Shoes to add height for kiddos?

[JJIRmom]

I'm kind of in the same situation, my 4 1/2 yr old measures exactly 38" with his shoes on, but I want to ensure he will be able to ride 7DMT. I wouldn't buy anything crazy but most sneaker do add on at least 1/2 in height. I may look into crocs as another poster said seeing how they may add a bit of height so my son doesn't get denied for being like an 1/8 inch too short.

 

[MHofeners]

I appreciate the safety concerns, but I am talking 1/2 in -1 in! Not looking to buy platforms or anything outrageous or risk my children's safety lol! I am merely wondering if Stride Rite, for example, might have a thicker sole than say Sketchers and if that little bit gets them to 40 or 44 inches, respectively, I think they will be perfectly safe They are medium build, solid boys - probably just above average for their height. For what its worth - the hubs is a transportation engineer and we are car seat safety sticklers - so I totally get where some of the posters are coming from - but again we are talking about 1/2 if an inch here...

does spiked hair count lol?

Oh and trip is in 9 days!!!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

have seen CMs push hair down so spiked hair would call more attention to your child make the CM be more careful with measuring. yes they are that careful with measuring if a piece of paper can be pushed between your child's head and bar, child will not ride. and as said by others making first measure does not mean anything if child is too short at second. I would just have child prepared that even with shoes they might not make it

 

[kohlby]

I would not try to cheat the system. If you're only trying to get half an inch, then regular sneakers will work- the running shoe style. I agree with some others to prepare your kids for not reaching it - or reaching it sometimes and not others. Also, do the rides they are borderline for in the morning. As for taking shoes off, I've heard of this happening before. My kids have never had to do it but they've always worn regular sneakers.

When my daughter was 3.5, she measured tall enough for Test Track outside, and inside. They were letting us skip the pre-show stuff (this was before the update), so we were back in line fast. She again made it in both spots. But the third time, she didn't measure tall enough once inside - even though the same person had measured her no more than 15 minutes prior.

 

[tiggergal15]

I'll add my negative vote too...please don't encourage false hope in your child....and cause them to be unsafe...even if you get shoes that make them taller..any CM can outvote shoes and say no...now you have a situation go from great to bad.. Be prepared and don't chance it. Just plan on attractions that are 100% rideable...save the rest for next time and give your kids something to look forward to!!

 

[mjkacmom]

OP, I get what you are saying. Your child has to wear shoes anyway, so you might as bring ones that make it more likely he can ride. That will make absolutely no difference in safety. As for those who say he can just enjoy it next time, I'm guessing that for the majority of WDW visitors, it's a one and done vacation.

 

[Gracie09]

I appreciate the safety concerns, but I am talking 1/2 in -1 in! Not looking to buy platforms or anything outrageous or risk my children's safety lol! I am merely wondering if Stride Rite, for example, might have a thicker sole than say Sketchers and if that little bit gets them to 40 or 44 inches, respectively, I think they will be perfectly safe They are medium build, solid boys - probably just above average for their height. For what its worth - the hubs is a transportation engineer and we are car seat safety sticklers - so I totally get where some of the posters are coming from - but again we are talking about 1/2 if an inch here...

does spiked hair count lol?

Oh and trip is in 9 days!!!

yes they push down hair. My DD2 have very big hair that only gets bigger as the humidity increases. They push her hair down every time they measured her. Even when it was obvious her head his the bar, they still checked.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

OP- I hear you. I have a DS that is 37.75 inches with his tennis shoes on. We were really hoping to ride 7DMT and Kali River Rapids. Everything I read one of these threads it makes me feel panicky. I am all about safety and appreciate that Fisney works so hard to ensure safety, but I have to wonder, why the measure at the entrance and the loading platform? You don't shrink enough in 30 minutes to make it all the sudden unsafe to ride. Take a careful measurement once and decide then. Making a young child wait in line, get excited, and being told no when they are steps away is just cruel in my opinion. Also the previous poster that said her child was not let right back in a ride she had just ridden twice is ridiculous. Again your height may change slightly throughout the day but that margin is not enough to make it safe to ride now and unsafe 15 minutes later. I am with others, Disney is not even a once a year vacation for us. Maybe once every few years. I would hate for my kiddo to not get to ride something because of an 8th of an inch or differing opinions of cast members at different points in line.

