Shoes to give a toddler a little extra height?

[princessmom29]

This threat is pretty funny...

But seriously...Disney 40" is different???? Why???? My DD4 just had her annual exam and she was exactly 40" in socks...we have almost 3 months before our trip. I actually asked her pediatrician if there was any chance she'd have a 4" growth spurt in the next three months. She's like, why? I'm like, so she can ride space mountain with us! She's like, she'd right that? Um, YES!!!! We took her to a theme park by us for the first time when she was 3 this summer and she cried cus she couldn't ride the big giant coasters with us! She had ZERO fear...

At disney the 40" measuring sticks aren't all that accurate. They vary by as much as an inch we have found. So a child who is really 40" gets turned away at the ride where the measuring stick is and inch too high.

 

[Colleen27]

I'd just prep him for not being able to ride. We had one trip where one of my kids was over the height requirement (don't remember if it was 40" or a different, less common one) by a full inch by the doctor's measure but didn't pass Disney muster, so I wouldn't assume that being just-bare-ly-40" in shoes is going to get your child onto much of anything.

 

[Colleen27]

How can a 3 year old be dying to ride the big rides, unless you've encouraged it?

Kids have their own ways... Both my kids had must-rides before we ever set foot in the Magic Kingdom, from watching the Travel Channel and the planning DVD. They see the video (or if they've been there before, other people, maybe even family) smiling and laughing and having fun on those rides and they want to go too.

 

[Colleen27]

I never realized exactly how short my oldest was till reading some responses. LOL. I have an almost 4yr old and he is still only 39.5 inches....LOL. Yeah we are prepping for him not riding rides again, but hoping that he can.

I had that moment with my DD. We went to WDW for her 6th birthday, and all she wanted was to be tall enough to ride Space Mountain. She just barely made it, but that was the first time I ever thought about how little she is compared to my son. We were buying him an adult ticket at Cedar Point (48"+ is adult, regardless of age) at 5 1/2!

Given the choice, though, I'll take "too short for rides" over "wearing adult sizes at 10yo" any day.

 

[RMulieri]

I truly understand the frustration. My daughter is going to be 6 yrs old and is BARELY at the 40" mark. I am hoping for a growth spurt in the next 4 weeks....we went thru ther disappointment last time when we went and she was too small to ride.Kids get disappointed, but they get over it fast, unless they sense that you are upset. So prepare in advance they may not be able to ride and hope for the best.It is what it is, you can't change it, the cms won't budge and it isn't worth the fight.I also want to point out the other end of the spectrum, just because they are TALL enough does not mean they SHOULD ride. My 4 yr old niece was tall enough for everything, she went on dinosaur and was pretty much ruined the rest of the trip and refused to ride anything else

 

[Heidijs]

At disney the 40" measuring sticks aren't all that accurate. They vary by as much as an inch we have found. So a child who is really 40" gets turned away at the ride where the measuring stick is and inch too high.

Well that um...SUCKS!!! If she's minimum of 40" she should be able to ride! I'm assuming she'll be slightly taller in the next 3 months but probably not by much...

I also did a lot of research on the height limits at WDW and it looks like if they're at least the 40", they can ride like 95% of the rides except a few of the bigger coasters so I'm happy about that! I don't think I'd ever put her on some of those bigger ones but maybe I would space mountain...although I think it's single seating and she may not be keen on that so maybe next visit...

 

[mcgypsy]

I got a really serious lecture from my brother the attorney about the height requirements being put in place for a reason and how it wasn't safe for me to "cheat
the system" with different shoes.
That said, we stopped at the skechers outlet and bought some tennis shoes with
really high soles on them. For some reason those jokers are a lot taller than regular
kids shoes.
She was 38 1/2 inches when we left home, but measured 41" when we hit Space Mountain. And, as I told my brother, we lived to tell about it!

 

[Heidijs]

I got a really serious lecture from my brother the attorney about the height requirements being put in place for a reason and how it wasn't safe for me to "cheat
the system" with different shoes.
That said, we stopped at the skechers outlet and bought some tennis shoes with
really high soles on them. For some reason those jokers are a lot taller than regular
kids shoes.
She was 38 1/2 inches when we left home, but measured 41" when we hit Space Mountain. And, as I told my brother, we lived to tell about it!

I thought you had to be 44" for space mountain? That's what the website says anyway.

 

[mcgypsy]

It's been 3 1/2 years ago. I could be wrong about the exact measurements, but
I remember that driving down from NC, our sole mission was to get her on SM.
We stopped somewhere in Fla at a big outlet center to look for shoes.

 

[CheshireSmile]

I thought you had to be 44" for space mountain? That's what the website says anyway.

You are correct . Both Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are 40", but for Space Mountain it is 44". I get so nervous when I read threads like these and people talk about it being their 'sole mission' to get their kids on one ride or another, I always worry I'll bump into them and have to be the one to say 'no' to their kid who has been all pumped up, it's one of the worst things about being a CM.

 

[RMulieri]

I could care less who wants to cheat the system, as long as they are willing to accept FULL responsibility or liability should something bad happen..I got so tired of people trying to cheat when I was a CM at six flags..I am not willing to take the chance, my DD will get over it and disney will always be there.

