Security for our kids and my peace of mind

[thisthingsgottawork]

The caribiner idea:

I have a rope section about 6 inches long with one biner on each end. On rides where a small child will sit next to an adult, the lap bar winds up about five inches away from my childs waist, giving them no real protection. As we get on the ride, it is just a quick snap and we are side to side connected by the belt. As a last ditch effort to stop any premature exit from a ride where they might be less than restrained, this should limit their travel away from the full sized adult. Overkill. Maybe. As far as the poster who said it doesn't throw you around enough to throw you out (and if you go up, the lap bar stops you); uh, I rode it with my daughter last year and she was thrown around so much that I felt it might be a problem.

As far as the dog tag thing, yes, we will keep it undercover.

 

[maxiesmom]

The caribiner idea:

I have a rope section about 6 inches long with one biner on each end. On rides where a small child will sit next to an adult, the lap bar winds up about five inches away from my childs waist, giving them no real protection. As we get on the ride, it is just a quick snap and we are side to side connected by the belt. As a last ditch effort to stop any premature exit from a ride where they might be less than restrained, this should limit their travel away from the full sized adult. Overkill. Maybe. As far as the poster who said it doesn't throw you around enough to throw you out (and if you go up, the lap bar stops you); uh, I rode it with my daughter last year and she was thrown around so much that I felt it might be a problem.

As far as the dog tag thing, yes, we will keep it undercover.

You are over thinking it. There is no way Disney would let your child on a ride if they weren't sure they would be safe. If you are that concerned about a ride's safety, then you truly shouldn't be riding that ride. Yes, what you want to do is overkill, in a big way. Honestly, if you don't trust Disney to have the proper safety practices in place, if you think the parks are unsafe, then you really shouldn't be vacationing there.

 

[Canyon girl]

The caribiner idea:

I have a rope section about 6 inches long with one biner on each end. On rides where a small child will sit next to an adult, the lap bar winds up about five inches away from my childs waist, giving them no real protection. As we get on the ride, it is just a quick snap and we are side to side connected by the belt. As a last ditch effort to stop any premature exit from a ride where they might be less than restrained, this should limit their travel away from the full sized adult. Overkill. Maybe. As far as the poster who said it doesn't throw you around enough to throw you out (and if you go up, the lap bar stops you); uh, I rode it with my daughter last year and she was thrown around so much that I felt it might be a problem.

As far as the dog tag thing, yes, we will keep it undercover.

The one downside to this plan is this. If your child were thrown up and out, instead of being thrown clear, he or she would be dragged behind the car. I really think that your plan would cause more harm. I am coming from a like situation. I am smaller-Pooh sized with a daughter that is just downright skinny. When she was younger (tall enough to legally ride), she was bumped around a lot, too. I either just put my arm tightly around her waist to hold her close to me or just didn't ride the ride at all. If your child is bumping around as much as you imply, falling out is not your only worry. That is a lot of jiggling on the brain as well. Just skip those rides until she is able to ride comfortably. If you have 2 children of similar size, put the 2 kids together in front of you. I really think that your idea just may be a problem.

 

[jenpace]

The caribiner idea:

I have a rope section about 6 inches long with one biner on each end....

I understand what you're saying and assuming that your 6" rope and biners are structurally strong...how strong is the belt on your pants or your child's that you want to attach all this hardware to? It's something to think about...lets say for the sake of argument that the ride CM actually lets you and your child go on the ride tethered together like this with the 6" rope length. The movement of the ride will easily put a lot of horizontal stress on that rope, the biners and ultimately your two belts. If one or both of the belts comes undone or breaks and your set-up becomes unattached from the two of you it's a very dangerous projectile...for you and the other guests riding. Do you think your child would be safe tethered to your belt like this in a car going 30 - 40 mph?

If I were boarding this ride or any other and saw someone doing what you are proposing I would take my own kids off the ride immediately and bring it to the attention of a CM. I'm certain that most anyone else who saw the belt-rope-carabiner between you and your child would have the same reaction.

This is not anything to mess around with.

 

[jory29]

I understand what you're saying and assuming that your 6" rope and biners are structurally strong...how strong is the belt on your pants or your child's that you want to attach all this hardware to? It's something to think about...lets say for the sake of argument that the ride CM actually lets you and your child go on the ride tethered together like this with the 6" rope length. The movement of the ride will easily put a lot of horizontal stress on that rope, the biners and ultimately your two belts. If one or both of the belts comes undone or breaks and your set-up becomes unattached from the two of you it's a very dangerous projectile...for you and the other guests riding. Do you think your child would be safe tethered to your belt like this in a car going 30 - 40 mph?

