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

[TXAKDisneyFan]

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.

Ugh. Some people.
The ones at Dinosaur were only a few feet apart if memory serves. *shrug*

 

[BigredNole]

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.

Kids have no clue what height requirements are. They can only be explained by their parents. What you did was tell your 5yo twins is that it is Mickey's fault they can't ride. If you game the system, get them on when they are not tall enough, and they are injured, you would blame Mickey too with a lawsuit. Parents have no care for their child's safety. There does not have to be any consistency to it. All they need to do is have a measuring stick at the ride entrance and again near the ride loading. If they don't fit, they don't ride. It is as simple as that.

Now, can Disney do more? Maybe. They could attach a height to each child's Magicband declaring what rides they meet the requirements for. However, that poses the problem of people just swapping Magicbands.

 

[dnw25]

Have a right on the dot 40" DS....a little confused by this thread. If they shrug when measured, the CMs don't let them stand up straight and try again?

Seems like they immediately toss you from the line. Ouch.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Many years ago, one of my kids was able to ride Tower of Terror, which had a height requirement of 40 inches. After exiting ToT, we immediately walked over to Star tours, which also had a height requirement of 40 inches, and he was denied He must have been just borderline, and ToT might have skewed slightly shorter. This was MANY years ago (probably 2008 or so?) but if a kid is borderline, don't expect that he will be able to ride all rides, just because he was able to ride one with same height requirement.

 

[maxiesmom]

Have a right on the dot 40" DS....a little confused by this thread. If they shrug when measured, the CMs don't let them stand up straight and try again?

Seems like they immediately toss you from the line. Ouch.

They don't immediately toss you from the line. They will typically try to help a child to stand up straight. But they can't hold the line up too long.

 

[djc9699]

These requirements are for the safety of the child. I would rather Disney err on the side of caution rather than the restraints not fit and a child be injured. If a child is close or right at the desired height and they don't hit the bar, just say maybe next time let's try something else. Why make a big deal out of it. You can't change anything and it really is for your child's safety.

 

[nutshell]

These requirements are for the safety of the child. I would rather Disney err on the side of caution rather than the restraints not fit and a child be injured. If a child is close or right at the desired height and they don't hit the bar, just say maybe next time let's try something else. Why make a big deal out of it. You can't change anything and it really is for your child's safety.

And as part of that safety Disney has no doubt created a buffer zone. If a child is a hair under 40" they aren't going to break their neck if they get past the bar with tall shoes for example. Also, it would be nice if Disney's bars were consistent.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

My DD had to be measured at Everest a couple years ago and there was a clear dip in the ground right in front of the stick. We never measured with a child who was borderline so it was never a problem for us but it was pretty clear to us that there could be a lot of disappointment at that ride at that time.

 

[maxiesmom]

And as part of that safety Disney has no doubt created a buffer zone. If a child is a hair under 40" they aren't going to break their neck if they get past the bar with tall shoes for example. Also, it would be nice if Disney's bars were consistent.

I think they are consistent. It is not a hard thing to do, make them all the same. And what would be the point of not being consistent?

When we are talking fractions of an inch many other things can make the child hit the bar one time and not hit it another time. Shoes, posture, time of day, how much the child tries, they all affect the outcome.

 

[Babsy]

WDW does not do wrist band measurements. There are two measuring points, one at the start of the queue and one just before loading ride vehicle. It is not uncommon for a first measurement to be ok , but the second measurement is a no go.

This happened to my Granddaughter in October! She was really disappointed!

 

[Babs1975]

Shoes on! When my son was just under 40 inches, he got on one ride and not the other. Depends on who is taking the measurement!!

 

[nutshell]

I think they are consistent. It is not a hard thing to do, make them all the same. And what would be the point of not being consistent?

When we are talking fractions of an inch many other things can make the child hit the bar one time and not hit it another time. Shoes, posture, time of day, how much the child tries, they all affect the outcome.

Maybe they are. Maybe they aren't. Without measuring ourselves we don't really know.

