At what age was your child 40"

[teamblackwell]

Hi all,
My DS is 18 months old and is 33 1/2" tall(with shoes). I was wondering at what age did your kid reach the coveted 40" mark so they can ride the mountains :coaster:.
Thanks in advance

[mycutiepatooties]

My daughter is 3.5 yrs. old and just hit 40 inches without shoes.

[RockinRollerMom]

I took DD for the first time when she had just turned 4. The only thing that she was not tall enough to ride was rockin roller coaster (48 inches I think). She cried and cried. I knew then that I would have a thrill ride junkie on my hands.

[Gator]

I'm hoping for the same thing. My DD will be 3.5 when we go. I'm hoping she'll be 40 inches so she can ride Splash Mountain.

[Young@Heart]

My DD didn't hit 40 inches until after she turned 4, but she's a peanut! :mickey: She'll be 5 soon, and she's not even 41 yet. But, she's sooooo excited about being able to ride SplM and Soarin! There are actually quite a few more rides she'll be able to experience since she was only about 35 inches last trip.

[tadshome]

My son was 4 1/2 by the time he got to the 40" mark... and he still is kinda small :)

[AmberB]

My son was about 38" at 2 1/2 and 40" at 3 1/2. I measured him yesterday and he's a smidge over 42" at 4 1/2 years. If I had to compare him to other kids his age, I would say he's on the taller side of average. He's not small, but he doesn't stand out as really tall either.

[Speedy1998]

Both DS and DD were 3 when they were 40 inches. At 6 DD is tall enough (though not brave enough) to ride everything in the park.

[MickeyMomof2]

3.5

[Strmchsr]

DS was 3 when he hit 40", but at age 7 he's 58", so he's a little above average in height.

[kathiep]

DS is completely average in height. When we went when he was 3.5, he didn't make it. But at 4.5, he did.

[crltkcagle]

My four year old was just the right height for all of the rides last year.

[tinkerbell04]

My DD was three and a half when she was 40 inches. Her birthday is in January and the year she turned three, she wasn't tall enough to ride Splash in May when we went, but in September, she was tall enough. However, that was it for her, she rode it twice on that trip, but hasn't rode it since, and that has been since 2005! It was just too much for her to handle. She does love Big Thunder though :)

[Flower]

Brandon turned 4 in March and when we were there in October he was riding Soarin - his favourite ride!

He was not much taller when we went in January; I was actually kind of ticked off at one of the CM's on Soarin, he had been on it MANY times and this was to be our last ride on it of the trip. He was measured at the front of the line and we were admitted. When we got to the loading area a CM pulled him aside to re-measure him, fine....She went so far as to try to slide one of the red cards you sometimes get that measure ride times between his head and the measuring stick to make sure he was 40". So beware, some of the CM's can be VERY sticky when it comes to the 40"'s.

[mudpuppysmom]

DS was 3 the first time we went and he was above 40" (not well above, but above)......he continued to get measured each trip at Primeval Whirl until he hit it in January......he just kept saying "I'M TALL ENOUGH NOW MUMMA" over and over and over again......it took a couple years, but he's now tall enough.....now if only I can talk him out of the rides I can't stomach anymore!!

[Young@Heart]

He was not much taller when we went in January; I was actually kind of ticked off at one of the CM's on Soarin, he had been on it MANY times and this was to be our last ride on it of the trip. He was measured at the front of the line and we were admitted. When we got to the loading area a CM pulled him aside to re-measure him, fine....She went so far as to try to slide one of the red cards you sometimes get that measure ride times between his head and the measuring stick to make sure he was 40". So beware, some of the CM's can be VERY sticky when it comes to the 40"'s.

You've got to be kidding! How thick is this card? I know DD is over 40", but I would be so irritated if someone tried to argue over 1/64th of an inch or something. :(

[spoonfulosugar]

Great question! I was just thinking about this the other day. My oldest will be 3.5 for our next trip, but I wasn't thinking he'd be tall enough yet. Now I'm going to start measuring him to see if he'll have a chance next year!

