Two parents have been facing backlash over their “ultimate” hack at Walt Disney World, which helps make their son tall enough to go on the rides at the amusement park.
On his TikTok account, @the.kelly.fam, Ty, frequently posts videos with different parenting tips. He and his wife, Haley, share three children together.
In a clip shared earlier this month, Ty showcased his family on a trip to Disney World and introduced his son, Kannon, who he described as “a thrill seeking boy who can’t get enough of Disney theme park rides”.
Ty then explained the issue with Kannon’s interest in rides: “The only problem you ask, he’s just not tall enough for the big ones, so we took matters in our own hands and crafted a shoe that just might do the trick.”
He then shared a video of him and his wife creating shoes that would make their son tall enough for the rides. The pair could be seen cutting up a flip flop, before placing that shoe onto the bottom of a blue sneaker.
“With the help of towering heels, extra flip flops bottoms and some gorilla glue, we possibly discovered the ultimate theme park hack ever,” the father continued.
The clip ended with Ty holding his son as the child wore the heeled, blue sneakers. The pair also appeared to be waiting in line for a ride at Disney World.
Although he didn’t reveal if the hack worked in the TikTok clip, he did address it in another video posted to his YouTube account. In the clip, he revealed that with the shoes, Kannon, who is 37 inches tall, reached the height minimum to go on two of the thrill rides at Disney World.
He also documented how he and his wife glued another piece of a flip flop onto the sneaker so the toddler would be tall enough to go on different ride. Despite the change to his shoe, he still didn’t meet the height requirement to go on the third thrill ride.
In the comments of Ty’s TikTok video, which has more than 363,600 views, people slammed him for this parenting hack as it could put Kannon’s safety on the rides at risk.
“Just wait a couple months he’ll grow, like why risk his safety,” one wrote, while another added: “Unbelievable.”
A third wrote: “And just like a cannon, he will be yeeted out of his seat.”
Other people sarcastically addressed the dangers that can come with going on a rollercoaster when riders don’t meet the height minimum.
“Awesome. I’ve always been curious how far a child can fly when he is flung from a roller coaster because the restraints don’t hold him properly,” one wrote.
“We took matters into our own hands and risked his life for the sake of him not hearing the word no,” another added.
Other people pointed out what legal action could have happened if Kannon got hurt, writing: “You do know that if he did get hurt… you can’t sue right? Disney could actually ban and sue you.”
When faced with this criticism on his YouTube video, Ty responded to one viewer with: “Actually my kid was perfectly safe the whole time, so we had a great time. He was safe, and we got to make a fun YouTube video out of it. Win win win.”
As noted on Disney World’s official website, there are some rides where guests can be any height to go on them. However, there are multiple rides with height restriction, with the minimum height ranging from 32 to up to 48 inches.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Ty and Disney World for comment.