 

[Mamapapa]

Kids have no clue what height requirements are. They can only be explained by their parents. What you did was tell your 5yo twins is that it is Mickey's fault they can't ride. If you game the system, get them on when they are not tall enough, and they are injured, you would blame Mickey too with a lawsuit. Parents have no care for their child's safety. There does not have to be any consistency to it. All they need to do is have a measuring stick at the ride entrance and again near the ride loading. If they don't fit, they don't ride. It is as simple as that. Now, can Disney do more? Maybe. They could attach a height to each child's Magicband declaring what rides they meet the requirements for. However, that poses the problem of people just swapping Magicbands.

Holy crap!! Did you wake up on the angry side of the bed today?! First of all, I didn't "game the system". If my kids weren't tall enough to ride, they didn't ride. I have no idea where you got the idea that I was trying to get them on when Disney said they were too short. While I disagreed with the height sticks, I NEVER argued with a CM. We simply left the line and that's where my comment about explaining the height sticks came into play. When they were tall enough for the stick at the front of the line and not tall enough for the stick at the loading area, how do you explain that? 5yo's aren't dumb. They know what a height stick is and they know they were tall enough at the front of the line but not at the back and they know there should be consistency in a stick that is using a standard measuring system to check height! I never told my kids "it is Mickey's fault they can't ride". Did you even read my post?! I work in insurance handling general liability litigation claims. I am well aware of safety issues and I handle frivolous million dollar lawsuits on a daily basis, so even though my post had zero reference to me trying to slip my short kids on a ride so they could get hurt and then I could sue Disney, I can assure you that wouldn't happen since I deal with that crap at work. Seriously, take a chill pill and stop putting words in my mouth. You obviously completely missed the point of my post. I hope your day today is much happier then when you quoted my post!!

 

[DizneyLizzy]

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".

We found them to be all over the place in September. Our son who measured 39 1/2 inches at home in bare feet was easily tall enough for Big Thunder, but not even close to the measuring stick for Star Tours. He was wearing the same shoes, and tried to ride these attractions on the same day. His friend who is at least an inch shorter than he is was tall enough for ALL of the 40 inch rides on her trip, which was about a week after ours. So YMMV for sure. Good luck!

 

[DisneyMom93]

And as part of that safety Disney has no doubt created a buffer zone. If a child is a hair under 40" they aren't going to break their neck if they get past the bar with tall shoes for example.

I agree, but I guess Disney has to draw the line somewhere.

I think it's interesting how they base it on height. Some kids have longer legs and shorter torsos, or longer torsos and shorter legs. Two children that are the exact same height won't fit into restraints the same. Having a short torso will make you sit lower under shoulder restraints. Wearing shoes with a one-inch sole will make them taller, but it won't make them sit up taller.

Makes me wonder what they do with someone that has no legs. Can they not ride any rides with height restrictions?

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Not sure how it's so hard to explain to a child about height restrictions - it's simple safety.

If you don't fit in the seat, you could fall out!!! Tell them it's just like their car seats, those are shaped for their bodies and therefore safe. But anything where you just sit down under a lap bar or belt AND you're not the right size, you could totally fall out of the ride!

 

[Stasieki]

Just make sure he knows to stand straight and 'hit' the bar. Stories of kids not realizing your head should hit the bar and then not getting to ride

This times 10! Happened to my 44 incher on Primeval Whirl this past Sept. The cast member actually directed her to stand under the bar. So she ducked down. The next day she tried again and literally backed into the bar banging her head. LOL. She was let on every time after that.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I agree, but I guess Disney has to draw the line somewhere.

I think it's interesting how they base it on height. Some kids have longer legs and shorter torsos, or longer torsos and shorter legs. Two children that are the exact same height won't fit into restraints the same. Having a short torso will make you sit lower under shoulder restraints. Wearing shoes with a one-inch sole will make them taller, but it won't make them sit up taller.

Makes me wonder what they do with someone that has no legs. Can they not ride any rides with height restrictions?

