Judging by her growth charts, my 3 and a half year old will be just 40" when we are at DLR at the end of the year. Apologies if I am asking a really stupid trivial question :confused: but how strictly is the height requirement enforced at the rides? Is it 40" in shoes or bare feet?

I just want to avoid any disappointment on the day if she's not going to measure up...

I can't answer 100%, but I can tell you my daughter has been turned away from rides when I knew she was exactly the required height. (We always measure before we go.) Someone else can probably give a more accurate answer. Since this has happened to us, we now go with an open mind and consider the possibility that she will be turned away from rides where she is exactly the required height.

They are very strict. They will measure in shoes unless they notice an large heel, then they will ask them to take shoes off. Big thing to remember is to have the kids stand up straight and pull up. The biggest reason kids who are 40" don"t make it is they slouch. And play the "Touch your head to the stick!" game as many are afraid of bumping their heads. Also, have them take a deep breath when measuring.

DS was checked at least 3 times in line for Indiana Jones and 46". We knew he was tall enough by at least a half an inch but we didn't know about the stick... He missed the first time but the CM was nice enough to tell him to stand tall, take a deep breath and then try to set the stick down on top of his head. Everyone else tried to slide him under the stick while it was already on the ground and it took a while to get him to stand up tall.

FWIW- we should have waited until he was older for Indy. He had been begging to go for 6 months and it totally freaked him out.

They are generally QUITE strict. My ds is JUST 40", depending on if he is having a taller hair day, how thick his socks are, if his spine needs adjusting, etc. He has alternately been allowed on Soarin' (after MUCH hemming and hawing and testing and re-testing), and turned away. Practice standing very straight, shoulders back, breath in.

IMHO, you wouldn't want your kid to go on a ride if they were just below the 40" height anyway, for their safety. The requirement is in place for a good reason.

I am not sure if anyone else had this problem but if your child is very close and you are measuring from home, I would add another inch and make it 41 inches so that the child is not really disappointed when you get there and they do not make the 40 inches. My daughter was very small for her age and it seemed to take her forever to hit the requirements, at 18 she is just 4'9". Whenever we thought she was going to make it we got there and she was a little shorter than the stick. It was frustrating for her to see kids 2 and 3 years younger than her getting on rides and her still not being able to go on. We would just make the heights at home 2 inches more than what they said since then we found she was not as disappointed. So if it was 40 inches, until we meassured her as 42 we would tell her she would not make it, then if she did it was a great surprise for her. It always seemed to me that their measurement sticks were at least a 1/2 inch taller than what the requirement is, my daughter would be meassured at the doctors and meassure 40 inches but was turned down at DL because she was not tall enough.

I also would not try to make shoes or hair to tall either. Since they have to walk all day it would not be comfortable to put shoes on that have a heel just for one or two rides. Also, I have seen cast members ask kids to take off hats, and cast memebers who push down ponytails or buns on the top of the heads. It is for the safety of the child to be as tall as they need to be so they are very strick on the requirements.

Hope that helps.

I was worried with my little guy because he has one leg that is just now straightening out from being REALLY bowlegged. He just hit the 35 inch mark in shoes...even though at his dr where they measure him lying down he is 37 inches. Now to get him on Space ;) Its funny his dr always tells us his height by saying things like "well he should be big enough for the matterhorn now" And he was, just hardly two no less.

I have had the experience where my child is tall enough to go on a ride according to the posted requirements, but then, when the Cast Members at the ride measured that child, they said she was too short.

Why? Because the measuring gauge at the ride was off.

How do I know this? Because I happen to carry around a measuring tape in my Mary Poppins-like purse.

And even when I brought out my measuring tape, showed the Cast Member that their measuring gauge was off by an inch, they still would not let my child on the ride.

I have had the experience where my child is tall enough to go on a ride according to the posted requirements, but then, when the Cast Members at the ride measured that child, they said she was too short.

Why? Because the measuring gauge at the ride was off.

How do I know this? Because I happen to carry around a measuring tape in my Mary Poppins-like purse.

And even when I brought out my measuring tape, showed the Cast Member that their measuring gauge was off by an inch, they still would not let my child on the ride.

