Using safety restraints on rides

[StephlovesDisney2]

Okay... this is going to sound like a weird question, but I want to make sure I'm using the safety restraints correctly on rides (lap bars; shoulder harnesses on coasters that go upside down).

The last few times I've been to Disney/Universal/Busch Gardens I've been paranoid about the restraints being safe. After I secured myself,I would push down on the lap bar/ shoulder restraint a few times to make it extra tight. Though I took these measures to feel safe, doing this made the rides uncomfortable. IE my stomach/chest area felt crushed. I want to feel safe but I also want to be comfortable so I can fully enjoy the rides.

Finally the question: Am I making the rides uncomfortable by over worrying about safety?

Sorry if the question is at all confusing,
Steph

 

[ttintagel]

Don;t the CM's usually check to make sure the restraints are in place?

 

[charabby]

I would say yes. The restraints aren't meant to make you feel crushed. Trust the CM's to verify you're secured and let yourself be a little more comfortable

 

[johde]

On a lot of rides, stapling yourself (the coaster enthusiast term for an extra tight restraint) can lead to an uncomfortable ride. Being a larger rider I'm frequently stapled to get the restraint to close far enough to ride. On rides with Over the Shoulder Restraints, I find I'm much more likely to get nauseous if I'm stapled in and can't take full normal breaths. Ideally for you, you want it snug but comfortable. It is the ride OP's job to make sure your in a safe position. If they've checked your restraint, you can assume your good to go.

On some rides like Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens, the ride OP's I've read will go for a more snug fit on the restraints since you'll be hanging from them during the drop. But that is definitely the exception and not the rule.

 

[ghtx]

Finally the question: Am I making the rides uncomfortable by over worrying about safety?

Yes.

By and large the restraints in the seats offer no real safety - the ride itself is safe, and you should be able to ride it fine without any lap belt, harness, etc. (pretty sure this is true of every ride at WDW). The harnesses are there to make you feel safe. Keep 'em loose if it's more comfortable.

 

[Disneylover99]

You sound like you have the opposite issue that I have.

I'm a bit phobic and hate having the lap bars even touch my lap. I hate feeling trapped so I don't push any bar down too far. Don't worry. You'll be safe! Me? Not as much.

 

[Dis703]

I always wonder where they need to be in order to be safe as well. Particularly when it's a bar and I'm riding with my ODS who is a tiny little skinny kid and I can crush it against my lap and it's still nowhere near touching his. This happens on BTMRR and he slides all over the place when we take fast turns and scares the crap out of me. That one turn that goes out around the edge near the water I swear every time he's going to slip through the opening and out the side.

 

[Mikie]

Yes.

By and large the restraints in the seats offer no real safety - the ride itself is safe, and you should be able to ride it fine without any lap belt, harness, etc. (pretty sure this is true of every ride at WDW). The harnesses are there to make you feel safe. Keep 'em loose if it's more comfortable.

I'm hoping that's true, and I think it makes sense. At Disney, I don't find that the CM's really do anything to the restraints. At 6 Flags, they come by and pull up on the handles or watch while you do so, and even push and click if it doesn't look right. At Disney, I can't recall any CM touching my restraints. I am not holding 6 Flags out as some sort of safety guru, just saying it makes sense that maybe the rides really don't even need anything, and it's all about making the guest feel ok.

I vaguely recall a ride at an amusement park in Kansas City that had no restraints at all. You sat kind of log-ride style front-to-back of each other and the roller coaster had lots of vertical corkscrews but no upside down portions (and even if a ride does, force actually holds you in - never dropped a bag our of RnR!) Part of the thrill was supposed to be in your being unrestrained.

 

[daisyduck123]

48 year old "ride-chicken" chiming in ....

OP, I'm with you. I get so scared on some of the rides. On Soarin' I actually use the child strap (the one that comes up between your legs) that are designed for the kids. It makes me feel much safer.

 

[disnut8]

The restraints, whatever kind on whatever attraction, are safe when the first locking position is reached.