 

[Disney2013Girl]

I can't think of any shoes I own that specifically add height to my son. However, I want to whole-heartedly agree that this is a great moment to teach children that sometimes we don't always get what we want, even if we really really really want it.

 

[Baklava]

OP- I hear you. I have a DS that is 37.75 inches with his tennis shoes on. We were really hoping to ride 7DMT and Kali River Rapids. Everything I read one of these threads it makes me feel panicky. I am all about safety and appreciate that Fisney works so hard to ensure safety, but I have to wonder, why the measure at the entrance and the loading platform? You don't shrink enough in 30 minutes to make it all the sudden unsafe to ride. Take a careful measurement once and decide then. Making a young child wait in line, get excited, and being told no when they are steps away is just cruel in my opinion. Also the previous poster that said her child was not let right back in a ride she had just ridden twice is ridiculous. Again your height may change slightly throughout the day but that margin is not enough to make it safe to ride now and unsafe 15 minutes later. I am with others, Disney is not even a once a year vacation for us. Maybe once every few years. I would hate for my kiddo to not get to ride something because of an 8th of an inch or differing opinions of cast members at different points in line.

That's exactly why the DON'T measure only at the last minute. They measure and, in my experience at DL if it's close they warn you that the kid may not be able to ride before you let them stand in a long line. This way kids aren't disappointed after a build up and CMs have fewer parents berating them about, "but we stood in line for an HOUR!" It is cruel when parents build a kid up who is in that danger zone. You're absolutely right about that. This is the best Disney can do to balance safety and mitigating disappointment.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

I guess my question is why can't the person at the entrance just make the call one way or another. If you need a second opinion, get it there. It seems over the top to have someone wait in line to be told no. If it is too close, call it a no at the entrance. It certainly is not being told no that is the problem, it is being wishy washy or inconsistent that is more what bothers me.

 

[Baklava]

I guess my question is why can't the person at the entrance just make the call one way or another. If you need a second opinion, get it there. It seems over the top to have someone wait in line to be told no. If it is too close, call it a no at the entrance. It certainly is not being told no that is the problem, it is being wishy washy or inconsistent that is more what bothers me.

Because safety is best achieved by the person who makes the final call being on the team that can actually see and be seen by the person hitting the "go" button. Disney isn't being random. They've got a vested interest in (and a better understanding of) ride and guest safety.

 

[JJIRmom]

I guess my question is why can't the person at the entrance just make the call one way or another. If you need a second opinion, get it there. It seems over the top to have someone wait in line to be told no. If it is too close, call it a no at the entrance. It certainly is not being told no that is the problem, it is being wishy washy or inconsistent that is more what bothers me.

Just have to say I agree 100% with you.

 

[Kelly014]

I guess my question is why can't the person at the entrance just make the call one way or another. If you need a second opinion, get it there. It seems over the top to have someone wait in line to be told no. If it is too close, call it a no at the entrance. It certainly is not being told no that is the problem, it is being wishy washy or inconsistent that is more what bothers me.

I asked the same question once and someone said its so that people can't sneak their too short kids into the line after passing the first measurement. So they do the first measurement so that you can avoid standing in a long line if your child is too short or if they're right on the line, and then they do the second measurement so that they can make sure every one who has ended up in the line is actually the correct height.

My DD is just at 44 inches with shoes and she has her heart set on some of the 44 inch rides so I definitely understand the frustration, but their reasoning does kind of make sense.

