A TikTok dad said he hacked his 'thrill-seeking' toddler's shoes to make him tall enough to go on Disney rides, sparking concern among viewers

• A TikTok family said they made platform shoes for their son using flip-flop soles and Gorilla glue.
• They said the shoes were a "theme park hack" to make him tall enough for rides at Disney.

A TikTok-famous family is backpedaling following huge backlash after they suggested they made a pair of platform shoes to help their son sneak onto theme park rides he wasn't tall enough for.

In a video shared by Florida-based TikTokers The Kelly Fam on February 11, a voiceover could be heard introducing their three-year-old son Kannon who they described as their "thrill-seeking boy who can't get enough of Disney theme park rides" but said he wasn't tall enough to ride "the big ones."

They didn't want that to "stop him from feeling the rush," they said in the video, which was viewed over 424,000 times, so they took matters into their own hands and made a pair of platform shoes using a pair of flip-flop soles and Gorilla glue.

At the end of the video, the father, 30-year-old Ty Kelly, could be seen holding his son who was wearing the heightened footwear, which he described in a video voiceover as "the ultimate theme park hack." The video caption also read, "these shoes are a game changer."

The upload received over 6,000 comments, some of which tagged Disney's TikTok account, while many expressed concern for the toddler.

In a follow-up TikTok posted on February 18, Kelly addressed the backlash.

"Let's just get this straight, I love my kids more than life itself," he said, adding he would "never ever ever put my kids in actual danger." He went on to say he would never condone any other parent putting their child on a ride that was unsafe or they were not tall enough for, and said "you didn't see him going on any rides."

He then added his son was already 38 inches tall wearing ordinary shoes — the height which, according to the Disney website, is required for a number of their rides including Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Slinky Dog Dash which Kelly said later in the video were the rides his son went on. (A video posted on February 20 with the on-screen caption "Slinky Dog Dashin'" appeared to show the son on this ride.)

The TikTok received a further 5,100 comments, as viewers questioned why the family had gone to the lengths of creating the raised shoes if they weren't necessary. "Why are the shoes 'a game changer' if he doesn't need them?" one viewer asked in a comment that received 1,329 likes.

A longer version of the original TikTok video was posted to The Kelly Fam YouTube channel on February 19, explaining the "hack" in more detail, however a disclaimer in the description read, "This video is not intended to be taken seriously, as we made this video solely for entertainment purposes. DO NOT attempt this yourselves. Disney is GREAT at their jobs, and you will get caught."

In the six-minute upload, Kelly said in a video voiceover that Kannon was 37 inches tall but needed to be 40 inches tall "to get on the majority of the thrill rides here at Disney."

The video featured the exterior of a ride named Remy's Ratatouille Adventure alongside a further voiceover that said they had their sights set on a "40-inch ride." The video then showed Kannon standing beneath a height bar that his head didn't fully reach, before what appeared to be a member of Disney staff said, "not quite tall enough" and turned them away. A representative for Disney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

In a further TikTok upload posted on February 21, which received over 66,000 views, Kelly said the family had received a lot of negative publicity over the past few days and admitted he was a "very much flawed individual" but said he would have already removed the video if he thought it was wrong.

In part of a lengthy video caption he wrote he hadn't handled the situation "flawlessly" with all the hate they had received, but added, "I know my sons were not in any danger, and I know in my heart I would NEVER do anything to harm or endanger my children or my wife, or anyone else's kids."

The Kelly Fam has over 1.2 million followers on TikTok where they post family themed sketches. They did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.