Gringotts--size issues?

[maxairmike]

That isn't so much the restraint as it is operational policy and how evacuations are organized. Unfortunately those types of things tend to not make any sense unless you deal with them regularly.

 

[Timekeeper]

I got stuck on Thunder Mountain in the mid of the day, looking right at the walk way to leave. 20 minutes and maybe 50 CM's and they were ready to unlock the bars and escort us out of the ride. One guy could have come by popped the bar and point which direction to go, I would have been fine with that, quick and easy but not possible any more.

I understand where you're coming from. Lap bars added to Splash Mountain long after the ride has been in operation, so what's next, shoulder restraints on It's a Small World?

But I appreciate a theme park erring on the side of safety. I could suggest that the seat belt in my car is pointless because I have not been in, and don't anticipate on being in, a serious collision. But the risk, albeit slight, and safety benefits of the seat belt restraint outweighs the small inconvenience or discomfort of the seat belt. So, I wear mine.

Even something that seems as simple as stepping out of a Big Thunder car could turn catastrophic. Suppose someone, perhaps a child, is stepping out of the car during an evac. All it would take is for the train to shift a few inches, and the child could trip, fall, and then lose a limb (or worse) in that very slight shift. News headlines would have a field day with a story about a child crushed while trying to step out during an evac. Employees are trained on these matters, and I - as a guest - am not. I trust that they know more about the operational procedures of an attraction than I do, including when, and how, to evac.

If Dinosaur breaks down, and the lights come on, and the cars stop, I could easily assume that they should just unlock the seat belts so I can step off. But what if the ride vehicle is in a tilted position, and I didn't know that all vehicles will return to a flat position between a breakdown and evac. So, I wiggle out of my seatbelt, start to step off, and suddenly the vehicle shifts down to a flat position and catches me on its way down. No more Timekeeper.

I'm sure that others could come up with countless other examples.

While there have definitely been accidents at the Disney and Universal parks, their safety priority is what separates "us from them."

http://www.businessinsider.com/worst-six-flags-accidents-2012-7?op=1

I don't want to see every attraction go overboard with restraints either. I like my PeopleMover the way it is, with no lap bars or seat belts. But so long as the safety measures are reasonable, the benefits (life and limb) will outweigh the minor inconveniences (feeling restrained or delay in exiting during the rare evac), in my humble opinion.

 

[Fantasmicguy]

These rides are getting a little much for my claustrophobic nature. I just do not like rides that I have no possible way to get myself out of, waiting for the employees to "safety" allow me out is not something that sits well for me. Mission Space??? Rode that twice and I'm done with that ride, just not worth being locked in a steel coffin waiting for a handicapped person to be put on or whatever cause the launch delay when I was on it last time. Thing is I have no problem with safety restraints that I can get out of. 5 point harness in a track car?? Zero problem with that since I can simply stop and get out any time I want. These rides break down and who knows how long you are stuck there. Control issue I would think. Got stuck on Space Mountain once. When I got to the unload deck the cart ended up not lined up exactly but the bar came up. I jumped up, grab my son and got out of there. I'm sure we weren't supposed to just jump out like that but I'm not waiting another 10 minutes for the carts to line up exactly with the unload platform. I'm able bodied so first chance I want off, I don't need to go through the procedure for a 90 year old cripple with whatever why are they here problems.

People like you are the reason the restraints are getting more well like that.

 

[maleficent1997]

Im 6ft 2 and the ride was not uncomfortable, I think I was distracted by how good the attraction was.

 

[LithiumBill]

No they aren't. It's from the 300 plus pound behemoths and people with no sense of responsibility for themselves.

Remember, fat shaming is cool kids! Pass the word!

 

[Sage of Time]

I'm 6'3 and about 250. I struggle to get on FJ, but I was fine with EfG.

 

[mazabe]

So calling people Fat is a great thing to do.... what a *****!!!!! I know people of all shapes and sizes struggle with rides. I know thin people who have been insecure as there is too much room in their harness.

Theme parks have to protect themselves from the "I'm going to sue you at every opportunity" culture which is becoming more and more apparent in life. How dare you judge people and whinge about rides safety procedures, If you don't like them then don't bloody go on them. People like you make me angry and annoyed.

I am sure I speak for a lot of people when they say they would rather be protected and take a little more time to get out a ride than know they will suffer injuries or even die on them.

