The "real" height requirements?

I live in Florida where a 48" height requirement usually means 481/2-49". My daughter will be about 47 1/4" to 47 1/2" barefoot by the time I go this summer. Is she going to be able to get on the 48" height requirement rides with shoes or are the sticks adjusted to be slighly higher? Thanks.

CP's sticks are measured to be exact, they check them every morning. A child can ride if he/she is "physically tall enough" DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STUFF SHOES OR BUY PLATFORM SHOES! Ride Op's will have the child remove any shoes which are questionable. When a child is "borderline" he/she is sent to the park operations office. The child will be measure there, and if found to be tall enough, given a wrist band saying so. Hope this helps! :)

The candycanes are estimating tools. At each ride, at the park entrance, and in the Ops office, there are little metal platforms with a diamond-plate platform, a pole, and an angle-iron on top. The bottom of the angle iron is set at the proper height, and the general idea is that the kid stands on the platform, and the angle-iron should not be able to pass over the kid's head.

Trivia: Cedar Point's candycanes have color-coded stripes--
Brown: 42"
Blue: 46"
Red: 48"
Yellow: 52"
Green: 54"
Black: 60"

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Watch 'em change the colors this year just to prove me wrong...

With the metal stands, too, touching hair is not considered close enough - it must physically touch the child's head. Best idea of all is RaptorAdrian20's: go to the Park Operations office (in Kiddie Kingdom, the glass door behind the giraffe) and get an official measurement with a wristband. Those are no problem, 999 of 1000 times (I've seen parents that have one child measured to stretch the wristband off their wrist to put it on the too-small child, but the ride ops know to deny that). I'd recommend buying your daughter good, lace-up sneakers, and hope she makes the height requirement! Don't stuff the shoes, and don't use "high-heel" shoes, as those will be turned away.

Most of all, have fun! There is a lot to do if you don't quite make the height requirement, don't make it seem like a huge disappointment or she'll feel doubly bad!

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/
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And just a reminder...Guest Services does NOT measure height! Only Park Operations does! Last summer, probably 20 people came in every day wanting to be measured at Guest Services!

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CP Schroeder
CP Reservations 2000

...and last season Park Op "added" a handstamp to the child's hand to aviod the "problem" CrystalKat mentioned.
If you are staying at the hotels and enter through "the Magnum Gate"...The Town Hall also has the "official" measuring capabilities.

A problem with the candy canes is that during the course of the season the employees drop them against the ground and after a while they aren't as long as they used to be.

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daniel j. haverlock
Magnum Count: 1266
MF Count: 117
spiritofthepoint.com

In the website it says 48" in shoes. She will make that with any shoes by that time as she should be 47 1/2" without them. My question is if the stick is actually a true 48". That is a long way to go to to find out the sticks are higher and roller coasters are really the only rides she really likes. I won't go if she can't make it because the trip is really for her, not me.

The Park Operations thing didn't work out for my younger brother. Two summers ago he was about 48 in. We went into park Operations and had him measured. They said he was 48". He got the wristband and later we were at Snake River and thay wouldn't let him on. They said he wasn't 48". He had the wristband. What is up with that???

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What's Life If You Never Get To The Point?
Boring!

MF COUNT: 117

If a ride op sees a child with a questionable wristband,such as yours, we are instructed to call our sups. However, most of the time we are to busy to do it so we will send you back to park operations to have it checked out again.

If you enter through the "magnum gate" you can get measured to get your wristband at that gate. They will measure you there. The other places last season were town hall and the park operations office. As a ride operator, I suggest that if your child is at all questionable then you should have him/her measured upon entering the park. This is the easiest way to save time and embarrassment throughout the day.

But, wouldn't it make sence that if Park Operations measured it the ride ops would trust Park Ops and go with what they measured. I mean they didn't even measure him to the candy cane or the silver bar with the triange on top. They just looked at him and said no and that was that.

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What's Life If You Never Get To The Point?
Boring!

MF COUNT: 117
*** This post was edited by CPMaster on 1/16/2001. ***

The candy canes are replaced at intervals throughout the season because yes, they do get shorter from employees tapping them, but I'm not sure how frequently that is.

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/
Only a few more until a NEW POLL! Vote today!

Even if a child has a wristband it is still the decision of the ride hosts whether or not a child could safely ride.

It seemed like they were always checking and exchanging our candy canes last year.

What I think is most important is to let your daughter decide if she wants to ride. Just because she is tall enough, she may not want to ride everything. I couldn't stand parents who tried to force their kids to ride when they didn't want to. I also despised parents who cared so little about the safety of their children that they would stuff their shoes.

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Kevin
2000 Raptor Crew

Mole - wow, do I agree! Whether or not the child wants to ride should be the most important concern (if they do meet the height requirement). On the Iron Dragon, more than once we had to deal with irate parents that were yelling at their children when the kids were obviously terrified of the ride and they were even crying. We wouldn't dispatch the train if the child was that upset. I wish they would remember that you're supposed to have fun on a vacation!

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/
We're nearly there: a NEW POLL every 100 votes!

On the other hand, I think parks...and by extension, ride hosts...need to know what the height requirements are all about and enforce them accordingly. Good example of this...I was at Camden Park, where the Big Dipper operator didn't have a height stick. He'd have a questionable kid sit in the seat on the train, and he'd check to see whether the kid's legs were long enough for him to be secured by the lap bar. Took a little longer than simply measuring the kid's height, but it worked. Likewise I have to pity the girl I saw turned away from Witches Wheel last season. She looked to be about fourteen, but she was just a little too short. The manufacturer sets an *age* restriction on that ride because it's maturity, not size, that determines rider safety. She should have been able to ride, but couldn't.

Ah, well...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I'm 20 and barely make the height requirement for the Witches' Wheel lol, I sympathize with the girl!

I was called militant over on coasterbuzz because of my policy on checking height, so I am not going to even bother with stating it here. :o)

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Natalie
CP Ride Operations '99-'00

I think she will be Ok and I certaintly wouldn't stuff her shoes to make the height. Also, I know she will ride because she loves to ride everything and rode the 300 foot Skycoaster in Orlando when she was 5 1/2!!

I guess some people just were born to ride.Thanks for the help.

Remmeber not to scream at a ride op if your child is too short! Thank the ride op for helping to protect your child! :)

Yeah that's wishful thinking Adrian. lol

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Natalie
CP Ride Operations '99-'00
Wildcat ATL 2001