I've got the under 40" blues

[sarah-jane]

We planned, we booked almost a year out. Our youngest was one of the tallest in her class, but now she is one of the smallest. It's her first trip and her birthday present. We measured her tonight and she is coming up short of 40 inches. We haven't made any promises and when she discovered her height tonight she said "that's the way God made me". We (mom, dad, older sis) are a bit disappointed though as this is a family trip. So, it is what it is but I have a few questions:
Should we split up or keep together and use child swap? Is there anything fun about child swap for the non-riding child?

How did other parents with this dilemma balance their days? It seems to cut out a lot of headliners.

We are considering maybe having younger daughter do kids club while we have a thrill ride afternoon with older daughter. Has anyone had experience doing this?

All advice appreciated. We know it will be a great trip but we have never had anyone under 40" before.

Thanks so much!

 

[WildReekies]

We planned, we booked almost a year out. Our youngest was one of the tallest in her class, but now she is one of the smallest. It's her first trip and her birthday present. We measured her tonight and she is coming up short of 40 inches. We haven't made any promises and when she discovered her height tonight she said "that's the way God made me". We (mom, dad, older sis) are a bit disappointed though as this is a family trip. So, it is what it is but I have a few questions:
Should we split up or keep together and use child swap? Is there anything fun about child swap for the non-riding child?

How did other parents with this dilemma balance their days? It seems to cut out a lot of headliners.

We are considering maybe having younger daughter do kids club while we have a thrill ride afternoon with older daughter. Has anyone had experience doing this?

All advice appreciated. We know it will be a great trip but we have never had anyone under 40" before.

Thanks so much!

Hmm are you measuring with shoes? I wouldn't take a bub on a ride until they were completely tall enough to ride, but I'm an anxious mom and I have irrational fears.. I've heard people buy thick soled sneakers for this dilemma. Have you asked her how she feels about it? these kids can be surprising

.

 

[mssong85]

Don't judge, but sketchers make shoes with an invisible heal.

 

[TriniandBre]

My DD3 is almost 40" tall and our trip isn't until December. Maybe with shoes on she'll reach that mark. I just would make sure that if your child is ready for those rides and they measure up to the 40" with shoes on then sure let them ride. There are plenty of things that she'll be able to do and I'd utilize the rider swap. Other than that try those shoes out, I don't know when you are going but maybe your daughter will sprout another inch or two.

 

[letsgoreds]

I recently purchased some Reebok Zig shoes (Nordstrom close out sale) and discovered that they too, tend to boost the height a bit.

My 7yo is now tall enough to ride every ride at our local amusement park, we call his new shoes the 'Diamondback' shoes because with them on, he can ride that biggest/baddest rollercoaster we have! Coincidentally, my DS3 will hopefully close to 40 for our trip in Dec...so I just might need to pick a pair up for him as well. He is accustomed to not being able to ride certain rides, but man, would he love BTMRR!

 

[Gracie09]

Just be aware cm look for extra thick shoes and hairstyles designed to make a child taller. They may ask you to remove their shoes to be measured if they think the shoes are too tall. I'm pretty sure the sketchers with the wheels are on the list of things not to bring in the park.

 

[laughinplace199]

Does your DD like the characters? When my youngest was too small for the "big" rides, we would do the baby swap thing. DH would ride with our older two kids and I would take the little guy to meet a character or two. This worked out perfectly for us as he really liked meeting the characters and the older kids didn't really care about meeting them.

Then, when DH & the kids were done with the ride, we would use the swap pass and I would ride with the older kids.

 

[Marionnette]

We planned, we booked almost a year out. Our youngest was one of the tallest in her class, but now she is one of the smallest. It's her first trip and her birthday present. We measured her tonight and she is coming up short of 40 inches. We haven't made any promises and when she discovered her height tonight she said "that's the way God made me". We (mom, dad, older sis) are a bit disappointed though as this is a family trip. So, it is what it is but I have a few questions:
Should we split up or keep together and use child swap? Is there anything fun about child swap for the non-riding child?

How did other parents with this dilemma balance their days? It seems to cut out a lot of headliners.

We are considering maybe having younger daughter do kids club while we have a thrill ride afternoon with older daughter. Has anyone had experience doing this?

All advice appreciated. We know it will be a great trip but we have never had anyone under 40" before.

Thanks so much!

First, I want to say that there are safety reasons for the 40" cutoff and I applaud you for not even considering the "big heels" option to try to fool the CMs.

If this is a family trip, I don't know if I would put the younger child in the Kids' Club in order to do an evening of thrill rides with the older child. It could make your younger daughter feel left out.

Try to get 4 Fastpasses for the rides that your little one cannot do. Then find an attraction near the thrill ride for one parent and the younger child to enjoy while the older child and other adult take two turns at the thrill ride. IMO, there is nothing worse than being the "swap" child who stands waiting while everyone else in the family gets a turn to ride.

I'm sure that you will have a wonderful vacation that is full of magic. You can always encourage your little one with the promise of a return trip after she surpasses the 40" mark so that she can experience the attractions that she missed this time around.

 

[RMulieri]

Kids clubs don't open till 4-430pm.
Our first trip to WDW as a family , our DD was too short.She still had a blast and we all had fun.There is more fun and magic to be had at WDW then a few height restricted rides

 

[Lilliputian]

I always find something interesting to do with my little ones while the bigger ones go on rides with height restrictions. Many times there's a nearby play area or water feature by those rides. Or I'll pull out one of those tiny "party size" bags of Skittles and let the little ones eat candy while we people-watch. Or we'll go into a gift shop. Anything that gets their mind off of the fact that they are being left out will work.

