My 2 1/2 year old is 40 inches tall!

[Megasaurus]

My fiance, our 2 year old son and I will be taking a vacation in early June. We'll be spending one day at Disneyland/DCA and are very excited because our son will be able to ride so many more rides than he was able to before. We did take him when he was 16 months and he was 33 inches tall at that time and did all the rides that he met the requirements for and he really seemed to enjoy himself.
He is a bit of an adrenaline junkie and we want him to go on Big Thunder, Radiator Spring Racers, Star Tours and MAYBE Rise if he does well. Our plan is to start him on Gadget Go Coaster and see what his reaction is to that one then go from there. If he likes it then we'll try him in Big Thunder, and if not then we won't push the bigger rides on him and we'll stick with the smaller rides and my fiance and I will just switch out on the bigger rides. My question is, has anyone else taken a 2 1/2 year old on these rides before? My son is pretty large for his age as he also weighs 45lbs. I would like to read some stories of other people taking their 2 year old on these rides, or even their 3 year olds.

 

[monkeypat83]

I just took my 3.5 year old and she was just barely 40 inches and only when wearing her tennis shoes. We did Jumpin' Jellyfish first and she loved it. She also did Silly Symphony Swings and Sourin' in DCA. At Disneyland we did Gadget's Go Coaster first and she also loved that. After that we did Big Thunder which she loved for the most part except for one turn where she felt like she was sliding forward since it is only one lap bar for all the seats and obviously I am bigger than she is. I had my hand around her waist but she still slid a little bit. She loved sliding side to side and had her arms up most of the ride but didn't love sliding forward. I also took her on Splash Mountain since it was going to be her only opportunity before it closed and sat in row 7 so we could sit together. She also mostly enjoyed it though she didn't love the drop at the end but there were no tears or anything like that. We talked about doing Space Mountain since she would have her own lap bar but ended up not since she doesn't love the dark and we also skipped Guardians though she loves Groot so she kept asking about going on the Groot ride. We didn't do Radiator Springs since I didn't feel like paying extra for it and also didn't want to deal with the line. She probably would have loved it and when we go back in June we are staying on property so may give it a try then.

 

[Megasaurus]

Thank you! This is making me feel a bit better about potentially taking him on these rides He's not scared of anything aside from the dark which is why we're ruling out Space Mountain for now. I'm so glad your daughter loved the rides!

I just took my 3.5 year old and she was just barely 40 inches and only when wearing her tennis shoes. We did Jumpin' Jellyfish first and she loved it. She also did Silly Symphony Swings and Sourin' in DCA. At Disneyland we did Gadget's Go Coaster first and she also loved that. After that we did Big Thunder which she loved for the most part except for one turn where she felt like she was sliding forward since it is only one lap bar for all the seats and obviously I am bigger than she is. I had my hand around her waist but she still slid a little bit. She loved sliding side to side and had her arms up most of the ride but didn't love sliding forward. I also took her on Splash Mountain since it was going to be her only opportunity before it closed and sat in row 7 so we could sit together. She also mostly enjoyed it though she didn't love the drop at the end but there were no tears or anything like that. We talked about doing Space Mountain since she would have her own lap bar but ended up not since she doesn't love the dark and we also skipped Guardians though she loves Groot so she kept asking about going on the Groot ride. We didn't do Radiator Springs since I didn't feel like paying extra for it and also didn't want to deal with the line. She probably would have loved it and when we go back in June we are staying on property so may give it a try then.

 

[DizMe]

I don't know about the other rides, but I would NOT take a 2-year-old on Big Thunder. I just don't think that would be safe. The turns are very fast and his hands might not be big enough to really grasp the bar. There's no seatbelt restraint. I've had people (my sister, my dh) slide rapidly across the seat on a turn and slam into me. It's not a ride for toddlers.

 

[bcla]

Our kid's first visit was at maybe 27 months if my math is correct. We didn't go on too many thrill rides due to height requirements, but Gadget Go Coaster was OK.

I did have a concern because Gadget Go Coaster only has a single lap bar for both passengers sitting side by side. Since my legs were considerably larger that my child's there seemed to be a lot of room there. But the lap bar itself probably doesn't keep the passengers from falling out. The physics of the ride should keep anything from falling out of the ride vehicle, like how people simply don't fall out of Splash Mountain or Pirates even without any restraints.

