Arrrgh! My 5 year old is 39.75"!

[Grendel's Mother]

A mere 1/4" short of the 40" mark for BTM and Splash Mountain, and one or two others. Yes, that's with shoes on. Assuming I don't want to go the platform shoes route ... how picky are they on height? Will they let her ride?

[The old man]

A mere 1/4" short of the 40" mark for BTM and Splash Mountain, and one or two others. Yes, that's with shoes on. Assuming I don't want to go the platform shoes route ... how picky are they on height? Will they let her ride?
You'd better make sure she reaches 40" to be sure.
David

[Disneyfun]

A mere 1/4" short of the 40" mark for BTM and Splash Mountain, and one or two others. Yes, that's with shoes on. Assuming I don't want to go the platform shoes route ... how picky are they on height? Will they let her ride?
I would not take my child on Splash if she isnot tall enough but that put a side. They are picky. To get on soaring my daught who was a good inch taller than required was measure five times before they let her on. She does not like to be touched and we kept laughting that they would pulle her aside and make her stand under this pole.
So That is also something to consider it is not a line onthe wallthat tall hair can help with. It is a pole that if the child can stand uner it is not go.

[itig]

You should easily be able to make that up with a new pair of shoes...a small price to pay :)

[Wendi]

Wow, my son hit the 40" mark at the end of his 2nd year, I think he's gonna be a giant!!! Um... thick socks? How about a bit of a chunky heel? One of the tips I've seen here is to get the child to stand very tall and actually ask him/her to stand under the sign and touch his/her head to the top - they will be sure to stand very tall and stretch to touch the sign with their head that way. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait until next trip. There were so many rides that my little guy could've technically ridden on our last trip, but there is no way he would've enjoyed them at his age. At five years old, it's a bit difficult because there are things you know they will enjoy and may not get a chance to experience just because of a smidgen of an inch...

[MammaSilva]

The shoes would work, the tall hair won't! They measure from the top of her head, not her ponytail, just a word to the wise!

[jennia]

When my son was at that stage (just barely under 40") we went with shoes with a slightly thicker sole. It seemed to me that the CMs really measure the kids who look like they are close to the height restriction to make sure they are tall enough. I'm sure it is a safety precaution and in everyone's best interest.

[meegster]

They are sticklers. We've been twice in the last month and our ds is in the same boat 39.75" - even with thick sole shoes, he hit the bottom of the line but they wanted him passed it. It was a no-go on a few things.

[ToursbabeC3po]

My daughter did not hit 40 inches until she was a little over 5 years old and once they said no to one 40 inch ride we did not push the issue. They height requirements are there for a reason not just to make every child under 40 inches upset!
We made it up to her and told her when she was 40 inches we would go to Walt Disney World and we did. It was worth the wait!
Kids are only under 40 inches for so long let them be kids and go on the attractions that are made for their height. They have a whole life time to go on the big kid rides!
((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))
Toursbabe

[tinkluver]

Just be sure to measure before you start standing in line if you can - don't want to be wasting any time.

[kohl]

I know this is something we shouldn't do, but when my son wasn't tall enough, we got some shoe inserts to put inside his shoes. Had to double them up one trip so we put them in before each ride he needed them for.

[bradk]

it's something parents shouldn't do, but it's also something they know parents will do, so a couple of added inches won't affect the safety factor (i would be hardpressed to believe that the height requirement is already set higher than absolutely necessary to counter this).

[Disneyfun]

Just be sure to measure before you start standing in line if you can - don't want to be wasting any time.
All rides with height restrictions have a cast member at a pole at the beging of the entrance/line also on main street near entrance to frontier land is "booth" that shows the wait times they use to have a pole with each height that you can meause the child and then you will know for sure!

[sediment]

I bet she grows, eventually. And DL should still be there. Will this be your last visit or something?

[SummerinFL]

My daughter is also 5 and she's 45 inches tall and wants to go on RRC (48' min) BUT I keep in mind that all 5yr olds grow like weeds, C grew 3 inches alone over the last month! When are you going? You might not have a problem and she may be tall enough by then. :)

[Grendel's Mother]

I guess the thing is that I have talked to lots of friends who have told me how much fun their four year-olds, even three year-olds, had on some of these rides, so I assumed my five year-old would be big enough. It does seem to me that 1/4" shouldn't be enough to make a difference in safety. I wouldn't consider it if it was any more than that. But I do understand that rules are rules and they're there for a reason. Just wanted to know ahead of time if there was any leeway at all.

I thought I read somewhere that they measure the height by laser now?

Actually, I am a little more concerned by how thin she is than by how tall she is. I have visions of these 3" gaps between a safety bar and the side of a roller coaster that she could slip through! 40" and 31 pounds fully clothed ... and she LOVES rollercoasters.

