I know height requirements are strict, but how accurate are the measurements?

[DavidNYC]

If he's over 40" with shoes off you're fine. Any differences in height measurements are really only going to effect those squeaking by. With shoes he'll be closer to 41" and they're nowhere near that far different.

 

[Kerriowl]

We went in June when my son was 6 and 47.5 inches barefoot. He was right at 48 inches in his sneakers. We did have him measure short at Primeval Whirl. He burst into tears. When I told the CM he had been on RnRC the day before, she remeasured him and declared him tall enough. She told him to stand up very straight when he was remeasured at the front of the line. That was our only snafu. We are from Texas, and I did bring his cowboy boots to give him a little extra height, but they weren't needed.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

It isn't 3/4" off for others.

We are all smaller towards the end of the day. Our height rebounds overnight with rest and hydration. The forces of the day and of other rides smoosh us down.

And kids are difficult. My son was righteously tall enough for ST at the first marker at DL and then grew bored during the line and slouched. Then the CM put his hand on DS's shoulder as he measured at the second mark. DS slouched more and there was no ride. It was the same height as outside. But a bored kid with a dad who didn't react in time with encouragement.

I am not making this up, and I have some common sense. I know what I saw and what I am talking about. It was first thing in the morning before she had time to shrink, and she definitely had a handle on how to stand up straight. She wasn't a difficult child. She listened well and did as she was told. it definitely was about 3/4 inch taller than the one at btmrr, and off from the one outside at least at that time. That's probably why your son didn't make it too. He is close in age to my DD. The second measurement at star tours just before boarding was done on a slight slope. It was the only place all week she was questionable. It was different from all the others, and it has since been repositioned in a refurb.

 

[Wdwhubby]

I have to triple the AM/PM comment. DD was able to ride RR in the AM, just barely but she made it. We went back about 5 PM and she made it past the first stick at the FP entrance but was declined when they went to assign seats. She cried so hard and just could not understand, she was 6 at the time. Of course Disney took care of us and gave us a FP to TSM.

 

[MinMou]

Has anyone done Mission Space since they brought in the new Green version? My son is under 44" right now, and I wondered if we could sign up for the ride, and then just go to the 'lite"version if he is too short for the Orange version. We don't want to count on a growth spurt by then, but I would hate to miss out on some cool rides because we were being too cautious.
Kerriowl, we might try to see if we can get him some boots, in case we are a hair or 2 short of 44.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Has anyone done Mission Space since they brought in the new Green version? My son is under 44" right now, and I wondered if we could sign up for the ride, and then just go to the 'lite"version if he is too short for the Orange version. We don't want to count on a growth spurt by then, but I would hate to miss out on some cool rides because we were being too cautious.
Kerriowl, we might try to see if we can get him some boots, in case we are a hair or 2 short of 44.

If you have a FP+, it's good for either side of Mission Space (green or orange), you simply tell them which side you want to ride when you arrive and they place you in the corresponding line, so, yes, if you have FP+ and he isn't tall enough for Orange, you can go on Green. Just a word of caution, orange is quite intense. I would suggest researching the ride a little (if you haven't already) to determine if you really want to bring a young child on it.

 

[SueM in MN]

It has been a long time! More than a decade. But when our DD was exactly at the height requirement for RnRC some CMs would pass it and others not. We got her measured at guest services, which am extremely accurate measure, and she got a wrist band. Don't know if they still do it, but it saved a lot of time.

WDW did measuring and wrist bands for a very short time.
The main reason I read for them stopping it was that people were getting a child who was tall enough to ride measured and then switching the wrist band to a shorter child.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Thanks all for the help! We've already started practicing 'standing tall like superman' and I put the ruler right at the 40" mark and tell him to push it up with his head. He thinks it's funny. He's generally a little shy with people he doesn't know so I'm trying to turn it into a game so when we get to the actual time he'll know exactly what to do!

try having him push the ruler out from in front as the bar will be in front not on top of head

 

[maxiesmom]

DS is right at 40". The only measuring bar he was questionable at was for Dinosaur - we asked to use another measuring stick right next to the entrance (idk why there were two?) and he was fine w that one. Never had to take his shoes off.

There are 2 because some parents will cause a distraction and sneak a too short kid into line. Saw this happen at Soarin. I was waiting for my family (as I don't like Soarin) and it was almost comical. One parent went on some tirade, pointing one way, and the other rushed by with an obviously too short child. The second stick is the fail safe.

 

[cgattis]

Nope, because the the bar was about 3/4 of an inch higher. We went back to MK the next day and rode BTMRR without a problem.

We had the same experience on our very first trip.

 

[disneyvoice]

When my was little my son used to always insist on wearing his sneakers with the thickest soles so he would have the best chance of meeting the height requirement. No one ever asked him to remove his shoes. I have seen little girls wearing sandals with a slight heel to them or platform style sandals so they will meet the height requirement and I've never seen anyone question their height.

 

[scrapquitler]

We are headed to WDW in 3 months, and my son is 40 and 1/8" barefoot. I'm hoping he grows a bit between now and the time we go as well to give us more 'cushion' to get on the rides with 40" requirements, but I'm wondering how accurate the measuring stations are at the rides. Are the 40" ride measuring stations taller than 40" in your experience? Do they always make the kids take their shoes off (he wears tennis shoes, not platform sandals )? I'm not trying to cheat the system, and I know the requirements are strict for a reason, I just want to know if 40" is really 40" or more like 40.5-41".