I mean - I've gone with my kid on a looping roller coaster (a Vekoma boomerang) where a 48" height requirement was met, but the over-the-shoulder restraint wasn't tight when pulled in as far as possible. But there was really no chance of falling out.

 

[DizMe]

Our kid's first visit was at maybe 27 months if my math is correct. We didn't go on too many thrill rides due to height requirements, but Gadget Go Coaster was OK.

I did have a concern because Gadget Go Coaster only has a single lap bar for both passengers sitting side by side. Since my legs were considerably larger that my child's there seemed to be a lot of room there. But the lap bar itself probably doesn't keep the passengers from falling out. The physics of the ride should keep anything from falling out of the ride vehicle, like how people simply don't fall out of Splash Mountain or Pirates even without any restraints.

I mean - I've gone with my kid on a looping roller coaster (a Vekoma boomerang) where a 48" height requirement was met, but the over-the-shoulder restraint wasn't tight when pulled in as far as possible. But there was really no chance of falling out.

You make good points, but while you probably wouldn't fall out, you definitely could get slammed into by a larger person and I speak from experience on that. There may be a "side" to be on that is better because it's on the sharp turns where this can happen, and if most of the big turns go the same direction it might be ok. I still think, however, that 2 is awfully young for BTMRR.

 

[bcla]

You make good points, but while you probably wouldn't fall out, you definitely could get slammed into by a larger person and I speak from experience on that. There may be a "side" to be on that is better because it's on the sharp turns where this can happen, and if most of the big turns go the same direction it might be ok. I still think, however, that 2 is awfully young for BTMRR.

I used to go to a Six Flags park a lot with my child, and I remember the larger rider was typically asked to be on what would be the "outside" for most of the ride. But that one had a T lap bar, although there was nothing separating the riders at the seat. Knees sometimes banged into the unpadded part of the T restraint though.

 

[Disneysince82]

Our soon to be 5 y/o girl is 47 inches and she has also been on the taller side at that age. This is her 1st trip, so she hasnt been on any yet. With that said she would of most likely LOVED it even at the age. There is a very big age difference with her and her siblings, but we brought our 5 yr old on the Matterhorn(the Yeti) as his 1st ride. It really scared him so I dont recommend that, because he didnt want to get on any others hardly for awhile. We have a pic of him right before he gets on... all smiles & as he gets off he was bawling saying he wanted to go back to the 'hotel home' I am 99% sure if we would of done Big Thunder for example 1st we would of been fine.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

One other consideration is the amount of back and forth movement of the ride. My daughter enjoyed Star Tours the first 3x she rode on it (it was her favorite ride) but the 4th time she hurt her neck from the back and forth jostling, and we probably won’t let her ride it again until she’s a little bigger. Same reason I won’t let her ride on Matterhorn or Space Mountain until she’s well past the height requirement. She is tiny for her height though, so every kid will be different.

I wouldn’t worry about any of the other rides - although they may have fairly high lateral forces on the body, they’re predictable and consistent pressure, so little worries about strain.

 

[DLgal]

You need to be really careful with a 2 year old on thrill rides. As mentioned, he probably lacks the upper body and core strength to hold his body in place during high speed turns and sudden drops.

I wouldn't even consider the following rides for a 2 year old:

Big Thunder Mountain
Matterhorn
Star Tours

Radiator Springs Racers is okay. Rise of the Resistance is okay.

 

[chezcurrie]

I still have to wrap my arms around my 7-year old on Big Thunder because he slides all over the seat. There is one drop as well that he popped right up. I personally would not feel safe bringing a 2 1/2 year old on this one. Rise my little went on super young and loved.

 

[ahhhshmatthew]

Lots of great info on this post added already; we have a much taller than average young daughter and my wife and I have gone back and forth on what to take her on. Quite frankly, what has really worked for us is showing her the rides on YouTube. We found that springing things on her, waiting in line, and letting whatever comes to mind when she knows nothing about an attraction is a sure way to basically make it a 50/50 toss-up whether she has fun or not. Once she has "virtually ridden" something on YT in anticipation of it a billion times, she is so excited to go on things it has made any anxiety much less of an issue. Hope that helps

 

[Tinkaboo]

You need to be really careful with a 2 year old on thrill rides. As mentioned, he probably lacks the upper body and core strength to hold his body in place during high speed turns and sudden drops.

