Has anyone else noticed that when you are on a big ride e.g.TOT, the cast members hardly ever take any notice of the height restrictions. I was on TOT and Splash on my last trip and noticed that there were many small children riding who were under the height board thingy, and the CMs never even said anything, they just let them on. Anyone else think the same or is it just me?

Really? Last time we were there my 4 year old was just barely to the 40 inch requirement for things like Splash, Soaring Over California. I even put her hair in a pony tail on top of her head in hopes that they would let her pass. The CMs were very strict and we had to do the baby swap thing.

There was this little girl on TOT who looked about 4, and she wasnt even past my knee in height. ON our TOT picture, there is a really small boy crying his eyes out!

Hmmm... everytime I've been past the height check on big rides, the CM have been very diligent. It is the rides like HM with no height check and you hear small kids crying their eyes out at the beginning of the ride that they don't want to go on that ride but mom/dad says they'll be ok, yet they are still crying at the end. Breaks my heart. Then again, I've seen many very small kids who love that stuff!

I have not seen this. I have seen plenty of times CMs being very strict about not letting a child who doesn't quite reach not go on a ride. I have seen children sent away crying because they are only just too short, and I always feel so sorry for them, because they don't understand.

There was this little girl on TOT who looked about 4, and she wasnt even past my knee in height.

Man... you must have extreme shins... I'd like to see that!

I was on TOT and Splash on my last trip and noticed that there were many small children riding who were under the height board thingy, and the CMs never even said anything, they just let them on. Anyone else think the same or is it just me?

It is kind of sad a parent would let this happen since it is just for the safety of our children after all. I know that we would not let our son or daugher go on rides that have height restrictions etc if they were too short. We know we will take turn sitting out rides this go around because of our toddler but that is fine with us. I would even hesitate to let my daughter go on certain rides because of fear that she would be scared like the Haunted Mansion. She will be almost 3 when we go. I do not think we will even let her go on Pirates of the Caribbean. After all, at that age, they think everything is real.

I suspect you are underestimating the heights of the kids you are seeing as Disney is >very< strict about the height restrictions. Since Tower of Terror was mentioned, what might be throwing you off is that it, surprisingly, has one of the lowest height restrictions. The combination of the seatbelt-based restraint and the fast motion only being on the vertical makes the ride safe for fairly small children. Of course, some parents probably should use more common sense (and pre-screening) when deciding whether or not their kids are likely to be scared by the ride.

-Jeff

Personally, I'm amazed that some of the height restrictions are as low as they are. Matterhorn comes to mind - passengers must be 35" to ride. My two year old is 35" tall, and he is not tall for his age! I cannot IMAGINE putting him on that jerky coaster!

We always see CMs being strict about the height requirements. While I have seen young children on TOT (including a three-year-old a couple of weeks ago) they have always met the minimum height requirement.

Personally, I'm amazed that some of the height restrictions are as low as they are. Matterhorn comes to mind - passengers must be 35" to ride. My two year old is 35" tall, and he is not tall for his age! I cannot IMAGINE putting him on that jerky coaster!

For many years, the Matterhorn had no height restriction at all. My parents have pictures of me on the ride taken when I was about 18 months old.

-Jeff

I have always seen them being diligent about height restrictions. My soon to be 5 yo is just 36 inches. She is heartbroken when turned away from rides. My soon to be 8 yo is excited that in dec. she MAY be tall enough to ride Indy. I have taken all 3 (at the time) of my dc on HM and POTC. They loved both. We did get stopped on HM and my then 5 yo (now 7) was a little nervous, but I just giggled and made jokes until the ride resumed. She was fine. I think the nervousness was more about being stuck then the actual ride. They LOVE the holiday overlay and we will take them as many times as they want this Christmas. I would not push the height restriction for safety reasons, but if Disney says they are tall enough and they want to ride...I will definately let them!

This did not have to do with the height requirement because the child in question was tall enough, but I saw the CMs take a kid off the Rockin RollerCoaster who had been seated in the ride vehicle and was crying. The parent wanted him to ride and said the he'd be ok, but the CM would not allow him to ride.

I was really glad to see the CMs take that stand.

I was just looking at the DL site and it doesn't even say there is a height restriction for splash. It just says children under 8 should be accompained by a resposible adult

I was just looking at the DL site and it doesn't even say there is a height restriction for splash. It just says children under 8 should be accompained by a resposible adult

I just checked it and it very clearly states that there is a 40-inch height requirement on the ride.

