No, I'm NOT trying to get around the height requirement, but I do want to avoid unnecessary hassle from CM's.

My DD is 40' with regular tennis shoes on when she remembers to "stand up tall" like we've been practicing. We are going to DLR in March and this will be her first time being tall enough to go on the Big Rides with a 40' height restriction.

She is 41' when she's wearing her favorite Minnie Mouse shoes (with heels) which go with her Minnie Mouse dress that she'll wear in Disneyland. She will probably insist on wearing these shoes with her Snow White dress also.

The question is: the Minnie Mouse shoes are obviously high heels. Will the CMs ask her to remove them while measuring her? I'm not sure she's 40' without shoes on and I'd hate to have them disqualify her from the ride because I let her wear the wrong shoes!

Any advice is appreciated!

The only true answer is 'it depends'...

It depends on the CM at the measurement stick at each and every attraction on if they'll make her take her shoes off to be measured. Things that will make it more in her favor, the shoes fit well and she can obviously walk well in them so it's not just oh we put these on for this attraction. That's not a 100 percent safe bet but it will give you the 'edge' over those folks stuffing napkins in the heels of their kids shoes.

Seriously if there are attractions that you WANT to ride, do them first thing in the morning while she's fresh and it's totally legal to tell her stand up tall chin up or use another 'verbal reminder' so she stands tall for the measurements. Later in the day the more tired she is the more likely she is to 'droop' and harder to get that tall straight stance she needs.

For my daughter, the key was to tell her that she was trying to touch her head to the stick- at first, it was clear she was ducking her head to avoid it! When they're just at the stick height, they need to stand under it and touch it (vs standing next to it and being obviously taller).

It does depend on the CM, with the shoes, but I think if it's making her be so obviously taller than that stick, rather than bringing her up to right at it, they're less likely to make her take them off to measure- most kids "heels" are less than an inch high (aren't they?).

It depends on the CM at the measurement stick at each and every attraction on if they'll make her take her shoes off to be measured.
To add to that, I have never seen a CM ask for shoes to be removed to get an "accurate" height. (Of course, your mileage may vary...)

The thing is that if the shoes dont look like they have been modified or overly tall with extra high heels, and the child's pose is natural, then chances are, things will be fine.

To add to that, I have never seen a CM ask for shoes to be removed to get an "accurate" height. (Of course, your mileage may vary...)At Indy, when I wait with the dog, I used to wait at the height stick just inside the HA entrance. When they pulled someone in to check, if the CM thought the shoes had an excessive heel, they would ask them to take the shoes off. Usually, it was a 2-4 inch heel/platform type shoe/sandal. I couldn't understand how a 5-7yo girl could stand to wear those all day at Disneyland.

I've seen parents carry the 'magic shoes' in their backpack or in a bag in the stroller, have the kids slip them on at the queue entrance...then change back to comfys after they get off. The only really tall heels I've seen that I could really see kids walking around in all day are the sketchers and hiking boots.

Thanks for all your advice!

I think we'll try the Minnie Mouse shoes and see what happens. They are not platform shoes, and since she'll be wearing her Minnie Mouse dress with them, I'm hoping that they will just look like the perfect accessory (which they are) instead of us trying to get around the height requirement (which we're not).

Thanks for the tips about trying in the morning - I think that's a smart tactic - and about having her practice standing up straight.

I saw an earlier thread suggesting practicing "standing tall" and we've been doing that for about a month now. It's amazing the difference a little understanding and practice makes! At first she would either stand on her tippy toes (not allowed) or look up (which just made her shorter). So we ended up grabbing a ruler and holding it against the wall at the 40' mark and telling her to touch her head to the top. Now she does it perfectly when I say "stand up tall" !!! We're so excited to take her on Splash Mountain - I'm sure she'll LOVE it!

Now I am going back a good 15 years or so but I remember they use to give out a sticker or a button at the city hall that said I am such and such. Maybe it was just because my daughter was in a w/c but I remember out first and almost 5 visits after that they would meassure her at city hall and her sister and then but a sticker or a button on them for the rest of the visit, then we did not have to lift her each and every ride to show how tall she was and her sister had one also. But that could have just been because she was in a w/c and has leg braces on. It would be worth asking for.

From SeaShellMama "For my daughter, the key was to tell her that she was trying to touch her head to the stick- at first, it was clear she was ducking her head to avoid it! When they're just at the stick height, they need to stand under it and touch it (vs standing next to it and being obviously taller)."

What a great idea! Ds ducks his head. Stand straight doesn't mean anything to him. He seems to slouch more. I'll have to tell him this next month.

We had this problem with one of my sons at another amusement park. My cousin pointed out though that he was wearing a pair of slip on shoes that had no sole. we went and got him a pair of regular gym shoes and he was fine. Well actually he was ecstatic because he could ride the ride he wanted. But we noticed that not all the measuring sticks were the same. He was allowed to ride the 300 ft roller coaster because he was way over the mark (before we got the shoes) but couldn't ride a flat ride with the same height requirement. Not sure what was going on there. Haven't been to a Disney Park in awhile, but do they do "official" measuring anywhere? Some parks measure the kids and give them a wristband color coded as to what they can ride. I am very glad at least 2 of the 4 (the baby it is too early to tell) are not afraid to ride anything! :)

Haven't been to a Disney Park in awhile, but do they do "official" measuring anywhere?

No.

Adrienne

Just coming back to report our experience with "tall shoes on big rides."

My daughter was measured at each available measuring location, each time she rode the "tall" rides. She wore the Minnie Mouse shoes (with heels) as well as Cinderella slippers (small heels) and her regular tennis shoes. All shoes were treated equally and she "made" the cutoff each time.

Even with the extensive practicing we did to have her "stand up tall" she still had problems doing this. I'm not sure what we could have done better because even after countless measuring she still didn't quite get it.

Thanks for all the help from everyone!

That is wonderful that she was tall enough without any hidden help! Next trip she won't have to worry about stretching for that last fraction of an inch!

I had to laugh at the "magic shoes" comment.
My brother and his wife have 5 kids and the youngest are twin boys. 1 of the twins was quite tall but the other was a little smaller than a child of his age normally would be, all is fine medically but at DL it became a real challenge for them.
My brother went to a cobbler and took a pair of shoes to him and had him put on a 3 inch platform on the shoes and they called them his "DL Magic Shoes". They did this until the boys were about 5yo and by then they were in the same height grouping and it was no longer an issue.
This was not used to get on the really big rides but this was when the twins were maybe 3yo and it saved them so much headache and heartache.
I would not reccomend doing this in my brothers situation it worked.

Even with the extensive practicing we did to have her "stand up tall" she still had problems doing this. I'm not sure what we could have done better because even after countless measuring she still didn't quite get it.

We had the same problem with ds. It made a huge difference tellling him to try to touch the bar with his head. Telling him to stand up tall just made him slouch. But we had no problems if I told him to touch the bar when we walked up to the CM for measurement.

I'm glad ds was able to ride the big rides.

We made *magic shoes* for my son once .It worked all but one time.Looking back now that was probly not a smart move.we actually saved them as a funny memory.All post a pic if its ok..