I wouldn't even consider the following rides for a 2 year old:

Big Thunder Mountain
Matterhorn
Star Tours

Radiator Springs Racers is okay. Rise of the Resistance is okay.

Thank you, DLGal for bringing this up…a two-year-old‘s brain still needs a lot of development and all that shaking and vibrating could do damage not found until later. Sometimes, in a lot of circumstances and this pertains to children and adults, you have to stop and consider…just because you “can” does always mean you should.

Just an observation as a frequent visitor…I see a lot of young children in hysterics for one reason or another at the Happiest Place on Earth.

 

[bcla]

Just an observation as a frequent visitor…I see a lot of young children in hysterics for one reason or another at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Our first visit we just said we were going to "Mickey's House". I've got the photos and it pretty apparent how my kid enjoyed it. And strangely before then, my kid was scared of anyone in a costume. I went to a few games where my avoided the mascot, but that changed after visiting Disneyland.

 

[Original Goofy]

Our first visit we just said we were going to "Mickey's House". I've got the photos and it pretty apparent how my kid enjoyed it. And strangely before then, my kid was scared of anyone in a costume. I went to a few games where my avoided the mascot, but that changed after visiting Disneyland.

Similar for my kid many years ago. He was terrified of costumed people--whether in a parade or Chuckie Cheese. We were worried what he would do when we got to Disneyland. Well within a few minutes we came to the moment of truth when he saw Winnie the Pooh. He made a mad dash over to Pooh and gave him a big hug! So all was great until later when he saw Captain Hook--and he ran in the other direction. Good times.

 

[DizMe]

Similar for my kid many years ago. He was terrified of costumed people--whether in a parade or Chuckie Cheese. We were worried what he would do when we got to Disneyland. Well within a few minutes we came to the moment of truth when he saw Winnie the Pooh. He made a mad dash over to Pooh and gave him a big hug! So all was great until later when he saw Captain Hook--and he ran in the other direction. Good times.

When I was a kid, I disliked the costumed characters, no matter who they were! The only ones I liked were the face characters. I wasn't exactly afraid of them--I knew there were real people inside--but I did find them creepy, probably because I knew they WEREN'T real characters.

Now that I'm an adult, I've been known to get pictures and hugs with the costumed characters and even chat a bit so I guess I finally outgrew it.

 

[juxtapose]

My son did Radiator at 2. He thought it was okay and it felt safe at that age. Rise was good too. Big Thunder makes me nervous due to the shared lap bar so my kids were 6 before they went, so I’d only do that if you have a tiny adult to go with him. Soarin is another good 40” ride for younger, tall kids if he’s not afraid of heights.

 

[DLgal]

Just another thought. When they come up with ride height requirements, they are using a formula that also considers the AVERAGE weight AND age of a rider that size.

For 40 inches, you are talking the average 4 year old, weighing between 35 and 40 pounds. A child who meets these requirements would be safe to ride.

 

[Ryan120420]

Just another thought. When they come up with ride height requirements, they are using a formula that also considers the AVERAGE weight AND age of a rider that size.

For 40 inches, you are talking the average 4 year old, weighing between 35 and 40 pounds. A child who meets these requirements would be safe to ride.

Yes.

They just don't put height restrictions on rides arbitrarily. Height restrictions are based on the dynamics of the ride and what the best minimum height a person should be for the restraint to properly secure someone safely.

If a person meets the height requirement and follows all the safety rules while on the ride, that person will be fine.

​

 

[Malcon10t]

My granddaughter made 40" rides and 2.5 yo. As grandma, I opted to take her on Racers and Soarin', figuring other coaster like rides would be too rough. Next morning, Daddy showed up, and they hit every coaster. And she loved it. Only ride she "hated" was Tower. Now, at 12, she loves Guardian. She did start riding Tower a couple years later. Big Thunder, she loved. That said, Daddy or Auntie would put their arm around her. Didn't have issues. Issue we did have was she only wanted to do "the fast rides" after that. ETA - While she rode everything, brother HATED most rides until he was closer to 5. Even the Carousel he rode on the bench as the horses moved too much!