I wasn't sure if this should go here or in the DL forum; I once asked a general question about traveling with all ages, but because I mentioned a toddler it was moved here.... so I just don't know.


Anyway, I noticed that Matterhorn had a rather low height restriction. So low that my 2 year old could, by height, go on it now (he's tall).

Since he just grew that 1.5 (or 2, depending on when you measure him) inches this last month, who knows how tall he might be by September! :eek:

But my main question is...do people take their tall YOUNGsters on rides like Matterhorn? I can't help but think it might not be excellent for their bodies (spines, ligaments, tendons, etc), even if they are tall enough.

I'm not judging either way, I just want to get it clear in my head if people do this. (and no, it's not raising DS by majority vote, it's just getting it straight in my head, LOL)

Do people take kids safely on rides when they meet the height requirement, even something like Matterhorn?

Thanks for the discussion!

Anyway, I noticed that Matterhorn had a rather low height restriction. So low that my 2 year old could, by height, go on it now (he's tall).

Since he just grew that 1.5 (or 2, depending on when you measure him) inches this last month, who knows how tall he might be by September! :eek:

But my main question is...do people take their tall YOUNGsters on rides like Matterhorn? I can't help but think it might not be excellent for their bodies (spines, ligaments, tendons, etc), even if they are tall enough.

Before the height restriction (which is currently 36",) the restriction was that the child had to be 3-years-old. Since that is difficult to verify, they switched it to the height restriction.

I think there are a lot of factors to consider with the Matterhorn:

1- You've got the dark ride with a scary monster issue. Even my older kids aren't exactly wild about Harold. They know his name, they know his history, that doesn't mean they're always in the mood to see him.

2- The rides is bumpy. I haven't been on it in awhile, so maybe it's smoother than it used to be, but I've always considered it a bumpy ride. That said - the seating lends itself to being more secure than rides with one lap bar for both riders. The seatbelt allows a small child to be tightly fastened into the ride and the tandem seating allows an adult to sit with the child and hold him tight and give him a little extra comfort and at least a feeling of security.

I honestly don't know if I would take my 2-y/o on the Matterhorn, even if he was tall enough. I think my answer is "maybe." It's not a soapbox for me (like It's Tough to be a Bug or "cheating" the height restrictions or age requirements for tickets are.) So I don't feel strongly enough to pontificate ;) but I can empathize with your question.

Adrienne

Empathy is always good. :D

Interesting to know about the 3 year old thing. When we went to the park last year, we were sure to bring his birth certificate, since he's tall and talks alot. We didn't want anyone trying to charge for a 3 year old when he was only 2! But would we bring it this year that we'll be paying for him anyway (a milestone)? Probably not, well, though we will be taking many flights so will likely have it (just to be safe b/c he doesn't look like DH to most strangers).

But since they used to say 3, that's cool. I might feel better about that, since he'll be well into 3 by then.

Thanks for the thoughts!!!!

By the way, the "tough to be a bug" comment is that it's really scary for little ones, right?

And I agree that it's bumpy, although my thoughts on the actual ride are not to be trusted as I haven't been on it since '05 (they've re-done it since, yes?).

Interesting to know about the 3 year old thing. When we went to the park last year, we were sure to bring his birth certificate, since he's tall and talks alot. We didn't want anyone trying to charge for a 3 year old when he was only 2! But would we bring it this year that we'll be paying for him anyway (a milestone)? Probably not, well, though we will be taking many flights so will likely have it (just to be safe b/c he doesn't look like DH to most strangers).

Well that was the problem - There's no reason to bring a b/c to Disneyland to ride a ride. As it is, they have people fighting things that are 'provable' restrictions.

By the way, the "tough to be a bug" comment is that it's really scary for little ones, right?

Yep. See the spoiler box:

One bug sprays "poison" on the audience - sure, it's "just" water, but they don't say that - they tell you it's poison. A wasp stings 'you' in the back. And big giant spiders fall down from the ceiling.

I'm sure there are SOME kids who can handle it at younger ages than others. But there was a time when DCA first opened and there was less for kids to do than there is now - they were having CMs encourage parents with 2-y/o's to take them on that ride.

RIDICULOUS!

