Your experiences with height restrictions?

[BostonRob]

This will be my first time traveling with kids where the height restrictions are a concern (when I took my 2.5 yo, she was too young to worry about that stuff). Now my kids are going to be 6.5 and 3.5. The three year old is about 38.5 inches right now, so I wouldn't be surprised to see her pick up a half inch in the next few months. I know there's a few rides with 40 inch height restrictions, and I know she'd love splash mountain. I'll be fine with setting her expectations for stuff like this and if she doesn't get on, that's fine, well find something fun for her to do.
My question is, does anybody have experience with what 40 inches actually means? I always measure her in bare feet; I'm sure that shoes would add up to an inch to her height. I'm just curious who has had kids that were 39ish in bare feet get on 40 inch rides.
Please spare me the lectures; I'm not going to try to sneak her on with big shoes or anything; I'm not trying to get around the safety requirements; I'll go along with whatever the measurer says and we'll do it with a smile.

 

[ses1230]

It seems to differ with rides that have height restrictions - and some measure at the beginning of the cue and the end.

DD was about 39 inches in Sept. She was measured at the beginning of Soarin - there were 2 CMs. One measured her while the other bent down and looked in her shoes!! She was wearing crocs, so no big deal.

We just did something else, like you said, no big deal. We hadn't told her about it - it would have just been a perk had she got on.

 

[Kathy Z]

We have a similar question for the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. I've read that they recently changed the minimum height requirement for riding alone from 52 inches to 54 inches. Two months prior to our trip our granddaughter, age 10 (almost 11) measured 53 & 5/8 inches in her bare feet. She'll be delighted if she can "drive" alone, but I expect will still enjoy it if I have to do it with her.

 

[Hmbldr]

I think Disney is pretty thorough in their height guidelines without being militant. Within a half an inch plus some hair fuzz would probably pass has been my experience. 39" in bare feet would probably translate into 40"+ with shoes and hair poof. Last time we went, everyone was well above any restrictions, but I did't always recall seeing CMs scouting everyone out. I do remember years ago, my son being denied entry to dinosaur. He was more than an inch under height. He cried and was devastated. Now, it's just one of the stories we share....and he's 14 and now passing me in height!

 

[ChuckGA]

I think you are going to have to get lucky with a CM with the right stick to get on. I would say a child needs to be 39.5" bare feet to reliably get on a 40" ride at Disney. Contrast that with my visit to Six Flags over Georgia this weekend where they smartly use an aluminum drywall T square with the T at the correct height for the ride. No unmarked and bottom half worn away painted "measuring stick".

 

[ftballfan7]

We had a bad height requirement experience when my youngest was smaller. He was just barely 40 inches. he was able to ride splash mountain and it was his favorite. They measured you when you first entered the line and again just before loading. This was our very first trip and it was only one day (we were in Florida for a wedding). At the end of the day we told both boys they could choose one ride before we left. He chose Splash Mountain. He had already ridden it twice (been measured four times). Once again he was measured when he entered the line - no problem. We then waited 60 minutes in line and when he was measured at the loading area he didn't reach the requirement. I pointed out that he wasn't being measured on even ground and if he could be remeasured on even ground he would make it. Also that he been measured and okayed five times today including just before we waited an hour in line. The cm said it was for his own safety and wouldn't remeasure on even ground. Now I understand that the height requirements are for safety reasons and should be enforced, but the ground was noticably uneven, and if you pass when you get in line that should be it. They shouldn't measure you again after you wait in line for an hour all the time a young child excited about his favorite ride. He was heart broken. Luckily he is a trooper and didn't let it ruin his trip. Also we are lucky that we have had other trips to the world since and he has been able to ride it many times.

 

[nenner1]

My daughter was 41 inches and got turned away at Splash one time just like the PP (40 inch requirement)...she was just off BTMRR and had been on Splash earlier in the day...Just one of those things. CM said sorry she doesn't measure up (? she had earlier, I don't like those sticks they use) So we went away and came back later and the CM there then didn't even measure her.

They are pretty strict on meeting the restrictions. An inch and a half away is probably a little too far.

I am so glad both of my big kids are tall enough for everything at Disney now.

I do have to say that WDW's child swap procedures are really good! I was at Busch Gardens this weekend and their child swap stinks (only one kid can ride with the parent unlike up to three PEOPLE at Disney)...