-Jeff

I saw the CMs take a kid off the Rockin RollerCoaster who had been seated in the ride vehicle and was crying. The parent wanted him to ride and said the he'd be ok, but the CM would not allow him to ride.

I was really glad to see the CMs take that stand.

Right on! That CM should be given a commendation! I feel that there should be a no crying children admitted rule...I saw this somewhere (And thanks to a total mind fog I cannot remember where) and it worked quite well. If a child is crying for whatever reason (be it tantrum or fear) there is obviously something wrong. This would help limit the number of kids forced onto rides that they are terrified of. I find it sad that many parents don't have enough tackt not to force kids onto scary rides. And if the kid is just throwing a fit, then it spares the rest of the guests an extremely unpleasant ride.

The rides that I worry about are the Mullholland Madness and the Big Thunder Mt RR.............should a large adult really share a lap bar with a small child?

The rides that I worry about are the Mullholland Madness and the Big Thunder Mt RR.............should a large adult really share a lap bar with a small child?

Oooo...that's scary. I remember when I was about 11 I went on one of those rides they have at carnivals that is like a ship and it swings back and forth higher and higher...my friend and I who were both tiny ans skinney at the time, were seated in the end of the ship (the seat that goes just past vertical) along with a rather husky couple. The lap bar sat about a foot off of our laps. :( I haven't ridden that kind of ride since.

On MM they have a lap bar extension that they can slide over the bar of the smaller rider so that the little one has the same protection as the larger rider. I wish that they were able to do the same for BTMRR. Also on MM, we asked if it was safer for our children (4 and 6) to ride together in front and my husband and I in back and the CM's all agreed that it was. It was kind of scary not being able to hold on to them the way I like but the bars seemed much more secure that way.

We get a lot of strange looks from other guests on TOT when we take my daughter on it. She's about 41 1/2 inches tall and is measured at every single place that they measure kids on that ride (entrance, front desk, before they load) and she exceeds the line every time. Sometimes the kids just look smaller than they actually are.

My oldest will be 3 on Monday, and he is VERY excited that he has 1 more inch to grow to be able to go on Splash in November. If he is tall enough, I will more than likely take him on it.
I do not know off hand what the height requirements are for TOT but I think parents have to use their better judgement in those cases. I don't see a need to take my 3yo on a ride that has TERROR in the title. He is, to me, just a baby.

TOT height requirement is 40". I think that each parent knows their child best and should decide what that child can do based on that knowledge.

This did not have to do with the height requirement because the child in question was tall enough, but I saw the CMs take a kid off the Rockin RollerCoaster who had been seated in the ride vehicle and was crying. The parent wanted him to ride and said the he'd be ok, but the CM would not allow him to ride.

I was really glad to see the CMs take that stand.It really made me mad when they did that to my child. She use to cry before every ride even dumbo, but after she rode it and while she was on it she was fine. They took her off screamin and I was very mad. The next day she rode it and loved it so much I couldn't get her off of it. Yes, sometimes a parent does know their own child pretty well.

The tough part for us is that our children are tiny. My 10-yr-old wears size 8 blue jeans and is about the height of a 7 or 8-yr-old. My 6-yr-old is small too. They cannot understand when they can't ride a ride that someone several years younger than them can ride. Abby is about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch too short to ride Indiana, and she is bummed. Molly and I won't be able to ride either because I can't leave my 6-yr-old out by herself while we ride.

The tough part for us is that our children are tiny. My 10-yr-old wears size 8 blue jeans and is about the height of a 7 or 8-yr-old. My 6-yr-old is small too. They cannot understand when they can't ride a ride that someone several years younger than them can ride. Abby is about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch too short to ride Indiana, and she is bummed. Molly and I won't be able to ride either because I can't leave my 6-yr-old out by herself while we ride.

Your children sound like me growing up. I was tiny when I was young(now I'm tall at 5'5 LOL). It was embarassing when my younger brother was tall enough to go on rides by himself but I had to go with a parent.
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About 2 years ago, my son met the height requirement for California Screamin. I thought that since they have height restrictions, that as long as my child met this, surely it will be safe. Please note, that I never had been on this ride before, so I thought it was milder than it is. Anyhoo, when we got off he was rubbing his nose, and he informed us that he smacked his nose on the bar. This scared me..but the darn ride scared the heck out of me too!! He was okay, but I learned not to trust what others might say is safe for my child, might not be. I always trust my instincts, regardless. ;)