Age Requirement for Maelstrom?

[sbkline]

We're going in April and it will be the 2nd trip for our son, who will turn 5 in May. We have been planning on leaving our 1 1/2 year old daughter at home with the grandparents, like we did last year, but today we were discussing the possibility of taking her with us. In looking in the Unofficial Guide about the height/age requirements for some of the rides, I was surprised to see that it listed Maelstrom as having a minimum 3 year old age requirement. I never knew that, although I guess I shouldn't have known it since we have never taken a child under 3, but I was surprised to see that. Is that accurate information? Any possibility that it's just left over from older editions of the book and has never been caught in the editing process when releasing the new annual editions?


There is nothing dangerous that I can think of in that ride. The only explanation I can think of is that they're afraid that the trolls might scare a younger child, but that still sounds pretty stupid to me. Is that a requirement that they enforce with any kind of vigor, or would we be likely to be able to sneek past?

 

[Enchantâmes]

We're going in April and it will be the 2nd trip for our son, who will turn 5 in May. We have been planning on leaving our 1 1/2 year old daughter at home with the grandparents, like we did last year, but today we were discussing the possibility of taking her with us. In looking in the Unofficial Guide about the height/age requirements for some of the rides, I was surprised to see that it listed Maelstrom as having a minimum 3 year old age requirement. I never knew that, although I guess I shouldn't have known it since we have never taken a child under 3, but I was surprised to see that. Is that accurate information? Any possibility that it's just left over from older editions of the book and has never been caught in the editing process when releasing the new annual editions?


There is nothing dangerous that I can think of in that ride. The only explanation I can think of is that they're afraid that the trolls might scare a younger child, but that still sounds pretty stupid to me. Is that a requirement that they enforce with any kind of vigor, or would we be likely to be able to sneek past?

I have never heard of Age Requirements for rides... :lookaroun

 

[trr1]

We're going in April and it will be the 2nd trip for our son, who will turn 5 in May. We have been planning on leaving our 1 1/2 year old daughter at home with the grandparents, like we did last year, but today we were discussing the possibility of taking her with us. In looking in the Unofficial Guide about the height/age requirements for some of the rides, I was surprised to see that it listed Maelstrom as having a minimum 3 year old age requirement. I never knew that, although I guess I shouldn't have known it since we have never taken a child under 3, but I was surprised to see that. Is that accurate information? Any possibility that it's just left over from older editions of the book and has never been caught in the editing process when releasing the new annual editions?


There is nothing dangerous that I can think of in that ride. The only explanation I can think of is that they're afraid that the trolls might scare a younger child, but that still sounds pretty stupid to me. Is that a requirement that they enforce with any kind of vigor, or would we be likely to be able to sneek past?

from the disney site

Maelstrom is a family-friendly adventure
Height Requirement:
Any Height
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/attractions/maelstrom/

 

[sbkline]

from the disney site

Maelstrom is a family-friendly adventure
Height Requirement:
Any Height
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/attractions/maelstrom/

There is no mention of any height requirement in that link, although it does say that guests with young children may take turns experiencing the attraction.

Either way, I double checked in the 2011 Unofficial Guide, and in at least two different spots, it says that there is a minimum age requirement of 3 years old (no height requirement). I'm really hoping that it is old information that hasn't been corrected, or that they just don't enforce it.

 

[muse1983]

Simple solution...skip Maelstrom...:lol:

 

[plaz10]

I have heard of this age requirement in another thread somewhere.

I'm sure that if you bring your child through the queue that no one will say "hey, lets see some ID...she only looks about 2!"

You could easily just try to ride and see if there are any problems. If so, skip it. It may depend on the cast member as well.

 

[sbkline]

Skipping it is an option, as is doing the rider switch thing. But I just hate to do either one of those options for a safe, slow moving boat ride that poses no threat to a baby. This will be the third trip in which we have met up with our friends from North Carolina, and on the previous two trips, we have enjoyed bumming around Epcot at evening EMH and just taking in the leisurely rides: Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, Grand Fiesta, Nemo and Maelstrom. I just hate the thought of not being able to do this ride since I enjoy all the family rides that we can do together without having to switch or skip. Most of the rides that my 4 year old can do now, but the baby cannot, are rides that my wife doesn't want to do anyway, except for Test Track. So we may have to do the rider swap for Test Track and I really didn't want to have to do that for another ride, especially since there is no safety issue that I can think of.

But oh well, we just have to do what we gotta do I guess. We haven't even made a final decision to take our daughter yet, at this point, although we seem to be leaning in that direction.

 

[lilclerk]

Huh, it says the same thing on allears.net too
http://allears.net/tp/rr.htm

I'm wondering if it's due to the "scary" factor of the trolls? :shrug: It doesn't seem to be a safety issue, as then there would be a height restriction and the drop doesn't seem to be any worse than Pirates anyway.

*edit - I guess the drop is bigger than Pirates... but still, no height restriction?

 

[sbkline]

Huh, it says the same thing on allears.net too
http://allears.net/tp/rr.htm

I'm wondering if it's due to the "scary" factor of the trolls? :shrug: It doesn't seem to be a safety issue, as then there would be a height restriction and the drop doesn't seem to be any worse than Pirates anyway.