Adrienne

Oh gack, after that spoiler I doubt I will ever go on that ride! Thank you for the warning!

So are you saying there was no reason for me to take the b/c there? Oh well. I hate getting in trouble, and to me, not being prepared to prove that he was still free-to-get-in would have been "trouble". :)

But wait...back when they said kids needed to be at least 3, did they still have the 3-9 pricing policy? Soooo, couldn't the parent have just shown the child's ticket? I mean, would someone pay that much for an under-2 *just* to get the kid on the Matterhorn? Oh wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know.


I am having SERIOUS deja vu right now, and I think I need to step away from the computer. :p

So are you saying there was no reason for me to take the b/c there? Oh well. I hate getting in trouble, and to me, not being prepared to prove that he was still free-to-get-in would have been "trouble". :)

Well it's probably a good idea to have it when you're travelling, I suppose. But what would you 'need' it for at DLR? If he's three, you need to buy a ticket.

I can't say for sure because I can't remember if someone said they WERE asked for "proof of age" - but I know they didn't push us on the issue. My son went to DCA the day before he turned three. His guardians for the day were challenged at the gate. They looked at the ticket taker and said: "He turns three tomorrow, that's why we're here today."

I've heard that they'll ask the child how old (s)he is but I think that for ticket purposes, the best reason to bring a b/c isn't because they'll ask for it but because, hopefully, if they challenge, you can end it quickly.

But wait...back when they said kids needed to be at least 3, did they still have the 3-9 pricing policy? Soooo, couldn't the parent have just shown the child's ticket? I mean, would someone pay that much for an under-2 *just* to get the kid on the Matterhorn? Oh wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know.

You know, I don't know the answer to this. I do know that people get really strange at DLR. I've seen mega-pregnant women get pissy when CMs told them they couldn't go on a roller coaster. I've heard other stories that I don't have permission to retell here :eek: about people doing really stupid things and then playing dumb and swearing their innocence up one side and down the other, even in the face of clear evidence to the contrary.

People will go to incredible lengths for the right to be stupid and/or cheat.

Adrienne

Nope. Two's too young. Period. Four is questionable. I wouldn't do it. Your two-year-old won't like it or understand why you did this to him. Stick to Winnie the Pooh, etc. Even Peter Pan would be questionable. Like someone else said, "Empathy..." You want this to be fun, right?

You know what I have noticed, and maybe I am crazy, but we put my daughter up to the height bar at Madderhorn last week just being silly and she was tall enough, but I did not think she was really that tall yet. Then we were in Bug's Land and tried to go on the bumper cars and she was several inches shy of the sign there, which is also suppodesly 36". Has anyone else noticed this? I measured her when we got home and she is 35", so it seems like Madderhorn's sign is too short and the bumper cars are too tall...?

I measured her when we got home and she is 35", so it seems like Madderhorn's sign is too short and the bumper cars are too tall...?

I'm not familiar with those two signs - the sign I KNOW has been wrong (at least in the past) was the Jumping Jellyfish sign at DCA.

One time when Exceptional Mom & Godmother Mary* was at the park with her family, Exceptional Erin had no problem getting on Soarin'. She was over the height requirement. Armed with this knowledge, the family hit JJ. They said she was too short. :|

Not one to come unprepared, EM&GM pulled a tape measure out of her purse and measured the JJ sign. Sure enough, it was over 40-inches. The CMs were bound by the sign and still would not let EE on the ride.

CMs sent me, uhm, shall we say, bluntly worded e-mails, assuring me that they, personally, checked the sign and it was correct. Yet I continued to gather stories from other visitors whose children were allowed on every other attraction with a 40" limit except Jumpin' Jellyfish - even months after EM&GM's first report.

So, yes, discrepancies occur between signs.

Adrienne
* Disney lover, frequent visitor and my friend and godmother to Sman.

I think I was just reading a review that said the Jumping measure was wrong. Adrienne, maybe you wrote it? :)



So, neverlander, you feel that 4 years, maybe, is OK. That's cool. I do wonder why they have set the height at 37 inches!? And why it used to be set at 3 years old. For where Boy is right now in age, 37+ inches is around 75th percentile...he isn't the tallest kiddo around by any means. I really have to ask my dad what he did with his second family. I think we were older when he took me and my brother there, so I doubt young-age-on-coasters was an issue, but I'm still interested in what has been done, historically speaking.



