measuring for rides

[MarcyIn Florida]

Originally posted by twinsmom&dad
A friend of ours was there a week later and there daughter was close and the ride attendant said it was too close and had them go to customer service at gate and be measured officialy.They were given a wrist band of her height and which rides she qualified for(they use cady names for ride heights i.e. twizzlers, etc...). Is there a place at disney to do this so ds would be able to ride all he can??

No, sorry. Your child gets measured at each ride, and often will get measured twice on the same ride. On Splash Mtn, for example, there are two measuring stations for kids who look like they are close to the 40 inch requirement.

Just remember there is always Goofy's Roller Coaster!

 

[nuzmom]

I've had this same concern since measuring DS a few months ago and realizing he was "almost" tall enough then and will probably be tall enough during our trip.

Didn't even cross my mind at first becasue DS#1 was 1/2 too short at same age, but DS#2 is taller.

My question: I know the rides SAY 40" (or whatever), but is it? I've hear stories of "my kid was 40 1/2 at dr. office w/o shoes and wasn't tall enough at such and such ride". Is that true?

I understand the uneven ground thing.

If my son measures 40 1/2 at home with shoes and he's measured at the park, do you think he'll be ok?

I figured if it's close and the grounds sloped, I'll ask for a remeasurement with stick on other side of him. Will they do that?

What do you think?

Yes, I completely understand the safety thing (really), but I'm saying what if he's tall enough at home and he's excited to be riding with his brother and they say he's not tall enough - but he is!!! What can you do?

 

[CrazySun27]

My DS-5 is exactly 44.5 inches tall..(with shoes).I hope he is able to ride all the rides with the 44 inches height requirement. He was measured at his Dr's office as well. (with shoes) I guess those just might be the shoes I'm taking to WDW. He loves those shoes anyway they are his "FAST running shoes"

 

[ajksmom]

DS3 measured 40 1/2" at home. SM's stick had him at less than 39 1/2". Same shoes, 4 days later. He was a little upset but we told him the next time he came, he'd be taller and could go on it then. Made him feel a little better. Made me feel like a jerk 'cuz I got him excited to go on it and then they wouldn't let him on.
DON'T - I repeat - DON'T let them believe they can ride until they are officially measured at the ride. It doesn't matter what you (or a doctor)measure 'cuz Disney's measurement will always be the "correct" one.

 

[nuzmom]

ajksmom:

That's TERRIBLE and exactly what I'm afraid of. How can that be? How can they say 40" and then that happen?

I've read where some people say it's "uneven ground". Do you think that was the case? What ride you try to get DS on?

Have others had this happen?

UGGGHHH.

 

[Kendra17]

I think my DS will be tall enough to drive the speedway racing cars this year. . .thankfully!

I know I posted this on the other page, but I would really consider getting the higher shoes or shoe inserts. i know some of you are concerned that's cheating or that it's a safety issue. . .but if he's tall enough at home or when he's measured at the doctor's, how can that be a safety issue if their sticks are incorrectly calibrated?

The opposite thing happened to my son when we were there. . .he was actually TALLER at WDW than he was at the dr's at home.

 

[ajksmom]

nuzmom,
It was on Splash Mtn and the ground didn't seem uneven to me. After that we didn't try to get him on any other questionable rides 'cuz we wanted to avoid the disappointment.
If your child doesn't fall into the "definately able to ride height" let them know before you even go that there are things they may not be able to ride, when you get there you'll make sure you take them on all that they can do, and that if they help save the pennies(nickel,dimes,quarters, and dollars too! LOL) you will make another trip with them in the future when they are able to ride. My DS3 is always looking for change now; in parking lots, at the mall, and everywhere else. We even started a change jar in my truck so he can add to it. He's very excited to go again, and we hope to go in 2-3 years. With the rate he's saving we may be able to do just that!
Kristy

 

[twinsmom&dad]

Hi all! ajkmom, Is space mountain 40" to ride? Travel channel website has sm as 44". Seems weird to me but tower of terrror is only 40". Does anyone know if sm is 40"??

thanks

 

[bubba's mom]

space mtn. is 44" to ride...... if you ever need height requirements, a good place to go is: allearsnet.com
have fun

 

[LisaZoe]

I understand the safety issue when it is related to height. That makes it seem even more odd that Disney doesn't have an official means of measuring for all rides rather than leave it to the discretion of so many different CMs, ground conditions, measuring sign's condition, etc. I would be very surprised if Disney cut things so close on safety that 1/4 - 1/2 inch made a difference between safe and not. I bet they've set a certain margin of error to allow for the the more casual measuring done by CMs. (This is strictly my opinion and not based on any special knowledge of Disney's policies, of course.)

That said, I wouldn't risk my DD by trying to "fudge" more than a 1/4 inch - and then only based on her height when measured at home. We have a little over 5 weeks for her to grow and she's already added an inch in the past month. However, if she doesn't "measure-up", we'll still have a lot of fun on the other rides. We'll be back in a couple of years, if not sooner, so she'll get to ride them then.

 

[nuzmom]

Lisazoe, you are so right (and you always have such great posts!!). I wanted to point the same thing out, but was sort of "afraid". I'm a mechanical engineer and I KNOW there isn't ANYTHING designed that closely, especially an amusement park ride open to the public!!!! I'm sure there's been some type of study done on how many inches people "add" onto their kids with shoes, hair, inserts, whatever and not be detected by the CMs. Based on that lenght, the minimum height is set.

Ok, having said all of that, PLEASE DON'T YELL AT ME!!!!

