Size restrictions on Universal rides - annoying!

[BrinkofSunshine]

Thank you for such a quick response.

I'll be quite disappointed if I don't fit in FJ and the Ripsaw Falls, but I guess I'm fortunate that I'm not interested in any of the other restricted rides you listed. I'm too much of a scaredy cat and my DS is too young.
I can sympathise though with all the plus size thrill seekers amongst you. It is disappointing when you're looking forward to something and, for whatever reason, you can't do it.

It's definitely unfortunate. However if you don't fit on Ripsaw Falls I'd recommend Jurassic Park River Adventure. To me, Ripsaw Falls is scarier, even though the drop is shorter... it feels roughly the same to me! The restraint system there is much more forgiving.

If you can't get on Forbidden Journey, ask the attendants out front if you can just do the castle tour. Walking through the castle alone is quite an experience!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

It's definitely unfortunate. However if you don't fit on Ripsaw Falls I'd recommend Jurassic Park River Adventure. To me, Ripsaw Falls is scarier, even though the drop is shorter... it feels roughly the same to me! The restraint system there is much more forgiving.

If you can't get on Forbidden Journey, ask the attendants out front if you can just do the castle tour. Walking through the castle alone is quite an experience!

Great tips. Thank you.

 

[loveshak22]

Oh no, this is the first time I've heard of Dudley Do Right being a tight squeeze. I'm quite a bit bigger than you (taller and almost double the weight) so am thinking now that I'll have to give this ride a miss.

Up until now I'd only been worried about not fitting in FJ (the big coasters are too scary for me anyway). Now I can add Dudley Do Right to that list.

Could someone please tell me all the Universal Orlando rides that a plus size person should be wary of. I'd rather know now than be disappointed on the day. I'm hoping that the Simpsons, Despicable Me, Spiderman and Men in Black Rides are all okay as these are the ones I think my family will enjoy the most.

I'm 5'9.5 and a big girl (over 240) and I only had problems on the roller coasters - Hulk, Dragons, and Rip Ride Rockit. I don't remember seeing modified seating on Rip Ride Rockit but I actually fit on that in a regular seat(although it was very tight I'm guessing it's because it's a lap band restraint and the overhead seat restraints on the coasters were too tight I think because of my chest). The modified seating on the other two worked fine but I wish I knew I needed modified seating before I found out the hard way. I didn't ride Dr. Doom's FearFall.

I was fine on Ripsaw Falls. It's awkward to get in and out of the log flume but not a problem I didn't think. I was comfortable.

For FJ - I don't think I needed modified seating on the ride because I sat down and the restraint clicked twice but she asked me to move to one of the end seats on the ride...and my brother was asked to move to the other end and he's not that big a guy at all (height or weight). I'm assuming those were the modified seats? The seat fit fine as well.

In the end there wasn't anything I couldn't ride but I wish I had done more research on the size restrictions and known I needed the modified seating! Even though I'm a big girl I've never not fit on something! Hope that helps some!

 

[loveshak22]

I'm 5'9.5 and a big girl (over 240) and I only had problems on the roller coasters - Hulk, Dragons, and Rip Ride Rockit. I don't remember seeing modified seating on Rip Ride Rockit but I actually fit on that in a regular seat(although it was very tight I'm guessing it's because it's a lap band restraint and the overhead seat restraints on the coasters were too tight I think because of my chest). The modified seating on the other two worked fine but I wish I knew I needed modified seating before I found out the hard way. I didn't ride Dr. Doom's FearFall.

I was fine on Ripsaw Falls. It's awkward to get in and out of the log flume but not a problem I didn't think. I was comfortable.

For FJ - I don't think I needed modified seating on the ride because I sat down and the restraint clicked twice but she asked me to move to one of the end seats on the ride...and my brother was asked to move to the other end and he's not that big a guy at all (height or weight). I'm assuming those were the modified seats? The seat fit fine as well.

In the end there wasn't anything I couldn't ride but I wish I had done more research on the size restrictions and known I needed the modified seating! Even though I'm a big girl I've never not fit on something! Hope that helps some!