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

Our daughter was one month shy of 4 in September when we were there and she just met the 40" mark. She got re-measured quite a few times on each ride. Better safe then sorry but, she was certainly annoyed!;)

[CrazyStitch]

My youngest was just shy of the 40" mark last trip, when she was 3. She couldn't ride Soarin' or Dinosaur (hey, brother and sister rode, so she wanted to too :p) and got really upset when she had to wait. She'll be turning 5 in September this year, and last I measured her, she was topping 42". I imagine I'll have one very happy DD on our next visit :)

[Buttercup]

My DS is 3 1/2 years old and just reached 41".
We just got back and he was thrilled to be able to ride lots of "big kid" rides. :mickey:

A lot of people say he's tall for being 3 years old, so I don't know if he's a freak or not. :D

[Mufasa]

Most children- boys and girls (95th percentile) will reach 40 inches by age 5. The median age (50th percentile) at which children pass 40 inches is 4 years and at 3 years old, only about 5% of children are above 40 inches.

At 44 inches- most children (95%) reach that height by 7 years old (the median is between 5 and 6 years old)

[avantgardeinker]

I just measured my DD this morning. She is 2 1/2 and is already 38 inches tall. At her rate of growth she'll probably be 40 inches by her 3rd birthday.

:mickey:

[tyandskyesmom]

Skye is 4and 1/12 and has just barely reached 37 inches...she cannot wait to be 40 inches but I fear she has a while to go!

She's my little dinky-dink!

[teamblackwell]

From the replies, It looks like my DS should be at 40" somewhere between 3.5 - 4 years. Looks like a good excuse to start planning a trip!
Thanks for all the responses.

[Jasper]

From the replies, It looks like my DS should be at 40" somewhere between 3.5 - 4 years. Looks like a good excuse to start planning a trip!
Thanks for all the responses.

Just remember that this is only a sampling, your child may be completely different. As an example; our youngest son didn't reach 40" until his 6th birthday. Yet he has a first cousin who lived right next door to us and who is exactly one week older than our son that was 40" by his 2nd birthday.

Now that they are 11 years old my son is just right at 5 foot tall and his cousin is already almost 6 foot!

[bigbabyblues]

My kids are short like their momma, and both were 4 when they hit 40 inches.

Poor DS4, he was just a few days away on from being 4 on our last trip and he wanted to ride Splash so badly.....he was 39-3/4 inches. A hair short, and he was not allowed to ride. We had prepared him, but he was still upset.

[luvkatiebug]

My oldest was 41" at 3.5 years old, and rode most things. She takes after her dad (who is 6'4)
My youngest is only 36" at 3.5. She takes after me.

Funny story... we were watching one of those travel channel shows about Disney a few weeks ago, and they were talking about Goofy's Barnstormer. I was thinking about how Emma might want to ride it, and I was measuring her to see if she was tall enough, which I think the requirement was maybe 35'. When I saw that she was, she jumped up and down and said "I can go to Disneyworld, I can go to Disneyworld!".. it was too cute.
m:mickey:

[Flower]

You've got to be kidding! How thick is this card? I know DD is over 40", but I would be so irritated if someone tried to argue over 1/64th of an inch or something. :(


It is essentially the thickness of a credit card - that is why I was ticked off! The poor kid LOVES Soarin and would have been devastated if she denied him for his finale!

[Jasper]

It is essentially the thickness of a credit card - that is why I was ticked off! The poor kid LOVES Soarin and would have been devastated if she denied him for his finale!

I understand why you would be frustrated but there is actually a method to the madness in this case. We have a small theme park near where we live and they also do the stick and card trick on kids who are right at the line.

According to the owner of this park they do the card trick to make sure that parents have not done a "puffy" hair style in order to get around the height requirement. According to this individual they get people trying all kinds of things like "puffy" hair styles, lifts in shoes, shoes with unusually thick soles, distraction, etc. to get kids on to rides.

[Taja]

My friend's DGD was 7 before she reached 40." Her cousins were that height around age 3.5 to 4. She was a very tiny peanut.

Still is. She was 9.5 when we visited WDW last December and still was about 1/2" too short for RnRC (48").

She's growing, though! :thumbsup:

[irish1967]

While I understand the frustration, don't forget that ultimately, the CMs are primarily concerned about safety.

You might consider that there are people who have NO PROBLEM lying to CMs about their children in an attempt to get them on a ride.

My friend and I were in line at RnRC during our January trip. The people in front of us swore to the CM that their son had ben on RnRC several times during the course of their week-long trip.

We had already heard them complain about how tired they were because they had gotten to the airport for their flight to WDW really early that morning.