 

[jloucks]

6'3 250, no problems on any rides. Well, rode the Rip Rocket twice in a row first thing in the morning and about spewed towards the end of the second ride.

 

[jloucks]

In an unrelated incident at Six Flags, in 2004, a 53-year-old, 230 lb man from Bloomfield, Connecticut fell out of his coaster seat during the last turn and was killed. Reports show that the ride attendant had not checked that the guest's ride restraint was secure as his girth was too large for the T-bar-shaped ride restraint to close properly. The victim's family said that due to his various medical conditions, such as cerebral palsy, he shouldn't have been allowed to ride.

Interestingly, the park stated that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act forbids them from denying a ride to a person with a disability as long as the person can get on the ride by themselves. To this extent that this statement carries any weight, it creates a bit of a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation when it comes to theme parks using discretion in deciding who to allow on rides.

On one hand, certain physical disabilities create an obvious potential for danger, as we have unfortunately seen happen on multiple occasions. On the other hand, just imagine the lawsuits and news article headlines about "Military Veteran Denied Admission On Theme Park Attraction."

In this PC and social media day and age, what's a theme park to do?

I think this is a great example of where the ADA needs to ease up a bit, or a lot, on amusement parks. I did notice at Six Flags brand new signs flat our saying if you are missing limbs, you can't ride. That's new, and I suspect related to the ADA in fact loosening up.

 

[celluloid]

Yes but lifting people up, works much better than putting them down. If you ever try and shame someone like a smoker from quitting their bad habit. It does not work. Very little works actually. Changes comes from the self.

 

[jloucks]

Some common sense needed.

As far as fat shaming, some is needed. People are literally eating themselves to death. I'm 46 and two guys I worked with are dead because of heart attacks. Neither ever cared what kind of shape they were in and bam they dropped dead. I have a childhood friend who refused to do any kind of exercise and ate like an idiot. His wife also did so. Now that they are older they spend their time at doctor offices with doctors telling them to lose weight and get exercise or they will die soon. My friend had to have some sort of heart surgery because his heart would stop beating normally and he would have to go into the hospital and get shocked back into a normal heart rhythm. End result there in 10's of thousands in health care bills that they really can't afford, diabetes, high blood pressure all that is taking over their lives. Both of them have those pill trays for each day of the week, my friend can't have anything with caffeine because the doctors are afraid his heart will stop. Goes on and on. You can't recover from a life time of bad decisions, for you religious people there is a reason that sloth and gluttony are deadly sins.

Full disclosure - I am overweight. I am a very fit overweight (can walk 12 hours a day, five days straight with minimal problems), but tubby none-the-less. I control my diet so that I can maintain full and extended mobility. Essentially, I throttle back what goes into the ole face hole. If I didn't, I would weigh 500 pounds. Ironically (hypocritically?) on the subject of fat shaming it all boils down to where your decisions to become obese affect me. If your are causing my work health care costs to go up because you are expensive to insure, I get irritated. If I have to wait to get on a bus because you're on a scooter, I get irritated. If I have to sit next to you on a plane, bus or theater and you're flopped over into my seat AND you don't bathe regularly, I get irritated (just flopping over alone I can handle, just don't combine with stink). So what happens? I/people lash out. This reaction is then somehow tagged as 'fat shaming' and is blamed on the shamer. I suspect that most shamers are people like me that are stressed out dealing with other peoples dietary choices. Now, I do have a real soft spot (lol) for fat people that try. Seeing a fat person on a tread mill, or even WALKING around at an amusement park causes the polar opposite thoughts to happen in my head. If you are fat, and trying, it's cool and you're cool. Keep it up! Sit by me. Heck, treat yourself to a SMALL ice cream, I'm going to judge positively. It is those that have just given up (or never cared to begin with) that are the crux of the problem.

 

[jloucks]

Yes but lifting people up, works much better than putting them down. If you ever try and shame someone like a smoker from quitting their bad habit. It does not work. Very little works actually. Changes comes from the self.

This is, at the core, totally true. However, societal pressure (peer pressure) is a tool that has also been proven to work. Basically, the peer pressure causes an internal decision.

One of the many issues with obesity in the U.S. is that it is becoming 'normal', and that eases peer pressure to change. That normality can even take on a life of it's own to where not being fat is abnormal, and that is where it gets really weird societal pressure wise.

Example: Shaming the shamers, like they are somehow factually wrong. Tactfully wrong perhaps, but not factually.