Lap Bars on Rides

[kristinradico]

I am overweight (5'4 270lbs). Yes I know its not good and I have been working hard to loose some weigh and be healthier. I have been so afraid of not being able to enjoy the rides with my kids because of my size. After research it seems i should be okay. Now I am worried about the shared lap bars and my childrens safety. Which "thrill"rides would I have a shared lap bar with my 6 or 8 year old?? Will that be a safety issue for them?? Could they actually fall out of the ride because the lap bar locks at my size?? I cant find any info on this specific question. Thanks!

Kristin

 

[AmyB2006]

I want to say BTMRR is the only one I've ever been concerned about with regards to that.

 

[kmb584]

I want to say BTMRR is the only one I've ever been concerned about with regards to that.

I echo that. I'm "average" (5'4" & 128 lbs) and when DD and I are on BTMR I have to keep my arm around her so she doesn't go flying every which way.

 

[tazadd0420]

I think splash has to a certain extent. I remember my wife and daughter sat separate from me in splash and btmrr.

 

[ucfknight]

On almost every ride at Disney World with lap bars, the bars aren't there to keep you from flying out. They are there to try to deter stupid people from willingly standing up or trying to get out of the ride vehicle before it gets to the unloading zone.

Take Splash Mountain, for instance. For the first 20 years the ride was open, it didn't have lap bars. A couple of stupid people jumped out over the years, one of which was killed when they got hit by another boat. So Disney added lap bars a couple of years ago to keep people from doing that. If the bars aren't tight on your kids on Splash Mountain, it is no big deal as long as you keep them seated.

 

[Raenstoirm]

On almost every ride at Disney World with lap bars, the bars aren't there to keep you from flying out. They are there to try to deter stupid people from willingly standing up or trying to get out of the ride vehicle before it gets to the unloading zone.

Take Splash Mountain, for instance. For the first 20 years the ride was open, it didn't have lap bars. A couple of stupid people jumped out over the year, one of which was killed when they got hit by another boat. So Disney added lap bars a couple of years ago to keep people from doing that. If the bars aren't tight on your kids on Splash Mountain, it is no big deal as long as you keep them seated.

Yes that is it exactly. On rides that need a restraint for safety, each person gets their own (disney learned this the hard way on the original ToT back in the mid 90s)

 

[practicallyperfect77]

I am overweight (5'4 270lbs). Yes I know its not good and I have been working hard to loose some weigh and be healthier. I have been so afraid of not being able to enjoy the rides with my kids because of my size. After research it seems i should be okay. Now I am worried about the shared lap bars and my childrens safety. Which "thrill"rides would I have a shared lap bar with my 6 or 8 year old?? Will that be a safety issue for them?? Could they actually fall out of the ride because the lap bar locks at my size?? I cant find any info on this specific question. Thanks!

Kristin

Kristin - I believe like others have said it's just Big Thunder and Splash. Well Pooh, Buzz, Peter Pan have them too, but those rides aren't thrill rides.

Also wanted to wish you the best of luck of your weight loss journey. I used to be 5'4 and 275 so I know the pain. Darn thyroid and eating the gov't recommended diet of whole grain everything did me in. I eat paleo now and am down 50 lbs. Also got on different thyroid meds which helped a ton. Sorry to go so totally off topic, but losing weight is something I hold very dear to my heart.

 

[ZoZo]

Thunder Mountain. I went on it with a friend once (she's kind of "Pooh sized") and we nnoticed that the lap bar didn't touch my legs at all. I slid around a lot! It didn't feel unsafe, exactly, but I would worry about a kid in the same situation.

 

[Mama Mouse]

Big Thunder Mountain and Primeval whirl. My ds had a very, very scary and dangerous experience on PW in May (Yes, we contacted cm's immediately and spoke with a manager, no we did not ask for anything other than better training on how to restrain different sized passengers.) and it was due to him sharing the bar with my dh who is a very big bellied guy.

 

[nadira36]

Only BTMR - Have your kiddos wear 'sticky' shorts and they'll be fine

 

[kristinradico]

Kristin - I believe like others have said it's just Big Thunder and Splash. Well Pooh, Buzz, Peter Pan have them too, but those rides aren't thrill rides.

Also wanted to wish you the best of luck of your weight loss journey. I used to be 5'4 and 275 so I know the pain. Darn thyroid and eating the gov't recommended diet of whole grain everything did me in. I eat paleo now and am down 50 lbs. Also got on different thyroid meds which helped a ton. Sorry to go so totally off topic, but losing weight is something I hold very dear to my heart.

Thank you, that means a lot. I've been fighting this weight(up and down) since we lost our first son years ago I pray one day I will get there!

