Every park sets its own limits, publishes them in its own format, and changes them without much warning. Here is what the numbers on this site mean, and how to use them before you spend money on tickets.
Two numbers, not one
Most rides have two thresholds. The first is the minimum height a child needs to ride at all, usually when accompanied by a responsible adult. The second, higher one is the height at which they can ride on their own. A coaster with a 1.2m solo minimum and a 1.1m accompanied minimum is open to a 112cm child if a grown-up rides with them, and closed to a 108cm child whoever they are with. Our ride tables list both numbers, so you can see which rides open up if one parent rides each round while the other waits.
The brackets that decide a day out
Height thresholds cluster around 90cm, 100cm, 110cm, 120cm and 140cm. Crossing one of them can turn a park from a handful of gentle rides into a full day. Around 100cm you typically unlock junior coasters and most family flat rides; 110cm and 120cm open the larger family coasters and water rides; 140cm is the line for the headline thrill coasters at most European parks. Before you book, check which side of the nearest bracket your child sits on — a park that looks disappointing at 98cm can look very different at 102cm.
Maximum heights exist too
A smaller number of rides carry an upper limit, usually on children's rides where an adult cannot be seated safely, and occasionally on enclosed rides with fixed restraints. Where a park publishes a maximum, we record it alongside the minimum so tall children and accompanying adults are not caught out at the gate.
Measure properly before you travel
Measure without shoes, heels against a wall, head level, with a book or ruler laid flat on the head rather than eyeballing a mark. Children measure slightly taller in the morning than at the end of the day. Then allow for the way the park measures: some height check points measure with shoes on, others ask children to take them off, and a centimetre or two either way decides whether the plan works. If your child is within roughly 2cm of a threshold, plan for the lower bracket and treat anything above it as a bonus.
How parks check on the day
Larger parks measure once at a height check point near the entrance and issue a coloured wristband that ride hosts recognise, so a child is not re-measured at every queue. Smaller parks measure at the ride itself. Either way, the decision at the gate belongs to the park, and ride hosts have no discretion to wave a child through — which is why it is worth knowing the numbers before you arrive rather than arguing them on the day.
Why the same ride can differ between parks
Height limits come from the ride manufacturer's specification and the operator's own safety assessment. That is why the same coaster model can carry different minimums at two parks, why a limit can change after restraints or seats are modified, and why a park occasionally raises a limit mid-season. It also explains why an old number you remember from a previous visit is not reliable.
What we do when a park does not publish a number
If a park does not list a ride's height requirement anywhere official, we mark it as “height not listed” rather than assuming it is unrestricted, and we exclude it from the count of rides your child can go on. It keeps the totals on this site conservative rather than optimistic, and it tells you exactly which rides are worth a quick question at guest services when you arrive.
Re-check close to the day
Restrictions change with refurbishments, new restraint systems, seasonal operations and weather. Every park page here shows the date we last checked that park's official information and links straight to the park's own ride pages, so anything critical to your plan can be confirmed before you travel.