Oh - and I think someone mentioned the Mummy as one of the rides with restricted seating but I'm 99.9% sure that I sat in a regular seat with no problem. It's like bench seats with a lap band and I don't remember seeing the modified seating section or being in it when I sat down.

 

[book_junkie]

So before I go embarrass myself over at Universal (or shell out $$$ to walk around and not ride anything), where would I find out restrictions for the rides? I know allearsnet has pictures of the seats for WDW, is there anything similar for Universal?

Thanks-

 

[loveshak22]

So before I go embarrass myself over at Universal (or shell out $$$ to walk around and not ride anything), where would I find out restrictions for the rides? I know allearsnet has pictures of the seats for WDW, is there anything similar for Universal?

Thanks-

I tried to google some info but couldn't find anything. I even found information about each ride in this pamphlet: https://www.universalorlando.com/Images/RidersGuideUpdateFlyer_tcm13-10940.pdf

The funny thing is I didn't see anything about modified seating requirements for each ride. Why not just address the issue as opposed to leaving it to aggravated people to vent about it on online discussion boards?

If you want to PM me I'll give you more specifics about my experience, size/height, and DH's height/size if that helps!

 

[damo]

I tried to google some info but couldn't find anything. I even found information about each ride in this pamphlet: https://www.universalorlando.com/Images/RidersGuideUpdateFlyer_tcm13-10940.pdf

The funny thing is I didn't see anything about modified seating requirements for each ride. Why not just address the issue as opposed to leaving it to aggravated people to vent about it on online discussion boards?

If you want to PM me I'll give you more specifics about my experience, size/height, and DH's height/size if that helps!

The problem is that it isn't any defined weight that is the problem. It tends to be a combination of shoulder width/chest width/thigh width/hips width. There's no way that they can define the limitations. You really need to use the test seats. There are normal and modified test seats at the front of rides that may be an issue.

Use this thread for comparisons... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2489210

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh - and I think someone mentioned the Mummy as one of the rides with restricted seating but I'm 99.9% sure that I sat in a regular seat with no problem. It's like bench seats with a lap band and I don't remember seeing the modified seating section or being in it when I sat down.

It can be a tight squeeze. My husband might never be able to ride it, because even when smaller his quadriceps are like a heavy weight lifter, and he probably won't be able to squeeze his knees together to get the "legs" of the lap bar on either side of his legs. I checked it out when I rode recently, and you can't have your legs on the outside of them, so you do have to put your legs between. And some people aren't going to be able to do that.

I'll tell you guys that DH is about 5'11 and 340 (he's lost 40 lbs since last year this time!), and he still cannot ride the big coasters or FJ. He carries his weight everywhere, even in his back, so it's going to be a long time, especially since he is by nature (and pituitary tumor condition) a slower loser. We took pictures of how far the restraints go down on the test seats this time, so we can watch his progress over time. I just wish he'd let me do that on previous visits so he could see the difference even now.


And FWIW, DH can ride everything else he wants to ride. Just not the big coasters, Doom, or FJ. Which is a huge bummer, because he WANTS to go on those things, and now DS is tall enough and wants to, and so I am going with DS. And I'm a big chicken. If you saw a woman crying near the bathrooms in the Marvel area on the 13th, it might have been me, thinking back to Hulk, Doom, and HRRR that I'd already gone on with/for him, and contemplating that we were about to ride Dragon Challenge (which I've ridden before and hated). Thankfully DH and DS noticed, and DS realized that it was truly scaring me, and agreed to go another visit. Huge ride chicken, but more scared to let DS go *alone* on those things even though he *can*. (yikes, what if there were a ride stop???) So once DH can ride, I can stop!


But I *like* Mummy, so I'll always go on that.