Anyway, I hope you have a great trp!

 

[BostonRob]

They shouldn't measure you again after you wait in line for an hour all the time a young child excited about his favorite ride.

Yeah, that is pretty lousy. There are probably some rides we'd skip altogether as a family if the youngest one couldn't get on. I'd hate to waste an hour like that.

 

[CathrynRose]

They're very strict and very inconsistent.

My then 40" (cant remember his age) was on ToT several times - over and over (back when October was dead!) They had a shift change and suddenly he was too short. Perhaps the ride had somehow shrunk him.

Then same thing happened with Splash. Rode it a few times - then too short - then later in the trip he was okay again.

As a handy tip - I know parents say 'stand up straight' - tell your child to stick his/her chin out. That gives you more height than stand up straight, alone.

 

[scottish mum]

They are really strict about it. My DD was just over 40" one time and they had her stand against the height guide and they were trying to slide a card in between her head and the top of the guide. They couldn't get it in between but they tried for a few minutes. The CM said if the card had slid in then she wouldn't have been arrived on. Thay also checked her shoes to make sure they weren't big heeled.

 

[jewelmicky]

Does WDW have a place to get "officially" measured? Last summer we went to Cedar Point and it was worth it to stop at the office and get and official wristband after being measured. There was no questions at any of the rides, just flasher her wrist and on we went.

Why doesn't WDW do something like this? I would be EXTREMELY upset if she was measure once and ok , then waited an hour....measured again, and not let on. I would pitch a huge fit...to the point of having management involved. That is absolutely ridiculous to have 2 measurements with just a marked stick....way too subjective.

 

[BostonRob]

They are really strict about it. My DD was just over 40" one time and they had her stand against the height guide and they were trying to slide a card in between her head and the top of the guide. They couldn't get it in between but they tried for a few minutes. The CM said if the card had slid in then she wouldn't have been arrived on. Thay also checked her shoes to make sure they weren't big heeled.

Well that's just ridiculous. Again, I'm not trying to beat the system, but there's got to be some cushion between 40 inches and what's actually safe. Shoes could make a difference of at least an inch, possibly two. And kids are all shaped differently; some have longer legs, some have longer torso's - I imagine this would affect the ride safety as well. So I'm sure WDW has built some kind of cushion in there; I seriously doubt the ability to wedge a card between some kid's head and the safety guide is going to be the difference between a safe ride and a tragedy.
I would never argue if my kid got the "card" treatment, but inside I'd be rolling my eyes like crazy.

 

[sabrecmc]

I'm wondering about this measuring thing too. My 3 year old is 40 inches and by the time we go in July, should be just a tad over. She is desperate to do Splash Mountain. Now, the doctor and my own measuring stick have both told me she's at least 40 inches, but I'm paranoid that we'll get down there and someone will measure her and say she isn't tall enough. We'd be terribly disappointed. I understand the safety thing (hey, I'm a lawyer and get liability issues), but they should be consistent.

I love the idea of a central measuring station! I'm not sure if wristbands would work, since I assume they could be transferred or faked, but maybe something that codes onto your child's ticket? Anyway, someone more inventive than me should definitely look into that!

I've actually heard that you're taller in the morning. I plan on heading over there as soon as we arrive, just in case.

 

[ireland_nicole]

Honestly, I'd say you're probably fine if you measure the height required in bare feet (barring a CM who measures on unlevel ground, but you can't predict that.) That way in shoes there's actually a cushion. If your kiddo is any less than the requirement, I would assume they could not ride; if they measured enough in regular shoes then that would be a bonus, imho. But I wouldn't get my kids excited about it if they are definitely not quite at the height req. And we've had the same thing too. 3 times on Kali DS was fine; 4th trip magically too short.

 

[WDSearcher]

Disney's house. Disney's rules. For better or for worse.

The best thing for "borderline" kids is to remind them to stand up straight (but not on tiptoes) and to look the CM in the eye and smile. And if they don't make it, neither the parent nor the child should throw a tantrum. The CM is erring on the side of safety and will win every time.

People do tend to "shrink" just a little bit as the day goes on. Not much, but when the difference between riding and not is less than a half-inch, it can make a difference. So keep that in mind.