*edit - I guess the drop is bigger than Pirates... but still, no height restriction?

The drop, even though bigger than the one on Pirates, is still harmless. I can see no safety issue whatsoever, and tend to agree that it's probably due to the "scary" factor you mentioned. Even so, it still really ticks me off, since that's MY job to make that determination for my children, not theirs.

 

[cowanfamily]

I took my son on it at age 6 months, 1 1/2 years, 2 , 3 , 4 and he will be riding it as a 5 yr old as well. The age requirement info is a load of crap!

 

[powlessfamily4]

I'm thinking it might freak a 3 year old out. Although I do know 1 kid who rode it at 6 months, 1 1/2 years, 2 , 3 , 4 and he will be riding it as a 5 yr old as well. He also has a Dad who thinks the age requirement is a load of crap.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

DS rode it at 8 months and 16 months.

 

[crispy]

Both of my daughters have ridden it when they were under three, and it was never an issue at all. That's really strange.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

How many threads have there been where people say they lie about their kids' ages (and never get questioned about it) to save on the price of admission?

If Disney isn't motivated to check birth certificates in a situation where not doing so costs them money, I'd feel 100% safe in saying they're not doing it in reference to letting kids on a ride.

In other words...take your daughter on Maelstrom. Nobody's going to stop you.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

My parents got me on Splash Mountain in 1994 and I was 2. I was as tall as my cousins shoulder who is 3 years older the me so I guess thats how they pulled it off. I don't remember it being a big event so they must of covered my eyes or something LOL. Back in 1998 my sister who was 3 or 4 at the time rode Thunder Mountain. I still remember riding Maelstrom for the first time in 1994. I wasn't scared and I didn't fly out of the boat while going down the drop. An age limit for Maelstrom is ridiculous in my opinion.

 

[sbkline]

My parents got me on Splash Mountain in 1994 and I was 2. I was as tall as my cousins shoulder who is 3 years older the me so I guess thats how they pulled it off. I don't remember it being a big event so they must of covered my eyes or something LOL. Back in 1998 my sister who was 3 or 4 at the time rode Thunder Mountain. I still remember riding Maelstrom for the first time in 1994. I wasn't scared and I didn't fly out of the boat while going down the drop. An age limit for Maelstrom is ridiculous in my opinion.

Splash Mountain is based on height, though, not age. So if you're big for your age as a 2 year old and meet the 36 inch requirement, then you would qualify. Conversely, I suppose, if you're a 25 year old primordial dwarf, then I guess you wouldn't be able to ride.

But I am glad to hear that you and others were able to get onto Maelstrom without being 3 years old. I'm not going to put my child in danger just to get her on a ride (like trying to sneak her into Expedition Everest), but like I said, I can't see what the possible danger could be on Maelstrom. I'm also not going to lie about her age just to get her onto a ride (although I'm sure I couldn't pass her off as a 3 year old even if I tried!), so I'm glad to hear that they don't seem to enforce it very strictly.

 

[Master Yoda]

My youngest daughter rode it at 12 days old. If it is a rule it is not enforced.

 

[rustysgirl]

out of all of the times i've ridden maelstrom i've never heard anyone ask how old a child is. of course i may not have been paying complete attention to people around me but i still don't get how they could prove it. are they expecting people to whip out a birth certificate?? thats really strange! i say try to ride when there's little wait time that way if they say no u wouldn't have wasted much time waiting in line for it. i hope u get to ride as a family =)

 

[WelshBatman]

Perhaps the age requirement is for the film at the end of the ride, except nowadays you can just walkthrough at anytime as they keep the doors open. The film could be kind of intense (at least the viking parts) for little kids and they want to crack down on little kids crying or whatnot during the film. The only catch with that would be, there'd have to be age requirements on virtually every film like It's Tough to Be a Bug or Captain Eo because they have equally intense moments for little kids. However, those are standalone attractions unlike the Maelstrom which is the ride followed by the movie.

That said, I'd say it depends on your children and what they can handle. My niece and nephew have been riding the Maelstrom since before they were three and they love it. If there is an age requirement, they certainly don't enforce it and I figure they leave it up to the parents to decide. It might just be a suggestion because of the film.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

Splash Mountain is based on height, though, not age. So if you're big for your age as a 2 year old and meet the 36 inch requirement, then you would qualify. Conversely, I suppose, if you're a 25 year old primordial dwarf, then I guess you wouldn't be able to ride.

But I am glad to hear that you and others were able to get onto Maelstrom without being 3 years old. I'm not going to put my child in danger just to get her on a ride (like trying to sneak her into Expedition Everest), but like I said, I can't see what the possible danger could be on Maelstrom. I'm also not going to lie about her age just to get her onto a ride (although I'm sure I couldn't pass her off as a 3 year old even if I tried!), so I'm glad to hear that they don't seem to enforce it very strictly.

My parents would never bring me on expedition everest but I always sat between them on Splash Mountain and thunder Mountain. When my sister came along I was fighting all day because I wanted to ride with my parents but when my sister came along I was sitting with my Grandparents LOL. Almost All my disney childhood memories are with them and out of habit I still end up in the same car with one of them when they go LOL.