Proof that the height measuring sticks aren't all the same

[ArcticWildMan]

On our recent trip, my youngest daughter was right at the 44" limit. She was checked 3 times on Test Track and she just barely touched the bar. Whn we went to MK and got in line for Space Mountain, she was measured before she entered and again she just BARELY touched the bar. Once we worked our way through the line, they checked her right before she was allowed on the ride and suddenly she was 2 inches short. Needless to say, my daughter (5) was heartbroken about not being allowed on the ride. I asked to speak with the head person that managed the CM's on Space Mountain to ask why there was such a difference in measurements and she took us to the other side and measured my daughter herself. Surprise, surprise, she suddenly grew another inch and was let on the ride.

Makes me wonder how many other poor kids have been turned away at the last moment because the measuring bar was 46" inches instead of 44".

Don't be afraid to ask for somebody else to measure your child if you are positive they are tall enough to ride an attraction. Not all measurement devices are accurate.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

I agree that everyone measures a little differently.....

Our DD had her heart set on riding the Dinosaur ride at AK but when we went to the attraction, the person at the front measured her and said she was too small. This was something we were prepared for, so no big deal.

Because our DD loves dinosaurs, we asked if there was anything she could see in the exhibit. The CM said she could see the pre-show and then turn off at the exit. So, we went in to the preshow and followed everyone down the ride to turnoff. As we went to turnoff, the CM at the turnoff measured our DD again and said "she's tall enough".

What a surprise! We asked our DD what she wanted to do and she said she wanted to ride it. The ride itself is a whole other story (the picture taken has me holding my hand over her eyes and trying to cover her ears!).

Needless to say, the measurements can be quite different.

 

[dmfuru]

I thought the height requirement at Test Track was 40 inches, and the requirement at Space Mountain was 44 inches.

 

[HappyMommy2]

Wow, have they upped the restriction for Test Track? My 40" DS rode it in July! He'll be disappointed if he can't ride next time we go!

That's too bad about the unfair measuring sticks. Seems like that's one thing that would be pretty simple to standardize.

 

[ear_poppin]

My DS is the same "just" 44 inches exactly. Knowing how he will react if he is promised a ride and then not let on I may well take a little fabric measure tape just in case!

 

[chirsty'smom]

There definitely needs to be a standardized measuring system for WDW. I would hate to disappoint any child, especially when they are told at the beginning that they can ride.
I measured our DS yesterday to see what if any of the rides he'll be able to enjoy & which ones we'll save for a later date. Hopefully my ruler measures like theirs.

With that aside...

What worries me is when parents, just as eager as their children try a variety of ways to "Fake" their child's height - certain shoes, wearing their hair up high, heel lifts etc...these requirements are for their safety. You wouldn't let your child ride a roller coaster that didn't have proper harnesses...so why let your child ride something that is not engineered to "fit" their small size. We all protect our children and want them OUT of harms way so don't let the excitement of WDW cloud important decisions!

Okay done preaching....

 

[JBurke]

We had this same problem in August with our son who is exactly 40 inches. Sometimes he measured just fine, sometimes they would say he is too short.
My husband said they should have a standard measurer when you enter the park and give wristbands or something for the child to wear that day proving he is whatever height the official measurer said. It sure would avoid time wasted in line with the CMs measuring and re-measuring your child.

 

[elemusing]

Originally posted by JBurke
My husband said they should have a standard measurer when you enter the park and give wristbands or something for the child to wear that day proving he is whatever height the official measurer said.

THAT is a GREAT idea!

 

[disrailfan]

DW and I were at MGM this last week on our annual Christmas Decorations trip to the world. It is funny that this topic came up. I saw this family have their daughter measured at the front of RNR and then after spending 35 minutes in the line they got to the front of the line where the cast member measured again and the CM could pass her fingers between the top of her head and the bottom of the measuring stick. I thought that this was kind of odd but the family did not push it other than being upset that they just spent 35 minutes in a line to ride a ride that their daughter could not ride when they could have been doing something else.

 

[slp87]

My husband said they should have a standard measurer when you enter the park and give wristbands or something for the child to wear that day proving he is whatever height the official measurer said.

Something like this was tried at Disneyland a while back, but for some reason was unsuccessful.

Here's the article when it was implemented, but I couldn't find the one that told about it being disconinued. I think it would be a great idea.
http://www.mouseplanet.com/akrock/ak011212.htm

 

[ear_poppin]

My DS got an armband in Californian Adv last year. His was blue...I think that was 44" and could go on all rides with the blue code on them. It worked out great and he understood perfectly which rides he should go on.

 

[TowerBellhop]

Originally posted by disrailfan
I saw this family have their daughter measured at the front of RNR and then after spending 35 minutes in the line they got to the front of the line where the cast member measured again and the CM could pass her fingers between the top of her head and the bottom of the measuring stick.

Did the parents do their own measuring of the child at the front of the line, or was there a CM involved? If they waited that long and were turned away without incident, it would seem like they knew she wasn't tall enough, and were just trying to "pull a fast one"...

This mostly just brings to mind all the times that a parent saying "Stand up *tall* honey" was interpreted by the child as "Stand on your toes honey". And the parents always thought that I was too stupid to get it. Please don't be those parents Also, CM's are not allowed to count a parent's hand as part of the child's height - so don't use your hand as the top of the measurement.