 

[longstangetrip]

New running shoes always make them seem tall for a little while! Obviously the rides have a safe height range when it comes to engineering. Anything that can be done with a tennis shoe isn't a big deal. I read that the cm's can't ask your kids to take their shoes off? Shoes are required in all theme parks. I dont' know. Mine all loved Splash, Thunder and Test Track at 3. We are tallest in the morning, especailly compared to after a long day of walking and standing. Ride the 40" rides first think in the morning. Have fun.

 

[maman_et_fille]

this is somewhat off-topic from the OP's intent, but I just had to share - we were there in June with our then 2 yr old who was *just* at 40 inches and wanted to go on the 'big' rides but threw fits at each of the measuring sticks (like, screaming, crying, ridiculous behavior) - from reading the posts on this thread I'm so surprised the CMs didn't say, "look, lady, if she can't stand next to a stick, how is she going to handle [insert ride name here]?" (She loved them all!)

Here's hoping for a little growth spurt!!

 

[RMulieri]

New running shoes always make them seem tall for a little while! Obviously the rides have a safe height range when it comes to engineering. Anything that can be done with a tennis shoe isn't a big deal. I read that the cm's can't ask your kids to take their shoes off? Shoes are required in all theme parks. I dont' know. Mine all loved Splash, Thunder and Test Track at 3. We are tallest in the morning, especailly compared to after a long day of walking and standing. Ride the 40" rides first think in the morning. Have fun.

If the shoes look really outrageous they will ask to remove them.I saw this personally last Sept.Whether they are allowed to ask or not i do not know. But this little girl had on Sketchers stacked heeled shoes and a pony tail high up on her head.The CM at BTmRR took one look at her feet ,asked her to remove her shoes and squashed her ponytail down on her head.needless to say she was WAY TOO small to ride.

 

[Cinderellabride]

If the shoes look really outrageous they will ask to remove them.I saw this personally last Sept.Whether they are allowed to ask or not i do not know. But this little girl had on Sketchers stacked heeled shoes and a pony tail high up on her head.The CM at BTmRR took one look at her feet ,asked her to remove her shoes and squashed her ponytail down on her head.needless to say she was WAY TOO small to ride.

That's baffling to me. Why would anyone whose child is WAY too small to ride risk their safety like that, and why would think that huge shoes and a tall ponytail wouldn't be noticed. Even if they didn't notice the shoes did they really think the cm would measure from the top of her ponytail and not the top of her head. Sheesh

 

[allyphoe]

this little girl had on Sketchers stacked heeled shoes and a pony tail high up on her head.

I'd lay money it was the ponytail as much or more than the shoes. When my DD was wearing a princess outfit with a tiara, she got way, way more scrutiny than she did in the same outfit without anything on her head. (And she was asked to take the tiara off.)

 

[Mouse House Mama]

That's baffling to me. Why would anyone whose child is WAY too small to ride risk their safety like that, and why would think that huge shoes and a tall ponytail wouldn't be noticed. Even if they didn't notice the shoes did they really think the cm would measure from the top of her ponytail and not the top of her head. Sheesh

Well, who cares if they are way too small or just a little too small? If you are too small you are too small. This thread is proof that there are people who will try anything to get what they want regardless of the potential harm and/or lying about it.

 

[maxiesmom]

Well, who cares if they are way too small or just a little too small? If you are too small you are too small. This thread is proof that there are people who will try anything to get what they want regardless of the potential harm and/or lying about it.

Unfortunately you will have some people who think they know more about a ride's safety features than those who designed it.

 

[Heidijs]

we took our DD4 to a park this summer and I'll have to say that some of the rides she WAS allowed on, after she rode them I thought she was WAY too little to be on them. One was the stupid tilt a whirl. We went on it and it spun so bad that I almost blacked out and all I thought about was her little brain being smashed to the back of the car we were in. It was horrible. She thought it was funny but I've never had such a horrible ride in my life and it wouldn't stop and the guy let it go on forever and I really was worried about her, so maybe some rides are limited due to their development and NOT just their height or issues with them flying out of the ride...there's other reasons they don't want them on there.

 

[BarbWB]

we took our DD4 to a park this summer and I'll have to say that some of the rides she WAS allowed on, after she rode them I thought she was WAY too little to be on them. One was the stupid tilt a whirl. We went on it and it spun so bad that I almost blacked out and all I thought about was her little brain being smashed to the back of the car we were in. It was horrible. She thought it was funny but I've never had such a horrible ride in my life and it wouldn't stop and the guy let it go on forever and I really was worried about her, so maybe some rides are limited due to their development and NOT just their height or issues with them flying out of the ride...there's other reasons they don't want them on there.

Other than Mission Space, there is nothing at Disney that will be like this. Carnival rides and Disney rides are completely different things. I think many carnival rides are extremely unsafe, whether you meet the height requirement or not. I never, ever have this feeling at Disney (except that I really didn't like my little preschool daredevils sitting by themselves on Space Mountain -- they loved it though!)