Kinda hard to ride a ride several times over the course of a week when they were at home :confused:

[TheMartellFamily]

For my boys they were 4.5 years old to reach the 40 inch mark. They are on the small side but they are so excited when they can go on the rides.

[Dakota Rose]

DS was almost 3 when he hit 40. Now he's a little over 4 and is almost to 44. I see lots of rides in his future -- like our Jan 09 trip! On the other hand, I knew an almost-6-year-old who hadn't yet hit 40. Poor girl. :(

[diz_girl]

This post makes me think of those Intercottees with babies (like myself) who are wondering how old their children will be when they'll be able to ride Soarin', SplM, etc.

My DS is 10 months old and very tall for his age at 31". I sometimes think that he might get tall enough for Goofy's Barnstormer (35") for our December trip, which is almost 6 months away, although I might be too afraid to put him on it when his two cousins will ride it. I guess my DH could ride it with him.

He definitely won't be tall enough for Soarin'. I hope to be pregnant by then, so I won't be missing out on any thrill rides by waiting with Jay because he cannot ride. Except for Soarin', for which we'll just do Fastpass or Baby Swap.

[mook3y]

Hi all,
My DS is 18 months old and is 33 1/2" tall(with shoes). I was wondering at what age did your kid reach the coveted 40" mark so they can ride the mountains :coaster:.
Thanks in advance

Both DS and DD were just over 40" on trips when they were 3 years, 3 months.

[Mickey'sGirl]

DS4 was just over 2 when he hit 40" -- He's at 46" now. (which means that he's tall enough to ride Indy when we are at DLR in July! :clappy: ). He is not typical, however. I think that most kids will hit 40" during their fourth year (between ages 3 and 4). That is also the time that they become paying guests at WDW -- and that's got to be for a reason! :D

[princessjojo]

For us, the answers stretch both extremes. DS12 reached 40" just before he turned 3. But he was born 24" as well and is now 5'4. Now DS10 was more like 3.5-4 when he reached 40". He didn't reach 48" until he was a little over 7. We held him back in school one year, and he's still one of the shortest in his class. That would be my gene pool.

[laward32]

[quote=Young@Heart;1632341]My DD didn't hit 40 inches until after she turned 4, but she's a peanut! :mickey:

My daughter is very small too. She was 5 when she finally reached 40 in. I am only 4'10", so she has no hope of being tall.:mickey:

[cal5755]

DS was 3 when he hit 40", but at age 7 he's 58", so he's a little above average in height.

My oldest DD is 8 and she is just 48 1/2 inches... finally tall enough for RNR and PrimeEvilWhirl. I don't think she hit 40 inches til after 5 yrs.

My youngest DD is 5 and she is 43 1/2 inches right now....

DS is almost 13 and I have no clue when he hit 40 inches lol.... I just know he is taller than me and I am 4'11".

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

When I worked at Big Thunder Mountain, which has a 40" height requirement, I would many times see toddlers that were tall enough to ride. Not necessarily saying they were keen to do so, but if they had wanted to they most certainly could have.

[illini]

OK, I'm just now realizing what giants my kids are.
Oldest two hit 40" by about 2 or just barely over. DS was 2.5 on our first family trip and he was awfully close to being able to ride Space (not that we would have let him, but still). Youngest is our "shrimp" who didn't hit 40" until a little after 3.
DD9.5 is now 4'9", and DS8 (just turned in April) is 4'8.5". DD5.5 is 47.5" (still a "shrimp" around this house!).

[stephntampa]

My DS just turned 4 and is 38.5" tall... funny because his dad is 6'2" and I am 5'8'... still waiting for that big "growth spurt".

[prprincess]

DS#1 is 3 and is 42 inches tall.

[MickeyandTink]

The timing on this post is wild! DW and I were just remarking earlier tonight on on how tall DS2 seemed to be and whether he would be tall enough for most of the rides for his third birthday during our September trip. Well, even though he was born 10 weeks premature, he caught up fast. When we measured him earlier tonight he was just a hair under 41". No wonder :basket:l is his favorite game.

[droopy d.]

Both my kids were at about 3 1/4.

[GINNY69]

Last year when we visit WDW my son was 4.5 years old just short by a month before he turned 5 yrs old..

[DawsonAR]

My sons first trip was has 4th Birthday. He was 40.5 inches tall. There wasn't too much he couldn't ride and nothing he couldn't ride that he would have wanted to ride. :mickey: