Summer Guide to Disney Ride Height Requirements

You’re ready to spend your summer vacation at Walt Disney World.

Before you leave, you need to know just a few things to avoid any surprises upon arrival.

Photo: Disneyplanning.com

One of the most important ones is who can ride what.

Since you’re waiting until summer, I presume your traveling party will include kids.

Photo: Disney

Frankly, the worst feeling you can get at Disney is for your child to realize they’re not tall enough for a ride.

You can avoid that disappointment by learning the answers now and then steering them away from potential heartbreakers.

Photo: Disney

So, here’s the summer guide to Walt Disney World height restrictions.

Magic Kingdom

I’m starting with this park because many vacationers spend most of their time there.

Many attractions here are so family-friendly that they don’t require height restrictions. That list includes:

• Astro Orbiter
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station
• Country Bear Musical Jamboree
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Enchanted Tales with Belle
• Frontierland Shooting’ Arcade
• The Hall of Presidents
• Haunted Mansion
• It’s a Small World
• Jungle Cruise
• Liberty Square Riverboat
• Mad Tea Party
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• A Pirate’s Adventure ~ Treasures of the Seven Seas
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• Swiss Family Treehouse
• Tom Sawyer Island
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
• Walt Disney World Railroad
• Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
• Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room

Here are the park’s attractions that do come with height requirements:

• 32” – Tomorrowland Speedway
• 35” – The Barnstormer
• 38” – Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• 40” – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• 44” – Space Mountain
• 48” – Tron Lightcycle / Run

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom

I’ll honor alphabetical order on the other three parks, but that’s just because it works out well.

Parents traveling with small children are likely to spend a great deal of time at Animal Kingdom.

Then, you’ll spend some time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and at EPCOT.

Realistically, EPCOT is the most adult of Disney’s theme parks, though. So, it makes sense to save that one for last.

Photo: Disney Touring Plans

Here are the Animal Kingdom attractions without height restrictions:

• Affection Section
• The Boneyard
• Conservation Station
• Discovery Island Trails
• Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
• It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Maharajah Jungle Trek
• Na’vi River Journey
• Tree of Life
• TriceraTop Spin
• Wildlife Express Train

Photo: Disney

Now, here are the Animal Kingdom attractions with height requirements.

• 38” – Kali River Rapids
• 40” — DINOSAUR
• 44” – Avatar Flight of Passage
• 44” – Expedition Everest

Photo: Facebook/Imagineer Podcast

So, this data reinforces how family-friendly Animal Kingdom is.

Only four attractions require children to be a certain height. Everything else is accessible to all!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios entrance

Meanwhile, Hollywood Studios is the polar opposite.

Only three attractions here come without height restrictions. They are:

• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Muppet*Vision 3D
• Toy Story Mania!

Photo: ScreenCrush

Here are the park’s other height requirements:

• 32” – Alien Swirling Saucers
• 38” – Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run
• 38” – Slinky Dog Dash
• 40” – Star Tours – The Adventures Continue!
• 40” – Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
• 40” – Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• 48” – Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (potentially reopening in late July)

Given this information, I strongly encourage you to set expectations for the children in your traveling party.

They’ll notice plenty of splash attractions they want to ride, but Disney carefully considers its height requirements.

Photo: Disney

You should never question one of them or attempt to “cheat the system” by having a child stand on their tippy toes.

These rules are in place for the safety of your family.

EPCOT

Photo: Disney

Finally, we have EPCOT, a decidedly adult park with its fair share of children’s attractions.

Here are the EPCOT rides without height restrictions:

• Advanced Training Lab
• The American Adventure
• Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
• Frozen Ever After
• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
• Impressions de France
• Journey Into Imagination With Figment
• Living with the Land
• O Canada!
• Reflections of China
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Spaceship Earth
• Turtle Talk With Crush

Photo: WDW Magazine

Here are the attractions with height restrictions:

• 40” – Mission: SPACE
• 40” – Soarin’ Around the World
• 40” – Test Track (closing June 17^th)
• 42” — Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Photo: Disney

I think you’ll agree that EPCOT has fewer height restrictions than conventional wisdom suggests.

So, Hollywood Studios is the primary park where your child may feel frustrated with the height requirements.

About Average Heights

Finally, I’ll link you to this Stanford Medicine page on children’s health.

I recognize that height discussions are potentially touchy subjects in parenting.

Photo: Disney

Every child matures differently, and I say that as the youngest and one of the smallest boys in my graduating class.

I’m 6’3”/230 today. Everyone evolves at their own pace in life.

Photo: Disney

My wife jokes that she reached her final height at 12 years old.

Still, that Stanford data should tell you when you can generally expect your child to reach the various heights required for Disney attractions.

Photo: Disney

According to their research, the average child should be able to ride everything at the parks around the time they turn eight.

Meanwhile, a five-year-old could probably ride everything up to a 42” height requirement during a visit.

Photo: Disney

As long as you know these things in advance, you’ll have a magical trip.

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Feature Photo: Disney