Yes, we will probably be back, but not for several years. Guess I'll hope she'll grow 1/4" in the next 3 weeks.

[SummerinFL]

I

Yes, we will probably be back, but not for several years. Guess I'll hope she'll grow 1/4" in the next 3 weeks.

awww I know how you feel. When we went on Big Thunder they have this one long bar that comes down into your lap. I am not a small woman by any means and I spent more time holding onto my daughter for fear of her falling out the side than I did enjoying the ride. There was this huge gap between her and the bar. :/ Gives me great incentive to lose weight I tell ya. :(

Don't worry hun it will work out and I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time regardless. :)

[Grendel's Mother]

Well, if that is the case, maybe we'll just do the Matterhorn several times. I think that one is only 35". Is the restraint system any different?

[Sebastian]

I have not tried this personally but I have a friend who put some maxi pads (the thick overnight ones I think ) in her sons shoes to make up that 1/2 inch so he could ride things like soarin. Your daughter must be really tiny my son is 5 and measures 45 inches.

[adriennek]

I thought I read somewhere that they measure the height by laser now?

Nope, they use sticks. There was a time that they had an electronic system, although it wasn't a laser- but it was difficult to use with predictable repeatable results.

Also, keep in mind, some sticks are actually taller than 40". The Jumpin' Jellyfish stick is notoriously problematic. Even though I've had CMs e-mail swearing that they PERSONALLY checked the stick themselves:

1- my son's Godmother, Exceptional Mom Mary, measured it with the tape measure she keeps in her purse at all times. Even though she was able to prove that the stick was too tall, they wouldn't let her 40+" daughter ride it. Even though she was able to list several other 40" rides that had no problem letting her on by their measuring sticks.

2- many other children have found that they are allowed to ride other 40" rides but not Jumpin Jellyfish.

One thing to keep in mind, that little boy who was morbidly wounded on the Roger Rabbit ride? The parents did not listen to the cast members' directions. CMs take their jobs very seriously because they have to. You may be the most safe mother in the universe, but they don't know that. They've counted on other parents to "do the right thing" in the past and it's led to horrific results. It's not about you personally.


40" and 31 pounds fully clothed

Oh goodness, she's itty-bitty! She'll be in a booster seat for a long time!

Adrienne

[VickiC]

AH Ha! I've always wondered about that Jellyfish pole.

[hlbtimes2]

Thanks for the info on the jellyfish pole. My three year old is 40" with shoes on, and we have 6 months to go- but want to be able to warn him before we try to ride it.

[Grendel's Mother]

Yes, she is tiny. She'll probably be in a booster until she's about 12!

I don't know anything about the child hurt on the Roger Rabbit ride. Do you have a link?

[adriennek]

If you go to the main page of MousePlanet and search "Roger Rabbit Accident" you'll get a lot of links to various articles.

In short, a family went on Roger Rabbit. They were told to seat the mother against the doorway of the vehicle. (That vehicle had one mother and two children riding on it.) She didn't. She sat in the middle, with the child against the door and another against the closed side of the vehicle. During the ride, the child next to the door fell out of the vehicle, under the door. He ended up getting trapped under the car, crushing his head. He survived but barely. The last we heard, he was being cared for in a health care facility.

In the aftermath of the accident a lot of criticism was leveled at both cast members for not insisting that the parents not seat the child next to the door and at the mother for not taking better care of her child on the ride. The family insists that no one was goofing off the ride. Cast Members who have seen security video and/or are familiar with the case insist that the children were not staying properly seating on the ride, were goofing off, and this led to the accident.

In either case, the CMs are the first line of safety on rides. So when they err on the side of caution, it's incidents like the Roger Rabbit case that have instilled in the cast members a sense of personal responsibility and urgency to follow the safety protocols for their attractions.

Adrienne

[Bill Catherall]

it's something parents shouldn't do, but it's also something they know parents will do, so a couple of added inches won't affect the safety factor (i would be hardpressed to believe that the height requirement is already set higher than absolutely necessary to counter this).
That's probably very true. However, even if it is safe to take a 38" child on to a ride with a 40" height requirement, I don't think it's responsible parenting to be teaching our children that it's okay to cheat the system just to ride a ride. My kids are strictly instructed to keep their heals flat on the ground while they stand up tall (slouching just makes it hard to measure). And we don't choose shoes with thicker soles or use inserts. If the CM passes them, great. If the CM tells them they've still got some growing to do, we thank them and leave without giving the CM a hard time.

I'd rather have a disappointed child and teach them that there's a time and a season for everything. Best to wait for the right time and not jump the gun when it's not appropriate. That translates into many facets of life beyond ride height requirements. Patients (with growth spurts) is a virtue.