Standing Tall at 47 Inches

[huskies90]

Hi we went last November and my 5 year old at 45 inches was tall enough for every ride except Primeval Whirl and RnRC. She LOVED all the thrill rides (Space Mountain was her favorite) and really wants to go on these two coasters when we go over Thanksgiving. She is now 6 and tipping the measuring tape at just about 47 inches with her shoes on. We are tying everything to get an extra inch out of her: a stretching rack has been set up in the basement, she is quitting smoking, etc. But assuming those things don't work, does anyone who has been in this situaion have an easy tip or trick to get that extra inch when she is checked at the ride? She is so close...

 

[AbbysFamily]

Print out the stack of flame mail your about to get and stuff it in her shoes?

 

[luv2nascar]

maybe she'll grow that inch by Thanksgiving??
Make sure she has a nice tall pair of shoes or sneakers. It's pretty easy to find a pair with an inch lift.

 

[ReggieB]

Don't promise her anything, be prepared to be turned away by CM's. That's my best advice. I would hate for you all to be disappointed. Maybe you will be able to squeeze through, but most of the CM's I have encounted take the height thing seriously. I'm not going any further than that on this topic!!!

Fingers crossed for that (natural) growth spurt!!!!

 

[jann1033]

Print out the stack of flame mail your about to get and stuff it in her shoes?

i really do wonder if it would be safe though or if the retraints might not work right on someone shorter

 

[WaltD4Me]

No flames from me, I know just how you feel, I took my six year old niece in May, she REALLY wanted to ride Primevil Whirl. She talked about it the whole time before we got to AK. When we got there, the CM had her stand up to the measuring stick and she JUST missed the mark...I mean by about a millionith of an inch, (and the CM even looked at her shoes!)Yes, she was disappointed, but I didn't argue or try to go back later and get another CM, her safety is more important to me than a little disappointment. I took her over and got her face painted by those VERY COOL face painters by the flying dinosaur ride and she was happy as a clam. NEXT year, when she is tall enough and Disney feels she is at a safe enough, she'll get to ride. I figure the height requirements are there for a reason other than giving the CM's something to do!

On a side note, I will say I have NO idea how my niece was tall enough to ride Mission Space -- which she didn't, but could have, but not tall enough for Primevil Whirl, but hey, I'm not an engineer so we just sucked it up!

 

[Laurabearz]

Print out the stack of flame mail your about to get and stuff it in her shoes?

That is too funny! Oh my.... roflmbo!!

If the rack wont work, crank harder.. it is your only hope!

 

[alacazander]

Print out the stack of flame mail your about to get and stuff it in her shoes?
__________________


That was funny!

 

[huskies90]

Print out the stack of flame mail your about to get and stuff it in her shoes?

Unfortunately, this is the most practical advice so far and gawsh darnit it just might work!!!

Reggie - She actually really wanted to ride last year and tried to get on and obviously wasn't close. She is not the type of kid who gets upset. She'll be disappointed but she'll get over it in a minute or two.

Jann - I was thinking the same thing as she flew over the bumps on Space Mountain last year with both hands in the air, I kept thinking "is she going fly out of this rocket?" but she survived.

WaltD4Me - I agree with you no idea why Primeval Whirl is 48 inches and some others like TOT and MS and even Space Mountain are 44. At RnRC I am fine with 48.

 

[allaboutmm]

Print out the stack of flame mail your about to get and stuff it in her shoes?

OMG!!!!!Too funny!!!!

 

[WDW1st-timers]

Print out the stack of flame mail your about to get and stuff it in her shoes?

You need the Tag fairy to notice this....

 

[WaltD4Me]

There is a very similiar ride/rollercoaster (similiar but better IMHO) at Waldameer Park in Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, near Erie, that my niece IS tall enough for (she was SO happy!) The ride at Waldameer actually spins more and has a bit steeper drops than Primevil Whirl and the height requirement there is 46 inches. It is an AWESOME ride, way better than Whirl I thought. So how far are you from Erie, PA?

