Weight Restrictions

[dizneyfreak]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to share with you a disibility that many don't really think about at times including myself. My new husband is extremely overweight and has problems fitting into many amusement park rides. He has been forced to get off of many causing a very embarassing situation. I go to WDW at least once a year and wanted to share the experience with him because he had never been. I called ahead and e-mail many Disney CM's asking about weight restrictions or maximum width of seat belts as to avoid the above mentioned situation. Every time I was told that there were no restrictions, but that there were no seat belt lenghts available. I was very nervous heading into the parks, but I am very pleased to tell you that he fit on every single ride! He didn't have a problem with a single one! Thank you to Disney! I just wanted to let those of you know who may be experiencing the same type of fears. There is one park that makes sure everyone can have fun!!!

dizneyfreak

 

[nemofanatic]

That is great. That is my fear too. So did he go on roller coasters too. Usually those are the tightest. Disney sure does think of everyone.

Glad he had a good time.

 

[Mykelogan]

Yay! That is awesome!!! As a big guy, I love Disney, the only theme parks I'll visit!! I rode the coasters this week too, no problems!

Mike

 

[spiceycat]

the only RR my brother has a problem is Big Thunder Mountain - it has pretty small seats.

He doesn't even try to ride the rides in Micky's Toontown Fair.

 

[Absimilliard]

I'm tall and built... and the Barnstormer seats are real tight! I hope Disney will look at the new coaster cars for that type of coasters (like Okeechubee Rampage at Cypress Gardens). The seats are wider, more legroom and individual restraints.

Universal, Busch, etc. all have coasters that are pretty fun.. but if you're not "typical, slim european built", they're a tight fit, if you can ride it at all! I was all surprised to see that Mick Foley (ex WWE wrestler, now book writer. He's 6 feet tall for 287 pounds) could not make it on Batman the Ride at Six Flags...

 

[jennifer293]

My DH is 6'5" and he said that when he rode Space Mountain that he almost came out of the seat because the bar would not close tight enough on him because of his long legs. I didn't ride it so I don't know, and he had a very hard time on the Barnstormer also.

 

[Merriwind]

Oh my! I'm only 5'1" and 105# and I find Barnstormer to be a little cramped. I could not imagine being over six feet tall or over 200 pounds on that one. You would need a crow bar to get out for sure.

 

[Absimilliard]

I'm 6'3, 240 lbs... If I ride Barnstormer, I have to do it alone!

As for Space Mountain... I had an incident on it and so, I refuse to ride it unless I'm in seat 6 or 3.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the report - no matter how much information there is, it's always nice to have another report.
One place you might want to check is the WDW at large page on Deb Wills site.

Barnstormer is a smaller coaster, but I think one of the reasons is that it's in Mickey's Toontown and is maent to be a coaster that kids can go on. The smaller, tighter seats make it safer for kids (although it is tighter for adults).

 

[Absimilliard]

Smaller seats don't equal safer. The new rollercoaster train (here's a link for a picture of the one at Cypress Gardens) for it are wider, and more secure for children, thanks to the presence of an individual lap bar. They avoid giving whiplash and incomfort to adults riding. For an example of a small seat having a drastic height restriction, Wild Mouse rides like at Hersheypark are even more cramped then the Barnstormer and yet, have a 48 inches height restriction.

http://www.rcdb.com/ig2737.htm?picture=5

 

[SueM in MN]

Smaller seats don't equal safer. The new rollercoaster train (here's a link for a picture of the one at Cypress Gardens) for it are wider, and more secure for children, thanks to the presence of an individual lap bar. They avoid giving whiplash and incomfort to adults riding. For an example of a small seat having a drastic height restriction, Wild Mouse rides like at Hersheypark are even more cramped then the Barnstormer and yet, have a 48 inches height restriction.

http://www.rcdb.com/ig2737.htm?picture=5

Those seats do look more comfortable. One thing that would be nice at WDW is for them to update the ride cars sometimes to make them more comfortable, etc.
Barnstormer opened in 1996. I don't know what was available then for ride systems, but from what I have heard, it was sort of on a small scale because it was meant as a rollercoaster that even small kids could ride. The minimum age was 3 when it opened, but it changed at some point to height of 35 inches (what is currently listed on the official Disney site).
That's kind of what I meant to say in the other post, but didn't do too well.

 

[dizneyfreak]

That is great. That is my fear too. So did he go on roller coasters too. Usually those are the tightest. Disney sure does think of everyone.

Glad he had a good time.

My DH is also pretty tall too, 6'2''. I forgot to mention that earlier. He rode every single ride at all of the parks including the coasters. He didn't have to squeeze into but one or two either. You should have seen the look on his face. That look was worth the price of admission by itself! He had an absolute wonderful time and can't wait to go back which I love too of course since I have to go at least once a year.

dizneyfreak

 

[Absimilliard]

The rollercoaster cars I showed only debuted in 2004... so back in 1996, when Disney bought the Barnstormer and Gadget Go Coaster (Disneyland), the current cars were the only ones available. I think when the current cars reach the end of their life (usually 15-20 years for a steel coaster...), they'll switch them for those.

Any one still remember the days of the seatbelt cars on Space Mountain at WDW?