What age for 40 inches and 44 inches?

[proud_canadian]

My younger DD just turned 3 last week, and is still only about 37 inches. She hasn't grown much in the past year, so I'm hoping a growth spurt is in her near future. We are not going until September.

My older DD will be 6 when we go, and is only 43 inches now. I know the kids grow less agressively though now that they're older.

Just curious how old your kids were at the 40 inch and 44 inch mark.

Also, some of the 40 inch rides, such as soarin', dinosaur, and tower of terror seem like they would be really scary for a 3 year old. Heck I think my 6 year old will be scared! Anyone take kids that young on those types of rides? My 3 year old is very brave and goes along with whatever her older sister says, so if older DD says it isn't scary, they will both go, but heck, I am scared of tower of terror!!! LOL. Anyone really take a child that young on it?

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

I made the mistake of taking my kiddos on Dinosaur without riding it first because the love dinosaurs (they were 5) but the girls on the ride with us screamed bloody murder during the whole ride and it really scared the tar out of my boys because of their screeching.

Now for Tower of Terror they just keep their eyes shut during the "show" even though they do not like the beginning they love the drops.

 

[amarberry]

My DD just made the 40 inch mark right after she turned 4. She will be 5.5 (tomorrow, actually) and is just 44 inches now.

At age 4, she LOVED Soarin, Test Track, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The first time she tried ToT, we left while waiting in line for our elevator. She did eventully ride it with a friend from home and is somewhat lukewarm about the ride now. It took some convincing that Star Tours wasn't too scary and now she loves it.

Dinosaur is a very intense ride. Before we had kids, DH and I sat in front of a little boy and his mom on that ride. The kid was absolutely terrified! DD has expressed interest since it looks pretty cool to a 5 yo who loves science, but there is no way we would let her on that ride for a while.

 

[debdebdebby13]

My 3.5 year old is almost 41" but she's super tall. I'm guessing by the time we go in late Nov/early Dec she'll be close to 44" (she'll be almost 4.5 at that point).

According to the percentile calculator 40" at 4 years old is 55th %ile for girls and 44" is 52%ile for 5.5 year old girls. Hope that helps!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

DS hit 40 inches 1 week after his last trip to WDW... He was 3.5.

As for Soarin' it's not that scary - if anything the scenery is fantastic and the sensation of gliding is fun!

As for dinosaur and ToT, eh, I think we're going to wait for those, DS will be 4 next September on our next trip.

 

[tlenzendorf]

I work in a Peds clinic and typically 4 years old is the rule of 4s as we call it. They are 4 years old, 40 pounds and 40 inches. The square age 44" is about 5-6 years old. I think Dinosaur is an ok ride for a little bit of older kids, around 8 or 9. I took DD10 when she was 4 on it I didn't know and I ended up near smothering her trying to keep her eyes covered and her ears shut.

 

[Ella's Mom]

It really depends on your kids. My son was 37 inches at 18 months and just over 40 inches at 2.5 (a giant). My daughter was about 41 inches at 3.5 and 44 inches at about 4.5. I really hope your kids grow. I know I would be frustrated if my kids weren't tall enough for rides, especially when they are getting older.

 

[DW2010]

I'm in the same situation. My DD turned 3 October 2nd and is about 38" right now. We're not going until September 27th, just a few days shy of her 4th birthday, so I really hope she's 40". Heck, I don't care if she's a little over 39" at this point since I think shoes can make up the rest . I'm not sure if I'd want to take her on Dinosaur, although she is a dare devil. She doesn't seem to be afraid of anything! I know I'd love to take her on Soarin' and Test Track!

 

[lllGurulll]

My kids have always hit 48" before they turned 7. My DD6 is at 46.5" right now and I an certainly hoping she hits 48" by the end of May.

They were all 40" or taller by 4.5 years.

 

[jenny76]

It's interesting to see how different kids are! At his 4 year checkup, my son was 44 inches. He will be 5 next Wednesday (while we're at WDW!), and last night he measured at 47.25 inches.

However, despite his size, he is only almost 5. I'd love to take him on a lot of rides, but he's just not ready for them mentally/emotionally. In fact, I've been doing my best to gear him up for the ones that he *should* be ok with, but is somewhat wary of. Like HM - the word "haunted" is freaking him out a bit, so we keep telling him that they are silly ghosts. Or I'll compare BTMRR to a coaster that he likes at Busch Gardens. I've never been on Soarin', myself, but I've told him that he'll feel like he's flying, which he recently told me he wished he could do.

As for your daughter, you never know! Those growth spurts happen virtually overnight!

 

[fairestoneofall]

My DS was barely 40" when he turned 4. He's five now and 43" tall.

DD was 40" when she turned 3.

 

[aanderson5]

DS turned 4 last week and he just hit 40". He is about average to maybe a little below average in his nursery class. There is a pretty wide range in his class however. I would say there is a couple kids that are 3-4" taller than DS and there are a few that are 3-4" shorter than him and every height in between.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Our son is 4 and 3/4 years old and he just barely passed 40 inches now. That was our goal to be a little more than 40 inches just in case their measuring sticks might vary.