I can't imagine how tall he's going to be at Disney in September, he'll be almost 3.5 by then...200+ more days of growing...zoiks!

As for the fear factor (ha), I tried hard to use suggestions from guide books and here last year (and from the Diz boards before I realized they were for D'World, LOL), but DS just blasted away any preconception of a young 2 year old at the parks. He WANTED to go all day, no breaks, he didn't have meltdowns, he even napped in the rental stroller (he does NOT nap in strollers) while being watched by my childfree brother and sister in law...he was *watchful* on POTC, but somehow sucking on my shirt managed to get him through (very odd coping mechanism, LOL). He loved almost everything we went on (though I'll admit we avoided the Snow White and the next door dark ride b/c I didn't like them, Peter Pan and Mr Toad are always closed when we are in the area, and the ONE thing he refused to go through with was the then-Halloween-themed Haunted Mansion, though he was FINE until everyone screamed their lungs out in the moving room...after that I had to take him out (which was FAR scarier than it had been, since you're shunted through black-walled, empty, spooky halls, and both of us were in tears by the time we got out)), and was just excited and happy the WHOLE day.

At the end of the day, I had him in a front-carry in my Ergo, and he had his arms around my shoulders as we walked towards the tram (did I mention the last two years we have done a one-day blast through the park on a visit to my brother's?), and he looked up at the twinkle lights in the trees, and said....Diz-knee-lannnd. Lovely.


Anyway! I highly doubt that I'd take him on the Matterhorn, even when solidly into the 3s on our trip. But since the height allowance is so low, I did wonder if others do/have/would. Heck, I'm hoping that I myself won't be able to go on the coasters for the reason of being pg (hope hope hope), so DS and I will just sit and watch the tiny Matterhorn mice (are they still there? they are so cute) while DH goes on again and again..... :D


I'd love to hear other thoughts!

My son is a little scaredy-cat when it comes to rides. At two I wouldn't have taken him on Matterhorn because I know he would've hated it, but I did take him on Soarin' Over California at age two and it is one of his favorite rides ever to this day.

I wouldn't even have thought to take DS on Soarin'! Interesting.

Too funny about my DS...when I was a kid, you couldn't have gotten me CLOSE to a character. But I took DS, as a very new 2 year old, last summer to a Ren Faire, and there was an ENORMOUS "ogre" wandering around. I mean, twice the height of a tall human, very freakish looking.

DS absolutely loved him. Insisted we follow the ogre around for at least half an hour. Of course, he wouldn't let us get up close to him to say hello (he was interacting with people), but also wouldn't let me walk away for quite awhile, either.

I wonder how he's going to be with Tigger and whatever other characters he sees? On our day-blasts we've barely seen characters (ooh we saw "Jack Sparrow", but DS wouldn't know who he is, unless the "pirateness" of him reminds him of Backyardigan's pirate show, LOL) and have walked right past any we saw, so this four day visit will be fun, to see if he is as brave about them as he is about *almost* anything else. :D


It's so nice to hear everyone's perspectives on this! More are welcome!

unless they recently changed it, Matterhorn is 35", not 36".

i took my 2 yr old on right when she hit 35" a few months before turning 3.

it's indeed a bumpy ride and in my opinion, much worse than the five 40" rides. i positioned my arms around her to stabilize her neck area which is the chief concern due to the whipping action. if you want to take a 35"'er on the ride, that's my biggest piece of advice.

she wasn't too thrilled the first two times, but by the third she was loving it. one of the reasons is her first trip down was also the wettest we've had in over 50+ trips since then.

btw, the scariest part for most children is the Abominable Snowman who comes out of the dark and roars, not the speed of the ride itself.

I was at the park last May with two 3 year olds. One loved the Matterhorn, the other absolutely hated it. She screamed the entire ride, even walking by it later she was still afraid of it. You really need to take into consideration your child's reaction to somewhat scary rides.

My 7 year old DS went on Matterhorn when he was 3 and loved it. But the next time he went, something happened and Harold scared the bejeebers out of him. Now, at 7, he is still scared of the Matterhorn but absolutely LOVES Indiana Jones! What's up with that?