I do agree that they need a standard. Wasn't there some kind of "Laser Height-Checker" being implemented, possibly along with the aforementioned wristbands. When I worked at Six Flags, we used to have various height hand stamps, but that is a whole different can of worms...

Take care,
Jay

 

[Geoff_M]

A lot of it depends on what type of measuring device they use. I've seen three different types used at WDW:
1) Wooden sticks with a rubber foot and a short cross arm at the top.
2) Plastic "L"
3) Rigid metal measuring stand.

The wooden sticks are the most inaccurate from what I've seen. The rubber foot makes it easy to knowingly or unknowingly tilt the stick forwards or backwards and alter the tip of the cross arm at the top by +/- an inch or two. We have a son that was first passed onto RnR and then initially rejected by a different CM with the same stick when we queued up after doing the baby swap.

The plastic "L" have a flat edge at the bottom, so they are more accurate... but still have some "fudge" room.

The metal stands appear to be the most accurate.

Which type(s) of devices did you have used in these cases?

 

[sha_lyn]

On our recent trip, my youngest daughter was right at the 44" limit. She was checked 3 times on Test Track and she just barely touched the bar.

The height restriction for TT is 40 inches, so I certainly see how she would not make the 44 inches for Space Mountain if she barely made it on TT.

 

[Vavasmon]

We take a family trip to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio every summer. Most other parks could learn a lot from them on the issue of height measurements. There are approx. 5 places in the park where children can be officially measured. A colored band (that matches the sign/stick) is the placed on the childs wrist. The CM then initials and dates the band across the end (to make it very difficult to alter). Anyone who is close to a height for a restricted ride is strongly encourage to get a band. If you don't have a band and fall into a marked zone on the height stick the child must be mesured with the "swinging metal bar" to elimate angels etc. Sr. management at the park takes this issue very seriously (and so therefore so does the staff). They also make kids take off any shoe with more than a standard heel and check shoes for risers. The staff at the official points is always more Sr. type staff.

With the band there is no question as to the skill of the person doing the measurement nor argurements when a child has waited almost an hour to be turned away. They have height checkers at the entrance to the lines (including their freeway (simialr to fastpass)).

My dd has been to parks since she was 3. She just turned 8 and is 54 inches tall). I have a lot of experience with a just tall enough child. We have a nice collection of 44, 48,and 52 bands. She just missed 54 in August (but made it in Oct at 2 other parks). We have the bands along with the pictures in a scrapbook.

 

[Efastpitch]

Originally posted by elemusing
THAT is a GREAT idea!

Another vote for that's a GREAT IDEA!

 

[beattyfamily]

My DD is just 48 inches. We were so worried about RnR measuring because she wanted to ride it so badly. She made it!!!!

Every ride we encountered that she needed to be measured on had the permenant wall mounted measuring stick. I think those are best.

I've noticed they don't check very well at the main entrance sometimes like at RnR so you could sneak you kid in and then find out later when they measure again that you kid doesn't actually make it. Maybe that is what happened to that family who waited 35 minutes.

I know I'd be VERY angry if we were measured at the entrance and got the OK and then were measured again right before getting on the ride and find out she doesn't make it! I'd certainly put up a stink!

 

[dejr_8]

I'm guilty of finding "tall" shoes so that my DS(5) could ride MS and Space Mountain. (Loved MS did not like Space Mountain because it was in the dark). Even with the tall shoes has was just at 44 inches.

The CMs at MS space were telling him to stand tall, don't lean, and take a depth breath to make sure he was tall enough. They wanted him to be able to ride (maybe that was just to have people on the ride so it looked busy).

 

[pjlla]

We just measured DS the other day, figuring he was tall enough for everything.... He came in at just 47"...... one inch too short for RNR!! Oh well.......he may have been too scared of it anyhow. And while it is tempting to somehow "fudge" his height (bring along his cowboy boots!), I fully understand why they have these requirements and intend to honor them. These parents who buy their children 3 inch platform shoes and put their hair in a beehive for the day are really doing their children (not to mention the parks) a disservice. THERE IS A REASON FOR THE RULES!! How would you feel if your child were injured (or worse) and the findings were that they weren't really tall enough to fit in the safety harness properly. Could you live with yourself? OVER A THEME PARK RIDE??? I fully understand a child's disappointment/anger over not being able to ride, but they have to be made to understand that it is a RULE (i.e. a LAW) to keep them safe.

And while my children tend to run tall (genes from my husband's side of the family), I certainly understand the flip side of the coin with kids small for their ages. My children are 8 1/2 and almost 6. They are almost the same height as my brother's children, who are almost 11 and 8 1/2. My nephews are very small for their ages and during their first trip to WDW were unable to go on a lot of rides other kids their ages (including my kids) were able to ride. I'm sure they were disappointed. But imagine their excitement this last time they went this earlier this year when they were finally tall enough for everything!!

ANYHOW.... I will step off my self-righteous soapbox now. Hope I didn't offend anyone!! ............P

 

[dejr_8]

It you want to get scientific about it an overall height requirement is an overly conservative metrix for determing the suitability for a ride.

On a ride that has an over the shoulder harness, the important measurement would be from the center of the hip to the center of the shoulder. How long a child's legs are doesn't matter. But this would be difficult to measure in practice so overall height is used for convenience.

From another point of view, does it really matter that the 44" inches is composed of bone and flesh or combination of bone, flesh and an extra thick shoe. The measurement from bottom of shoe to top of head is still 44 inches.