Minimum Height Requirement vs. Age?

[ZanneTD]

Hello, all! I have a question for all CMs at WDW that has been bothering me:

I've read in threads here about the minimum height requirements, parents who would do anything to "increase" their child's height so that they may be let on rides.... For children who may meet the height requirement, could they also be too young?

Given the incident at M:S where it was reported the 4-year old met the height requirement, what is CM discretion for children who may be too young to ride? Is it possible to stop a parent with questionable judgement from taking their child on the ride, thus possibly preventing lawsuits when their child is hurt/killed?

Thanks in advance,
Z.

[BirdMom]

The height requirements don't necessarilly tie into age. I've seen kids both ways that are very tall or very short for their age. Height has much to do with the child's body mass. Someone who works M:S is going to have to answer the second part of your question.

I'm a former DL ride operator. Back in my day we had height requirements for most restricted rides, except for Matterhorn which had an age requirement of at least 3. What I was told by my bosses was that the imagineers who designed the rides came up with the restrictions (height/age) in consultation with pediatric orthopedists. We were told that on Matterhorn the average 3-year-old skeleton was developed enough to take the G-forces that the riders are subject to. Any smaller could result in a broken neck. One of the problems was that the original track was created for single sleds and they doubled up the sleds in the late 70's to increase capacity, but that also placed greater physical forces on the people riding in the rear sled. I am unsure if the last retrofit took care of this problem or not.

Height requirements again have to do with the forces that the rider's body is subject to and the minimum safe size for a child to come out o.k. I don't know how many times I was seated in the control tower at Splash and witnessed the smallest riders getting a bit of air on drop five, where the parents would literally grab onto the kid with one hand. If a child is too short they are going to be too light to go down the drops and they can possibly be teeny enough to be launched like a missile. Pirates didn't matter because the angle of the drops wasn't steep or high enough to make a kid rise up out of the seat involuntarilly.

At the end of the day it's about safety, and some parents are too pigheaded to realize that. Stuffing paper towels into the kid's sneakers is doing him no favors if he's not got the right body mass to safely ride the attraction.

[ZanneTD]

Thank you, BirdMom. I can appreciate the physiological explanation. What I guess I can't wrap my brain around is - as unfortunate as the incident was - even if a 4-year old or even younger has the body mass that allows the kid on the ride, would the kid appreciate or even remember the experience the same as an older kid with the same height/body mass? (The reason I ask is my brother was 3' 3" tall when he was 2 years old - he's 6' 7" now, and almost too tall for Space Mountain LOL)

The particular case seems to me to be a Catch-22... parental responsibility vs. the expertise of CMs and adherence to safety, where is parental accountability? If a parent takes a kid on a ride then blames Disney when the kid is hurt.... it just seems to me to be a SGT on the parents' part, and unfortunate for the CMs who are so diligent.

Thank you again! :)

[Yeti Chaser]

Our biggest concern is of parents who do not take into account their child's saftey and well being. We are told that even if a child has a pair of platform type footwear on to boost their height, there is nothing we can do. We can however make a child take off their hat to measure them. One favorite ploy by guests is to put their child's hair up to make them appear to be taller, it does not pass muster with us. As for stuffing shoes with paper towels, most parents who do that will announce to their party ( in ear shot of the CM) of their intention. For those parents, the child still does not get admitted.

At the attraction I work at, we have a minimum age requirement for riding by themselves (will not devulge it here). If they don't make it, they need someone to ride with them.

One other issue we have is with parents who attempt to drag their crying, screaming child onto the attraction. We talk to the child, not the parent, to see if the child wants to get off the attraction. Most parents will of course say that the child will be okay. If the child contiunes to cry and say no they do not want to ride, we ask the parent and child to exit the ride. The parent is given a Rider Switch Pass. We have yet to lose to a parent in this type of situation, and we have GSM's who back us up.

[ThunderCat]

Our biggest concern is of parents who do not take into account their child's saftey and well being. We are told that even if a child has a pair of platform type footwear on to boost their height, there is nothing we can do. We can however make a child take off their hat to measure them. One favorite ploy by guests is to put their child's hair up to make them appear to be taller, it does not pass muster with us.

I've actually had parents ask, when told their kid was too short, "Is there a form or waver I can sign absolving you of any liability?" It's almost a "Here's Your Sign" moment... I smile sadly and say "No, sorry." But what I want to say is, "Can you wait here while I call Family Services? They'll want to talk to you about your willingness to put your child at risk."

As far as the platform shoes and hair goes: If a child is very obviously wearing platform shoes (platform flipflops are all the rage for girls these days - even my ex-GF wore a pair) and it's close, then yes, I will happily deny a child access. And if the parent says anything, I just smile and say "If there's a mishap on the ride, those shoes aren't going to help them a bit." As for the hair, I just put my hand on top of the child's head. If my hand fits under the height bar, they're not riding. Never had a complaint yet]safety[/I] issue." I'm not trying to intimidate... just look authoritative (which is hard when you're dressed up like a cowboy).

My big beef is with the jokers who decide to "help out" by standing around saying things like "Oh yeah! He's big enough! C'mon, man!" ... and it's not even their kid.

The first time they interrupt me, I'll say, "Sir, I have the situation well in hand, thanks." The second time, I'll say "Sir, I'll decide if he's tall enough or not. Thank you." That usually shuts them up, although I did have a guy growl back, "I wasn't talkin' to you." My reply: "No, but you were interfering with my job, which is trying to make sure all my guests are safe. If you like, I'll be happy to have one of our Security Cast Members come over to explain this to you." :D:

[dudspizza]

We witnessed an incident at Valleyfair near Minneapolis a few years ago that appalled us. Our daughter was close to the heigh to ride the corkscrew, so we went up to have her measured. If she didn't make it, we were fine with that. Well, she just barely made it. She was so close that they put a wristband on her, but also told us that they would be checking her at every ride still and she could be denied if she didn't make the height.

A guy then came up while we were finishing up with the CM and had his kid measured. His kid was easily 2 inches too short and when told his kid could not ride.... he went nuts claiming he had to pay full price for his kid.... blah, blah, blah. He ended up getting a supervisor and the whole 9 yards.... and in the end, I think they let him ride. I wanted to call family services on this moron........

Yelling, cheating, whatever idiot parents do is not worth their child's safety...... if your child is too short when you measure at home, don't go! Simple, isn't it?

Duds

[darph nader]

Thundercat you hit the nail right on the head. PARENTAL RESPONSIBILTY!!! That poor little 5yr old who passed away on MS,last I heard his parents are suing Disney. "Hey WE messed up,it's all YOUR fault". WTF??? Any parent who will 'knowingly' try/put their kids in danger should be "bitch" slapped from here to hell and back. Even by the courts. :mad:

[DLRFantasmic!Dan]

I work at Astro Orbitor and Buzz Lightyear where the age requirement is 7 years of age to go alone. I've been told it's a responsibility thing. 7 year old are responsible for not jumping out of a moving vehicle. I can't believe of what parents lying and then having their child lie about their age. Hey, it's their child safety! That just ticks me off.

[PirateJohn]

I can't believe of what parents lying and then having their child lie about their age. Hey, it's their child safety! That just ticks me off.

And, of course, when their habitual lying does result in a serious injury, they blame Disneyland for it.

[DLRFantasmic!Dan]

Yeah, it would be our word against theirs. We just say that parents lied to us and giving us a wrong age just so they can have their child ride alone.