The Disney World version of Space Mountain has a height requirement of 44 inches (or 112 cm) miles per hour, but each version of Space Mountain has a different height requirement:
- Space Mountain Disney World – 3’6″, or 44 inches (or 112 cm)
- Space Mountain Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
- Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain Disnelyland Park Paris – 3’9″, 47.2 in (120 cm) 44 inches (or 112 cm)
- Space Mountain Tokyo Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
- Space Mountain Hong Kong Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
Our research showed that most people don’t find Space Mountain scary. Most versions of Space Mountain don’t go upside down, and it actually doesn’t go all that fast.
All of that said: it’s still key to understand the height requirements for the ride for a couple of reasons:
- First off, even if your kids like fast rides, avoiding a situation where you get to the line and find out they don’t make the height requirement can be brutal (my son still talks about the time he missed getting on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Forest at Universal – which isn’t, in fact, owned by Disney – by what he swears was half an inch).
- Additionally, ride height requirements can be a good guideline of how rough a ride is if you have kids or are visiting with someone who has motion sickness issues or doesn’t like roller coasters (you or your kids can also check out ride videos – for Space Mountain there’s even a collection of videos with the lights on to give you a better sense of the ride).
We did an analysis of whether roughly 6o people found Space Mountain scary. While we found that 43 people didn’t find the ride scary at all, of the 15 people who answered “it depends” the most common dependency was that young kids may find the ride scary (one person even said they found it terrifying at the age of 10):
So let’s dive in.
In This Article
How Does Height Translate to Age (aka How Old Do You Need to Be to Ride Space Mountain)?
The height requirements outlined above are pretty straight forward – but how does that relate to age?
Sometimes a ride will have specific height requirements due to the logistics of the ride (it would literally be physically unsafe for smaller riders to be on the ride), but the minimum height requirement can also serve as a proxy for the appropriate age for a rider.
Below is a standard growth chart via Stanford Medicine:
Obviously different kids will grow at different rates, and some kids will have greater or lesser appetite for fast-feeling roller coaster type rides, but generally you can see from the data above that the height requirements for the various versions of Space Mountain translate to the fact that you should be at least 6-9 years old to ride Space Mountain.
How Does Space Mountain’s Height Requirement Compare to Other Rides?
You might also be wondering “is the Space Mountain height requirement high?” How does it compare relative to other rides?
Let’s take a look at Disney World in Orlando first. While there are a number of tamer rides with no height requirements, several do have a minimum height to ride. Here’s all of those rides currently in the Disney World parks (excluding water park attractions, some of which have minimum heights of 48-60 inches):
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – Guests must be 48 inches (122 centimeters) or taller
- Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain – Guests must be 44 inches (113 centimeters) or taller
- Avatar Flight of Passage – Guests must be 44 inches (112 centimeters) or taller
- Space Mountain – Guests must be 44 inches (113 centimeters) or taller
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – Guests must be 42 inches (107 centimeters) or taller
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue – Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimeters) or taller
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – Guests must be 40″ (102 cm) or taller
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ – Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimeters) or taller
- DINOSAUR – Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimeters) or taller
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimeters) or taller
- Mission: SPACE – Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimeters) or taller
- Splash Mountain – Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimeters) or taller
- Soarin’ Around the World – Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimeters) or taller
- Test Track – Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimeters) or taller
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – Guests must be 38 inches (97 centimeters) or taller
- Kali River Rapids – Guests must be 38 inches (97 centimeters) or taller
- Slinky Dog Dash – Guests must be 38 inches (97 centimeters) or taller
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – Guests must be 38″ (97 cm) or taller
- The Barnstormer – Guests must be 35 inches (89 centimeters) or taller
- Chairlift – Guests must be 32 inches (82 centimeters) or taller
- Alien Swirling Saucers – Guests must be 32 inches (81 centimeters) or taller
- Tomorrowland Speedway – Guests must be 32 inches (82 centimeters) or taller
As you can see only Rockin’ Roller Coaster has a higher height requirement, and only two rides are “tied” with Space Mountain here (Expedition Everest and Avatar Flight of Passage). Again this is often due to a combination of logistics and age-appropriateness. The fact that Space Mountain in Disney World has a slower top speed than multiple rides that are below it in height requirements (Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Seven Dwarfs) is a good indication of fast the ride feels due to it being in the dark and having lots of quick turns and drops. Keep that in mind if you have younger kids.