 

[muffyn]

interesting this week I was "profiled" for FJ.
I have ridden that thing a dozen times & last week as I was heading toward the hat, I was asked "have you experienced this attraction before?" I said yes, & then went on, took me a bit to realize they were gonna put me in the "chair of embarrassment"

now today, i got past the chair/hat. but when we got to board, hubby was told, no sir she needs to be in the outside seat.

well dang , did not like the outside chair, too roomy,,

what the heck, I must look fluffier than I am.

Oh, & the ride stopped.(maybe 5 min).. interesting, while sitting there cockeyed, thought the worst place would have been the upside down place. but wished we had a more interesting place than a screen to look at.

 

[aubriee]

interesting this week I was "profiled" for FJ.
I have ridden that thing a dozen times & last week as I was heading toward the hat, I was asked "have you experienced this attraction before?" I said yes, & then went on, took me a bit to realize they were gonna put me in the "chair of embarrassment"

now today, i got past the chair/hat. but when we got to board, hubby was told, no sir she needs to be in the outside seat.

well dang , did not like the outside chair, too roomy,,

what the heck, I must look fluffier than I am.

Oh, & the ride stopped.(maybe 5 min).. interesting, while sitting there cockeyed, thought the worst place would have been the upside down place. but wished we had a more interesting place than a screen to look at.

I've posted before about my experience with FJ a few years ago (back before they had the modified seats). I went in August (after the ride opened that June). I was staying onsite and every morning went to early opening and made a bee line to FJ, where I went first through the queu, then would ride it over and over through the single rider line. I bet I rode that thing a hundred times that week. Back then the CM would give the restraint a little push if needed. I always got two clicks and the CM would push a little to get the third. Anyway about the third or fourth day, I rode it like three times, then went back through single rider to ride it a fourth time in a row. That particular ride, I hopped in, pulled the restraint down, easily got two clicks, then waited for the CM to push it on down. Instead a different CM was there and told me I had to exit the ride. I told him I had just ridden the thing three times and this was the fourth that morning and had also ridden it every day since I had been there, and the CM always helped me get the third click. He informed me, that the CMs were not allowed to do that and I had to get off. I waited until that afternoon and took a chance that a different CM was working and rode it again several times with no problem. I also rode it every day for the rest of the week without problems. It was only that one CM that refused to assist the riders in any way. The rest had no problem pushing down on the restraint a little, as long as you were close.

Since they started the modified seats, I have not had a problem getting the clicks on my own.

 

[wilkeliza]

I've posted before about my experience with FJ a few years ago (back before they had the modified seats). I went in August (after the ride opened that June). I was staying onsite and every morning went to early opening and made a bee line to FJ, where I went first through the queu, then would ride it over and over through the single rider line. I bet I rode that thing a hundred times that week. Back then the CM would give the restraint a little push if needed. I always got two clicks and the CM would push a little to get the third. Anyway about the third or fourth day, I rode it like three times, then went back through single rider to ride it a fourth time in a row. That particular ride, I hopped in, pulled the restraint down, easily got two clicks, then waited for the CM to push it on down. Instead a different CM was there and told me I had to exit the ride. I told him I had just ridden the thing three times and this was the fourth that morning and had also ridden it every day since I had been there, and the CM always helped me get the third click. He informed me, that the CMs were not allowed to do that and I had to get off. I waited until that afternoon and took a chance that a different CM was working and rode it again several times with no problem. I also rode it every day for the rest of the week without problems. It was only that one CM that refused to assist the riders in any way. The rest had no problem pushing down on the restraint a little, as long as you were close.

Since they started the modified seats, I have not had a problem getting the clicks on my own.

We had the similar issue except it was my DBF's first time to try and he was so embarrassed. He used the test seat outside and was just barely unable to do it himself so thought he would give it a shot. He got up to the front and got 2 of the 3 needed clicks and was so excited so he asked for help. The employee came and barely touched it and said sorry you have to get off and they ended up having to manually release the harness system. My DBF has always been a big guy and was so looking forward to the ride that it destroyed the rest of our day at Universal. The seat sizes are the whole reason we don't go to Universal any more because he hasn't made it to the point he needs to just yet and we aren't going to pay all that money to not be able to ride a lot of the rides. There was very little at IOA he could actually ride and you can only do the same 5 rides so much in one day.