If I were boarding this ride or any other and saw someone doing what you are proposing I would take my own kids off the ride immediately and bring it to the attention of a CM. I'm certain that most anyone else who saw the belt-rope-carabiner between you and your child would have the same reaction.

This is not anything to mess around with.

OP, I'm sure that a CM would ensure that this (makeshift so-called safety tethering device) doesn't happen - those CM's who did notice would be under instruction to let you know that you won't be allowed to do that. Disney has strict regulations on the ride, and making your own makeshift (untested and very potentially unsafe) 'safety' device by tethering yourself to your child would not be allowed. The rides in Disneyland are tested under vigorous settings, but not a park guest's own intervention in the ride seating and buckling up procedure. It sounds like you could hurt or injure your child with what you propose to do. If you are insistent to go ahead with it, you would need permission from Disneyland to ride in that manner, and as previously mentioned by others, I am positive that you will not obtain such a permission, and the Cast Members will not be allowed to allow you to create your own illusion of safety. We took our daughter when she was 4 years old, and she was tiny, but fared super on the rides, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Some rides I did offer my arm around her for extra support, and I felt comfortable with the safety offered. The only safety issue I faced was with Mullholland madness, when they moved the carts as I was trying to get my foot out. I hurt my back a little, but not enough to say something to them about it, but it put a downer on my trip that day. Anyway, I think people are posting about this for you because they are concerned for your childrens safety, as well as for yours and for other riders.

Edited to add: After further thought, I am also concerned- if your child needs to move/exit the ride quickly for their own safety, they will not be able to move because they will be attached to you... imagine going through the park all day in a 3-legged race event, tied to the other person... not so safe, due to one having to make different movements than the other, particularly in a ride, when you are heavier/taller and the child is lighter/smaller - your tether might actually create a worse force for your child than if they were able to just hang on tightly themselves to the bar, etc.

 

[disneynerd420]

I agree... I have a lot of smaller friends have ridden BTMRR with me and the lap bar doesn't even come close to touching them while I am struggling to breath since I have made it as tight as I could. While they are not the size of a small child, they have never been thrown from the vehicle.

Every time I go, I see small children riding with their fat (let's not sugar coat it) parents in BTMRR. No child has ever been thrown from the ride. I'm not trying to be rude but you are over thinking it

 

[jernysgirl]

Not that I want to over emphasize the point here, but I would *think* that if something were to ever happen to your child and Disney were to investigate the accident (which they always have to) I would think that your improvised security restraint might relieve them of any kind of responsibility (and void their compensation for injuries) for whatever, God forbid, had happened.

I could not agree more with the idea of simply putting your arm around them and holding on tight if you feel that concerned, but still want to ride.

Overall, I would say kudos for wanting to protect your child and keep them safe, but in the end I would say that I think there is only so much you can do as a parent before you get too caught up in trying to protect, that you forget about letting them enjoy the moment. If you are so concerned about the safety of a few rides that you feel you need to create your own safety device, are you really going to ever be having fun on that ride, with your own safety device or not?

 

[99haunts]

I would just like to offer a little encouragement. As has been stated, many children ride with pooh-size parents with no problems. It is Disney, and they do not want injuries on their hands. They will do whatever they can to insure safety, and I have no doubt that if it were a concern to a CM they would not allow you or your child to ride.

Please, do not try to make Disney more safe and potentially make it dangerous.

I want to encourage you to have fun and relax a little. I think that what you have done to prepare your kids in case they get lost is great. You have taken care of their personally safety. Disney will take care of their physical safety.

Youre job is done, now have relax and let the magic of Disney take you in! I know you'll have a great trip.

 

[Mugglemama]

i used to feel that there was enough room on the side of the BTMRR cars for my children to potentially slide out, even though i was not pooh-sized. i feel the same way on space mountain.

as a result, my husband each take this precaution when riding each of these rides: on BTMRR we hook one ankle around the leg of the child sitting next to us (after the bar is already down), and then also put an arm around the child, hooking our arm under the child's armpit farthest from us and then still holding onto the bar with both hands. we are essentially wrapped around the kids on that ride! might i suggest that you practice on your couch or on a couple of kitchen chairs pushed side by side as to how you might hold onto your child during this ride? my suggestion is to make sure your arms are essentially hooked under the arm farthest from you, and you are reaching forward to make sure both of your own hands are holding the safety bar. (kind of like how we used to ride double on a bicycle...with our arms hooked under the person in front of us while we still steered the handlebars.) i would strongly, STRONGLY advise against trying to fashion any sort of homemade restraint device.

