This year during my family’s Walt Disney World/Universal Studios Orlando summer vacation, my six-year-old experienced a significant milestone: she was able to ride many rides all by herself…but only at Universal Studios. That’s because while both parks have minimum height requirements for many rides, they differ in their “Ride Alone” policy. Universal’s policy is based on height, and Disney World’s is based on age.
That means my relatively tall (49″ with shoes on) six-year old can ride “Transformers” or “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” in Universal all by herself, but she can’t ride “Dumbo” or “Journey of the Little Mermaid” without a grown-up sitting in the same car with her.
The “Height” argument:
For: Easy to enforce – you are either that tall or you aren’t. I’ve noticed that Universal seems to take a harder stance than Disney on the policy as well – even checking height to ride in a separate row in the same car as the adult (for example – The Cat in the Hat).
Against: Is it fair to shorter-stature children or adults? If they meet the minimum height for safety, why shouldn’t a shorter ten-year old or a shorter adult be allowed to ride by themselves?
The “Age” argument”
For: Perhaps a better measure of maturity (seven is often called the “age of reason”).
Against: Hard to enforce among kids who are around five or six years old. Some kids may lie (parents may even encourage it). Plus, with some cast members it seems to be more of a “don’t ask/don’t tell” policy, especially if parents are nearby.
Where I stand: During the beginning of our vacation while we were at Universal, I got really used to sitting next my husband on many of the rides while my two kids (ages six and eight) rode together…and it was nice. So, when we switched over to Disney for the latter part of our trip, I admit I did let my kids sit together if cast members didn’t ask their ages (even on Expedition Everest). But whenever they were questioned (like on Peter Pan’s Flight and Astro Orbiter) we always provided their correct ages and sat the six-year old with an adult.
So…I guess I am really looking forward to next year’s vacation when my currently tall six-year old will meet the requirements at both parks and I can choose to sit with either my husband or one of my kids.
So, where do you stand on the question of Age vs. Height? And why?