Obviously the height requirement for Space Mountain varies at different parks. The height requirement is lower at Disneyland. Here is where it stacks up there:
- Incredicoaster (48″)
- Indiana Jones Adventure (46″)
- Matterhorn Bobsleds (42″)
- Goofy’s Sky School (42″)
- Grizzly River Run (42″)
- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (42″ – rock wall and zip line only)
- Space Mountain (40″)
- Splash Mountain (40″)
- Star Tours (40″)
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (40″)
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (40″)
- Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! (40″)
- Jumpin’ Jellyfish (40″)
- Silly Symphony Swings (40″ for tandem swings, 48″ to ride in single swing)
- Soarin’ Around The World (40″)
- Radiator Springs Racers (40″)
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (38″)
- Gadget’s Go Coaster (35″)
- Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters (32″)
- Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree (32″)
- Autopia (32″ to ride, 54″ to ride alone)
The interesting thing here is that the Disneyland ride is a bit faster than the Disney World ride, but has a lower minimum height requirement, and Space Mountain doesn’t rank as high in height requirements at Disneyland.
Many people comment that the Disney World ride is much “jerkier” and feels faster, which may contribute to the difference in relative ride heights from park-to-park.
What is the Maximum Height Requirement for Space Mountain?
There is no maximum ride height for Space Mountain (or any Disney ride) at Disney World or Disneyland.
That said, each rider has to be able to fit into the rollercoaster-type ride’s “rocket” (aka the Space Mountain seats) so if your legs can’t fit while securing the safety bar you may be asked not to ride. In theory anyone (even people 7 feet tall) should be able to extend their arms and sit on any ride in Disney without putting their arms and head in danger.
To test this, Disney puts a giant “envelope of protection” around the cars in a ride that would exceed the height and wingspan of any person – even someone like Shaq or Victor Wenbenyama.
Here is a video showing the envelope of protection around one of the cars on 7 Dwarves Mine Train – they run this through the ride to make sure it’s safe for taller people:
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall do you need to be to go on Space Mountain?
The Disney World version of Space Mountain has a height requirement of 44 inches (or 112 cm) miles per hour, but each version of Space Mountain has a different height requirement:
- Space Mountain Disney World – 3’6″, or 44 inches (or 112 cm)
- Space Mountain Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
- Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain Disnelyland Park Paris – 3’9″, 47.2 in (120 cm) 44 inches (or 112 cm)
- Space Mountain Tokyo Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
- Space Mountain Hong Kong Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
Does Space Mountain have a height restriction?
Space Mountain has no maximum height, but a minimum height at each park which features the ride:
- Space Mountain Disney World – 3’6″, or 44 inches (or 112 cm)
- Space Mountain Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
- Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain Disnelyland Park Paris – 3’9″, 47.2 in (120 cm) 44 inches (or 112 cm)
- Space Mountain Tokyo Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
- Space Mountain Hong Kong Disneyland – 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm)
Can you be too tall to ride Space Mountain?
No, there is no max height limit for Space Mountain, and all Disney rides are safety tested to make sure riders of any height will be safe. That said, riders need to be able to sit in the rocket and safely fasten themselves in (which shouldn’t be an issue for most riders regardless of height).
How tall do you have to be to go on Space Mountain at Disneyland?
The minimum height for Space Mountain in Disneyland is 3’4″, or 40 in (102 cm).
Can tall people go on Space Mountain?
Yes, tall people can safely go on Space Mountain (even if they may feel like they’re going to hit their head or their hands if they put them up) rides are tested for people of any height and there is no maximum height at any Disney ride, including Space Mountain.
