soarin height requirements

[tracyerin]

My girls are almost 3.5 yrs old and are about 39 inches tall give or take 1/2 inch. We are going to Epcot in about 3 weeks and I would really like to take them on soarin.Does a half inch really matter on this ride for safety?? I think they are just a hair under 40 inches with sneakers on. Would they be allowed to ride? I don't want to get their hopes up if they are still too short.

 

[Windy City Heather]

They will not make it on the ride. My dd was less then 1/2 inch under the 40 and she could not ride. They are very, very strict on this ride. They say it is because of the lap restraint and that they can slip out of it.

 

[Momie]

Are the heighth requirements 40 in. or 42 in.? I thought it was 42 in. but 40 would sure be better then my son can ride.

Robin

 

[CheapMom]

I would like to know this also-

 

[pezpam]

Official site says 40"

 

[Dis-Wiz]

I just looked it up, and the height requirement is 40 inches (102cm).

If a child is under 40" by just a hair, I don't see how they can stop him/her. Just have the child stand as tall as possible, lol. I think it will be fine if your children are just 'soar'ta 40".

 

[monetnj]

The height restriction is 40 inches. When we went a few weeks ago, my son was also a hair under 40 inches with his shoes on. My wife went to walmart and found some shoes (Disney themed too) with extra thick soles that just put him at 40 inches. He got on Soarin' and had a blast. For some reason, the CMs will make children take their hats off and even pat down spiky hair, but don't seem to be interested in what they have on their feet. Of course, I imagine there are limits. Stilleto heels might be going too far

On Soarin' there is a center restraint that comes up between the legs and the lap belt feeds through it. Your child should not be able to slip through it.

 

[Twinprincesses]

We will be there in 3 weeks as well. Do you have twins too???? Mine just turned 3 in Jan. I do not think my girls will be tall enough to ride Soarin so I am just waiting till I get there.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I agree they are very strict. We were chosen as Soarin Family of the Day recently. The youngest in our party, a 4yo, was measured. I thought he touched the top of the measure but apparently he was a hair under. They would not let him ride with the group, who BTW got to go on alone for the first ride of the day. There were others waiting outside in the same situation. For the heck of it we measured them ourselves, unbelievable how close they were.

 

[tjmw2727]

In my experience they are very strict with the height requirement.

The CM will measure the child before he/she can enter the line. They will ask the child to remove hats and measure to the head so big ponytails don't help.

Sometimes kids naturally shy away from the stick, tell them they want to stand straight hit it! If the childs head dosen't touch the stick they will not be allowed to ride, no exceptions. Unlike a poster prior to me I actually have seen a CM ask children to remove obviously high shoes (once sandles and twice sneakers)!

If a child looks close to the height a CM will likely measure the child again prior to boarding so be prepared for that as they could still be turned away.

I have seen kids get by the first CM (intentionally or not) only to be measured or re-measured at boarding and not allowed to ride

Honestly if I were the OP I would not plan on your dd's riding the 40" rides and then if they do measure tall enough consider it a bonus.

TJ

 

[monetnj]

In my experience they are very strict with the height requirement.

The CM will measure the child before he/she can enter the line. They will ask the child to remove hats and measure to the head so big ponytails don't help.

Sometimes kids naturally shy away from the stick, tell them they want to stand straight hit it! If the childs head dosen't touch the stick they will not be allowed to ride, no exceptions. Unlike a poster prior to me I actually have seen a CM ask children to remove obviously high shoes (once sandles and twice sneakers)!

If a child looks close to the height a CM will likely measure the child again prior to boarding so be prepared for that as they could still be turned away.

I have seen kids get by the first CM (intentionally or not) only to be measured or re-measured at boarding and not allowed to ride

Honestly if I were the OP I would not plan on your dd's riding the 40" rides and then if they do measure tall enough consider it a bonus.

TJ

They are very strict. My DS 3.5 was checked and re-checked all the time. He had to make sure to hit the stick, or no go. However, he was able to ride all rides in all 4 parks with 40" height restrictions with his shoes. CMs never asked him to remove them. Maybe they weren't so outrageously tall that they called attention. As with all things YMMV.

 

[tjmw2727]

They are very strict. My DS 3.5 was checked and re-checked all the time. He had to make sure to hit the stick, or no go. However, he was able to ride all rides in all 4 parks with 40" height restrictions with his shoes. CMs never asked him to remove them. Maybe they weren't so outrageously tall that they called attention. As with all things YMMV.

Just to be clear I wasn't doubting you or trying to be contrary!

The three instances I saw were all little girls, one had platform type sandles that just didn't look normal on her. The other two were the big sketcher type sneakers vs a kids sneaker with a thicker sole as you described.

TJ

 

[Lorelai]

I agree they are very strict. We were chosen as Soarin Family of the Day recently. The youngest in our party, a 4yo, was measured. I thought he touched the top of the measure but apparently he was a hair under. They would not let him ride with the group, who BTW got to go on alone for the first ride of the day. There were others waiting outside in the same situation. For the heck of it we measured them ourselves, unbelievable how close they were.

What is Soarin' Family of The Day?

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

My dd - who was 4 at the time and a little 4 - made it on Soarin' - she loved the ride so much we went quite a few times. But she was measured every time and everytime I held my breath - worried that she wouldn't make it.

On the River Kia (spelling) -- she was measured by a CM at the front and it was close and the CM took a permanant marker and wrote something on her hand - I can't remember what it was - so that the CM's at the end would let her on.

 

[Hannathy]

They are strict and if a child looks like they are stretching they will be extra careful. The year my son hit 40 they measured him 3 times in line for thunder.
And I think the sticks are a generous 40 compared to Dr.'s office or at home because he was 40 at the dr's barefoot and barely 40 there with shoes.

 

[mejaie]

We were at Mall of America and DD was just tall enough for a few rides. The attenndant told us to take her on those rides in the morning as you get shorter during the day. Sounded weird but if you think of how tired you can get walking all day you would tend to slouch????

 

[tjmw2727]

My dd - who was 4 at the time and a little 4 - made it on Soarin' - she loved the ride so much we went quite a few times. But she was measured every time and everytime I held my breath - worried that she wouldn't make it.

On the River Kia (spelling) -- she was measured by a CM at the front and it was close and the CM took a permanant marker and wrote something on her hand - I can't remember what it was - so that the CM's at the end would let her on.

Actually the marker on Kali River Rapids it to let the CM know that the child needs a seat with a lower harness bar. The restriction for Kali is 38 but the harness bar is for 42" (the original requirement). There are only 1 or two seats with the adjustable bar on each raft so the CM needs to make sure a child between 38" and 42" gets the bar.

HTH
TJ

 

[Lorelai]

Actually the marker on Kali River Rapids it to let the CM know that the child needs a seat with a lower harness bar. The restriction for Kali is 38 but the harness bar is for 42" (the original requirement). There are only 1 or two seats with the adjustable bar on each raft so the CM needs to make sure a child between 38" and 42" gets the bar.

HTH
TJ

So they originally had Kali for 42 inches?

 

[monetnj]

Just to be clear I wasn't doubting you or trying to be contrary!

The three instances I saw were all little girls, one had platform type sandles that just didn't look normal on her. The other two were the big sketcher type sneakers vs a kids sneaker with a thicker sole as you described.

TJ

Sure, I didn't take your post negatively at all. I was actually surprised that nobody said anything to us about my son's sneakers since they did have a little platform. Just relating my personal experience.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What is Soarin' Family of The Day?

They choose a family every day to open Soarin and Test Track. You essentially ride the ride first, alone.