Ride height measurement

[Dreamer24]

Does anyone know if the measuring stick for rides is exactly the ride height requirement or if it is an inch or so taller to account for shoes?

My son is 39.5 inches barefoot and exactly 40 inches with his sneakers. I'm wondering if he will make it on the 40 inch rides or if we should not waste our time.

 

[siren0119]

Does anyone know if the measuring stick for rides is exactly the ride height requirement or if it is an inch or so taller to account for shoes?

My son is 39.5 inches barefoot and exactly 40 inches with his sneakers. I'm wondering if he will make it on the 40 inch rides or if we should not waste our time.

Measuring can be a little inconsistent, and if they're close can be at the discretion of the CMs who will just about always err on the side of safety. When it's super close like that, teach them to stand super straight before the trip, and when you approach rides that have the 40" requirement, treat it as a "hey, let's see if you are tall enough for this one" rather than setting an expectation that might not be met. And I'm not sure when your trip is, but my 3 boys had this crazy habit of randomly growing a half inch out of literally nowhere, so it's entirely possible that by the time the trip rolls around you might be fine

 

[CastAStone]

My son who measured 41" at the doctor in socks barely got his head past the 40" mark with shoes on at every single ride. Soarin seemed to be the highest bar to clear but each and every time I had to hold my breath and see if they'd let him ride (they all did).

25+ years ago, my father balled up my sister's socks and put them under her heels to get her on Splash Mountain.

 

[CastAStone]

PS at Dinosaur they measure 3 times so you have 3 chances to get tossed. Also I would never bring a small child on Dinosaur again.

 

[Dreamer24]

My son who measured 41" at the doctor in socks barely got his head past the 40" mark with shoes on at every single ride. Soarin seemed to be the highest bar to clear but each and every time I had to hold my breath and see if they'd let him ride (they all did).

25+ years ago, my father balled up my sister's socks and put them under her heels to get her on Splash Mountain.

This is really helpful. Thank you.

 

[JakeAZ]

Everything I've read says it's going to be a different scenario at each ride. Unfortunately.

They can pass the stick at the line entrance and still have the possibility of not getting on at loading.

It's super frustrating as a parent, but Disney appears to have no appetite to standardize things.

Do a quick search and there is a really long thread of people and their first hand accounts.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Does anyone know if the measuring stick for rides is exactly the ride height requirement or if it is an inch or so taller to account for shoes?

My son is 39.5 inches barefoot and exactly 40 inches with his sneakers. I'm wondering if he will make it on the 40 inch rides or if we should not waste our time.

i would make a stick to practice at home. had a grandson who would duck slightly under bar because he did not want to hit his head. even though he was over the height by a bit when he went under it was a no ride. it is different than standing next to a wall. also remember there can be 2 measure points and it is the second one that will decide if he can ride

 

[DW2010]

Now it's been over 9 years ago but my daughter was the exact same measurement...39.5" without shoes and 40" with shoes and rode every 40" ride she wanted to. This included TOT which actually nobody checked her height for surprisingly.

 

[blizzard]

Yup, when my son was right about 40”, he was measured at Test Track and allowed to ride. Right after, we went to Soarin’. They measured and said no. They refused to remeasure, even after we told them he had just ridden TT.

 

[agamble]

I haven't taken kids to WDW yet (this summer!), but at Disneyland all but one of the height markers are very accurate. There is one that people have measured that is way off. What I like about Disney's height markers is they have them cemented in the ground. At other parks people hold sticks and measure kids that way and it can be very inaccurate. Disney's permanent markers are nice. One tip I've seen over and over is to ride a ride they may have trouble getting on early in the day. We shrink as the day goes on. Also, let your kid know that if they ride it one day they may get told no the next. When my daughter was 2.5 she rode Gadget's Coaster (similar to Barnstormer) twice in a row. On the third time through the queue we were told she was too short. She was wearing skidders, which have little sole, so the next day she wore different shoes and got on again. So wear good shoes and try early in the morning.

 

[DisneyOma]

I haven't taken kids to WDW yet (this summer!), but at Disneyland all but one of the height markers are very accurate. There is one that people have measured that is way off. What I like about Disney's height markers is they have them cemented in the ground. At other parks people hold sticks and measure kids that way and it can be very inaccurate. Disney's permanent markers are nice. One tip I've seen over and over is to ride a ride they may have trouble getting on early in the day. We shrink as the day goes on. Also, let your kid know that if they ride it one day they may get told no the next. When my daughter was 2.5 she rode Gadget's Coaster (similar to Barnstormer) twice in a row. On the third time through the queue we were told she was too short. She was wearing skidders, which have little sole, so the next day she wore different shoes and got on again. So wear good shoes and try early in the morning.

I don't think all of the stick measures at WDW are cemented in - some are moveable.

 

[agamble]

I don't think all of the stick measures at WDW are cemented in - some are moveable.

At Great America and Six Flags they use these white poles with colored sections that represent different heights. Depending on how they hold the stick it can change how tall the kid is and whether they're tall enough or not. It's very inaccurate.

 

[maxiesmom]

Everything I've read says it's going to be a different scenario at each ride. Unfortunately.

They can pass the stick at the line entrance and still have the possibility of not getting on at loading.

It's super frustrating as a parent, but Disney appears to have no appetite to standardize things.

Do a quick search and there is a really long thread of people and their first hand accounts.