:D "My" Now-Infamous Jumpin' Jellyfish evidence.

This weekend my son/EMM's godson was 47.75" tall. How do we know this? Because the Screaming requirement is 48". (Well he's 47.75" tall or 1/4" shorter than the height of their stick...) So he went on a different ride instead. :)

Adrienne

This weekend my son/EMM's godson was 47.75" tall. How do we know this? Because the Screaming requirement is 48".To be precise, he is the width of the female CMs pinky finger shorter than 48" tall. She couldn't fit her index finger between the top of his head and the bottom of the measuring stick, so she switched to her pinky finger before declaring him too short.

*I* think he was slouching.

AVP

*I* think he was slouching.

Of all my kids, he's the most likely to do that. He IS the pouter. ;)

Adrienne

:confused:I have had the experience where my child is tall enough to go on a ride according to the posted requirements, but then, when the Cast Members at the ride measured that child, they said she was too short. Why? Because the measuring gauge at the ride was off. How do I know this? Because I happen to carry around a measuring tape in my Mary Poppins-like purse.And even when I brought out my measuring tape, showed the Cast Member that their measuring gauge was off by an inch, they still would not let my child on the ride.I happy to see that I'm not the only Mary Poppins in the world. I took a measiuring tape to a park this year too prove a point and they still told my son he could not ride some rides!

Think of the height numbers as estimates, rather than exact measurements- they're saying that you must be "as tall as our measuring sticks, which are approximately [for example] 40" high." There's really no point to prove- the CMs need the child to be as tall as their gauge, not as tall as a guest's ruler.

As the parent of a 3rd-percentiler for height, this has been difficult for us, but it is how it is.

My son is very tall for his age. We went just before his 3rd birthday and he was 41" (no shoes). They measured him THREE times getting into Soarin'. The first person was like, "no problem, go ahead" then the second guy was a bit more weary, but let him through. The thrid guy was more like the first. But it made it a bit nerve-wracking. We were constantly wondering if we were going to have to turn around and head out of the ride line, after waiting all that time.

He's now four and 46" tall. I'm hoping we don't have quite the same issues at WDW in December.

Yah, my 2nd DD is more typically sized, and was just scraping the 40" bars this past June, at 3.5years old. They measured her all three times going into Soaring as well. I'm not sure, but she might have done a tiny bit of a heel lift (she knew the goal was to stand up straight and have her head touch the bar) at one of the measuring sticks. (And if anyone wants to get on me for thinking she might have toed-up to make it on and not saying anything, letting her go on anyway, I can assure you the panicked death-grip I kept on her through Soarin' more than made up for whatever danger the lack of 1/8" of height might have placed her in. She didn't move a bit and sat with her legs criss-cross in front of her the whole time).

Interestingly, there was no question that she was tall enough for Jumpin' Jellyfish, which she rode in a pair with her 6.5yo sister while my father and I sat two sets over, barely able to see them. THAT made me nervous!

He's now four and 46" tall.

Genes are funny things. My DD just turned 4 and is 37" tall. She's the tiniest one in her class at preschool. She'll be like the teen posted about above who is under 5' near full grown. So I'm loving the idea to tell her an inch taller than the ride really says. Guess this will be a lesson in finding another satisfaction when friends/cousins are making the ride.

And about the genes? I'm the mom, and I'm 5'7". Genes have their own mind!

We measured my nephew today, and he is 45 1/2 inches (just turned 5.) He is dying to ride Indy. He has been eating his veggies hoping to make it by next week. We will see what happens next week. I have a feeling he will be sitting with me and the dog.

On a better note, his little brother will be tall enough to ride Matterhorn!

We measured my nephew today, and he is 45 1/2 inches (just turned 5.) He is dying to ride Indy. He has been eating his veggies hoping to make it by next week. We will see what happens next week. I have a feeling he will be sitting with me and the dog.

On a better note, his little brother will be tall enough to ride Matterhorn!

The height requirement is 46 right? DD is 46.5 with sneakers on... we are leaving in 4 weeks! I hope she will make it.