Thin 4 year old on Splash Mountain

[Hezzy04]

My daughter is just over the 40 inch height requirement to ride SM. I thought we were good to go, until I read somewhere about someone who had a very thin child who lifted out of the seat on the big drop during SM. The person said it was unsafe bc of how thin the child was!? Not sure if it was really unsafe or if the child just slightly lifted but was still kept in place!? They made it seem like they needed to hold the child down...

So basically, I just want to know opinions....my daughter is thin. Just over 30 pounds and just over 40 inches. Do you think SM is safe for her since she met the height requirement? Or should I be concerned bc she is so thin?

 

[Mnrlred]

She will be fine, countless other children of similar height/build have ridden safely. If it was even a possibility she could come out of the attraction during the drop, Disney would have already changed the boarding requirements!

 

[TeresaG]

My daughter is tiny but tall. I just hold her on the big drop (she's too busy with her hands up in the air). She does lift a little -I'm not gonna lie- but I hold her so SHE feels safe, not because I think she'll fly out.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

My daughter is just over the 40 inch height requirement to ride SM. I thought we were good to go, until I read somewhere about someone who had a very thin child who lifted out of the seat on the big drop during SM. The person said it was unsafe bc of how thin the child was!? Not sure if it was really unsafe or if the child just slightly lifted but was still kept in place!? They made it seem like they needed to hold the child down...

So basically, I just want to know opinions....my daughter is thin. Just over 30 pounds and just over 40 inches. Do you think SM is safe for her since she met the height requirement? Or should I be concerned bc she is so thin?

My youngest DD is tiny and when she was younger she was fine, but to make us feel better, whoever sat beside her kept a hand on her knee (while she had her hands up in the air lol). Probably not necessary, but it made us feel better Yes, she lifted up but I kind of think every one lifts up a bit when going down the drop maybe?
Have fun. It's one of our favourite rides.

 

[Hezzy04]

Thank you all! I feel much better now! I am super excited to take her on Splash! I am sure I will hold on to her anyway because that's just how I am, but now at least I don't feel nearly as worried!

 

[PrncessA]

My son was/is an extremely small and thin kiddo and he rode when he was 4, before the addition of a safety bar on Splash Mt. He did lift slightly out of his seat and I had my hand on his leg (the only thing he would allow me to do) but I wasn't afraid that he would fly out at all. Now with the safety bar I wouldn't worry in the least. I worry more about BTMRR and them flying out the side of the ride... lol.

 

[LaurenT]

There will be absolutely no problem! The lap bar was just installed in the last few years ... And only really to keep people from jumping out of the boat to take pictures. If weight was any issue there would be a weight restriction instead of a height restriction. Noone has ever fallen out of splash mountain.

 

[mom2rtk]

If they didn't fly out when there were no lap bars, they sure won't now!

OP, my son was a very thin 4 year old when he first rode (with no lap bar) and it was fine.

 

[deedeew80]

She should be fine! Even I lift up out of the seats of some rides! I'm only 5ft! LOL!

 

[ArwenMarie]

My son was/is an extremely small and thin kiddo and he rode when he was 4, before the addition of a safety bar on Splash Mt. He did lift slightly out of his seat and I had my hand on his leg (the only thing he would allow me to do) but I wasn't afraid that he would fly out at all. Now with the safety bar I wouldn't worry in the least. I worry more about BTMRR and them flying out the side of the ride... lol.

Agree, BTMRR is worse! I wish that had split lap bars like 7DMT

 

[skuttle]

We were at WDW last week with our 33 pound 4yo. He just made the 40in mark. He rode splash with no problems. He even put his hands up on the drop (which made me nervous but he was fine!).

 

[Dis703]

My son was/is an extremely small and thin kiddo and he rode when he was 4, before the addition of a safety bar on Splash Mt. He did lift slightly out of his seat and I had my hand on his leg (the only thing he would allow me to do) but I wasn't afraid that he would fly out at all. Now with the safety bar I wouldn't worry in the least. I worry more about BTMRR and them flying out the side of the ride... lol.

It's funny you mention BTMRR because that ride makes me so nervous with my skinny DS. Because the bar adjusts to my lap height he has tons of room and slides all over and when we hit that one fast turn near the end where you go towards the outside over the water, every single time I grab onto him because I swear he's going to slip through that space and out the side. I'm sure it would never happen but it just seems so unsafe.

 

[goofyernmost]

OR you could tell her to hang on during this ride and wait until she was bigger to do the raising her hands thing. (I'm not judging others, but, I honestly have never understood that action anyway. If people weren't strapped in or barricaded in it might be a show of bravery. Now, to me it just looks silly.

 

[Brian Noble]

until I read somewhere about someone who had a very thin child who lifted out of the seat on the big drop during SM.

There are no "airtime" moments on Splash---even on the drop, you are not dropping faster than gravity would pull you. The only way to get out of your seat during that ride is to stand up.

In fact, I can't think of a single ride at WDW that has a negative-G moment. Thunder probably comes the closest, but even that doesn't pass the zero-G threshold.

 

[BubblyTrip]

My very thin and small kid did it at barely four and was fine. I definitely had my arm around him and held him close though To prevent jostling too much.

He loves the drop. He was less thrilled with the animatronics part that year. He thought part of it was "mean."

 

[PrncessA]

Agree, BTMRR is worse! I wish that had split lap bars like 7DMT

Me too!

It's funny you mention BTMRR because that ride makes me so nervous with my skinny DS. Because the bar adjusts to my lap height he has tons of room and slides all over and when we hit that one fast turn near the end where you go towards the outside over the water, every single time I grab onto him because I swear he's going to slip through that space and out the side. I'm sure it would never happen but it just seems so unsafe.

That is exactly what I was talking about. My legs are quite a bit larger than either of my kids, so they have nothing holding them down and the side of the car is basically open. It terrifies me every time!

 

[BarbieGal457]

Don't laugh but I was afraid I would get some lift! The lap bars really were a great assurance though. I have to agree that I got way more lift on BTMRR and that wasn't anything that I would say is startling.

 

[ArwenMarie]

That is exactly what I was talking about. My legs are quite a bit larger than either of my kids, so they have nothing holding them down and the side of the car is basically open. It terrifies me every time!

I suspect if BTMRR was built today it would have split lap bars.

I make my DH ride with my daughter and he uses his foot sort of over her foot to give her a little extra staying power and puts an arm around her. I rode with her one time and I got off the ride shaking I was so scared she was going to fall out. Now I ride with my son who is a big dude so no worries there.

 

[newdeal]

They have lap bars on the ride. The went for a long time with no lap bars before they added them. In spite of having no lap bars for a long time no one has fallen out of the ride. I think that should tell you the risk

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Riding on Splash before the lap bars was terrifying. I knew that we couldn't fly out, but it just felt like we could. I was a grownup, too, albeit a small one.