coasters and child's weight?

[chartle]

Yes - you are right about my worrying stopping me from enjoying things .. I am afraid that if I go against my gut and something happens I will never forgive myself. Here's a stupid q though.. A few months ago I saw a story about a man who flew out of a coaster who was a double amputee.. Wouldn't physics have kept him in??

I'm assuming its was some portion of his legs. But coaster designers assume that you will have all your arms and legs. Not sure of this story but it would raise his center of gravity.

Ok just found a story and yes most all of both legs were gone something designers would not have planed on.

 

[Hannathy]

Yes - you are right about my worrying stopping me from enjoying things .. I am afraid that if I go against my gut and something happens I will never forgive myself. Here's a stupid q though.. A few months ago I saw a story about a man who flew out of a coaster who was a double amputee.. Wouldn't physics have kept him in??

No because he was a variant from what the ride was designed for. It was designed for someone with legs and normal weight distribution. I also think he flew out not when it was upside down but on a curve. I also bet he didn't make the height requirement. My DH could explain the engineering and physics.


As far as worrying and going against your gut, Do you let her ride in a car? Would you never forgive yourself if she was ever in an accident? How about riding a bike? same question, or playing on a playground? Walking on stairs? All things I'm sure you let her do without a thought, and yet much more statistically relevant for getting hurt than riding a roller coaster.

 

[doconeill]

Yes - you are right about my worrying stopping me from enjoying things .. I am afraid that if I go against my gut and something happens I will never forgive myself. Here's a stupid q though.. A few months ago I saw a story about a man who flew out of a coaster who was a double amputee.. Wouldn't physics have kept him in??

I did mention that safety systems are also involved.

In that incident, I believe that it was found that because of his condition, he did not actually meet the safety requirements, but the operators allowed him to board anyways. The coaster involved is much larger than anything any Disney, and had very specific physical requirements, which included "two legs".

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

My son is ridiculously skinny too. He is almost 7 (in 2 weeks) and in the past 2 year since our last WDW trip when he was 4 he has gained a grand total of 3 pounds, that puts him at 42lbs. I had the same concern last trip with BTMRR and I rode with him, he was sliding all over the seat and I was concerned he would fly out b/c I'm Pooh sized so the bar wasn't down all the way to him. He was fine the way the rides are designed even with little/no weight you can't slide out by just normal riding.

RnR is my other concern but more for the head banging factor than the sliding out b/c he is too skinny, the way those restraints fit you really can't slide out of those either unless you try.

EE, Space Mtn, Splash, and ToT don't concern me at all as they all have invididual lap bars that come all the way down on that person and are not shared.

 

[Lynne M]

Yes - you are right about my worrying stopping me from enjoying things .. I am afraid that if I go against my gut and something happens I will never forgive myself. Here's a stupid q though.. A few months ago I saw a story about a man who flew out of a coaster who was a double amputee.. Wouldn't physics have kept him in??

Not all coasters are created equal, and not all theme parks are as safety conscious as Disney or Busch or any of the other major theme park operators. I've read stories of restraint failures resulting in injuries at local carnivals. I've NEVER heard of anyone flying out of a coaster at a Disney park, or a Busch park. Ever.

I also believe the man you're referring to didn't make the height requirement, and they let him on anyway, probably because the ride operator just saw an adult and waved him on through, not thinking that his *actual* height was much less than a typical adult's.

As far as your daughter's weight.....if the engineers who designed the restraint system on Cheetah Hunt made the restraints only work for children that were 48" tall AND more than 40 pounds, don't you'd think they'd be measuring riders height and weight? That tells me that the engineers know that the restraints will work for any body that's more than 48 inches tall, not matter what they weigh.

 

[DebbieB]

Of all the "big rides" I would say its about the tamest. Its just g force.

Just like this ride.

I loved that ride when it was at Kennywood!

WDW has been open over 40 years, have you ever heard of a child flying out of a ride? If it was possible, it would have happened.

 

[chartle]

I loved that ride when it was at Kennywood!

Its at idlewild right now

 

[Edgehopper]

Definitely not a problem; the restrictions are only on height, not weight, for a reason. The only ride where you might be concerned is Big Thunder Mountain, because I think they still have bench seats and a common lap bar, meaning that if the bar is set to restrain a large person, the kid won't be restrained very well. It's still not dangerous because Big Thunder has no negative G forces--the kid will only be bounced around the car a little, not out of it.

On any other ride, height is the only thing that matters for kids (weight could be an issue for very large adults, but much less so at WDW than most parks). The earlier poster mentioning that mass doesn't matter for roller coaster physics was right; less mass doesn't change acceleration, it just decreases the force necessary for the restraint to hold a child in his seat. Any ride with individual restraints or lap belt restraints, which is every thrill ride at WDW with the possible exception of BTMRR (I don't remember for that one) will be just fine as far as safety goes.

 

[Carriemel]

My 34 pound, 40 inch, almost 4 year old went on all the 40 inch rides and had NO problems at all in her seat.

 

[Edgehopper]

Yes - you are right about my worrying stopping me from enjoying things .. I am afraid that if I go against my gut and something happens I will never forgive myself. Here's a stupid q though.. A few months ago I saw a story about a man who flew out of a coaster who was a double amputee.. Wouldn't physics have kept him in??

Only on a ride with no negative G-forces or strong lateral G-forces, and only on a ride that uses only a lap bar (a shoulder harness would have kept him in). The particular ride was the Superman - Ride of Steel coaster at Darien Lake, a 208 ft. steel coaster with a lap bar restraint. For a person with legs, the restraint keeps him in by exerting a downward force primarily on the thighs. For a person with no legs...there's no downward force.

This isn't an issue for children with both legs, or for that matter it's unlikely to be an issue on any Disney rides with the possible exception of Expedition Everest:

RnRC, Mission Space: Shoulder harnesses
BTMRR, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain: Not enough lateral or negative G forces to knock someone out of the high-walled cars.
Test Track, ToT: Lap belts exert pressure at the waist, rather than thighs (and Test Track has no negative or lateral G forces).