They generally measure with shoes on, unless it looks like your child is wearing giant platforms to intentionally measure taller. And they measure twice, once at the entrance to the line, and once right before boarding. If your child measures okay on the first one, but not the second, he will not be allowed to ride. Have your child practice standing up straight and remind him that he WANTS his head to hit the bar...kids tend to slouch and avoid having the bar hit their head, so stress this to him.

 

[Chippy4]

On two different rides, my DS was measured and let in by the CM at the ride entrance (Flight of Passage and Space Mountain) and then measured again and rejected by the CM in the ride boarding area. My DS was also measured and successfully rode Mission Space Orange and Everest. These are all 44" rides and this all occurred on a one week trip. If your child is right at the height requirement, be prepared for some tears. Kids don't stand perfectly tall and I'm not positive the height sticks all measure exactly the same.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

On two different rides, my DS was measured and let in by the CM at the ride entrance (Flight of Passage and Space Mountain) and then measured again and rejected by the CM in the ride boarding area. My DS was also measured and successfully rode Mission Space Orange and Everest. These are all 44" rides and this all occurred on a one week trip. If your child is right at the height requirement, be prepared for some tears. Kids don't stand perfectly tall and I'm not positive the height sticks all measure exactly the same.

also as others have said kids plus adults tend to shrink during the day so a child might make the height in morning but later in the day not make if they are just making the height

 

[Chippy4]

also as others have said kids plus adults tend to shrink during the day so a child might make the height in morning but later in the day not make if they are just making the height

Right, but my DS -- on two different rides -- passed the measurement at the entrance to the ride and then was turned away at the loading area. Did he really shrink that much in the 20 minutes standing in line? Telling a kid he can ride and then taking that away after he's waited in line is pretty upsetting to a young child. It would be nice if the measuring devices and the CMs measuring were perfectly consistent, but, IME, they are not.

 

[maxiesmom]

Right, but my DS -- on two different rides -- passed the measurement at the entrance to the ride and then was turned away at the loading area. Did he really shrink that much in the 20 minutes standing in line? Telling a kid he can ride and then taking that away after he's waited in line is pretty upsetting to a young child. It would be nice if the measuring devices and the CMs measuring were perfectly consistent, but, IME, they are not.

I don't think it is easy to get a child to stand tall each time they are measured either. A little change in posture can make the difference if they are thisclose to the needed height.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Right, but my DS -- on two different rides -- passed the measurement at the entrance to the ride and then was turned away at the loading area. Did he really shrink that much in the 20 minutes standing in line? Telling a kid he can ride and then taking that away after he's waited in line is pretty upsetting to a young child. It would be nice if the measuring devices and the CMs measuring were perfectly consistent, but, IME, they are not.

yes had that happen with one grandson who would duck just enough to not hit the bar. but have also had another grandson who made the height and rode for a ride in morning but that afternoon didn't make height and this was same ride and stick. stick was in ground so CM was not able to change out come and not touching grandson. which was why a mentioned about shrinking

 

[Miranda Danda]

This was exactly my concern for my daughter’s first trip. She had just turned four and was right at 40 inches. All she wanted to do was ride ToT and we were so worried the Disney measurement may be different than the doctors office measurement. From our experience that trip and subsequent trips, the Disney measurements seem very consistent and accurate. I hope this helps!

 

[Mamapapa]

Right, but my DS -- on two different rides -- passed the measurement at the entrance to the ride and then was turned away at the loading area. Did he really shrink that much in the 20 minutes standing in line? Telling a kid he can ride and then taking that away after he's waited in line is pretty upsetting to a young child. It would be nice if the measuring devices and the CMs measuring were perfectly consistent, but, IME, they are not.

This is my biggest WDW pet peeve. We took our twins, who measured the exact same height in 2015 and the measuring sticks at WDW were all over the map. Sometimes one of the twins would make the height, sometimes they both would, sometimes neither. It was completely inconsistent and incredibly annoying. Not to mention how to explain to a couple of 5yo's why there was no consistency in whether or not they could ride a ride, especially if they were let on the day before but not the next day.

 

[maxiesmom]

This is my biggest WDW pet peeve. We took our twins, who measured the exact same height in 2015 and the measuring sticks at WDW were all over the map. Sometimes one of the twins would make the height, sometimes they both would, sometimes neither. It was completely inconsistent and incredibly annoying. Not to mention how to explain to a couple of 5yo's why there was no consistency in whether or not they could ride a ride, especially if they were let on the day before but not the next day.

And where is your proof that Disney's sticks are "all over the map"? Doesn't it make more sense that your child didn't stretch as tall? Or that the shoes may be a little different in height, which would also affect making the height mark or not? It is hard to get some kids to hit their heads on the bar when they are so close in height. A small difference in posture can make a big difference.

How do you explain it to 5 year olds? You put it as Hey, you may not hit the bar, but let's try! If they make the height, great! If they don't, don't stress it and make it a big deal. Say something like Oh well, we must have all shrunk a bit today. Lets go get an ice-cream/ride Small World/ride the train around the park. How the parent handles it has a big impact.