM's check every child that seems close with a stick. There's no way around it. It's for the child's safety.

And on my past trip last week, A lot of children were just barely above the bar and they let them pass without taking thier shoes off. It might depend on the CM, but it seems like most CM's let them slide. Good luck.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Height checks are don at each ride via the "story pole".
2) There is not one central point.
3) If the ride CM says too short, there is little appeal.
4) Even if the last ride said he/she was OK on height.

 

[Schmeck]

Supposedly everyone is a little taller in the morning - gravity pushes down on us and makes us shrink a bit as the day goes on, then we get back to our starting height as we sleep? - so head to the most important ride to go on first thing in the morning.

Also, just try to prepare your son for the chance that he may not make it on? Just have him measured at the very beginning of the queue, 'just to see' how tall he is...

You can make it past the first CM measuring and get denied by the one at the ride vehicle as well.

 

[grimley1968]

It would be highly irregular of a CM to make a kid kick off his shoes and stand barefoot on that concrete, just because they are easy to kick off compared to tennis shoes. I can't see that happening. You don't stand any taller in crocs than in anything else, at least not with the crocs I wear. Well, I've never seen a CM do that, but I guess that doesn't mean it won't happen.

No, they don't do any kind of bracelet system. Personally we've never had a problem with those height bars. But they've always seemed pretty consistent to us. Do remember that WDW has some pretty widely variant height requirements for different rides, some of which make little sense to some guests (including me). The height requirements for some rides are 38", some 40", some 44" and some even 48" or 52".

 

[Tinkerchele]

They're pretty strict with checking heights.

I believe that my daughter did receive a wristband from a CM at one of the rides (I think Space Mountain), but they still check.

She hoping to make the 48" mark before our November trip for RNRC...she's sooo close!

 

[brerrabbit]

I have always thought that they should check you at the front gate and issue you some sort of proof of heighth (wristband). I also think that ticket pricing should be based on this as well. Obviously the shorter children will not get to ride as many rides so a childrens ticket should be split between tall enough to ride everything but under 12 years old and to short to ride everything but under 12 years old.

 

[TinkerbEllnor]

My DS got a wristband after measuring up at Kali River Rapids, but it was only good for Kali. DS wouldn't go on it again after the first ride, so I can't even tell you if the wristband would have prevented a re-measure the second time around. He was right at 38" at the time.

 

[slo]

My DD's have always been checked, for every single ride - no exceptions!!!

As bummed out as we have been at times when they didn't measure up, I was never angry, because I was grateful that they are that safely conscience

 

[maxiesmom]

Remember too that you may have more than one CM on a ride checking how tall your son is. One right when you approach a ride, and one right before you board. I have heard of children being turned away by the CM at the loading area, even after being allowed thru by the first CM. So if you son is a little short, you might want to find some way to prepare him in case he is turned away.

And yes, if you put a shoe with an obviously high heel/sole on your son, he could be asked to take them off. So I would just stick with the crocs and hope for the best.

 

[mayesq]

For EE, they put a stamp on my son's hand to verify that he met the 44 inch requirement. The stamp was only good for EE.

 

[Marc A.]

If they don't meet the height req. they can still go on with a parent or not?????

 

[maxiesmom]

If they don't meet the height req. they can still go on with a parent or not?????

NOT! They must meet the height requirement, or they don't ride.

 

[grimley1968]

NOT! They must meet the height requirement, or they don't ride.

True, except for one ride: Tomorrowland Speedway.

They have one height that allows kids to ride if there is a responsible older child or adult with them of a certain height. There is another height that allows kids to drive themselves.

The height requirements are there not because it's an estimation of the maturity of someone to handle certain rides. They're there strictly for the physical safety of the riders, due to the way the seats or the rides are constructed.

One example of a height requirement that is there only for physical and not mental reasons: the Dinosaur ride in AK. I think the requirement on that is a mere 36" or 38". Most kiddie rides are at the same height requirement. My DD, now almost 8 but then only 3, was about 40" tall, which was definitely physically "safe" for the seat structure on Dinosaur. However, I did not know, and DD certainly did not know, that Dinosaur may well be the scariest single ride (mentally) in all of WDW. It's extremely loud and intimidating, with lots of unexpected twists in the path. DD cried so hard afterward we had to buy one of the toy dinosaurs in the gift shop to placate her.

To this day she will not ride Dinosaur. I can't blame her.

 

[fun4disney]

I have always thought that they should check you at the front gate and issue you some sort of proof of heighth (wristband). I also think that ticket pricing should be based on this as well. Obviously the shorter children will not get to ride as many rides .

I can understand that, however, there are many rides and attractions (say in Toontown Fair) that bigger kids can't (or don't want to)ride. So it all equals out.

Some rides are 38 inches to ride, and some require 48 inches to ride, so I measurement wouldn't work. Sounds like a good idea though.

 

[Tissa]

I have always thought that they should check you at the front gate and issue you some sort of proof of heighth (wristband). I also think that ticket pricing should be based on this as well. Obviously the shorter children will not get to ride as many rides so a childrens ticket should be split between tall enough to ride everything but under 12 years old and to short to ride everything but under 12 years old.

My ds will only ride the TTA so he should be able to get in free right?

Using wristbands will only lead to people trying to cheat the system. You know the ones that will put their kids in platform shoes or have them wear extra socks and puff up their hair. Those would be the same ones that would take the wristband off a tall enough child slip it on to the little one.

 

[bradk]

Disney did experiment with wristbands. They even have a patent on a device that measures accurately (Patent 6982929). but as mentioned, parents would take advantage of the system by swapping wristbands.

I've also seen many CMs say that even if a wristband was put into effect, they still wouldn't abide strictly by it.

 

[GlendaO]

I think the best thing to do really, is to prepare your child and let them know that there are some rides that they may or may not be able to ride. Both my DDs are very small for their ages (3% and 15%) and they knew when they were younger that there was a possibility.
The only one that ever checked my youngest twice was TT at Epcot. My only personal issue is the inconsistency at some of the rides in MK. One year, she was tall enough -- with about and inch over -- for SM but almost an inch too short on TMR, same height requirement for both.
So, go and have fun, just prepare your child for the possibility they may not be able to ride everything they want!