Planning around 100cm
What 100cm actually unlocks
One metre is the threshold that turns a park visit from a walk-around into a day out. It is the point at which junior coasters, most family flat rides and the majority of water play areas come into range. Across the parks in this guide, roughly three quarters of all rides in the UK and France are open to a 100cm child — but only about half in the UAE, which is worth knowing before you book a long-haul trip with a toddler.
Check the accompanied column, not just the minimum
Many rides that look closed to a 100cm child are open if an adult rides too. Our tables list that second, lower number wherever a park publishes it. It changes the shape of the day: one adult rides each round while the other waits, and the child gets on far more than the headline minimum suggests.
Before you book
Measure in the shoes your child will wear on the day, against a wall: parks usually measure with shoes on. If your child is within about 2cm of 100cm, plan for the lower bracket, because each park measures its own way and a centimetre decides it. Then check the park page for the date we last verified it: a ride added or refurbished since then may carry a different limit.