Petite (read: short) kids... height restrictions on rides?

[leslielightfoot]

we are doing the 7 day cruise but are staying at a disney resort for 2 days before. we are doing one day at Magic Kingdom. my son is 6 and 42" tall... shortie. will there be lots of rides for them to go on or will he be disappointed all day about going on baby rides?
my dd will be 4 and is probably 38"

 

[beth_cam]

How adventurous are they. I think a lot of stuff is 40 inches. a few are 44 inches. then 48 inches. My 7 year old barely met the 48 last time. While my son was 44 last time. They were pretty okay with what they could and couldnt ride, since they were pretty sacred to ride whatever they were too small for anyway. Some of the restrictions jus mean if they are smaller they have to have a grown up. Remember the heights are with shoes which gives them a bit of a boost.

 

[Goofyluver]

I will be traveling with my 4 year old niece. We have done lots of investigation because she is so tiny. Most rides are 40 inches, some are more, but not that many.

 

[U2_rocks!]

I'm in the same boat, OP! My 4 yo DD is about 38", my 5.5 yo DD is about 42". DS is OK - he's average height for 7, and will be able to do whatever he wants. I know my 4 yo will be upset that she can't go on the 40" rides that her sister is riding, but we have plans to separate at that time and do something else with her, some special treat that only she gets. Luckily my parents will be with us, so separating into 2 groups is even easier.

Here's what we're doing when our 2 girls (who are the same heights as your kids) can't ride the same thing:
- for Splash & Big Thunder (MK) - younger one gets a ymmy treat and goes over to Tom Sawyer Island to play; the others come over there after the rides
- for Everest and Dinosaur (AK) - younger one plays in Dinoland, riding the little ride and playing in the Boneyard
- for Soarin (Epcot) - younger one goes upstairs The Land to do the craft Kidcot station up there, or goes ahead to Nemo
- for Test Track (Epcot) - younger one plays in fountains, or goes ahead to the next attraction area (Mission Space has a cool area with no height restriction, there may be a ladybug release you could coordinate it with, or you could go to Character Connection).
- at MGM it's easy to split up - your DD would love a girly show like Voyage of the Little Mermaid while your DS is riding Star Tours. He won't be able to do Tower of Terror or RnR Coaster.

Hope this gives you some ideas!

 

[CleveRocks]

Here are Magic Kingdom height requirements:

Space Mountain -- 44 inches

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad -- 40 inches

Splash Mountain -- 40 inches

Stitch's Great Escape -- 40 inches

Goofy's Barnstormer -- 35 inches

And just as an FYI, my 6 year old is a veteran of Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Test Track, Mission:Space, Soarin', Dinosaur, and Expedition Everest. He loves thrill rides just like his parents. But he ALSO loves all of the rides in Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland, and he still loves Goofy's Barnstormer, not to mention Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, etc. My thrill-seeking son still loves all that stuff, so don't be too concerned that your 6 year old little guy will be too jaded to ride "baby" stuff.

 

[beth_cam]

- for Soarin (Epcot) - younger one goes upstairs The Land to do the craft Kidcot station up there, or goes ahead to Nemo
- for Test Track (Epcot) - younger one plays in fountains, or goes ahead to the next attraction area (Mission Space has a cool area with no height restriction, there may be a ladybug release you could coordinate it with, or you could go to Character Connection).

Hope this gives you some ideas!

I wanted to add if you can time it that downstairs at The Land is the Nestle spot where they have kids 'make' cookies. They all get to take part in making cookie dough and (adding, measuring, or mixing something) then putting cookie dough on the pan to be magically cooked and leave with two cookies they made (I think they actually throw out what the kids made, these have clearly been cooked previously). They get a chef hat with their name.

Dont forget the kidcot at test track as well. Both of these rides can take a long time even with fast passes.

 

[U2_rocks!]

I wanted to add if you can time it that downstairs at The Land is the Nestle spot where they have kids 'make' cookies. They all get to take part in making cookie dough and (adding, measuring, or mixing something) then putting cookie dough on the pan to be magically cooked and leave with two cookies they made (I think they actually throw out what the kids made, these have clearly been cooked previously). They get a chef hat with their name.

