Strict on Height Limit?

[kgkg]

Are CMs very strict on height limit? My daughter is slightly under 39 1/2 inch. Should I reserve the FP+ for Soarin (40 inch requirement) for her? Thank you, all!

 

[Alesia]

Very strict. 40 inches is 40 inches.

 

[minnie mum]

If the CM can slip a card between the top of her head and the bottom of the stick she won't get in. So if you are going in the next couple of months, she'll be out of luck. Disney takes safety seriously.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Very strict. If your daughter is excited for the ride I would prepare for the disappointment of not riding.

I have seen them ask kids to remove shoes and smush down high ponytails before as well, so they really do want to make sure the kid is exactly the height they need to be or above.

 

[DLM1980]

Working for Six Flags back in the day, those heigh requirements are there for a reason. Safety harness, restraints, seat belts etc, they are all designed for people starting at the "minimum requirement". Heck I remember our S.O.P. Manuals that said some rides required 3 limbs to ride. What happens if your kid slipped out and fell and hurt themselves while riding that ride, how would you feel? No sir, as Alesia said it quite so "40 inches is 40 inches" Don't tempt fate, don't be the next sad story of a kid dying or injured while at Disney World on a future DISUnplugged.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Working for Six Flags back in the day [...]

DLM1980, this has nothing to do with your post (though you are exactly right), but I wanted to say hi to another person who has a Fraggle avatar!

 

[snowwhite84]

OP, when are you going? Any chance she will grow a half inch? And, yes, they are strict.

 

[disney world dreamer]

its disney. yes they are very strict on height reuqirements.
is that with shoes on or off?
if with shoes off then measure with shoes on.
and if with shoes on she is 40" then as long as they are sneakers they will not ask her to take them off to be measured. (they have asked kids to take their shoes off when they are flip flops as you have to take those off during the ride since they could fall off)
i would only make a FP+ if she is tall enough with sneakers on.

 

[HopperFan]

VERY. I know it may seem like no big deal but they are very serious about safety. DD worked at Soarin' and guests were always trying to get their kids in that don't meet the height. I know Soarin' seems like it should be fine but there is a reason. E-stops. That's when they have to flip the switch to an emergency stop and it happens often. On Soarin' that is a hard stop and get the seats down that would be similar to a car seat belt being locked in during a slam of brakes. A height shorter than required could be injured from the belt. E-stops happen for all kinds of reasons - CMs are watching cameras - they see everyone and what they are doing up there....

 

[cjparker0110]

As the former Six Flags worker posted, those limits are for safety. I worked at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA for several years. The park employees do not set the height requirements, the ride engineers that built it do. They go through extensive testing to see what is safe. If they aren't tall enough to ride, they should not be on the ride. The result could be death or dismemberment. Neither is acceptable and should not be risked just to enjoy a ride...no matter how great the ride is. Let her enjoy the rides she can and then come back in a couple of years to enjoy the ones she is missing out on.

We are going to have the same issue in 2017 when we go. Our two oldest should be tall enough for most rides while our two youngest will likely be under 40 inches. (we have a 17 month old right now, and one due in September). I know the current 17month old (who will be 3 at the time) will want to do what his older brother and sister are doing....and will likely fuss about not being able to go on some of those rides. The other one may or may not care as he/she will be about 18 months at the time. Either way, I would never risk it. And neither should you.

 

[Pigletpal40]

When our oldest son, now 14, was four or five, he was right at the limits for most of the rides. We prepared him and told him he would have to stand up straight when they measured. He would stand as straight as he could and bump his head on the measuring stick every time they brought it out. After a few rides, a lot of the cm's recognized him and wouldn't bother. A little preparation and coaching, also there is that chance they may not be able to ride, have a plan "B" of something special they can do if they're tuned away. Ice cream usually works.

