Traveling with Different Ages and Heights

It would be fun and easy to go on a Disney trip where everyone can ride all the rides and want to do all of the same things but that usually doesn't happen.

If you are traveling with just your immediate family and want to go on rides that your youngest kids aren't tall enough for, take advantage of the rider switch service.  Most of the big rides offer this feature and you can find the list on their website or on the park map.   https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/

Traveling with extended family in a large group can be hard at times, but it makes splitting up a lot easier.  We found that the grandparents are happy to bypass the wilder rides and take the younger grandchildren on tamer rides while the parents and older kids go on the wild rides.  You can also time these wild rides during naptime which gives the grandparents and younger kids a chance to sit down and take a break in the shade.  We have also scheduled special appointments like the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique during naptime.

The Fastpass+ system allows your group to select different fastpasses for the same time period.  For example, on our upcoming trip half of us have a fastpass to ride on Space Mountain while the other half have fastpasses to ride Dumbo.

You will have to feel out beforehand how the younger child will feel about not being able to ride certain rides. Usually the toddlers are oblivious an don't mind.  Our preschooler did not like the idea of his big sister getting to ride the Rock n Roller Coaster and not him so we made the decision to just say that neither kid was going to ride it.  Our daughter is barely tall enough to ride it but we thought she might need to be older (she's 6) before doing a roller coaster that goes upside down.

Some kids will be tall enough to ride the bigger rides but might not be mature enough for them.  Or they might just not like thrill rides.  My only advice is to just feel out your kids when you get there and decide with your spouse beforehand if there are rides you want to avoid (rough, scary, etc.).