Parents with TALL 2 year olds!

♥ Mandi ♥

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Hi guys,
My son JUST turned 2 Saturday.
We are heading down for our Thanksgiving vacation on Wednesday.
We just had his physical today and he's 37" barefoot (97th %ile).
I am assuming that with shoes on, he may be at 38" and able to get on Slinky Dog and 7DMT.
Has anyone brought a toddler this young on either of those rides?
He isn't very timid BUT I am honestly shocked that he may be tall enough to ride either having literally just turned 2!
 
While I haven't done so, our youngest was a shrimp so she was like 4 her first trip on SDMT and everyone else was a giant by the time either of these two rides opened, the nice thing about these rides is there are individual seats with each seat having their own lap bar. This personally made me feel a little better about bringing a little along. Sometimes I feel like the kids are going to fly out on rides like Big Thunder.
 
Does he like Carnival rides? That is typically a good indicator. If I had to guess based on zero knowledge, he would initially be scared but after the ride, will love it and want to go again.

Also, @kaywildefire Sorry for loss two weeks ago. O-H!
 
Our then 2.5 year old loved both 7DMT and Slinky!

Of all the attractions that a taller-than-average toddler can ride, we have found Dinosaur (40”) to be the one where we need to help our child brace during the abrupt jerking motions.
 
My son could ride 7DMT (Slinky wasn't around then) at age 2 and he loved it! But if your son is only 37" barefoot, I'm guessing he probably won't get on.
 
Could you book FP for 7DMT and SDD but take your 2yo on Barnstormer first to see how he handles it? Since he's not 3 yet, he doesn't need his own FP but that way you and any other adults you're with can have the option to ride with rider switch if he doesn't want to go on or isn't quite tall enough yet. Barnstormer was a good indicator for my kids' ride tolerance when we took them at ages 2 and 4. Our 2yo wasn't tall enough for bigger rides yet, but she loved Barnstormer and I think would have done fine on BTM, Splash, and 7DMT—all of which my 4yo loved.
 


Our then 2.5 year old loved both 7DMT and Slinky!

Of all the attractions that a taller-than-average toddler can ride, we have found Dinosaur (40”) to be the one where we need to help our child brace during the abrupt jerking motions.
Dinosaur is the only ride I regret taking my 3YO on. Mistake!
 
Hi guys,
My son JUST turned 2 Saturday.
We are heading down for our Thanksgiving vacation on Wednesday.
We just had his physical today and he's 37" barefoot (97th %ile).
I am assuming that with shoes on, he may be at 38" and able to get on Slinky Dog and 7DMT.
Has anyone brought a toddler this young on either of those rides?
He isn't very timid BUT I am honestly shocked that he may be tall enough to ride either having literally just turned 2!
A caution against assumptions: my son measured a full 41" barefoot at the doctor's but in shoes was just barely hitting the 40" measurement on Disney's official poles.

Based on the reactions my just-turned-3 YO had on those rides, I think a young 2YO would enjoy 7DMT more than SDD.
 
Could you book FP for 7DMT and SDD but take your 2yo on Barnstormer first to see how he handles it? Since he's not 3 yet, he doesn't need his own FP but that way you and any other adults you're with can have the option to ride with rider switch if he doesn't want to go on or isn't quite tall enough yet. Barnstormer was a good indicator for my kids' ride tolerance when we took them at ages 2 and 4. Our 2yo wasn't tall enough for bigger rides yet, but she loved Barnstormer and I think would have done fine on BTM, Splash, and 7DMT—all of which my 4yo loved.
its been a while, but from what I recall, I got more beat up on Barnstormer than 7DMT. 7DMT was really smooth.

I'm not sure what I'd do if my 2 yr old was tall enough. We went when he was 18 months and he was definitely not big enough for those sorts. He'll be 3.5 when we go back. He will be big enough. My biggest concern would be the neck muscle strength and control. Kids at that age are in carseats rear facing for a reason. Size may be a good indicator, but may not be the defining factor. I'd consider asking the pediatrician about that sort of thing. I generally have braced my kids heads during those rides to reduce the head sway.
 
