ride height requirements

[Debs1963]

Our son is just shy of 40 inches. ( a tiny 4yo). I am confused about height requirements. Is there any rides he will be able to go on? Does 40 inches mean he can't go on alone but can ride if someone goes with him? What can he do if not allowed to go on many rides? Should we wait and bring him when he is taller?

 

[mom2att]

Your son can ride many, many rides in the park. I'm assuming most of these would be with you, as I can't imagine putting a 4-year-old on the rides alone. Besides, it's a good excuse for you to not miss out on the fun as well! A few of the rides do have a 40" height requirement, meaning the child cannot ride at all unless they are 40". Even fewer rides have a 44" height requirement. We came to the parks frequently when our dd was 4, and are back again this year now that ds is 4. We have found that the rides with height requirements are rides that are too much for our kids anyway--they're not really thrill seekers, much to Mommy's chagrin. Rides at MK with 40" height requirements are: Big Thunder Mountain RR and Splash Mountain. Space Mountain has a 44" height req. The Speedway has a 52" height req. to ride alone. Everything else is fair game and tons of fun! At EPCOT, Test Track and Body Wars have 40" reqs., Mission Space is 44". MGM has Star Tours and Tower of Terror with 40", Rock'n' Roller Coaster at 48". The only ride at AK with a height req. is Kali River Rapids, and that's 38".


Have a great time--I think four is the perfect age for Disney!
Barbie

 

[all4fun]

Our son is just shy of 40 inches. ( a tiny 4yo). I am confused about height requirements. Is there any rides he will be able to go on? Does 40 inches mean he can't go on alone but can ride if someone goes with him? What can he do if not allowed to go on many rides? Should we wait and bring him when he is taller?

There are lots of rides he can go on! There are just a few he won't be able to go on since he won't meet the height requirement. If you click on this link:
Disney height requirement calculator you can find out which rides he will not be able to enjoy this trip. An adult will have to wait outside with him.

If there is more than one adult (or other, bigger children who can ride, then you can ask the CM at the ride entrance for a "child swap" pass, while one adult waits with the child, the rest of the party enters the standby line (or the Fastpass line if you got FP's earlier in the day), after they exit the ride, one of the adults who just rode switches places and waits with the child while the first adult who waited gets in the Fastpass line (fyi: up to 3 people can use one child swap pass) to go on the ride. I hope that makes sense!

Another tip, some rides have a 40" height limit, so when they measure your ds, make sure he's standing with his back straight and his feet together so they get the correct measurement!

hth,
Cheryl

 

[EthansMom]

Also, the height requirement includes shoes on. I don't know if you measured your son with or without shoes, but that might make enough of a difference if he's an intrepid soul who must do Splash Mountain.