Rather, I think they haven't found a way to standardize measuring that isn't easy for someone to manipulate, or that would take a good bit of extra time for guests.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

When we were at WDW last week, I figured my daughter was too short for the 44” rides, and didn’t plan on taking her on any. She is fearless and will ride anything so she asked to be measured at FOP. She had gone through a growth spurt so I figured why not? Maybe she is tall enough. And she was! No question, top of her head hit the bar. She passed the other 2 height checkpoints easily and rode with me. Then, when my husband returned with her for rider switch (because my son is still too short) the new CM at the post looked at her and said “no way.” My daughter went to the bar, and he said “nope” even though her head was touching the bar. My husband told him she had just gotten off the ride and he said “I don’t care.” I understand this is for safety, and would never send my child on a ride she is too small for. This CM was very rude and dismissive and her head WAS touching the bar. I came over and said she had just passed 3 checkpoints to ride with me and asked him to look at her head touching the bar. He wouldn’t even look. Another CM saw this and came over and confirmed she was tall enough, and overruled the other CM. He looked at the other CM like “what is the problem here?” and the other CM said “I don’t know what happened before, her head wasn’t touching.” He had barely looked. She then passed the other 2 checkpoints easily.

There is inconsistency between bars and even the CMs are at their own discretion.

 

[FallsChurchDad]

Rather, I think they haven't found a way to standardize measuring that isn't easy for someone to manipulate, or that would take a good bit of extra time for guests.

It's hard to believe they have had magic bands for what, 6 or 7 years now, and they haven't figured out how to utilize the magic band technology in any useful way, but this is the most obvious. They could have a "height measurement station" by guest services in each park, take a picture and a height measurement there (which families could do PPO, and ideally just once at the beginning of the trip), and then call that up at a scanner at each ride that has a height requirement. If they want to be extra safe, they could require a finger scan right before you board, to ensure that the band wasn't switched.

None of this would be free for Disney, but it would be a unique, memorable solution, and it would improve the guest experience SO much -- it would remove all uncertainty for parents, it would actually make height measurement/confirmation fun for the kids, and it would reduce the lines at FP entry points, which are often stopped up with measuring kids.

I can't believe there is not a unit in Parks that spends their time thinking, "We spent over $1bn on magic bands, how can we use the bands to improve guest experience, or in other ways that will set Disney apart from every other theme park?"

Our boys are 9, 6 and 2 right now, so we are still in the thick of this. For families with a few kids spread out, there is maybe a 10-year period where they are watching at least one of their kids get measured every time they go to a theme park.

 

[JakeAZ]

and he said “I don’t care.”

Your entire post is infuriating, but this is the worst part. I would have lost my mind at that point haha. I'm glad another CM came over and made things right.

 

[maxiesmom]

It's hard to believe they have had magic bands for what, 6 or 7 years now, and they haven't figured out how to utilize the magic band technology in any useful way, but this is the most obvious. They could have a "height measurement station" by guest services in each park, take a picture and a height measurement there (which families could do PPO, and ideally just once at the beginning of the trip), and then call that up at a scanner at each ride that has a height requirement. If they want to be extra safe, they could require a finger scan right before you board, to ensure that the band wasn't switched.

None of this would be free for Disney, but it would be a unique, memorable solution, and it would improve the guest experience SO much -- it would remove all uncertainty for parents, it would actually make height measurement/confirmation fun for the kids, and it would reduce the lines at FP entry points, which are often stopped up with measuring kids.

I can't believe there is not a unit in Parks that spends their time thinking, "We spent over $1bn on magic bands, how can we use the bands to improve guest experience, or in other ways that will set Disney apart from every other theme park?"

Our boys are 9, 6 and 2 right now, so we are still in the thick of this. For families with a few kids spread out, there is maybe a 10-year period where they are watching at least one of their kids get measured every time they go to a theme park.

So how would you ensure a child kept their own band ,and a parent wouldn't trade them? Heck people have thought my sister and I are twins before,and we have a 3 year age difference. I'm just 4 inches taller.

And yeah, a measuring station(another line) add another finger scan(another bottleneck) and still have parents angry because we all know there are times the finger scans don't work. Nothing you have posted is user friendly or foolproof any more than what they are doing now.

 

[Feberin]

They could offer height measuring at Disney Springs or check if they're unsure. Most theme parks I've been to with kids offer this when you arrive and give you a card with a list of rides they can do or cheap paper band. It should be pretty obvious if magic bands are being switched unless it's twins who are a inch apart. If the kids are three inches apart or something it should be pretty obvious that it isn't the right kid.

 

[maxiesmom]

The cheap paper bands are easy enough to get on and off. Kind of pointless to do a system such as that, and still have to double check kids, just to be sure.

 

[2019TripIdeas]

We are just back from a trip. My son was 39.3" (we literally measured him the morning we left) without shoes on before our trip. With his shoes on, he was JUST skimming the sticks. He's a 3 year old and I think about 40th percentile of height for his age, if that's helpful. We'd prepared him for the possibility of not getting to ride and getting re-measured.

He did get remeasured at the platform on literally everything that was 40" and on several things that were 38". On one occasion (Soarin' I think) the cast member called another CM over to do a double look at the stick. That said, they allowed him to ride everything in the end. Our 5 year old was actually 44" and they also double checked her several times to make sure her head touched.

From my perspective, he seemed to hit the 40" mark about the same on everything (a true skim with just the very crown of his head touching the stick).