Dont forget the kidcot at test track as well. Both of these rides can take a long time even with fast passes.

Thanks for the Test Track tip - I'd forgotten about that one! I know about the cookie baking, but we're doing Soarin and the Land first thing in the morning, I'm not sure if they will be baking that early.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

My 6 year old ds is also 42". The only ride he couldn't go on in MK was Space Mountain. He was able to go on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain so he was pretty well satisfied. The harder part was when he was 39" and his sisters were tall enough to go on the bigger rides. I can say he got a lot of gift store items and mickey bars while we waited for DH to take the girls on the bigger rides!

 

[ohiominnie]

I wanted to add if you can time it that downstairs at The Land is the Nestle spot where they have kids 'make' cookies. They all get to take part in making cookie dough and (adding, measuring, or mixing something) then putting cookie dough on the pan to be magically cooked and leave with two cookies they made (I think they actually throw out what the kids made, these have clearly been cooked previously). They get a chef hat with their name.

Dont forget the kidcot at test track as well. Both of these rides can take a long time even with fast passes.

OH GOSH I HOPE SO!! We've seen kids picking their noses and doing various other "kid" stuff.
I'm sure they switch them out b/c the cookie dough placed on the trays is always not very uniform but yet the finished cookies come out (in just a matter of a few minutes) very perfectly round and all the same size. Plus they aren't the least bit warm!

My kids are 12 and 10 and they still love doing this (luckily they are small for their age so they don't look like big ol' teens barging in on the kid fun!)

 

[jenseib]

What exactly is Kidcot? I hear people metnion it alot. I know it's at EPCOT, but what is it? How do you find out about it and where it's at? What ages?

 

[crisi]

Epcot has kidcot stations around the world showcase. I think there are a few kidcot activities, but the big one is the masks - you pick up a mask and can color it in each country. They stamp it and tag it with a country symbol. When you have all the tags, they give you a certificate.

I think there are kidcot signs. Some of the kidcot stations are a little tucked back, some are in the shops.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Don't worry there are a "gajillion" things to do without going on any rides with height requirements. Some last year favorites of my then 3 and 7 year old: Buzz Lightyear, TTA, character meet and greets in Toontown, Small World, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Mickey's Philharmagic, the carousel, Pirates of the Carribean (if they are brave), and Spectromagic parade.
Since your DS will be tall enough for almost everything, if he wants to go on something like Splash Mountain (tons of fun!) you can either split up or do the child swap. One of you can ride with DS and when you get back off the other adult can go immediately on and DS will get to ride 2x in a row! You can do this with fast pass too. Just make sure to tell the first cast member you see at each ride and they will tell you exactly what to do. Have a great time.

 

[pigletof4]

This is the dilema(sp) that we will be facing this week. My ds is almost six, but is only about 42" tall and still only wears a size 4. I have also investigated which rides he can and cannot ride so there will not be any disappointment.

 

[SueM in MN]

here's a link to the DIS site's height calculator, in case you didn't see that.

 

[leslielightfoot]

thanks for all your answers.
when we go to canada's wonderland he is quite happy with all of the kid rides there so i think he/we will do great.

 

[beth_cam]

Dont forget that with shoes on they will be taller and that they could grow at any time. If it wouldnt cause an issue I'd check the height at the rides. Ours were pretty good in theory with this idea and right at 44 and 48 inches with shoes they got onto the rides so we didnt have to test the actual reaction to sorry not tall enough.

 

[deedeetoo]

I hate those height requirements. I know they are for the kids safety but sometimes it is so hard when a kid is ready for a ride but too short to go on it. My kids are also short and we've gone through this everytime we go. My DD8 (almost 9) is a daredevil and has really had a hard time on prior trips accepting that she was not tall enough for things. She is now 48" on the height chart at home so I am hoping, for her sake, that she will be able to do RNRRC this trip. My DS6 on the other hand doesn't like fast rides that go downhill. He is tall enough for all the 40" rides but is too afraid to go on them. Luckily for us my Mom is coming with us and ds just loves hanging out with Grandma while the rest of us go on the "scary" rides.