Three New Disney Rides With No Height Requirement Could Be a Huge Deal for Families

Disney’s 2026 D23 Experiences presentation wasn’t just about bigger thrills and ambitious new lands. Some of the most important announcements were the attractions designed to make sure the entire family can ride together.

Among the new experiences coming to Disney parks, Coco at Disney California Adventure and Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto at Disney’s Animal Kingdom stand out for a particularly important reason: they will have no minimum height requirement. That may sound like a small detail, but for families with young children, it can completely change the Disney experience.

Perhaps the most exciting addition is Disney/Pixar’s Coco attraction coming to Disney California Adventure.

Disney first announced the ride in 2024, but D23 2026 provided much more information about what guests can expect. The attraction will be a family-friendly boat ride taking guests into Miguel’s world and the Land of the Dead, with characters, music and imagery inspired by the film. Imagineers are drawing inspiration from classic Disney attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion.

And there is one detail that could make the ride especially meaningful to families: there will be no height requirement.

That means the youngest members of the family won’t necessarily have to watch from the sidelines while older siblings and parents experience the attraction.

That’s a particularly fitting choice for Coco. At its heart, the movie is about family, generations, and remembering the people who came before us. Making the attraction something that families can experience together reinforces exactly what the story is about.

Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the new Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto will bring guests inside the Madrigal family’s magical Casita as part of the upcoming Tropical Americas expansion.

The attraction follows Antonio as he celebrates his magical gift of communicating with animals. Guests will travel through the Casita and eventually enter Antonio’s rainforest-themed room, where more than 50 species of animals will appear throughout the experience. Disney is also working with its animal experts to make the Colombian wildlife represented in the attraction authentic.

Most importantly for parents, Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto will have no height requirement.

That makes it potentially one of the most important additions to Animal Kingdom for families with preschool-aged children. Instead of splitting up because one child is too short, parents can experience the attraction together.

And that matters because Disney’s most exciting new attractions are increasingly built around large-scale thrills. Roller coasters and high-speed rides are fantastic, but they aren’t necessarily accessible to everyone in a family.

Encanto allows Disney to create something spectacular without leaving the little ones behind.

The third attraction in this new wave of no-height-requirement experiences is El Carrusel de los Animalitos, coming to the new Tropical Americas area at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Unlike the larger-scale Indiana Jones attraction and Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto, this is a classic carousel — but Disney is giving it a distinctly Animal Kingdom twist. The attraction will feature 22 hand-carved wooden animals, with the figures inspired by Disney stories. Characters include animals such as Eeyore, Kevin from Up, Meeko from Pocahontas, Bambi and Heimlich from A Bug’s Life.

For adults, a height requirement can look like nothing more than a number posted at the entrance.

For a family, it’s much more complicated.

Imagine parents visiting Disney World with a six-year-old and a two-year-old. The older child might be tall enough for an attraction while the toddler isn’t. Suddenly, the family has to divide up. One parent rides while the other waits with the younger child, and then they have to switch.

Disney does offer rider-switch options, which can make that situation easier. But it still means the family isn’t experiencing the attraction together.

No-height-requirement attractions eliminate that problem.

That’s why these rides are arguably just as important to Disney’s future as the massive new coasters being announced at D23. They give Disney something that a thrill ride can’t: an attraction that can become a shared family memory from the very beginning.

The addition of Coco is particularly significant because Disney California Adventure has historically been home to attractions across a wide range of intensity. Adding a major new Coco attraction that doesn’t require guests to meet a height minimum gives families another reason to spend time together in the park.

Disney has said the attraction will be the first-ever Coco ride at a Disney park. Construction is underway near Paradise Gardens Park and Pixar Pier, with the attraction being built in an area that was previously backstage.

It also represents something bigger for Disney: the company is increasingly turning beloved animated films into full-scale, immersive attractions rather than limiting them to character meet-and-greets or shows.

Coco is particularly well suited for that treatment. Its Land of the Dead, colorful architecture, music, and emotional story give Imagineers enormous creative possibilities.

D23 2026 demonstrated that Disney is investing heavily in attractions for different kinds of guests.

There are enormous thrill rides, including the new Monsters, Inc. suspended coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the upcoming attractions in Villains Land at Magic Kingdom. There are major new themed areas and expansions. And then there are attractions like Coco and Encanto that serve another purpose entirely: bringing families together.

That distinction is important.

A ride doesn’t have to be the fastest, tallest, or most technologically extreme attraction in the park to be important. Sometimes the biggest deal is simply being able to put a toddler, a teenager, a parent and a grandparent in the same ride vehicle and let everyone experience the story together.

And that’s why Disney’s decision to make these new family attractions accessible without a height requirement could end up being one of the most meaningful parts of the entire D23 2026 lineup.

For families, “everyone can ride” may be one of the most exciting announcements Disney could make.

Clint Gamache

Clint Gamache is the owner of ThrillGeek. He started ThrillGeek to share his love of theme/amusement parks and pop culture with the world. You can find him at Halloween Horror Nights. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter/X, Instagram @iamcg83