small children on big rides

[all4fun]

Well it looks like my ds might be just tall enough to ride SpaceMtn & EE He's over the 44" mark w/his shoes on. Now I know that we may get there and their measurement might be under the requirement so we're trying to prepare him for that. He's a little daredevil and really wants to do these rides, but dh and I both still have our reservations. He's already ridden all of the 40" req. rides btw and did OK w/those (well except ToT, he didn't like all the blood curdling screaming).

My question really is though, has anyone taken a child that weighs under 40lbs onto Space Mtn or EE? He's about 35lbs, give or take, btw.

 

[Hannathy]

Well I took a 40 pound kid on RNC does that count?

 

[TheRatPack]

Our 4 1/2 year old wanted to ride TOT and RNR so many times this year with older brother/sister but she's only around 41" tall. We measured her for the Yeti Coaster too and just barely missed that mark....but she was ready to go. She rode everything else though and had a blast. I'm scared for next year LOL, she's a daredevil....I can't imagine her riding this stuff at 5 1/2 (well she'll be a month away from being 6 during our next trip). I saw tons of little ones going on the rides though....braver most times than me in the line behind them LOL

 

[amyhughes]

I am in the same dilemma, our kids are very tall but don't weigh very much at all! So, can their bodies take the G Forces etc. always pops into my brain! I think Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Test Track should all be fine as they are the tamer rides. Even the green side of Mission Space once he hits the height requirement would be okay.

Rockin Rollercoaster has some disadvantage as it has quite a few G forces and the speed hits 60 mph after 2.8 seconds and it has inversions. I would hesitate here until they are older just to allow their bodies to mature and develop more to take the impact. Same with ToT, you drop so quickly 1900 feet per second (I think!) that I would worry. There are many who do take their kids on these attractions and the kiddos are fine but you never know! I would personally wait until the weight catches up with the height on those two. If he is not at the heigth requirement you can always do a child swap/fast pass technique so you can at least ride it!

 

[Hannathy]

I

I would personally wait until the weight catches up with the height on those two. If he is not at the heigth requirement you can always do a child swap/fast pass technique so you can at least ride it!

Then my son would never ride them!!!. His weight is never going to catch up to his heighth. He is extremely skinny by nature and is bound to be that way for life. If he is tall enough and wants to ride he has always rode. Back to the original question I would guess he was about 36 lbs when he went on the 44 inch rides and did fine, including the ORIGINAL side of mission space. He rode TOT over and over without problem. Like I said when he rode RNC he weighed 40 pounds and rode it numerous times without problems.

 

[amyhughes]

I am sorry if my previous post offended you somehow.

 

[all4fun]

Then my son would never ride them!!!. His weight is never going to catch up to his heighth. He is extremely skinny by nature and is bound to be that way for life. If he is tall enough and wants to ride he has always rode. Back to the original question I would guess he was about 36 lbs when he went on the 44 inch rides and did fine, including the ORIGINAL side of mission space. He rode TOT over and over without problem. Like I said when he rode RNC he weighed 40 pounds and rode it numerous times without problems.

Hannathy, Brennan is 30% for weight, 90% for height so I know what you mean. His ped said he's just programmed to be tall and skinny - but his father and I both were (well when we were younger, lol).

Thanks for your responses. I'm glad to know someone had a lightweight kid go on Space Mtn and do fine. It will be a while before Brennan is tall enough for RnRC I hope!

 

[thepeach80]

That's a tough one. AJ is only 40" so barely made the cutoff for SplashM and BTMR, but he loved both of those, he is 43# though. I did SpaceM this time and it was really rough on me being thrown around all those corners etc, I'm not sure I'd want my 35# child riding them. Evan will be 6 before he even gets to ride the 40" rides at this rate...

 

[crisi]

Factor age as well as weight. Kids brains slosh around in their head until 3 or 4 and don't really set in until around six. So if you have a really tall four year old, it probably isn't a good idea to take them on bigger roller coasters. Its the whip factor (as I understand it) - Splash which doesn't whip you around corners is better than Space Mountain which does.

 

[Starkiss]

FINALLY someone who understands my frustration!! My DS is a couple months over 3 years old, 41" tall, and 35lbs with his clothes and shoes on!

We leave for disney in 6 days......WHOOOHOOOOOOOO

When we went to Disney in March, he just missed the mark for the 40" rides.

Can anyone tell me how much they height they use for shoe allowance on the height charts??

As a nurse, I was concerned regarding the disproportionate height/weight issue, Gforces, and some of the rougher rides...like BTMRR. I know there is no way he will be on ToT. I envision him still sitting somewhere up in the sky and me rebounding up to catch him!!

 

[all4fun]

I'm wondering if BTMRR is any less rough than Space mtn though. DS has been on BTMRR and has done fine with it. As a matter of fact he was really dissapointed when we told him it will be closed while we're there on our upcoming trip. Space Mtn has a taller height requirement but is that because it's a dark ride or because it's rougher?

As far as ToT goes - he's been on that one too (not my idea!) and the lap belt held him just fine. He does fine in Haunted Mansion and POTC w/the themeing as well. I think it was mainly the screaming that bothers him on ToT. He's actually quite the little daredevil.