If you are on Rock N Roller Coaster, you are safe when the overhead restraint reaches the first click above you. I'm five foot nothing and pull that thing down so it's on my shoulders but if I didn't I wouldn't be falling out of the seat.

How can Disney World operate any attraction without safety restraints that operate on every seat for any person of any size that is allowed on that attraction? Me, at five foot nothing can sit in the same seat as a person six feet five inches and a Cast Member is not going to measure us and make sure the restraint is at the perfect fit for each of us. The Cast Member will make sure the restraint is locked. The six foot five inch person is not going to fall out and neither am I.

 

[cristen72]

I'm a ride chicken too. I also used the child restraint on Soarin as well as made my 10 year old son use it. And I was still nervous about it.

I'm also a coaster chicken. I tried Barnstormer and it scared the crap out of me. No thanks. I'll stick to Haunted Mansion and Pirates

 

[NickEslick]

If the ride is uncomfortable and it's from the restraints, then yes you are using them wrong. It is still safe like that but there should be some amount of space between your body and the restraint. I tend to do it sometimes also with shoulder restraints. Now, there shouldn't be much space between the restraint and your body. Just put it where it is comfortable for you. If it is too lose, a cast member would notice and have you pull it down more.

 

[bumbershoot]

After I secured myself,I would push down on the lap bar/ shoulder restraint a few times to make it extra tight. Though I took these measures to feel safe, doing this made the rides uncomfortable. ....

Am I making the rides uncomfortable by over worrying about safety?

Sounds like you are making the rides uncomfortable, unnecessarily.

Yes.

By and large the restraints in the seats offer no real safety - the ride itself is safe, and you should be able to ride it fine without any lap belt, harness, etc. (pretty sure this is true of every ride at WDW). The harnesses are there to make you feel safe. Keep 'em loose if it's more comfortable.

That's what I've read in discussions between serious coaster-fiends.

I'm hoping that's true, and I think it makes sense. At Disney, I don't find that the CM's really do anything to the restraints.....

I vaguely recall a ride at an amusement park in Kansas City that had no restraints at all. You sat kind of log-ride style front-to-back of each other and the roller coaster had lots of vertical corkscrews but no upside down portions (and even if a ride does, force actually holds you in - never dropped a bag our of RnR!) Part of the thrill was supposed to be in your being unrestrained.

They can tell, though. Not sure how on all rides, but on rides like Star Tours they are watching a panel, and the seatbelts lock at a certain point (same as on TOT) so you couldn't take them off once the ride starts if you tried.

The forces keeping you in is what I've read in those discussions mentioned above. Even on loops.

The problem is guest stupidity (trying to stand up) and the possibility of a really poorly timed ride stop. (and again, guest stupidity in such a situation) It's more to protect us from us.

 

[johde]

The restraints, whatever kind on whatever attraction, are safe when the first locking position is reached.

If you are on Rock N Roller Coaster, you are safe when the overhead restraint reaches the first click above you. I'm five foot nothing and pull that thing down so it's on my shoulders but if I didn't I wouldn't be falling out of the seat.

I would be a bit surprised is RnR's rule is 1 click and safe. Most roller coasters of that type require at least 2 clicks as SOP. Now, I'm almost certain like others have said you could ride RnR without a restraint so long as there was no rider error or catastrophic ride malfunction. 2 clicks provides an extra margin of safety in that situation.

The forces keeping you in is what I've read in those discussions mentioned above. Even on loops.

The problem is guest stupidity (trying to stand up) and the possibility of a really poorly timed ride stop. (and again, guest stupidity in such a situation) It's more to protect us from us.

That is true during normal operation on most rides, and probably all of them at Disney with the exception of sum of all thrills at Epcot and Virtual Space Mountain at Disney Quest. Like I mentioned above. The ride restraints are also there for that 1 in a 1,000,000 unthinkable event. People have been stuck upside down on roller coasters before. Not at Disney but it has happened.