 

[jennasmommyinMS]

I had this issue with my daughter's first visit to Disney World--she was at 43 inches for that trip, so she missed out on a total of 4 rides, Space Mountain, Mission: Space, Primeval Whirl, and Expedition Everest. I told her to just start eating all of her vegetables so that she would grow more for our next trip. A year later she was 47 inches, tall enough for everything except Primeval Whirl.

If you plan on going more than once, then there's always another trip for your child to experience all of the rides. If it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip, then you might want to wait until your child is a little taller. If you choose to go before your child is tall enough for a few rides, just prepare him for it--he can still have so much fun!

 

[kohlby]

As far as the CM's telling the child they might not make it inside, that didn't happen a single time with my daughter. I was the one who had to prepare her. She was borderline 40 inches on one trip, borderline 44 on another, and a hair over 48 inches on another. We had prepared her the best we could. In fact, we didn't think she would be tall enough for Test Track since she measured under 40" at home with her sneakers on - the same sneakers she wore on that trip. Since she's not the oldest child, we were going that way for him. I told her to measure herself to see how much she would need to grow before our next trip - I was trying to make it super positive. I was shocked when she was tall enough. I warned her that she might not make it inside, as I didn't expect the outside height to work - but she made it. There were some tears when she didn't make it inside on the ride the third time in a row. She was 3.5 years old though - so that's not an unusual response for a child that age. She did get over it because we went into it telling her she wouldn't be tall enough - as we really believed that. She was unable to make it on Star Tours that trip because we didn't get to try that one until afternoon. At least we could remind her of how lucky she was she had made it on Test Track. (She made it on Tower of Terror as well. That may have not been the smartest parenting decision we've made at Disney. She still refuses to go on it again and it's 6 years later).

I get wanting a child to be taller so they can do rides. In our case, little sister wants to do what big brother does and little sister has always been much more bold with rides.

As for measuring in and out of the ride, I think I read that some parents were sneaking their kids in anyway so it makes sure that's not an issue. So I do get it somewhat. But what happened with my daughter was ridiculous since they had just seen her!

 

[quakechicago]

I totally understand and how upsetting that must have been! but OTOH when we were there we saw parents try to get a (supposedly identical) twin onto 7DMT with a rider switch. We never saw the first twin but the second little girl did not make it on and poor thing howled like a banshee.

 

[kamik86]

I guess my question is why can't the person at the entrance just make the call one way or another. If you need a second opinion, get it there. It seems over the top to have someone wait in line to be told no. If it is too close, call it a no at the entrance. It certainly is not being told no that is the problem, it is being wishy washy or inconsistent that is more what bothers me.

I have seen people sneak kids in. One family did this with soarin with a kid that was OBVIOUSLY too short. someone went to ask the person at the entrance a question and while they were busy the family ran by.

However at the end there is no way to really do this. The attendant there has to get the number for your family see them all and give them a loading spot so they can catch those children there.

We have a park near us that gives all kids a wrist band when they first get to the park that denotes their height at one official measuring place so everyone knows what they can do... however even then people will get there slightly taller kid measured then switch the bands and get taller kid measured again for them to have a band. Now in a smaller park this is a bit easier to police but at disney this would be a nightmare. If everyone was honest this would probably be the best system but that is never going to happen.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

Maybe I am just not savvy enough, but I think it would be hard to switch those super stick paper wrist bands. t Kings Island they did this and an employee put them on the child tight enough that you couldn't slip it over his hand and so to take it off, you would have to damage it in some way. I still think this is a better system.

 

[Gracie09]

Maybe I am just not savvy enough, but I think it would be hard to switch those super stick paper wrist bands. t Kings Island they did this and an employee put them on the child tight enough that you couldn't slip it over his hand and so to take it off, you would have to damage it in some way. I still think this is a better system.

They tried that. People still switched bands. When I was in college, the bars use to do this to denote those over and under 21. It was very easy to cut them off and using a small piece of tape tape them back on. Stamps also don't work because there are ways to transfer those. Also people don't like the magic bands because they hate wearing things on their wrists, imagine having to be able to force people and children to wear a tight band.