 

[Kathryn777]

I agree with training then to stand straight so they understand they want to touch the stick. And generally speaking shoes add enough. Although I've heard of them asking kids to remove them I have only seen it if they had higher than normal looking shoes

 

[kgkg]

Thank you everyone. My trip will be in October. I will ask my daughter to eat more, sleep more, and exercise more. Hopefully, she will grow half an inch by then.

 

[Tremaine Fans]

Years ago my dd was checked at the gate for rock n roller coaster and allowed through...after waiting nearly an hour they re-checked her at the start of the ride and said she was not tall enough. I totally understand the need for safety, but wish that they hadnt let us through that first height check. My dd was crushed

 

[Iowajes]

If she is very close to the limit, try to ride at the very beginning of the day. You are tallest in the morning, before all the discs in your spine compress.

Also, teacher her that she WANTS to hit the bar when they measure- stand up as straight and tall as she can. Some kids scrunch or duck a bit thinking they shouldn't. It seems obvious to an adult, but you just never know what they are thinking.

And as long as her shoes don't LOOK tall, they don't usually make kids take them off.

 

[ParkaPooh]

We waited in, luckily, the Fastpass line for DS3 last year for 7DMT for 25 minutes on a Tuesday. He was approved at the beginning and denied at the end. We were really understanding, just mostly frustrated that they didn't say no at the beginning. They did give us 12 anytime fastpasses (we were with a large group), allowed us to rider swap with DS7, and gave us a card that is a fastpass for our family to ride when he is tall enough; we actually have a lot of those passes. Interestingly enough, he was tall enough by that Friday, so we rode with no issues.

 

[disnut8]

Years ago my dd was checked at the gate for rock n roller coaster and allowed through...after waiting nearly an hour they re-checked her at the start of the ride and said she was not tall enough. I totally understand the need for safety, but wish that they hadnt let us through that first height check. My dd was crushed

To the OP - yes, your daughter will be measured twice for each attraction with a requirement. She could pass the first one and not the second one so prepare her for that.

My advice? If she makes the first one, celebrate by deciding to get ice cream after the ride. If she makes the second one, celebrate by deciding to get ice cream after the ride. If she fails the first one, drown your sorrows with ice cream. If she makes the first one and fails the second one, drown your sorrows with ice cream.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

They are very strict with height requiredments becasue it is a safety issue.

 

[Beth06015]

My coworker told me this week that earlier this month he saw a couple kids go through under the bar, that he felt the CMs were really eager to please the guests. I'm thinking they probably ended up turned away at the end. I have a 39.5 inch son in sneaks. Thanks for all the Intel

 

[skyfranks]

Years ago my dd was checked at the gate for rock n roller coaster and allowed through...after waiting nearly an hour they re-checked her at the start of the ride and said she was not tall enough. I totally understand the need for safety, but wish that they hadnt let us through that first height check. My dd was crushed

We waited in, luckily, the Fastpass line for DS3 last year for 7DMT for 25 minutes on a Tuesday. He was approved at the beginning and denied at the end. We were really understanding, just mostly frustrated that they didn't say no at the beginning. They did give us 12 anytime fastpasses (we were with a large group), allowed us to rider swap with DS7, and gave us a card that is a fastpass for our family to ride when he is tall enough; we actually have a lot of those passes. Interestingly enough, he was tall enough by that Friday, so we rode with no issues.

When DD was just tall enough for Space Mountain they checked her at the entrance and again at the ride car. She wanted to ride it several times and every single time she was checked. I held my breath every time waiting for the rules to change. I am all for safety and she was prepared not to be allowed on but when they do it this way, always rechecking and perhaps having a different CM decide differently is not very "magical" at all and adds stress to the situation. If she's not tall enough, okay, but make a firm decision and stick to it. That's what made me batty that year. I'm so glad she's tall enough for everything now but at the time was a bit disappointed there wasn't a better system in place to make an actual ruling on her height that didn't have the possibility of being revoked by another cast member who felt differently.