Kristin

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Thank you, that means a lot. I've been fighting this weight(up and down) since we lost our first son years ago I pray one day I will get there!

Kristin

Oh bless you Kristin....that is pain a parent should never feel.

Please feel free to PM me if you'd like any more info. I know that's probably weird since we're total strangers and all, but I have battled weight my whole life. I am always happy to share my story to anyone willing to listen.

 

[JEWLSVERN]

Thunder mountain worries me. I rode it last week with my DS4. He actually slid under the lap bar and was sitting on the floor of the coaster with his neck at the lap bar. Thankfully it slowed down to go up a hill and I was able to pull him back up. I then put my leg between his to keep him from sliding down again.
A CM was in the car in front of us and told us he just needed to hold on better. DS was scared so he was holding on to me and just slid down.
I complained but felt it didn't go anywhere.

 

[Networth]

This ride won't affect your children's safety or comfort but possible your own. Space Mountain. Very tight ride space and lap bar restraint and I am average if not skinny and I notice what a pain SM is.

 

[bumbershoot]

I want to say BTMRR is the only one I've ever been concerned about with regards to that.

Big Thunder Mountain and Primeval whirl. My ds had a very, very scary and dangerous experience on PW in May (Yes, we contacted cm's immediately and spoke with a manager, no we did not ask for anything other than better training on how to restrain different sized passengers.) and it was due to him sharing the bar with my dh who is a very big bellied guy.

We're a family of 3 and DS always sits with me on PW, not with DH. Too scary otherwise.

Thunder mountain worries me. I rode it last week with my DS4. He actually slid under the lap bar and was sitting on the floor of the coaster with his neck at the lap bar. Thankfully it slowed down to go up a hill and I was able to pull him back up. I then put my leg between his to keep him from sliding down again.
A CM was in the car in front of us and told us he just needed to hold on better. DS was scared so he was holding on to me and just slid down.
I complained but felt it didn't go anywhere.

Ayep. I never actually believed these stories (sorry to all those in the past) until DS and DH had the experience on Disneyland's BTMRR last time we were there. And DS isn't a little bitty kid, but he's skinny and DH isn't. I think they both figured that it had never happened before and got a little relaxed, and next thing DH knew, DS was heading towards the floor of the car.


If there's anyone closer in size to the kids in your party, try to switch up the groups for BTMRR. If not, just hold on to the kidlets. Enjoy the ride, but hold on, too.

Best of luck in your weight loss journey. Grief is a tough one to work through with weight, definitely.

 

[kristinradico]

Thank you all for your responses. Luckily we will have 3 adults (I'm the biggest) and 3 children (2,6,8). I will probably sit Thunder Mountain out with the 2 year old just to be on the safe side.

Kristin

 

[sassie_kat]

Don't sit it out if you don't want to! I am your same size both height and weight. Granted, it might be distributed differently on our bodies BUT I'm right there with you.

On our last trip, I rode BTMRR with 3 of the 4 kids in our group (my little 3 year old was not tall enough and boy, was she PI$$ED ABOUT IT!) With each of the kids, I just put my arm around them if they wanted me to and held on as we laughed our way through the ride. My niece who was 8 at the time was the only one who didn't want me to hold on to her. She planted her feet and grabbed the bar and giggled the whole time.

Go, enjoy and use rider swap for the ones your little one can't go on!

 

[AmyB2006]

Don't sit it out if you don't want to! I am your same size both height and weight. Granted, it might be distributed differently on our bodies BUT I'm right there with you.

On our last trip, I rode BTMRR with 3 of the 4 kids in our group (my little 3 year old was not tall enough and boy, was she PI$$ED ABOUT IT!) With each of the kids, I just put my arm around them if they wanted me to and held on as we laughed our way through the ride. My niece who was 8 at the time was the only one who didn't want me to hold on to her. She planted her feet and grabbed the bar and giggled the whole time.

Go, enjoy and use rider swap for the ones your little one can't go on!

I agree. You don't have to sit it out. Your arm is plenty "safe" enough to keep the littles pinned back where they're supposed to be.

I pm'd you yesterday with some more info too.

 

[mefordis]

Like others have said, you will have no problem whatsoever in any of the rides at WDW. Don't worry one bit!

 

[photo_chick]

I'm a little big around the middle (5', 150 lbs) and my DS was a very thin 8 year old on our last trip. He wanted me to let go of him for once and he started sliding down the seat. So I just went right back to hanging onto him.

I don't think he was ever in any danger of falling out of the ride, but it might not have been very comfortable to whack his head on the lap bar as he went down, which is what would have happened. I do think a simple seat belt for each rider could eliminate this problem.