44" Cutting It Close

tterrag24

tterrag24

Member
Original Poster
In preparation or just excitement for our August WDW trip, I have been measuring my 4 year old daughter and shes 42". Our trip is planned for august 14 and I know by the rate she is growing she's going to just reach 44" by then. Will the give me a hard time?
It would be fun if we could experience Expedition Everest for the first time, and space mountain and mission space again for the first time in 4 years since my daughter has was born.
 
rkelly42

rkelly42

Well-Known Member
Some of those rides might be a little to much for a 4yr old, but try if you wish. Just remember they are pretty serious about the height requirment and if she is even a hair shorter than most likely she will not be getting on. These are intense rides at times that adults choose to skip so make sure you do not force her to go on, could turn out bad for years to come.
 
njDizFan

njDizFan

Well-Known Member
I had the same issue when my daughter was 4. She was 42" inches when we booked the trip in August and thought she might grow 2 more inches by December. she only got to 43". She was eagerly waiting to ride SM and EE. WE tried but the CMs wouldnt let her pass. We had to wait til she was six when we went back. Then she was only 46" so no RnRC.

It's a bummer but there's always next time and it's probobly for the best as it is a safety concern.
 
A

AlishaSimonLee

New Member
If she is less than half an inch try shoe lifts or cardboard. But if they suspect them they will make the child take off the shoes. A cast memeber won't want to lose thier job so they do stick to the rules and I don't blame the parks for being so strict.
 
rct247

rct247

Well-Known Member
The height requirements are there for a reason and not there to take the fun out of your vacation. Do your best, but also be warned that if one CM allows your child one time because they are within 1/4 of an inch, there is a possibility that the next time on the same exact ride in the same exact day that that will NOT fly. When I was waiting in line for Big Thunder Mountain one night, the dad was even trying to show the manager the photo on his cell phone of his child riding it earlier that day. The manager wouldn't even budge.

I hope your child has the growth spurt you're hoping for, but please just keep it all in mind.
 
Fractal514

Fractal514

Well-Known Member
Regardless of whether or not your child makes the height requirement... Please DO NOT be that parent who argues with the poor cast member trying to do his/her job. We all hate that person and hope for them to get escorted out of the park.
 
Wilt Dasney

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
My favorite people were the parents who would tell their kids to stand on their tiptoes right in front of me. :lol:

Hope your daughter's DNA comes through for you. :wave:
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
When we went in Dec, they were pretty strict with the height limits. It's frustrating, but when it comes to their safety- I'm glad they don't take chances. Hey- at least your daughter is nearing the 44" mark. Our girls are short :lol: Back in Dec, DD4 was 38.25". I'm really hoping she surpasses the 40" mark by her 5th bday trip in August. We are also getting there on the 14th.
 
heartodisney

heartodisney

Active Member
"There's a fine line between saturday night and sunday morning"....my soon to be 4 y.o. DD is just now over 40 inches...but I just would not even think about taking her on some of the more intense rides..and I am with ya Fractal514..things like that could very well happen, and should.
 
T

TiggersPooh

Active Member
AlishaSimonLee said:
If she is less than half an inch try shoe lifts or cardboard. But if they suspect them they will make the child take off the shoes. A cast memeber won't want to lose thier job so they do stick to the rules and I don't blame the parks for being so strict.
Click to expand...

Disgusting

This better be a joke as guests that pull this crap really dont put their child's safety first.
 
sbkline

sbkline

Well-Known Member
Although it is conceivable that your child could have the desired growth spurt by the time of your trip, I would not recommend taking someone that young on EE, and I definitely wouldn't recommend "cheating" by putting cardboard in the shoes, etc.

My wife is very overprotective of our kids, and I tend to be the "oh, he'll be fine, honey" type, but even *I* wouldn't consider taking a child that young on EE. Our son will be doing his 2nd trip this year, and he's around 46 inches tall...I was really hoping he would be 48 inches tall by next week's trip so he can do Primeival Whirl with us, but it doesn't look like that's to be. He's technically tall enough to ride EE, but even if my wife would be willing to let him ride it, *I* would not. It's just too fast and bumpy for a child that young, IMO. And those height requirements are for their safety, so I would definitely recommend complying with it.
 
Clever Name

Clever Name

Well-Known Member
You wouldn't want to miss any of those high speed rides. Go down to your local Walmart and pick up some human growth hormone. Your child will meet the requirements in no time! :wave:
 
A

AlishaSimonLee

New Member
You must be a disgusting and horrable person for doing something like this. How dare you suggest something like that. People like you should be ..........
:ROFLOL:

My kind of humor! I love your post.
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
It can vary from ride to ride and person to person. My youngest daughter was 4 or 5 (August birthday, not sure when the trip was in the summer) when she JUST hit 44"

She rode SM, she rode Mission:Space Orange (back when there was no green or orange, it was all orange), she rode ToT, but they would not let her on EE. She was JUST 44", as in the bar would just touch the top of her head. When they would not let her on EE, we just said, well next time you will easily be tall enough. It was not a big deal.

-dave
 
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AlishaSimonLee

New Member
Phonedave said:
It can vary from ride to ride and person to person. My youngest daughter was 4 or 5 (August birthday, not sure when the trip was in the summer) when she JUST hit 44"

She rode SM, she rode Mission:Space Orange (back when there was no green or orange, it was all orange), she rode ToT, but they would not let her on EE. She was JUST 44", as in the bar would just touch the top of her head. When they would not let her on EE, we just said, well next time you will easily be tall enough. It was not a big deal.

-dave
Click to expand...

My son wanted to do Test Track and couldn't. I just promised him to take him on the go carts at Magic Kingdom. There is so much distraction that the younger ones forget about the bigger rides if you distract them.

As far as faking the height, Disney is not so dumb that they would make the minimum height the bare minimum for safety. They give it a few extra inches to cover themselves. I would feel safe if my 39 inch son went on a 40 inch ride. But I want to do all I can to protect my children in case something happens out of the ordinary on the ride.

Would I personally alter his height? No! Do I blame Disney for being strict? No! Do I think that a parent who uses shoe lifts is a bad person? No!
 
CheshireCatStef

CheshireCatStef

Member
Hey!
Good luck on the growing there, my younger son didn't grow as fast as we anticipated, and had to wait an extra year (three disney trips) before he hit the 40 inch mark and could do TOT, Splash, Thunder, etc, the first time, he was 4... meanwhile, my older son was 40 inches shortly before his 3rd birthday, and went on TOT, and all the others (yes, he was 2 when he went on it)... it's his favorite ride to this day (he's 11 now :)

The most important thing I think, is not to get the kids too excited, even if they are really really close to the height, because there is always a chance you will get a CM who is stricter than others, and won't let them ride. I think sometimes it's more upsetting to the child that you're upset that they can't go on, than them not actually being able to ride. And please, let the kid make the choice... no one wants to be behind/in front of someone who is too terrified and freaked out and crying/screaming to enjoy their own ride. (I wish some parents would realize this in shows as well as rides, but oh well...)
 

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