AIBU to take my DD on these theme park rides?

[Iamthewalnut]

My DD turns four this weekend. We’re hoping to take her to a theme park. For children shorter than 90cm in height entry is free, but they can only go on 8 rides. For children 90cm or taller, entry is £18, but they can go on 17 rides. It probably isn’t too outing to say the theme park is Gulliver’s Kingdom. www.gulliverskingdomresort.co.uk/rides

DD was born 14 weeks premature and is tiny for her age. Bear in mind the average 2.5 year old girl weighs 13kg is 90cm tall. My DD, at 4, weighs 11kg and is 88cm in her bare feet…but bang on 90cm wearing her trainers. (This was confirmed two days ago when she was weighed and measured at an appointment with her pediatrician)

Am I being unreasonable booking a paid ticket for her as 90cm and over so she can go on all the rides?

I’d hate for us to pay for her, get all the way there and then she’s not allowed on. Does anyone know whether the height limit is with shoes on or off?

The other option is booking an under 90cm ticket with free entry for her but then she’d be really limited with what rides she could enjoy and likely not happy seeing kids half her age go on rides that she couldn’t, plus it wouldn’t make the 2 hour journey there worth it.

Surely theyll just measure her there on each ride?

The ride staff measure with trainers on, don't they?

They will measure her before getting on the bigger rides.
It's for safety reasons it won't matter if you bought the more expensive ticket.

I honestly don't know. It's the first time I've been to a theme park since I was a child myself - I've waited this long to take DD because I knew she'd be too small to appreciate it. I assumed they'd just measure her at the entrance and then they'd allow her on based on what ticket she had.

I don't really understand the number of rides thing, but we were there a few weeks ago and measuring was extremely vague on most rides (couple of staff members were more diligent, but most kind of waved a stick in the children's general direction or pointed to a mark on a wall and got us to measure them). There's no way I can see that they'd have identified a 2cm difference. The children were measured wearing shoes.

They will measure her at each ride potentially and if she's on the limit you do risk not getting on.

Also what time of day was she measured, as you shrink over the say.
We had a couple of months at Legoland where ds was tall enough first thing for the 90cm rides, but by lunch time too small.
Now Legoland did a scheme where customer services could measure them and gave them a wristband giving their official height, and then you didn't need to be measured at each ride, so we would do that as soon as we arrived.

Why don't you wait and take her later in the summer when she might have grown a couple of cm? Then you won't have this grey area.

I’d imagine it’ll be a half arsed glance at the measuring chart thing with her shoes on.

It’s not something I’d chance, tbh. It might not be safe.

I’ve been to one of the gullivers. You’re not given a wristband or anything so it doesn’t matter how much you’ve paid. I’d try and get in as

If she's slight and only the height in trainers I wouldn't. It's about the safety testing of their harnesses, someone slightly smaller might slip out or not fit the safety belts properly, I wouldn't try and cheat it.

I wouldn't - we did this with my nephew once, it was very anxiety provoking to see a harness not as fitted as it should be.

Am I the only one thinking "put her in thin soled shoes for entrance (free) then take chunkier soled shoes for rides (taller)"?

Thanks those of you who have been to Gullivers and have shared your experiences. The cursory wave of the measuring stick sounds far less stringent than I had imagined. It's interesting to know you're not given a wristband there.

The reason why we're so keen for a themepark is because we wanted to do something memorable for her birthday and a themepark is one of the few fun things within reachable distance thing we haven't done with her yet, but I take posters points about waiting till summer when she will hopefully have grown a bit!

I don't know why you would want to? It's for safety reasons, not some kind of height prejudice! Why risk her safety?!

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

Am I the only one thinking "put her in thin soled shoes for entrance (free) then take chunkier soled shoes for rides (taller)"?

It's crossed my mind, but I'd be too nervous to follow through with it!

The reason why we're so keen for a themepark is because we wanted to do something memorable for her birthday

If she falls out of a ride and dies/is seriously injured it will be memorable alright!

@NuffSaidSam

I don't know why you would want to? It's for safety reasons, not some kind of height prejudice! Why risk her safety?!

Do you honestly think that the ride engineers tested and said "90cms - safe. 89cms - certain death"?

Of course not! There's leeway with all these things.

@NuffSaidSam

The reason why we're so keen for a themepark is because we wanted to do something memorable for her birthday

If she falls out of a ride and dies/is seriously injured it will be memorable alright!

Oh honestly, you really are quite dramatic.

They will measure her per ride. It's not about enjoyment, it's about safety. If she's too small/ light, the rides are dangerous as the safety barriers may not be tight enough on her.

Do you honestly think that the ride engineers tested and said "90cms - safe. 89cms - certain death"?

No, I don't think that.

I don't think that she would certainly die.

I know that accidents on rides happen. I think there would be more chance of that happening to someone who the safety harness didn't fit perfectly (either too big or too small) and I wouldn't risk my child's safety for the sake of a few rides.

But, each to their own

@NuffSaidSam

I don't know why you would want to? It's for safety reasons, not some kind of height prejudice! Why risk her safety?!

Absolutely, her safety is paramount - after her rocky start to life in neonatal intensive care (100+ days) I feel that more than most - I wouldn't fudge her height, I'd only want her to go on the rides (things like dodgems, accompanied by me) if the park deemed it was safe to do so. What I don't want is to travel all the way there, pay for her unnecessarily only for her to feel left out because she can't go on the rides anyway.

Oh honestly, you really are quite dramatic.

Well, none of us are perfect are we?

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

Am I the only one thinking "put her in thin soled shoes for entrance (free) then take chunkier soled shoes for rides (taller)"?

I like your style

@MargaretThursday

They will measure her at each ride potentially and if she's on the limit you do risk not getting on.

Also what time of day was she measured, as you shrink over the say.
We had a couple of months at Legoland where ds was tall enough first thing for the 90cm rides, but by lunch time too small.
Now Legoland did a scheme where customer services could measure them and gave them a wristband giving their official height, and then you didn't need to be measured at each ride, so we would do that as soon as we arrived.

Thanks for sharing - very interesting point you make about children shrinking during the day. She was measured at 11am, when she'd been awake for approx. 4.5 hours.

If she's that close to the height range then put her in thick trainers and take her.
Those rides are so well tested than a couple of cm is not going to be enough for her to fall out of a ride. The actual size needed to be safe is going to be a lot smaller that 90cm, because the rides need to be safe for people exactly 90 cm and people 85cm who are wearing high shoes or not being measured properly.
If you want to go, go.