chest size on rides

[Emma0805]

My husband has now asked me to post a question for him thats been bothering him a bit but i think he feels a bit embarrassed asking anyone he actually 'knows'.

He's a biggish man, hes 6ft 3 with a 44" waist and 54"chest which is actually more muscle than fat but still 54" so pretty big and wide shouldered.

Will he have any trouble fitting on any rides in disney or universal or any other parks???

He has had problems before over here with rides that have big shoulder harnesses that come down over your head to lock.
Thanks for any help you can give

Emma

 

[sandyhund]

Hi,

I too was worried about the same thing, so I did some searching and found this great site:

http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/ridsiz.htm

It describes each type of ride and even has pictures for a lot of them. I hope it helps, it definitely helped me not be so worried.

 

[MycatlovesEeyore]

From our experience, the rides @ WDW are a lot friendlier to "larger " people. The one and only time we went to universal, both my wife and I had trouble fitting into some of the more "thrilling" rides due to the size of the passenger compartments.

 

[mitymott]

Hi, I'm about the same size and I've never had a problem with any disney, universal, or sea world ride.The only close call is on roller coasters with shoulder harnesses. I just slouch and scrunch down as far as I can in the seat to get it fastened then it's off we go. You'll be fine, have a great time.

 

[Pop Daddy]

the world is made for little people and right handers

 

[spewey]

Hey - I'm much more familiar with Universal than Disney, so I'll stick to what I know. I believe both "adult coasters" at Islands of Adventure - Dueling Dragons and the Hulk - have what are known as "big boy" seats for those with larger chests. Ask an attendent before you get in line, and check out the test seats out front, to see if you even need them. Those are the only rides at Universal with shoulder harnesses; I have heard conflicting things about larger people getting on the Mummy coaster, so you may want to post this in the Universal forum as well - a frequent poster, phantom, has a son who works the ride.

As far as the other rides go, I think you should be all right. Accomodating "guests of size" is a hot issue in the theme park industry today, and the parks may seem paranoid, but unfortunately there have been several on-ride fatalities in the past few years seemingly related to restraint systems failing to properly hold large guests. It should be noted, however, that all these incidents involved certain types of coasters/water rides built by the same company, and neither Disney nor Universal have any of these ...

 

[Emma0805]

spewey,
your post just sent a chill through me! are you sure none of those coasters exist in disney or universal?? cos i know my husband and if he can squeeze those harnesses down, he will - my worry then being, that they wouldnt hold for the whole ride.

Emma
xxx

 

[experiment626mom]

My husband has a 52" chest and doesn't have any problems with the rides at DW.

 

[ladysoleil]

My DH is a bit smaller than your hubby, height and waist wise, but has very broad shoulders. He's never had a problem with getting restraints to fit, although I know every once in a while he's not the most comfy on a ride, but everything locks down just fine.

I have the opposite problem, I'm 5'3" and have narrow shoulders, so sometimes I feel like a nut in a can rattling around on some of the rougher rides. We're a good team.

 

[BAST]

I am 6'4 with a 52 inch chest. No problems on any rides - RRRC and TT are a little tight for my legs unless I sit in front seat of vehicles.

 

[spewey]

No, Emma, there's nothing to worry about. The rides I refer to do not have shoulder harnesses - if they had, there would not have been a problem. All the rides in question had (the restraints have been modified/added to, for obvious reasons) similar, "T"-shaped lap bars, usually without seat belts, that in very rare cases couldn't properly hold, um, extremely round patrons; the bars sat more on the thighs, resulting in a handful of ejections (although, in one case, the size of the rider - a slim 16-year old girl who was flung to her death on a water ride in Wales - played no role).

The identity of the manufacturer is not a secret - it is Intamin AG of Switzerland. They most assuredly do not have any of the type of rides I describe at Disney or UO - non-looping "hyper" (more than 200 feet tall) coasters, a la the Superman coasters at the Six Flags in New England or Maryland, or Millennium Force at Cedar Point; or giant, insanely steep shoot-the-chutes water rides - of which, only two exist - the aforementioned one in Wales, and another at Knott's Berry Farm in California, which also has had a rider fall to her death.

I'm very sorry to have worried you, but you really shouldn't be concerned. UO and Disney World (i.e. the one in Florida) have great safety track records, and as I'm fond of pointing out, you're hundreds of times more likely to be hurt leaving the parking lot of a park than you are on any of their rides ...

 

[Emma0805]

thankyou for that - you've put my mind at rest
Emma
xxx