 

[HarleyGirl514]

We had the similar issue except it was my DBF's first time to try and he was so embarrassed. He used the test seat outside and was just barely unable to do it himself so thought he would give it a shot. He got up to the front and got 2 of the 3 needed clicks and was so excited so he asked for help. The employee came and barely touched it and said sorry you have to get off and they ended up having to manually release the harness system. My DBF has always been a big guy and was so looking forward to the ride that it destroyed the rest of our day at Universal. The seat sizes are the whole reason we don't go to Universal any more because he hasn't made it to the point he needs to just yet and we aren't going to pay all that money to not be able to ride a lot of the rides. There was very little at IOA he could actually ride and you can only do the same 5 rides so much in one day.

I'm sorry y'all had such a bad experience! That's what I'm worried about with my DH. He's a big guy, very broad in the shoulders and he carries his weight in his midsection. I think he's deliciously burly! I just so want him to be able to ride the rides! He is 6', 300 lbs. All these posts have confused me because some say they have been able to ride as larger people and others haven't.

 

[damo]

I'm sorry y'all had such a bad experience! That's what I'm worried about with my DH. He's a big guy, very broad in the shoulders and he carries his weight in his midsection. I think he's deliciously burly! I just so want him to be able to ride the rides! He is 6', 300 lbs. All these posts have confused me because some say they have been able to ride as larger people and others haven't.

That's why they haven't been able to post the exact restrictions...it differs so much from person to person.

 

[wilkeliza]

That's why they haven't been able to post the exact restrictions...it differs so much from person to person.

I feel like they could post dimensions of the restraint system. If they know it closes to x CM or x IN they could post that. Then someone can sit or stand at home and measure themselves to get a better idea if it is worth going to try or not.

 

[damo]

I feel like they could post dimensions of the restraint system. If they know it closes to x CM or x IN they could post that. Then someone can sit or stand at home and measure themselves to get a better idea if it is worth going to try or not.

The restraints don't come straight down. They come down at an angle. So the dimensions will be different depending on the person's height. What may hit one person's shoulders would be another person's stomach or another person's thighs.

You can see in this pictures how these people fit so differently in the seats. The restraint comes to a different level on each of them. So because it is an angled restraint that comes into a v-shape, it is really hard to accurately give a dimension.Some people find that it isn't their width that is the problem but their thighs.

It is tough to make restaints that hold everyone in tightly without having some people unable to ride.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Great pictures, damo!

Body type factors in a lot when it comes to whether or not the restraints will fit. Someone who is big and healthy and is comprised mostly of muscle, with very tough arms and stomach, might not be able to ride; while someone who is larger and considered obese may be able to simply because their bodies have more give.

It's just not something that can be figured out by dimensions; how your body reacts to the restraint is a huge factor in whether or not you can fit.

For anyone that is concerned- all you have to do is try out the test seats out front. All kinds of people sit in those seats, nobody will think less of you for it! You don't have to get pulled out of line to be put into the test seat at the end of the line if you don't want to be. If you know whether or not you can fit you can simply let the attendants know at the top

 

[damo]

Great pictures, damo!

Body type factors in a lot when it comes to whether or not the restraints will fit. Someone who is big and healthy and is comprised mostly of muscle, with very tough arms and stomach, might not be able to ride; while someone who is larger and considered obese may be able to simply because their bodies have more give.

It's just not something that can be figured out by dimensions; how your body reacts to the restraint is a huge factor in whether or not you can fit.

For anyone that is concerned- all you have to do is try out the test seats out front. All kinds of people sit in those seats, nobody will think less of you for it! You don't have to get pulled out of line to be put into the test seat at the end of the line if you don't want to be. If you know whether or not you can fit you can simply let the attendants know at the top

There are even people who said they couldn't fit wearing jean shorts but could fit when they wore a stretchy short. So body give is definitely a factor.

