Space Mountain Safety Bars

[KMcCP]

Hi!

So I have a quick question regarding Space Mountain. We are going with our 7yo daughter in a little over two weeks. The last couple times we've gone we've skipped SM because she was too little, etc. We do have FPs for this trip. I'm having trouble remembering how we are harnessed in for this - is a lap bar? T bar? Over the shoulders? I'm a worrier and of course am thinking about her safety since I know it's one person per seat. If anyone can fill me in I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[kerplop]

It's a T bar!

 

[kimieko]

If I remember correctly it is a lapbar. It isn't a shoulder bar, I remember that. I was just there in September and I was petrified that I was going to fly out of it!

 

[stinkpickle]

T-bar if I remember correctly.

 

[KMcCP]

Do you think a seven year old can sit safely on her own?

 

[KMcCP]

And is the t bar a new thing? Was it something else before?

 

[stinkpickle]

Do you think a seven year old can sit safely on her own?

I rode it last year with two 7-year-olds (boy and girl) no fewer than 10 times. It was roughest on me. It's tandem seating, so they sit by themselves.

 

[stinkpickle]

And is the t bar a new thing? Was it something else before?

I don't remember it being anything else.

 

[disney world dreamer]

its a T bar.

if she is tall enough she can sit safely in it.

its been a T bar for as long as i have gone on it.
i went on it for the first time when i was 5. that was in 1991.

 

[KMcCP]

Thanks everyone!

 

[rainboots]

Dd6 rode it 2x in February and loved it!

 

[snayak]

it is a t-bar (as others said) but man was the ride jerky...maybe I'm just getting old but there were a couple times where I was whipped around (mainly the chains climbing UP the hills or sharp turns) and was like, ouch! Even my wife said something about it.

 

[Mousemommy1]

T-Bar. And as long as she is tall enough she will be fine. My youngest DD first rode last year when she was 6. She is TINY. (like, she will be 8 in a couple of weeks is is just under 46" tall and she is 42 lbs). She was just making the 44 inches last year (and was under 40 lbs) and she was fine in the seat. It is one of her favorite rides.

 

[BrianL]

It's a T-bar and as long as she makes the height requirement then it is perfectly safe.

I want to say, and I was pretty young, but a long time ago I remember SM having an actual seat-belt. This would have been in the 80s. I think Matterhorn did too and they use the same ride vehicle. I am not sure when they changed it.

 

[Mersmom98]

My dd was 7 the first time she rode it. I remember being terrified the entire time because she was sitting by herself but she was having a ball and perfectly safe.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

will be harder on you than your daughter. she will be fine because she makes the height. she does not need you to hold her but you will feel that you should and can not

 

[BuenaVistaBound]

There was dancing at our pediatrician's office on the day my daughter broke the 44" mark. "Tall enough for Space Mountain!" I declared as she giggled joyously.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Disney is very strict (well I should say Disney's lawyers are very strict). If they say your daughter can ride something, you do not need to be afraid for her safety. Disney has only ever had a handful of serious guest injuries in the last 60 years and if you actually read those reports, either the injured person was doing something stupid (putting fingers in the water on a boat ride) or had some underlying medical condition that no one could have predicted. Not to say that a mother won't worry despite that though.

 

[AngiTN]

Do you think a seven year old can sit safely on her own?

They go by height, not age.

You can be sure that if the avg 7 yo couldn't they would NOT allow them on. The last thing Disney wants is a child flying out. They are probably more concerned, at least as equally concerned about safety, as you are.

I took DGD on at 5 and it was very secure.

 

[johde]

And is the t bar a new thing? Was it something else before?

Space Mountain has actually had 3 sets of trains/restraints over the years. On the original, people sat tandem and were restrained solely by seat belts. Those trains were move to Disneyland and used on the Matterhorn until 2011.

(notice 4 people per car and 8 per train)

The train were then changed to ones with a U style restraint in 1989.

Finally, the changed to the current T style restraints in 2008.