Ummmmmm, (disclaimer) Waldameer Park itself isn't "quite" Disney in any other way though....just so you know!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Maybe it's because primevil whirl really doesn't have good restraints?

I know the feeling... my son was very disappointed at the rides he couldn't ride our first 2 family trips- but he was SO excited this last trip to be able to ride everything (finally hitting 49 inches- last trip he was about 44 inches I think- back in 2003). I dunno.. somehow I think RnR was just a wee (okay a lot) more exciting to him now that he finally got to ride it- than if he'd been able to from the get go on previous trips. It's one of the few things he REALLY REALLY looked forward to and wanted to ride the most (most often also) and still talks about. The anticipation made the ride even better for him I think.

 

[Otimon]

Please remember the height measurements are there, first and foremost, for the safety of your child. That is the #1 concern above anything else.

As a CM who has measured countless youngsters, many times it is the parent who is far more disappointed than the youngster that he/she cannot ride. From my own personal experience, when a youngster gets upset it is often because a parent has hyped the ride to the youngster without realizing he/she may be too small to safely ride. The youngsters take the cue from the parents.

In defense of parents, have also found many who fully understand the consequence should a youngster be too short or small and something unforeseen might happen. Again, from personal experience, have found far more parents accept the height measurements than not and opt for a rider switch instead.

 

[mareed]

This is also a ride that my DS age 6 has been waiting to ride. On our March and June 2006 trips, we took his picture where he's 1/2" to 1" too small. He turned 6 in March. He should finally be there by this Thanksgiving when we're there! If your DD is measuring 47", she won't make it. Go ahead and measure her - one time a CM saw that and gave my DS tokens or something to use for the games since he wasn't tall enough to ride. He ended up winning a stuffed dinosaur!

 

[ucfsweetie82]

As working on a ride with a height requirement, we have to be strict. Its a safety thing, and I'm sorry if your little one is disappointed this trip. Just think though in the next year or two they will be tall enough and you will have something to look forward to on your upcoming trips.

 

[rcraw45425]

Well, our younger DD, 8 now wanted to ride that monster sooooooooooo badly, she was millimeters too short last summer and fall (she and older DD even tried the ponytail/hat trick along with stacked tennis shoes . No luck. Lo and behold last fall she met the goal, yippee, right? I have to tell you I am a grown woman and that ride made me feel like I was going over the edge at any moment! We did it as a family and she says, well I liked it but I know you'll never ride it again! All that was said. NO more plaintive wails to ride, it's out of her system. Boy is it out of mine!

 

[huskies90]

Please remember the height measurements are there, first and foremost, for the safety of your child. That is the #1 concern above anything else.

Obviously I would never compromise the safety of my child. I highly doubt a half an inch would make a difference.

As a CM who has measured countless youngsters, many times it is the parent who is far more disappointed than the youngster that he/she cannot ride. From my own personal experience, when a youngster gets upset it is often because a parent has hyped the ride to the youngster without realizing he/she may be too small to safely ride. The youngsters take the cue from the parents.

In defense of parents, have also found many who fully understand the consequence should a youngster be too short or small and something unforeseen might happen. Again, from personal experience, have found far more parents accept the height measurements than not and opt for a rider switch instead.

This is not a big deal with my daughter. She acts more mature than alot of adults I know. She would shrug her shoulders and move on to the next attraction.

As working on a ride with a height requirement, we have to be strict. Its a safety thing, and I'm sorry if your little one is disappointed this trip. Just think though in the next year or two they will be tall enough and you will have something to look forward to on your upcoming trips.

I totally agree and I wouldn't want you to let someone on you knew was below the height requirement. But the idea here would be to make it appear she did hit the minium so you or whatever CM is checking wouldn't know she is a half inch short.

This is our second trip in two years and probably our last for a long time. We love Disney but there are dozens of other vaction spots we will hit in upcoming years before we come back...