We require that all seatbelts, lap bars and shoulder harnesses be positioned and fastened properly. Theme park officials typically respond with prepared statements when asked about making accommodations for “riders with unique physical attributes” (such as this one from Six Flags): “We work closely with ride manufacturers to incorporate safety systems that are designed to accommodate people of average physical stature and body proportions. Disneyland famously replaced the 1964 boats on It’s a Small World because the increasing waistlines of Americans were causing them to run aground - an assertion reported by MiceChat and vigorously denied by Disney officials. Splashin’ Safari water park at Holiday World in Indiana uses a walk-on scale to ensure the maximum weight on the six-passenger Mammoth rafts doesn’t exceed 1,050 pounds.ĭisney parks have no height or weight maximums on any attractions, according to officials. Utah’s S&S Worldwide, which makes roller coasters and drop towers, sets its restraints for a maximum weight of 300 pounds and equips its seatbelt locking mechanisms with no-go sensors that restrict over-sized riders. The Green Lantern: First Flight at Six Flags Magic Mountain has a height maximum of 6 foot 5 inches.īusch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia sets aside two rows of seats on the Alpengeist and Griffon coasters for riders with “chest measurements exceeding 52 inches.” Tennessee’s Dollywood has 6-foot-6-inch height maximums on a number of rides, including the Wild Eagle wing coaster. Ohio’s Kings Island institutes height maximums for a number of rides, including Firehawk (6-foot-9), Invertigo (6-foot-6) and Delirium (6-foot-4). Some ridemakers even try to make accommodations with “big boy seats.”Ĭedar Fair, the parent company of Knott’s Berry Farm and 10 other amusement parks, offers very specific size requirements for “guests of larger size.” Cedar Fair warns that men over 6 foot 2 inches or 225 pounds with a 40-inch waistline or 52-inch chest “may not be accommodated on some of our rides.” The park operator says women over 200 pounds who wear a size 18 or larger could have trouble fitting on some rides.Īt Ohio’s Cedar Point, some coasters like Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and GateKeeper have a 6-foot-6-inch height maximum. Over the next three years, he lost more than 130 pounds so he could return to his passion: roller coasters.Īnybody who has ever been kicked off a ride because he or she was too big will tell you that theme park attractions are not designed for people who are heavier or taller than average.Īll theme parks have euphemistic names for “exceptional sized riders” or “guests of larger size” -those who are too fat or too tall to fit safely in an attraction seat. In 2007, he was so overweight that he stopped going to theme parks because he no longer could fit on the rides. Galvan, 31, is a regular contributor to SFGAmWorld, a fan site for Six Flags Great America outside Chicago. I’ve also had the opposite happen, where I made the test seats but was rejected from the actual ride.” “I can only suspect that the seat belts on the test seats are intentionally short to minimize the potential of riders getting the ‘walk of shame’ at the station. “I do not trust the accuracy of the test seats, no matter the park,” Galvan said.
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