 

[bigsis_22]

Our DS is 3 1/2 and I really thought that we would have no problem with him being 40" when we went last week. I kept meaning to measure him, but never got around to it. When we went on Goofy's Barnstormer they measured him and he was fine for over 35", and we tried to estimate him as ok for BTMRR. But when we got there he was at least 2" short for it.

He tried to be brave on some of the other rides, but he was hiding his eyes on Snow White and POTC and wa scared out of his mind on Haunted Mansion. He was so scared he buried his head in DH's chest and fell asleep. I had tried to tell him not to go on it, but he insisted that he was not afraid.

 

[design_mom]

My DD hit 40" right around her 4th birthday. She jumped off the scale at her pediatrician appointment and said "Yes! Now I can go on Soarin'!" The nurse was confused! (We leave on Saturday and this will be our first trip back since the big 40" milestone.)

She is 5-1/2 now and is *just barely* 44". (She's actually *just* under in bare feet and *just* over in shoes. We'll just have to see how she measures up to their sticks when we get there. I've been trying to prepare her in case they won't let her on, but I have a feeling I'm going to have a disappointed girl if she doesn't make the cut.)

She usually measures in the 40th-50th percentiles and the pediatrician's office.

Have you been on Soarin', Tower of Terror, and Dinosaur yourself, or is this your first trip? In my opinion, Soarin' is not scary as long as you are not afraid of heights. It's a very gentle, floaty kind of ride, but you do feel like you're higher than you actually are. Tower of Terror has kind of creepy theming and a big drop at the end. Aside from the drop, I don't think it's particularly scary (except in a 60s TV show kind of way), but a little kid might find it intense. I'm not sure about DD on that one yet. I did not like Dinosaur at all. The ride is very bumpy and dark and it's got a lot of things jumping out at you and screeching. I rode it, and did not like it. I told my kids "you will not like it" and, so far, they've believed me, so I think we're skipping that one again this trip.

 

[PurpleTurtle]

DSons who are almost 6 are right at 44-44.5"

DD who is 8.5 and is short for her age is 48" now.

My kids, who are all pretty small, hit 40" from about 4 to 5 years old, the boys sooner than the girls.

 

[kathyell]

All right, here's an outlier for you. My husband is 6'7" and my daughter takes after him in almost every single physical characteristic. She hit 40" sometime between 2 1/2 and 3 years old according to the measurements from those two pediatrician's visits.

She went to WDW for the first time at 3 years and 5 months, and anytime a CM measured her for a 40" ride, she was always about two inches taller than the stick. (Pretty flat shoes, if I remember right. She wore her sandals a lot that trip because it was really rainy.)

She just turned 4 in December and she was just a tiny wee bit shorter than 44" then, but I think she's just about there now. She's been eating me out of house and home and I have a bin of her pants that fit her but are too short that I have to see if I can let the hem at the bottom of the legs out or add a ruffle to them or something. (Can you tell I've had to alter her pants before because she grows like this?)

At this rate, I expect she will be riding the 48" rides sometime around her 5th birthday, maybe 5 1/2 or 6 if her growth curve starts to plateau. I think she'll be taller than me (only 5' 4"!) around her ninth or tenth birthday. That'll be great. Can't wait to have to go get the stepstool to look my teen daughter in the eye to argue with her.

We've taken her on every ride she's tall enough to ride, I think. I wasn't sure about Tower of Terror or Dinosaur, but she never gets scared of any of it. We sat her down before our first trip and explained to her that everything "at the vacation" is safe, that we would never take her somewhere that something will hurt her, and that the rides are all just pretend, that Mickey designed them and he's just joking around. I think my kid might have freaked a couple of people in our Tower of Terror elevator by giggling at the pre-show stuff and then laughing hysterically during the drops. I'm still looking for something that scares the kid, but I haven't found anything yet. Heck, Dinosaur scares ME a little sometimes, but she just sits there, takes it all in, and laughs every time I'm starting to think she might be scared. Crazy kid.

 

[Tara922c]

My DD is 2 years, 8 months, and she is barley 34 inches. No fear, I am only 4'11 she will be short. A few years ago I went to wdw with my cousin, and her son, he was almost 5, and just over the 40 inch mark. I went to disney when I was 7, and was barely tall enough to ride the rides. (from what my dad tells me) DHs niece is 2, and already 40 inches, so I really think it depends on the kid.

 

[LadyOfNawlins]

DD1 was 40" at 4, 44" by 6, and 48" by 7. DD2 did not reach 40" until age 5. Every child is different. As a PP stated, we have allowed our girls to ride any ride they are allowed, and we haven't had any issues. We didn't prepare them ahead of time for any rides. IDK...maybe they are just fearless and don't scare easily on WDW rides???

 

[dewdropfairy]

DS-Almost 5 is just barely 44 inches and I have been telling him to make sure he doesn't slouch when they measure him

DS-Almost 7 is a little under 45 inches. He is really short for his age.