Plus every kid is just different. Some will like it while others won't. The good thing about Matterhorn is that mom or dad can sit behind the child and hold onto him.

As for Peter Pan not being suitable for a 2 year old, I don't agree. Yes, many of the dark rides are scary (Snow White and Mr. Toad's are very very loud, too). But PP has beautiful music and a starry sky as you fly over London. I think a 2 year old would like it fine. But like I said before, every kid is different. I always encouraged my little one to try something new, but you want the experience to be enjoyable and if they are going to be scared, then don't chance it.

I have a pretty brave kid that LOVES the scarey rides. But hated Matterhorn. And I hated it as her mother. It was so bumpy, I was hurting. I guess I hadn't been on it in awhile. I think that is what she didn't like was the movement.

We went on Space Moutain 3 times this last time we were there, and she wanted more. She LOVED Soarin! I was sad Splash Mountain was closed cause that was all she talked about.

So maybe some perspective from a brave kid that goes up to almost every charater(doesn't like those villians), and will try everything once(loves sushi and crab legs).

Ang

Oh, and I wish someone would have warned us about It's tough to be a bug. Even I hated that. We took her into that when she was 2 and it was not fun. I tohught it was going to be a great little movie, like the muppets! Not fun, or as Ems would say "Not cool!"

unless they recently changed it, Matterhorn is 35", not 36".

You're right! 35" (89 cm) or taller is what it says.

Lovin' all the different views on this! Continued thanks.

My son is tall enough for Matterhorn, but no one else in our household can ride this due to how rough it is. He'd probably love it.

My son is tall enough for Matterhorn, but no one else in our household can ride this due to how rough it is. He'd probably love it.

As much as I hate to contradict my wife's memory :), I'll mention that I did, in fact, take our 3-year-old on Matterhorn the last time we were at the park. He did seem a bit spooked by the ride when it got up to full speed (and he was gripping my pant-leg pretty tightly the whole time), but when the ride ended he started saying "again!" repeatedly with a big grin on his face. We didn't have enough time for me to take him on the ride again that night, but I'm sure we will go again on future visits.

One thing to note is that Matterhorn actually had no restrictions at all during its early years. I have a copy of some old home movies of me riding on it when I was less than 2 years old.

-Jeff

Thanks, JeffG.

I was over on some other Disney board, and a member there mentioned that her mother had gone on it while very very pg with her! Definitely no restrictions back then, I suppose! zoiks!


I was looking at Disney's actual website, looking at the attraction pages, and DS wanted to know what I was up to (the computer is on a tall antique icechest, so I stand to surf, and I have to pick him up if he wants to look with me). I picked him up, and for fun looked at the Matterhorn page. There's a quicktime video on there of the ride, maybe 10 seconds long IF that, but it includes a brief shot of the Ab.Snowman (or is it the Yeti? I don't know its name). He LOVED looking at it. My arm started falling off b/c he wanted to watch the clip so many times in a row. :p I finally had to put him down, but the rest of the day he kept talking about the Yeti (he knows that name from Backyardigans but we haven't watched the Xmas-time show with Ab.Snowman, so he doesn't know that name) and how scary it is and how he wants to see it again.

Of course, if I KEEP showing it to him, and then if we take him on the ride, he might be a *bit* surprised when the ride is longer than 5 or 10 seconds! :eek:

the Ab.Snowman (or is it the Yeti? I don't know its name).

His name is Harold.

No, really. It is. :)

Adrienne

All right. :) But to best prepare the Boy, should we take him on the ride, is he Harold the Yeti, or Harold the Abominable Snowman?

'cuz I'm not sure "now Eamon, Harold is going to show up on this ride, and it's OK, he's big and furry but it will be OK" is really going to prepare him for what Harold is. :p :D

eh, I'll say Yeti no matter what. Though I worry he'll start looking for raisins (Yeti droppings, lol)...

All right. :) But to best prepare the Boy, should we take him on the ride, is he Harold the Yeti, or Harold the Abominable Snowman?

I think that either one works - I'm pretty sure they're interchangable (Maybe Google or Wikipedia knows!)

My kids just call him Harold. ;)

Adrienne

Is there a story that goes with the name, or is it just Harold?

Liz :cool: