Have you even gone to WDW with a child exactly 40in?

[BensWife]

Our 3 year old is EXACTLY 40 inches. We measured him today, hoping he had grown some since the last time we measured him. Nope. He is exactly the same. 40 inches on the dot (with his shoes on). We leave in 2 weeks and I doubt he will be taller by then. I'm not sure he would even want to ride some of the "scarier" 40in rides. However, I think it may be a problem for us when it comes to Star Tours. He is a HUGE SW fan, and we are going to be there during the last day of SWW. I know he will want to ride that one (at least once to try it out). Do we need to make sure the cast member measures him before we get in line? I would hate for him to have to wait in a long line thinking he will ride only to get a HUGE disappointment and be denied at boarding. He is already too young for JTA (even though we are going to ask the CM if he can still do it even if he is a little young since he is such a huge fan and I think could handle it). Any pointers how to prepare him about possibly not getting to ride? I don't want to cheat the system as it is there for my child's safety, I just want to make the most of our trip. Have you had any experience with this? Thanks!

 

[Upon a Star]

They measure everyone at the start of the line. So. If he makes it he makes it. If he's right on the edge be prepared to have him checked often! Good luck and have a blast!

 

[Gracie09]

They will probably measure him at the beginning of the line and before he gets on the ride. The last one is the deciding one. If he is wearing a hat or tallish shoes etc they may ask him to remove them.

 

[plutospalforever]

We went one year when my oldest daughter had just turned 4 and was exactly 40 inches tall. They measured her at all the rides requiring that min height and was always allowed on. Her favorite ride that year was Splash Mountain; I believe she rode it six times, maybe more. I do recall one time they measured her again at the end of the line on Splash Mountain, but she ended up being good to go.

 

[Cappy81]

DD was exactly 40" on our last trip. Sometimes she was measured once, sometimes twice and sometimes not at all. However since she was 40", she was able to ride. If your DS is 40" he should have no problem getting on!

 

[mom2rtk]

1) He will be measured when he enters the line and again just before boarding. Be sure to prepare him for the fact that he might pass one but not the other.

2) Prepare him for the fact that he might get on some rides, but not others. I think the approach the parent takes can make or break this.

3) Ride the most important rides early in the day. People are said to shrink a little as the day wears on.

4) Make sure he knows the goal is to HIT the stick with his head. Some will shy away from wanting to hit it.

 

[JayCeeDoubleU]

We went to both WDW and DL when my brother was exactly 40 inches last year. Two completely different experiences. One great! One... Not so much.

*Note: I should mention that my brother has CP and therefore wears an orthotic on his right leg. Even with the orthotic his heel is still raised a bit (looks like he is on his tip toe on that foot) which I think caused a few of our issues as you'll read in our not go pleasant experience.

WDW: they were wonderful! Measured him at the entrance of every ride, he was always *exactly* 40 inches, let him on no problem! They did re-measure him on Star Tours once when we were about to get on, saw he was again *exactly* 40 inches and let us on no problem! Same with Soarin'.

DL: we went about a month later. Horrible experiences. We had multiple CM's who measured him for rides insist he was standing on his tip toes bc of his CP and orthotic. We would politely explain that they should judge from his flat foot but usually they wouldn't listen and wouldn't let him on some rides We road Soarin' once with no problem! Then we went through the kind again they refused to let him on. We again politely explained that he had just been allowed to ride 10 min prior but they would hear none of it unfortunately. It made for an extremely stressful trip! Always wondering whether or not they would allow him on.

Hopefully you won't hand any problems! One piece if advice I will offer is not to argue with the CM's if they won't let him on for some reason. It isn't worth the stress and it really doesn't do much good.

 

[torinsmom]

Practice having him stand straight and tall, and make sure he knows he needs to hit the stick.

I have read that you are tallest first thing in the morning, so I would definitely hit Star Tours first thing.

 

[agavegirl1]

Practice having him stand straight and tall, and make sure he knows he needs to hit the stick.

I have read that you are tallest first thing in the morning, so I would definitely hit Star Tours first thing.

This

 

[MSSANDRA]

I think it depends on how your child will react at being denied as to whether I would even try it AND if he has older sibling that will want to ride the 40 inch rides. It can go either way, and it may be ok the first ride and not on the 2nd time of the SAME ride. So depends on the CM. They measure at the beginning and sometimes before the ride. Many of the 40 inch rides are a bit overwhelming for a 3 year old as well. Star Tour is fun, but a bit intense for many three year olds. If it is his 1st trip, and there are not older siblings...I really would just not tell him these rides exist and wait for next trip. With older siblings....much tougher and you might want to try a few rides if you know he will not freak out at being denied. would tell him you doubt he will be tall enough but you will go see. Much better than he thinking he is tall enough and being disappointed.

 

[PurpleTurtle]

I do recall one time they measured her again at the end of the line on Splash Mountain, but she ended up being good to go.

This exact thing happened to us. Measured dd at the beginning and the end, and all was fine. When they are close they'll measure at both places.

We did have friends with us once, though, and their son was measured and made it onto Rockin Rollercoaster. He then went to go on it right away again and he was not allowed due to his height. We were all confused, and he was NOT a happy camper, but he got over it quickly. It can happen.

 

[pixarmom]

1) He will be measured when he enters the line and again just before boarding. Be sure to prepare him for the fact that he might pass one but not the other.

2) Prepare him for the fact that he might get on some rides, but not others. I think the approach the parent takes can make or break this.

3) Ride the most important rides early in the day. People are said to shrink a little as the day wears on.

4) Make sure he knows the goal is to HIT the stick with his head. Some will shy away from wanting to hit it.

I think this is great advice. Our boys are now ages 6, 12 and 13 and I remember when each of them was just at the 40 inch mark. I agree it's really important to prepare him for the possibility that he might get on some rides, but not others. Will he be OK to just give it a try and see what happens? Our kids were prepared to do that, but they are tiny and hit the 40" mark at age 5 - not 3 - so they were older and it was easier to prepare them.

And if he isn't quite tall enough, you can request a "Future Rider Card" for him. We have a ton of these because we always asked for them when our youngest was under 40 inches, and my husband and I would use rider swap with our older boys. They're cute cards with pictures of characters on the rides and can be used to enter the FP line later when the little one is tall enough. So he's been collecting them for years. And on the one occasion that we thought he'd measure up and he didn't, we asked for a card right away. We were enthusiastic about the card, and it helped him a to have something to hold and keep as a reminder that he's almost there! (And it's REALLY fun to come back an use them when they grow a little!)

Have a great trip!

 

[JakeJenna]

DD3 was exactly 40" on our DL trip. She was measured multiple times on some rides just on others. We had a bad experience with a CM putting her hand on top of DD's head and not even letting her try to touch the top. CM then mocked and teased her as DW stood and waited for DD4 and I to get off the ride, DD3 was then too scared to try to and measure for that ride again the rest of the trip. Yep still a little peeved about that one. Not sure about WDW but at DL if one CM says no you can ask for a second CM to measure.

 

[eticketride]

As noted, they'll get measured twice. For some reason, it seems that the second measuring stick is about one inch taller than the first. We practiced before we left home standing up "Disney Style" which meant tall and proud (and a little bit on tippy toes inside his shoes). We cleared the first checkpoint charlie at BTMRR with ease, but he was coming up 1/2 inch short at the second one until I told him to stand up Disney Style. Worst case scenario is you put some folded up napkins in his shoes and come back later. If you know he's really 40" then you do what you gotta do....

 

[ironpig70]

1) He will be measured when he enters the line and again just before boarding. Be sure to prepare him for the fact that he might pass one but not the other.

2) Prepare him for the fact that he might get on some rides, but not others. I think the approach the parent takes can make or break this.

3) Ride the most important rides early in the day. People are said to shrink a little as the day wears on.

4) Make sure he knows the goal is to HIT the stick with his head. Some will shy away from wanting to hit it.

Great advice.

Couple years ago at DL we faced this same issue with my son. He made it on some rides and not others. Heck he made it on a ride on day 1 before lunch and didn't later in the day. Best to prepare your kid for the possibility that they may not ride.

Lastly tell your kid to stand big and tall and be really polite to all the CM's

 

[ksu93]

Buy "tall" shoes- these are worth their weight in gold when going to Disney with a 40"on the dot kid. It is just enough to allow for some wiggle room for the times when he doesn't stand up tall enough or whatever- it just makes the day go smoother. There are crocks and tennis shoes with really thick soles-and never underestimate the utility of a really thick sock!

 

[kimblebee]

Buy "tall" shoes- these are worth their weight in gold when going to Disney with a 40"on the dot kid. It is just enough to allow for some wiggle room for the times when he doesn't stand up tall enough or whatever- it just makes the day go smoother. There are crocks and tennis shoes with really thick soles-and never underestimate the utility of a really thick sock!

Because no ones ever tried that before..

 

[maxiesmom]

Buy "tall" shoes- these are worth their weight in gold when going to Disney with a 40"on the dot kid. It is just enough to allow for some wiggle room for the times when he doesn't stand up tall enough or whatever- it just makes the day go smoother. There are crocks and tennis shoes with really thick soles-and never underestimate the utility of a really thick sock!

Keep in mind that if the CM spots your "tall" shoes, they can ask the child remove them before measuring. So if your child is just 40" with normal shoes on, "tall" shoes can do more harm than good.

 

[mmouse50]

Isn't there some place (guest services?) that you can get measured and get a wristband that states how tall you are? That way everyone knows you have been measured and aren't stopped at every ride.

 

[Gracie09]

Isn't there some place (guest services?) that you can get measured and get a wristband that states how tall you are? That way everyone knows you have been measured and aren't stopped at every ride.

No because people would slip the bracelet off on child and put it on a smaller child. Also stamps don't work because those are easy to transfer.