for Space Mountain, i can't remember if we had room to wrap our ankle around their leg, but i do hold onto them in some way (most likely with my arm around her shoulder and gripping her tightly). the last time we were there, my youngest was tall enough to go, but we'd felt so insecure about our second-to-youngest riding it the year before, that we decided to just skip it until our next trip when they'll both be a few inches taller than the last time we were there.

we also hold onto our smaller kids on Splash....one of us sits behind each of the smaller kids, and wraps our arms around the back of their seat and around their tummies just before we are going to down any drops. not the most enjoyable way to experience the drops, but we're much more comfortable knowing the kids are snug and safe!

it will be so much more relaxing to go when all the kids are older, bigger, and we can ride the rides without stressing these things!

 

[thisthingsgottawork]

I have vivid memories of trying to hold onto someone else as they opened a parachute immediately after leaving an airplane. It is practically impossible to hold someone like that armed only with intent and human strength. You may be correct that it is a bad idea and that it is not allowed, but as far as being dragged by the ride, uh, it would only be six inches. As for strength, that length allows very little energy to build if we assume near 1 gravity of departure from any direction. I probably will not do this now, but I feel somewhat astonished by the near apoplectic reaction to an idea. I am dissapointed with many of you. Gee whiz.

 

[Disney Dreams]

I have vivid memories of trying to hold onto someone else as they opened a parachute immediately after leaving an airplane. It is practically impossible to hold someone like that armed only with intent and human strength. You may be correct that it is a bad idea and that it is not allowed, but as far as being dragged by the ride, uh, it would only be six inches. As for strength, that length allows very little energy to build if we assume near 1 gravity of departure from any direction. I probably will not do this now, but I feel somewhat astonished by the near apoplectic reaction to an idea. I am dissapointed with many of you. Gee whiz.

thisthingsgottawork,

I think people are trying to be helpful. I personally believe that everyone here appreciates the passion with which you want to protect your child. I am not sure why you are "disappointed with many," but I would implore you to think about a scenario in which an evacuation is necessary, but not possible because 2 of you are attached to each other and the CMs cannot free you from the ride car. It simply creates a dangerous situation.

While I personally believe that all rides in the Park are safe, monitored, and regulated, if you personally do not feel that a ride is safe for your family, I am a firm believer that you should simply skip it.

Again, good for you for wanting to so thoroughly protect your loved ones. Maybe BTMRR is not a ride for your family.

I hope this comes across with the care that it is meant,
Dreams

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Yes as an attractions cast member I definitely would not reccomend creating your own safety device. Although you might not realize it, it has the potential to create an additional hazard or risk. I would not dispatch a train/car with a guest using some made up safety device. Its just not safe. Sorry

 

[nunzia]

You are over thinking it. There is no way Disney would let your child on a ride if they weren't sure they would be safe. If you are that concerned about a ride's safety, then you truly shouldn't be riding that ride. Yes, what you want to do is overkill, in a big way. Honestly, if you don't trust Disney to have the proper safety practices in place, if you think the parks are unsafe, then you really shouldn't be vacationing there.

I agree 99% and have no qualms letting kids ride. We do hold tight when we think we should. However, I do go back in my mind to the story of the boy who somehow fell out of Roger Rabbit when he was 3 or 4 and was badly injured. He died a few months ago, as a result of the injuries and there was articles about it all over. I guess that tragedy changed the Roger Rabbit cars, but still..things can happen, and you don't want it to be your kid who shows that a design needs to be changed.

 

[jenpace]

I probably will not do this now, but I feel somewhat astonished by the near apoplectic reaction to an idea. I am dissapointed with many of you. Gee whiz.

I'm sorry if you're disappointed with the response to your idea to keep your child safe, I don't think the replies that you got were at all over the top or even "near apoplectic".


Nothing is more important than making sure our kids are safe...we can all agree about that

 

[pixiewings71]

I have vivid memories of trying to hold onto someone else as they opened a parachute immediately after leaving an airplane. It is practically impossible to hold someone like that armed only with intent and human strength. You may be correct that it is a bad idea and that it is not allowed, but as far as being dragged by the ride, uh, it would only be six inches. As for strength, that length allows very little energy to build if we assume near 1 gravity of departure from any direction. I probably will not do this now, but I feel somewhat astonished by the near apoplectic reaction to an idea. I am dissapointed with many of you. Gee whiz.

You're comparing jumping out of an airplane to a ride at DL. NO comparison. Of course you would have a near impossible time holding onto someone who is falling at a huge rate of speed towards the ground. Yes, coasters go fast but not nearly as fast as falling towards the earth. It's apples to oranges.

And that's 6 inches too far!!!!! And HOW do you know they would be able to stop the ride fast enough that your child isn't dragged much farther than you think, I understand the 6 inches is the space between your belt and thiers but this is a BAD idea. It's very unsafe and the CM's will not allow it!! Disney has very tight restrictions on things like this, if the ride was unsafe they wouldn't let you ride it. When we ride BTMRR we put the kids in a car in front of us and DBF and I ride together. While we aren't "pooh-sized" in any way the girls are much closer in size to each other and able to fit together better so it feels safer. I would suggest you simply put your children in a car together and the larger adults ride in a car together, that would be MUCH safer than tying your child to you!! And yes, if I saw you do that and the CM did not notice I would point it out.

We are supposed to think this is a GREAT idea? I'm disappointed that you would consider doing this.

And no, I hold nothing against those who use "leashes" to keep their children close at hand, this is tying your child to you on a ride, it's a baaaaaad idea!!!!!

 

[kelmac284]

Let me tell you the idea of taking the picture every day is one of THE best ideas out there. I lost my daughter at the State Fair which was just as crazy as DL. We got off a ride and we were heading to the rest room. She was right behind me and I turned around and she was gone! I FREAKED and instantly in a panic could NOT remember what she was wearing. I was too busy wanting the guards to close all the gates which they would NOT do! Unlike Disney there were SEVERAL exits to that place.

Luckily I have had my kids memorize our cell numbers long ago as we only have cell phones and no land lines so that is the only phones we have and I made them memorize our numbers AND our physical address for when they were at home if they ever got lost etc. But the photo idea is a great one because as I said I can tell you from personal experience when you are in a panic you can and prob WILL forget!

 

[bumbershoot]

for Space Mountain, i can't remember if we had room to wrap our ankle around their leg, but i do hold onto them in some way (most likely with my arm around her shoulder and gripping her tightly). the last time we were there, my youngest was tall enough to go, but we'd felt so insecure about our second-to-youngest riding it the year before, that we decided to just skip it until our next trip when they'll both be a few inches taller than the last time we were there.

From riding Space last March with another adult (stacerita!), I am 99.999999% sure that we each had our own lap bars. This isn't a problem/issue/concern with Space at all. I think it used to be different, but it's a lap bar for each person now.


The only ride I can think about this situation being a concern, off the top of my head, is Big Thunder and Gadget's. Yeah, Monsters and Pooh have a shared lap bar, but they are hardly rides that cause concern for being thrown out. there are a few more (I was just looking at the list of attractions and remembering which one are bars vs individual bars vs belts (shared and not shared) but again, not a throwing-out concern.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

We did the sharpie on the arm thing. We only put 'if lost please call' and our cell phone numbers. We called our kids by nicknames in the park, not sure that's gonna help anything..but we told my FIL that there was no way we'd wear monogramed shirts. NOOOO way.

Anyway, I'm pretty anal about certain things, carseats is one of them. I feel like putting my children in a carseat until they're 80 lbs is appropriate. I say this so you can see that I'm pretty uh..well I already said it. Anal.

The rides at Disneyland did NOT cause any sort of concern for me. Even BTMRR. I'm even mini pooh sized. The one ride that DID cause concern for me was Matterhorn and it was more of a whiplash deal and we just won't ride it again for a few years.

If you're this concerned, I'd skip it. For real. No reason to cause yourself major anxiety..but I for REAL would NOT tie my child to myself. I put my arm around them to help soften turns, etc. That's my biggest concern on those types of rides.

If it helps, look up Disneyland history for accidents and what they involved. If I remember correctly they were all improper usage (aside from the Matterhorn one where it slammed into another car right?)

 

[Mugglemama]

From riding Space last March with another adult (stacerita!), I am 99.999999% sure that we each had our own lap bars. This isn't a problem/issue/concern with Space at all. I think it used to be different, but it's a lap bar for each person now.

yep, now that i think about it, i think you are totally accurate here. the problem is, my daughter is a skinny-minnie, lol, so even with her bar down as far as it will go, it still "feels" to me like there's technically enough room for her to slide out. for instance, she could likely slide out at the end of the ride without the bars even coming up.

so, i just held onto her the whole time. i never felt like she WAS going to fall out, i just felt like there was potential for her to fit through the space on the side of the car.

i am super, super nutty about child safety, though, lol!

 

[jory29]

thisthingsgottawork,

I would implore you to think about a scenario in which an evacuation is necessary, but not possible because 2 of you are attached to each other and the CMs cannot free you from the ride car. It simply creates a dangerous situation.

Bingo. You hit the nail on the head.