 

[loveshak22]

I'm going to be a little repetitive because I still cannot understand why FJ couldn't be more accommodating to varying sizes (big, small, thin, short, fat, fit but muscular, etc). It was built by Universal to bring in a lot of people, it's a new ride so it's not stuck to trying to fit to specs of an existing ride that they are remodeling, and it's not a roller coaster.

As the great pics that damo shared show, it's 4 seats side by side that are moved by an arm that takes the seats from point A to B throughout the ride. There are no upside downs or even tight cork screws - just rocking back and forth and side to side vigorously.

As I've also stated I'm no engineer, but for people saying it's impossible to build a ride to accommodate all sizes I just disagree. If Rock-n-Roller Coaster at Disney can fit me (5.9 and over 240 and large chested) and my 10 year old cousin at 90 pounds then I think Universal can figure out FJ.

Now I'm not going to compare Rock-N-Roller coaster to Hulk or Dragons because I realize those coasters are more intense and are made by the same specs by the same company so fine...but to say FJ needs some sort of special restraints that cannot fit a larger range of sizes just cannot be true.

And to the point that body shape matters as much as weight so Universal can't publish weight guidelines I'll even concede that point, but there should be some sort of note indicating that there are size restrictions on their website where they list other ride restrictions. I didn't research the issue before going to Universal but I did review the ride descriptions and there was nothing. So I was surprised when I got there and had problems (although I was able to ride everything). And for people to pay as much as they pay to go to Universal, many to go on FJ, and then get turned away is kind of stinky. They should have some sort of heads-up for guests on their website to indicate that there may be a problem.

 

[damo]

I'm going to be a little repetitive because I still cannot understand why FJ couldn't be more accommodating to varying sizes (big, small, thin, short, fat, fit but muscular, etc). It was built by Universal to bring in a lot of people, it's a new ride so it's not stuck to trying to fit to specs of an existing ride that they are remodeling, and it's not a roller coaster.

As the great pics that damo shared show, it's 4 seats side by side that are moved by an arm that takes the seats from point A to B throughout the ride. There are no upside downs or even tight cork screws - just rocking back and forth and side to side vigorously.

As I've also stated I'm no engineer, but for people saying it's impossible to build a ride to accommodate all sizes I just disagree. If Rock-n-Roller Coaster at Disney can fit me (5.9 and over 240 and large chested) and my 10 year old cousin at 90 pounds then I think Universal can figure out FJ.

Now I'm not going to compare Rock-N-Roller coaster to Hulk or Dragons because I realize those coasters are more intense and are made by the same specs by the same company so fine...but to say FJ needs some sort of special restraints that cannot fit a larger range of sizes just cannot be true.

And to the point that body shape matters as much as weight so Universal can't publish weight guidelines I'll even concede that point, but there should be some sort of note indicating that there are size restrictions on their website where they list other ride restrictions. I didn't research the issue before going to Universal but I did review the ride descriptions and there was nothing. So I was surprised when I got there and had problems (although I was able to ride everything). And for people to pay as much as they pay to go to Universal, many to go on FJ, and then get turned away is kind of stinky. They should have some sort of heads-up for guests on their website to indicate that there may be a problem.

But RNRC isn't leaving you hanging face down like FJ. It has g-forces that are pushing you into your seat. I am sure they could have toned the ride down considerably and changed the restraints. I don't think they wanted to do that.

 

[loveshak22]

But RNRC isn't leaving you hanging face down like FJ. It has g-forces that are pushing you into your seat. I am sure they could have toned the ride down considerably and changed the restraints. I don't think they wanted to do that.

I'm just going to respectively disagree. With the money they put into FJ and today's engineering marvels I think something better could have been designed. I'm not saying RNRC is the same as FJ I'm just saying they make it work for a ride that flips you upside down and on other rides that require harnesses so I believe it can be done.

I've ridden rides at other parks where I'm hanging upside down and fit without modified seating. And I'm not even so concerned about me sitting in modified seating as much as the people who get turned away all together.