Wear a logical pair of shoes -- no platform clogs. Stand up straight. Don't slouch. Best posture. If your child is 39.5" barefoot, chances are that in a normal pair of shoes they should clear 40". But if your child is slouching, in a pair of flipflops after a long day of walking ... no way.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Does WDW have a place to get "officially" measured? Last summer we went to Cedar Point and it was worth it to stop at the office and get and official wristband after being measured. There was no questions at any of the rides, just flasher her wrist and on we went.

Why doesn't WDW do something like this? I would be EXTREMELY upset if she was measure once and ok , then waited an hour....measured again, and not let on. I would pitch a huge fit...to the point of having management involved. That is absolutely ridiculous to have 2 measurements with just a marked stick....way too subjective.

No, there is no "official" measuring spot. It's up to the CMs at each individual ride. Disney does not do the wristbands because they had issues with parents having tall-enough children measured, getting the wristband, then pulling it off and putting it on a too-short child. There is just no secure way to police it. The CMs at the rides are ultimately responsible for who gets on the attraction -- they don't want to take chances and get in trouble if a child gets on and gets injured and then the parents sue.

It's not simply a "marked stick," either. It's an L-shaped stick that sits flat on the ground and if the head of the child does not hit the top of the L, the child does not ride.

This recent thread has some good input from some CMs and others:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2137876

One CM on another similar thread even told about a well-known celebrity trying to circumvent the height requirements and pitching a major hissy fit about it, and the CM would not start the ride until they left the platform. No matter if you complain to management or whatever, they go with the CM's judgment.

 

[KelleyGirl]

I actually posted something similar regarding my last trip because I had wondered about the same thing.

My 3.5 year old was just about 39" in bare feet. He cleared all 40" height bars and was able to get on all rides. He doesn't have any hair poof and we didn't buy him extraordinarilly high sneakers. It appeared to me that the 40" measuring sticks are 40", and not 40" plus some height for shoes.

The CM at BTMRR was very thorough, but he approved it! We did get remeasured at boarding of ToT. We even got on Soarin', which I read here was one of the tougher rides to get on if exactly 40".

 

[traviesojmt]

We had an interesting situation when my DD was almost 3. When we left to go to Disney, I honestly didn't think that she would be 40 inches. I had even prepped her that she wasn't going to be tall enough. Our first park was Epcot and our first ride was Soarin. I took her to the CM to be measured. Well, with shoes, she was over the 40 inches. YEAH!! Our whole family, 6 of us, practically skipped up the line. She was so excited. Well, at the top of the line, my DS decided that he needed to go the bathroom. A CM overheard and allowed my DH to take him while we waited at the top. While waiting and talking to the CM, the CM decided he should measure my DD again. Well, he said that she was not tall enough and sent myself and DD back down while the rest of the family waited to ride. My DD was so sad. The first CM at the beginning of the line saw us and asked my DD how she liked the ride. I told her that as it turned out, she wasn't tall enough. Now, I wasn't complaining to her. I wasn't upset. I was sad for my DD, but I understood. This first CM got really mad. She said that she had personally measured my DD and she was tall enough. She then personally walked us up the exit ramp to Soarin, where we waited for my family who was still on the ride, and then had us all ride together.

We didn't have another problem the rest of the trip. My DD rode Test Track, Splash Mountain and every 40" ride but Tower of Terror (my choice not to do that one.

Ok, well long story short, even the CMs disagree on measurements.

 

[jewelmicky]

My main point is....I am not trying to "get" away with anything. If she was MEASURED at the entrance to the attraction by a CM and okayed to ride...and it took me an hour or two to get to the 2nd CM and that one measured different then the 1st CM...there is something WRONG with their measuring methods. Someone owes me an hour of my very precious time at WDW. I KNOW how tall my Daughter is and would never try to get her on an unsafe ride.

 

[parrothead24]

We just returned from Disney on Saturday. My 3.5 year old DS made it on every 40 inch ride. Some rides he was measured and some he wasn't (like ToT!). We traveled with friends and their 3.5 year old DD did not make it on any of the 40 inch rides except one. She made it on Soarin' (the fisrt ride we rode that week) but didn't make it on any others. Since she made it on Soarin we thought she would be good to go but she missed the mark on all the other rides.