There is a whole field of engineering around human factors that takes into account the size ranges of human body parts (among other things). I don’t know, but would expect that Disney has people in that field who have looked at things like the torso length distribution for children of a particular height and factored all of that it. Or I could be giving them too much credit.

The thing I think Disney should improve upon is the issue of kids meeting the bar at the entrance and then not meeting it at the front of the line. IMO that should never happen unless a family is pulling some sort of switch to get their kid on the ride. The last bar should be set an eighth or a quarter inch lower than the entrance (within safety margins, etc, etc, and not tell us they’re doing it). An honest family should never be told their kid is fine at the entrance, wait in a long line with every expectation of riding and have Disney yank the carpet out at the last minute. I’m ok with the sticks not being completely consistent from ride to ride but not within the same ride. They should just be guarding against someone sneaking a short child into line which they have other measures to prevent as well.

 

[Magpie]

Makes me wonder what they do with someone that has no legs. Can they not ride any rides with height restrictions?

I actually got curious about your question and did some Googling. Disney has nothing officially posted about amputees, and I have seen people with prosthetic limbs around the park. So I assume it's handled on a case-by-case basis.

Rumour has it that on Soarin', apparently, amputees above the knee are asked to wear the center strap (the one they use to buckle in little kids).

Universal said this, a few years back:

"Guests must remove prosthetic legs or feet before riding Dragon Challenge™, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™ or Pteranodon Flyers® to prevent hazards or loss due to ride forces. Guests must remove prosthetic limbs before riding Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit® to prevent hazards or loss due to ride forces.

Prosthetic limbs should be properly attached before riding the following attractions to prevent hazards or loss due to ride forces: Revenge of the Mummy®, The Simpsons Ride®, Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster®, Incredible Hulk Coaster®, Jurassic Park River Adventure®, Flight of the Hippogriff™, Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls®, Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges®, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall®. Any guest with prosthetic arms or hands will be required to ensure the limb is properly attached and be able to grasp the ride restraint. Certain hand, arm, leg, and joint elements may be required to ride safely. If you have any questions, please ask a ride attendant or visit Guest Services."

Universal was sued a few years back, because they wouldn't let two amputees ride the Mummy due to the fact hat they were not wearing prosthetic arms and couldn't grasp the ride restraint.

(Edited to add: I found the resolution to the case! The court ruled Universal was within its rights to bar them from the ride: http://entertainmentdesigner.com/ne...-coaster-will-this-affect-future-ride-design/)

Basically, it's highly unlikely Disney would allow someone with no legs (and no prosthetics) to ride any coaster unless it had over the shoulder restraints (like the Dragon Challenge used to have). Back in 2011 an Iraqi War veteran, and double amputee, died after being flung from a roller coaster in Syracuse, New York. He was the second person to meet misfortune on that coaster - the first being a 300+ pound man whose size prevented the lap bar from lowering to a locked position. Fortunately, he survived, and lap belts were installed afterward. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to save the veteran.

Intense rides are designed for a particular body configuration. If you deviate significantly from that, you won't be safe on the ride.

After reading all this, all I can think is... can you imagine trying to ride the Tower of Terror if you had no legs and weren't wearing really secure prosthetics???

 

[Mamapapa]

The thing I think Disney should improve upon is the issue of kids meeting the bar at the entrance and then not meeting it at the front of the line. IMO that should never happen unless a family is pulling some sort of switch to get their kid on the ride. The last bar should be set an eighth or a quarter inch lower than the entrance (within safety margins, etc, etc, and not tell us they’re doing it). An honest family should never be told their kid is fine at the entrance, wait in a long line with every expectation of riding and have Disney yank the carpet out at the last minute.

YES!! Exactly this!! Some people on this thread seem to be missing that point. Height restrictions are for safety, we all agree with that, and that is easy to explain to children. But when they're tall enough to pass the test at the front of the line, and fail at the back of the line, and no matter how straight or tall they stand and after using all the tricks on this thread (morning versus night etc) they're still too short - that is not right. And that inconsistency is what bothers me.