Our trip this summer was the first where my older son was tall enough for "big kid" rides. He did 7DMT and SDD. He was days shy of his 4th birthday. He loved both of them, but frankly I don't think he would have done very well at an earlier age. SDD is much, much more intense than 7DMT. SDD is faster and it whips you around a lot more. I think the whipping around would be quite jarring to a newly turned 2 year old, and there's no way to prep him for what a real thrill ride feels like. My younger son is a two year old also and honestly, I wouldn't put him on either of these rides. Especially at newly turned two. He will have to sit in his own seat, in his own personal restraint which a cast member will lower down over him, and he cannot sit in your lap. You will not be able to hold or comfort him very well if he gets scared on the ride... and speaking from experience if he gets scared once, he may refuse to get on any other rides. This happened to another 2 year old in my group after he got scared on Pirates-- he basically said "no way" to rides for the rest of the trip. Physically I'm sure he'd be safe if he is tall enough, but I personally don't think it's worth upsetting or scaring him. Just my two cents.
 
I took our then-3 yo on 7DMT when he was 40", and Big Thunder Mountain. He was fine on 7DMT but on Big Thunder the lap restraint really didn't feel safe, he slid around and my husband held onto him. At one point the ride stalled at the base of the hill and he tried to climb out, and would have succeeded except my DH pinned him down. Height restrictions don't always account for how skinny little kids can be and whether the restraints will be truly sufficient. For my younger DS who just turned 3, I'm only going to try the 38" rides since he's barely going to clear them, but he's a bit stockier than his big bro was at the same age, so I'm hoping he won't slide around.
 
Agree with above Barnstormer can be pretty rough, I learned to keep my arm behind my toddler's head. SDD and 7DMT are both very smooth. Whether or not a 2 year old would like them is entirely dependent on the child but safety wise I would feel ok about it. My 3 year old really enjoyed them.
 
My son has always been just shy of 100th percentile as well. We didn't go around 2, but even on later trips - the kids vary quite a bit on what they're willing to ride. Since we go often, we have a very chill attitude about it - they can choose to ride or not, we let them ride anytime or skip, etc.

We do help them ease into things though - we pick a easy one (dumbo or something), then ease into dark rides, rides with intensity, etc. Helps you judge what it is triggering your kiddo, and helps you advise them or decide for them on the next ride.

In terms of kiddo friendly levels - Barnstormer and 7DMT are the two that come to mind as first. But don't forget about Big Thunder - my kids love that one, and I do as well. Its easier to ride with less drama and although its a bit noisier and jerkier than 7DMT its still a very mild coaster.
 
Our daughter was 40" tall just before her third birthday. She rode everything she was tall enough for at DL, except for Space Mountain. She LOVED Big Thunder and rode it multiple times.

We first took her on Gadget's Go Coaster, which is similar to (but not the same) as Barnstormer first. At WDW, we would likely have started with 7DMT.

She was FAR more scared of the crazy DL Fantasyland dark rides (Pinocchio, Snow White) than any of the coasters except Tower of Terror. Now THAT was a mistake. ;-P
 
We have tall kids. My 8yo daughter is 57" and my 5 yo daughter just hit 48". when they were 2 and 5, my 2 yo was able to ride 7DMT and she loved it!
 
My son was 2.5,l and very adventurous. We tried mine train and he was very upset. He still remembers and he’s 7 now. D’oh.
 
Our son is 2 and a touch over 39" as of this past Friday at the doctor. The only ride for sure we are going to try is Barnstormer. That is our first FP of the day when we are at Magic Kingdom on Friday. My husband is hoping with shoes he will measure 40" so he can go on more, but I am so hesitant to bring him on the bigger rides, even if he can technically get on. I was shocked that 7DMT can be ridden by a 2 year old!
 

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