I've got the under 40" blues

[Claire&TheBoys]

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.

I would just remind your husband that only a handful of Disney attractions have height requirements and there are plenty of things your daughter can do. I would be tempted to "sweeten the pot" so to speak, and arrange for something special for your husband during the trip. There is a Richard Petty driving experience - he could do a ride-along if he likes fast cars. There are fishing expeditions if he enjoys fishing. Maybe let him have a little fun time alone while you take the girls to a Princess meal or tea or something that both of your daughters would enjoy.

We had quite a few trips where we had a child under 40" and we always had a great time. Hey, you're at Disney World! It's always a great time!

 

[TeamH5]

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.

I would not say that. We just left yesterday, and our Birthday boy wasn't tall enough for 'thrill' rides. But one of our older girls doesn't like thrill rides anyways. Our kids are 6.5, 6.5 and 5. One of the 6 year olds I took on Splash mountain and she liked it, but she also had a blast on the TeaCups and Flying Dumbo/Magic Carpets...

We didn't do hardly any rides at all because our kids just weren't into them. My little daredevil that IS into the roller oasters said 'aww but mommm' maybe twice and was over herself within 2 min of me saying No to a particular ride cuz no one else wanted to do it. My kids were perfectly fine with character viewings and walking in and out of every store around. We still didn't see all of Magic Kingdom in the 2 days allocated and like. Said we only did a handful of rides. We just had a much more leisurely look at the parks from a 5 yr old perspective which I th k was actually better.

And, at AK they ALL got a blast out of doing the Wilderness Explorer game. That took our entire day up looking for clues and getting badges. The only ride we touched that day was one of the kiddie rides in DinoLand right before we left. Even with that we didn't get any badges from DiniLand or Rafikis island, and we were there for a full 12 hours that day! Also, adventure land in MK does something similar with a Treasure hunt, and there's another activity too where you put the books up to the screen and get clues to find, that one ges park wide I believe.

There are PLENTY of things to do besides thrill rides in all the parks for little ones that are to short. It's not all about the rides. I k now mine for one would not have many happy memories if we made the. Go on all the rides against their will. Go with the flow and do what will create happy memories for the little one. After all, that's what the trip is for right?

 

[brymolmom]

First of all - keep it in perspective. This is a DISNEYWORLD trip for your youngest - that is AWESOME and INCREDIBLE, whether or not you can go on 'everything'. Second - I'm trying to get a number in my head of rides that have 40'' as their requirement...I'm only coming up with a small handful (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong here) - Soarin...BMTRR and Splash, TOT, Stitch (which no one likes anyway so not counting this one), Star Tours and Test track - am I right? So honestly I wouldn't plan an entire 'thrill ride' afternoon just for just the 2 or so rides at each park that the little one can't go on.

Yes -there are fun things for kids to do during child swap and when my youngest was that little - it was USUALLY ice cream. We liked to stay nearby to the attraction and only would do it with fastpass so that the riders wouldn't take more than 20 minutes or so - so we would either get an ice cream or take a potty break OR I would let her pick out her souvenier for that day while her brother and dad rode the ride.

It ended up not being too big a deal for us - she wouldn't have gone on TOT or stitch anyway - so it was just BTMRR and SPlash at MK that she couldn't go on - Star tours at DHS (and she hadn't watched Star Wars yet anyway so no big loss), and soarin and test track. So not a huge deal.

I would prepare her for not making the height...when dd was just 40 inches at home - we were turned down on that trip. They are strict.

 

[DSNY4ever]

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.

Okay, now that is just plain silly! There is SOOO much to do and you will have an amazing time. Take advantage of fastpass and child swap. Talk to your daughter ahead of time to avoid disappointment. Split up if necessary and let the younger one do something special like get ice cream or get her face painted while the older one goes on a big ride. The thrill rides are great, but a small part of your day and a small part of the big picture. Our DS will be 2 on our next trip (luckily not old enough to realize he is being left out). But we know we'll have a great time regardless. Enjoy your trip and I'm sorry it didn't work out how planned...now you'll have a reason to go back!

 

[FargoBear]

This isn't necessarily the point of this thread, but I think it sort of ties into why people bring toddlers to the parks. At least once a month you'll see someone post a thread on the Disboards with the title "Is it silly to take my 12-month-old, or 18-month-old, 24-month-old" to the parks, since they won't remember any of it."

One of the best responses I've seen is that even if they won't remember it, you will. And isn't taking a kid to Disney World and enjoying good family time together in the happiest place on Earth worth it, even if they won't remember it 20 years from now?

Speaking as a parent who took a 3-year-old, 38-inch-high son to the parks a year ago, and who is planning on going back next November (he's already 40.5 inches), I'd say definitely go. Enjoy the rides you can go on. Meet some people inside a 6-foot-tall mouse costume. Enjoy the time as a family.

Life goes way too fast. Make the memories while you can.