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Original Post: 12/8/2010
*Update: This has to be my favorite post I’ve ever written, and not just because an extraordinary amount of people are searching “shoe lifts” on the internet and landing here. Welcome, vertically-challenged friends!
Nothing like a trip to Disney to bring out your best and worst parenting moments.
Take, for instance, the use of shoe lifts.
We have three kids. We are two adults. There is only 2/3 of each of us for each child, and although I can multitask like a superhero, I cannot actually be in two places at one time. (Neither could Jesus. Just sayin.)
Zone parenting is not much fun when one child is under forty inches (40 inches is required to have any actual FUN at Disney.) The problem is we parents actually LIKE having fun and neither one of us is selfless ENOUGH to do little-kiddie stuff even though ONE parent went through a week’s worth of labor and thousands of minutes of throwing up to BIRTH these three children.
And our little-kiddie is JUST under the fun height.
Like 39 3/4 inches. Not to mention, this is our kid who says things like:
I love rides! I love rollercoasters! Why is this ride over? When can we go again? I’m big! Can I bungee? How about jump out of planes? Can I have a shotgun? (*sarcasm alert)
So what are two fun-loving adults spending their week stuck vacationing at Disney to do?
Desperate times, people, call for desperate measures.
Sooo…we take the cardboard from our Blue Moon 12-pack and cut it up with a serrated knife and eighteen heel-shaped cardboard pieces later, we are in business.
Of course, the boy loves his lifts that gain him access to everything FUN. He keeps them in the entire day.
So, while I’m busy judging the mom with the seven year old on the leash,
the mom of the bibbiti-bobbito-boo triplets with Fantasy princess hair (the cost of which could feed all of Burkina Faso for a month),
or the guy buying a beer at Epcot at 10AM…
I’m cheating the system with cardboard.
Judge not at Disney, lest you be judged.
16 Replies
Oh Nicole! We used to do that all the time at Kings Dominion in VA! We would just make them take off their socks and fold them up in the heels of their shoes. Once they got the BLUE BAND (the one that says you are tall enough to ride the rides) they could take out their "shoe lifts" and enjoy the day!
WE ARE CONSIDERED THE "FUN MOMS!"
my favorite part is the "we are the fun moms" comment. Yes Donna Rae! Rage against the machine!!
What happens at Disney stays at Disney? We went to the Magic Kingdom in 2009, and my kids are taller than the fun 40 inches, but my daughter was scared of nearly every ride–Snow White, Winnie the Pooh. Being the awesome parents we are, we drug her on the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and let her get scared.
I find the worst excess the Bibbity Bobbity whatever boutique so I did my daughter's hair and got her a crown…looked just as good and much cheaper. Here's to the over-priced rodent in Florida
Sarah, great idea to actually do your daughers hair. I nearly swallowed my tongue when I saw prices at $200 for the whole "experience." Wow. this place is a MACHINE. A money-eating MACHINE!!
WHY DIDN'T YOU GIVE ME THIS IDEA LAST WEEK?!?!?!?
I was seriously sad last Wednesday at Epcot that they wouldn't let our 3.5 y/o on Soarin' for being about 2 inches too short. Bah.
I know, and why not? That ride was child's play.
Well, in their defense, I guess it does lift you 10 feet off the ground, but I think she could have rode on my lap, and they have the extra restraint for little kids anyway.
My recent post We beat the 7-year itch
Were you able to stay warm?
I used to think Disney was overpriced, till I found out the tickets for the circus–for one show–were like $50.
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I agree, I do think it's worth it. The show we saw today (Beauty and the Beast) was excellent. I'd easily pay $30 a ticket just for that show. We were cold yesterday, but today is a lot better!!
If you go to Animal Kingdom, check out the Finding Nemo and Lion King shows. They are supposed to be as good as that B&B show. We saw Nemo and it was excellent.
heading that way today…the 8yo thought Nemo was "stupid." I'm not sure if we are Disney material….
The part I love most is "Blue Moon 12 pack"–an essential disney survival tool!!
Miss those days. My kids used to love Disney. so many great memories.
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That's not cheating. That's "imagineering"!
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OK, this is just down right hi-lar-i-ous! We just purchased season passes last weekend. Our daughter is two so she still gets in free. When I am there, I'll be on the lookout for the 3rd grader that appears to be 6 feet tall.
we discovered at the end of the day that the cardboard had flattened under his feet–he was turned down from his third ride on splash mountain!!
Funny how you could use shoe lifts to increase their heights for this purpose. Were there any safety issues to consider when applying this to your child’s shoes?