Like I mentioned above, there are rides like Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens and Manta at Sea World where you are resting in the restraints and placing your entire faith in them during the ride. In those cases there are several layers of redundancies to keep you safe.

You can see in this video for manta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KHhRuro5ns&feature=player_detailpage#t=27 the hole for the pair of giant pins that provide the primary restraint. You can also see just beyond the last hole, a pins that extends the other direction providing secondary restraint in the case both primary bolts break. For someone to fall out of the ride all 4 inch wide pins would need to fail during the same ride.

 

[DebbieB]

48 year old "ride-chicken" chiming in .... OP, I'm with you. I get so scared on some of the rides. On Soarin' I actually use the child strap (the one that comes up between your legs) that are designed for the kids. It makes me feel much safer.

The last time I was on Soarin, a guy decided to use the child strap. After he locked it, he realized he was "uncomfortable" and had to call a cm over to unlock the whole row so that he could take it off.

 

[pooch]

I don't get using extra restraints on soarin. It doesn't go upside down, tip in any appreciable way, jerk around at all. Barring launching yourself out of your seat, how could you fall out???

 

[o0quirkygirl0o]

After I secured myself,I would push down on the lap bar/ shoulder restraint a few times to make it extra tight. Though I took these measures to feel safe, doing this made the rides uncomfortable. IE my stomach/chest area felt crushed. I want to feel safe but I also want to be comfortable so I can fully enjoy the rides.

As someone who worked as a ride attendant on a roller coaster in my college days, you don't want it to be so tight that you are uncomfortable. This can actually be a problem and you might end up passing out if the restraint is super tight on your chest and you can't pull a full breath. So, by pushing it so tight you are uncomfortable you might actually be INCREASING the risk to your safety.

You really just want the bar to touch you or be slightly away from your body (less than a few inches away). They are mostly redundancies, as many have said before me. Use them properly and you will be at your safest.

Relax and enjoy the ride!!!

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

I don't get using extra restraints on soarin. It doesn't go upside down, tip in any appreciable way, jerk around at all. Barring launching yourself out of your seat, how could you fall out???

I also like to use the extra strap between on Soarin. Something about that one makes me feel like I'm sliding out of the seat. Cannot really explain it better than that, just feel like I'm slipping and falling out. I know I'm not going to, and I've rode it without it before. But I prefer it, and it fits me comfortably and gives me peace of mind lol! As for other rides, truly have not thought about it much besides checking that the bar clicked and doesn't lift up or the strap come unbuckled.

 

[pooch]

Not only are you not gonna fall out, I don't think it's possible without actively trying!

 

[disnut8]

I also like to use the extra strap between on Soarin. Something about that one makes me feel like I'm sliding out of the seat. Cannot really explain it better than that, just feel like I'm slipping and falling out. I know I'm not going to, and I've rode it without it before. But I prefer it, and it fits me comfortably and gives me peace of mind lol! As for other rides, truly have not thought about it much besides checking that the bar clicked and doesn't lift up or the strap come unbuckled.

My first time riding Soarin', since I don't like heights and a "free falling" experience (which Soarin' seems to be to me) and I'm not the tallest person in the world, my husband said I should use the child strap as well. I didn't and just held onto him at the take off. I think he still has the marks on his arms from my reaction!

No, Soarin' doesn't loop or spin or whatever but, for those who have certain adversions, having that strap there can help.

With ANY ride, even Dumbo, it's not the knowing the restraints are there and the ride is safe, it's your thinking at that moment when the ride is first moving or during the ride movement.

I've been on Twilight Zone dozens of times - one of my favorites. I know it's safe. Does that stop me from holding on for dear life? Hell no! Does that stop me from dreading the first movement in the "drop shaft" because if I first go up, I'm screaming my lungs out? Hell no! I know this ride and I love it. Because each time I do it, I am scared but in the back of my mind, I know I will survive.

It's not about what happens AFTER the ride, it's about what you feel DURING the ride.