Child swap tickets are great because you don't have to use them right away. You can collect them all day and then go use them all at once when you're ready, so the one who rode the first time can take her to something special she wants to do. You do have to plan and have the same person skip out the first time for that to work, though.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

When we had one under 40", my husband and I used child swap a lot. There is always something fun to do nearby. At Splash Mtn, there's a little play area. At Mission: Space, there's an indoor climb-through area at the ride exit. At Space Mtn, we rode the TTA again or Buzz Lightyear. At Soarin', Living with the Land. My youngest doesn't care for Star Tours even though he's tall enough, so he and I often go to the Pizza Planet arcade while my husband and older son ride that (I don't care one way or the other about it). Sometimes we also got a snack or had a bathroom break.

How far away is your trip? Sometimes kids shoot up unexpectedly. Unless she is several inches short of the mark, I'd still have her try to measure up at the attractions. Shoes do make a difference; my youngest missed Space Mtn one day wearing Crocs and made it the next day wearing sneakers.

 

[Happyjen27]

I wouldn't put her in kids club to thrill ride. If you come back with stories, or refer to things she missed later on she may feel left out.

As PP pointed out, there are always fun things for smalls to do while the bigs ride.

 

[TwistGrl101]

If you ask my DD5 and DD7 what they want to do in Disney, they will say Kids Club...so I'm all for putting her in for a few hours while the rest of you enjoy the big rides!!

 

[texasroni75]

If I was alone with the kids, this might be an issue. But, when it's DH and I, we use that time for a rest for the smaller kids. As in, older kids get on the ride with DH while I sit in the shade with an iced coffee and the short kids have a popcorn or something sitting in their strollers. Then, when DH and oldest kids come back, me and the older kids go on the ride (older kids love this since they get to go twice!), and DH sits and chills out with the little ones. Now that we all have cell phones, though - it's possible to split up and take the little ones to another attraction instead of sitting out completely, and just meet up at an agreed upon location when we are done. Never done child swap - but that's an option too.

 

[cheshireqt]

My DD3 is almost 40" tall and our trip isn't until December. Maybe with shoes on she'll reach that mark. I just would make sure that if your child is ready for those rides and they measure up to the 40" with shoes on then sure let them ride. There are plenty of things that she'll be able to do and I'd utilize the rider swap. Other than that try those shoes out, I don't know when you are going but maybe your daughter will sprout another inch or two.

PS Hope your DD makes it by December!

 

[QueenQueso]

I recently purchased some Reebok Zig shoes (Nordstrom close out sale) and discovered that they too, tend to boost the height a bit.

My 7yo is now tall enough to ride every ride at our local amusement park, we call his new shoes the 'Diamondback' shoes because with them on, he can ride that biggest/baddest rollercoaster we have! Coincidentally, my DS3 will hopefully close to 40 for our trip in Dec...so I just might need to pick a pair up for him as well. He is accustomed to not being able to ride certain rides, but man, would he love BTMRR!

Lol, when Diamondback went up, my then 5yo cried when I told him no, he couldn't ride it! He is still too short for anything big at KI, he usually has to be measured twice to be allowed on the Beastie (or, you know, whatever they are calling it these days...)

 

[bartleby1]

How tall is she? If she is close, maybe she'll grow enough before your trip.

There really aren't THAT many rides that she can't go on. Usually we would use child swap. Be aware that you need to bring the child who is not riding with you to get the child swap ticket. We have had cm's request to see our non-rider before he would issue the ticket. Once you get the ticket, go find something else to do with the youngest that is special. Go meet a few characters, ride something else, or get a special treat or Mickey bar. I'll never forget our family coming off splash mountain one time and finding my 9 month old COVERED in chocolate from her melted Mickey bar that grandpa gave her! It was everywhere! All over her face, in her hair, on her stroller... And to top it off, he had used up ALL of my baby wipes that I brought to the park that day already while attempting to clean up the mess, LOL!

Don't stress about it. Elaine to her ahead of time that there may be some rides that she isn't tall enough for, but you will find other wonderful things for her to do. The beauty of Disney is that there is plenty for everyone!

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

I feel your pain. We are going back to disney this october with my daughter who will be turning five during the trip. She's tiny for her age and not yet 40 inches. She keeps trying to "eat healthier and grow faster" so she can get on btmrr, soarin, etc with her big bro.

If she doesn't meet the height requirement? Oh well. We will do our best to keep her entertained (stores, snacks, other rides, characters) while the other takes our son on big kid rides

 

[Help Please!]

There are SO MANY rides that she CAN go on...make sure the rest of your family is ready to enjoy those rides with her! Make the focus family time, not thrill rides...every trip in the future, after this one, everyone will be tall enough...so enjoy having a little one on this trip who can make it all more magical!

 

[sarah-jane]

My hubby just said this evening he thinks the trip is now a waste of time and money. Just need some perspective as it broke my heart a little to hear him say it. We have ten days and he is convinced it will be ten days of not being able to do "anything fun". I know this is not the case because we went for ten days before and only rode headliners a few times but how do I make him stop being grumpy about something we can't control? thanks! I love that this community is here.