Also, I would NEVER suggest that you "fudge" more than what you feel comfortable with and certainly not more than 1/2". IMO, I wouldn't "fudge" anything, until you're convinced that your child is taller than 40". Basically, you're just making up for the "not standing up straight, uneven ground, whatever".

That's pretty much where we are right now. 5 1/2 weeks until trip and DS will continue to grow. He measures just over 40 1/2" right now and I'm thinking he'll be just under 41" when we go. I'm "teaching" him to stand up straight when he gets measured and we'll just see what happens. I might pack a "tall" pair of shoes, just in case though.

 

[LisaZoe]

Thanks, nuzmom. It looks like we'll be there about the same time. At this point, I think we'll be missing the "big rides" but we'll wait and see. I'm amazed at the growth rate DD has already had and it could continue. If not, all the more reason to go again soon

 

[phamton]

I don't know about Disney guidelines on heights or if they add in a safety margin or not but do know a little about another theme park in Orlando.

When a new ride is built, they are given height stats from the manufacturer of the ride. The manufacturer guidelines would state that "this ride is only recommended for those 44 inches or taller." If the theme park follows the manufacturer's recommendation, it protects them somewhat in the case of an accident. If someone fell out or was hurt that was under 44 inches, the theme park would be held responsible for not following the guidelines recommended by the company that built the ride. So although a child may be perfectly safe being an inch too short, the theme park must follow the guidelines set for the ride to protect themselves from negligence.

 

[ajksmom]

Originally posted by twinsmom&dad
Hi all! ajkmom, Is space mountain 40" to ride? Travel channel website has sm as 44". Seems weird to me but tower of terrror is only 40". Does anyone know if sm is 40"??

thanks

It was on splash mtn. that we tried to get him on. The ride height for splash is 40", at least everywhere that I've checked.
Kristy

 

[SueM in MN]

Space Mountain is listed on the official Disney site as 44 inches.
If you go to the DIS site height/restrictions calculator, and put in 40 inches as your child's height, Space Mountain comes up as having a minimum of 44 inches. Splash Mountain and TOT are 40 inches.
One of the new things we noticed on our trip in March 2004, was that most rides/attractions have new signing at the entrance. The signs give a short (very short) description of the ride (things like "Turbulent Thrill Ride), and an icon that indicates whether someone with a wheelchair needs to tranfer into a ride car or may stay in their wheelchair/ecv for the entire ride.
The signs also list any ride restrictions, including height and they include a permanently mounted "You must be this tall the ride" measuring stick. I don't have pictures on this computer, but will try to find where I put them on another computer so I can post some.
There were several rides where some of our party went on and I waited at the entrance. At each of those, a CM was stationed and was directing which kids could go into line, based on whether or not the met the height requirement. Since the wait was fairly short, DH, niece and nephew went on Triceraptop Spin (with a 48 inch minimum) about 4 times in a row, so I had lots of time to observe some interesting things there. I saw people who tried to sneak a too short child in by "hiding" him between 2 adults. I saw a lot of people trying to stretch their kids (by having them on tiptoes or tilt their heads back) or wearing a tall hat (which the CMs made them remove for measuring). One whose kid were short by 3 or 4 inches said that the child was tall enough at the doctor's office and one guy who insisted very loudly that his child had ridden yesterday (when the child could not even touch the top of the stick with both hands on top of his head). I also saw one child who as tall enough, but kept bending to walk under the stick. It took a while for them to get him to just stand up and be tall enough. I saw one boy (just a tad short of riding) whose family said he had been tall enough to ride before and then the boy remembered he had worn different shoes the other time he rode. The CM was nice to him and told him to make sure he wore the other shoes the next time he rode.
So, although a lot of people are being truthful, there are enough who are not to make the CMs sceptical. Not an excuse for the CMs to be rude.

 

[bubba's mom]

Originally posted by SueM in MN
One of the new things we noticed on our trip in March 2004, was that most rides/attractions have new signing at the entrance. ....The signs also list any ride restrictions, including height and they include a permanently mounted "You must be this tall the ride" measuring stick.

THIS is what i'm talking about.........."permanently mounted "You must be this tall to ride the ride" measuring stick".......as long as it's accurate!

 

[HeatherAnn23]

We just got back from WDW and thankfully my son was 42 inches this trip! Easily made it for all of the 40" rides, definately not tall enough for the 44" rides. It was so much easier than our trip last year to DLR when he was 39.9999". We never knew if he would be considered tall enough or not, and I think it was way to stressful for all involved. I heard that they did a trial period of height bracelets for children at DLR a year or so ago, but they still had problems - I guess people would "Share" the bracelets somehow with other children, and the cms at each attraction would still measure and sometimes override the bracelet!! Just a side note, remember the noise volume and content is also a consideration for some rides. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but my daredevil up for anything son was reduced to a pile of jello from the volume on Dinosaur last week. We had prepared him for the shaking, big dinosaurs, and everything we thought might surprise him, but the volume did him in. I wanted a "bad parent of the day" badge for that one last week. Despite his begging he didn't ride Tower of Terror, though I'm sure he was tall enough. Next time we'll take earplugs!

 

[bubba's mom]

as you can see---we're on our way
i'll let u all know what i see as far as height restrictions....even tho Bubba won't have any problems

 

[dbal]

Just wondering... Everyone who is in this situation of almost reaching 40 inches or 44 inches. What are your childs ages? We have a plan in the works, but we are also trying to predict the height of our youngest now 2.5 for another trip.


I would love to know the average ages of your kids.


Thanks

 

[HeatherAnn23]

My ds hit 40 inches about a month before his third birthday, but of course, every child is different!