Pandora Flight of Passage - Can Big People Fit on the Ride?

Should Disney be taking larger body types into consideration on the newer rides?

  • Yes

    Votes: 90 47.6%
  • No

    Votes: 99 52.4%

  • Total voters
    189

TyrantBossMedia

Member
Original Poster
Courtesy of ChipandCo, there are some reports that there are body and physical requirements that guests need to know about for both Flight of Passage and Na'Vi River journey.

Bigger Guests

Apparently bigger guests (heavier, taller, etc) said that they could not meet the restrictions.

"The ride vehicle is a “link chair” and looks similar to the middle part of a motorcycle with a seat you will straddle. There are restraints that secure your back and legs and will need to “lock” in place before the ride can begin. Many guests are reporting no issues but some have been turned away because of the seat not being able to fully engage. Currently there is no modified seating option for larger guests who may need a little extra room."

So once again, very similar to Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Disney has catered to smaller body types and made another ride too small for bigger people. I am 6'4" and a former D1 football player and I could not fit on Seven Dwarves. Some NFL players friends of mine also could not fit on the ride and could not go on with their kids because it is geared for smaller people.

I'm not sure what the recent game plan is, but lately Disney seems to be going for smaller seating or smaller cars and as a result ignore specific body types.

in addition, Disney does not have demo link chairs to sit in outside of the ride to see if you can fit before waiting 2-3 hours to get on the ride only to find out you cannot ride it.

Here is the load up instruction video for Flight of Passage:


Apparently Disney did issue a statement that they plan to install a demo chair at a later date.

Disabled Guests

If you have a disability you will currently have to move from your wheelchair to go on the Na'Vi River journey. They have no wheelchair accessible boats at this time. This seems to also be an issue with Flight of Passage because you have to straddle a link chair in order to experience the ride.
Navi-River-Journey-Sign-338x600.jpg


With all of the time Disney had to plan out this park, perhaps they should have focused on these issues during the process.
 

No Name

Well-Known Member
You know there's a Pandora subforum with much discussion, nevermind a thread, on this exact issue.

Why did you feel the need to start this one?
 

Nj4mwc

Well-Known Member
The world isn't fair everyone does not deserved to be catered to, I am a larger guy. And have found rides and activities (skydive, trapeze school, amusement rides). That I have been too large for. I chose to be this size through diet and workout routine. If a company had determined that my segment of population is not cost effective to cater to than that is there choice
 

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
First off, I completely agree there should be demo seats at the entrance for all rides where this could be a issue.

I wouldn't pin the blame on Disney. Manufacturers can only make seats large enough before safety for "regular/smaller(?)" guests are at risk of falling out. So dedicate a seat or 2 ONLY for larger guests? Well when there isn't someone to fill that seat, then you're wasting ride capacity. I know FJ and newer B&M coasters have a "fat" seat that seems to work out well since it's only slightly larger but even then there are some people complaining it's not big enough.

There's also the concern of weight. Some coasters wouldn't be affected but TTD at Cedar Point is heavily affected by it. I'm surprised about how many people are making a big deal of this when most coasters AND flat rides at any other park would give larger guests issues. Cedar Point is extremely strict on size, belts are shorter then other comparable coasters in other parks.
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
First off, I completely agree there should be demo seats at the entrance for all rides where this could be a issue.

I wouldn't pin the blame on Disney. Manufacturers can only make seats large enough before safety for "regular/smaller(?)" guests are at risk of falling out. So dedicate a seat or 2 ONLY for larger guests? Well when there isn't someone to fill that seat, then you're wasting ride capacity. I know FJ and newer B&M coasters have a "fat" seat that seems to work out well since it's only slightly larger but even then there are some people complaining it's not big enough.

There's also the concern of weight. Some coasters wouldn't be affected but TTD at Cedar Point is heavily affected by it. I'm surprised about how many people are making a big deal of this when most coasters AND flat rides at any other park would give larger guests issues. Cedar Point is extremely strict on size, belts are shorter then other comparable coasters in other parks.

I was just at Kings Island, a Cedar Fair park, a few days ago. After choosing "location" in my FB photo, the next day I received the standard FB requested review. I read a few reviews, and joked with a friend later on about how similar the complaints are to Disney World complaints. i.e pricing and wait times. As well as a few reviews complaining that the rollercoasters aren't comfortable for "more to love" folks.

As far as I know, it's always been this way. I don't think they're made for small people. Blame all of the safety laws of the "newer" restraint systems. When I was young we didn't have seat belts and fitted lap bars.. I'm sure they were more comfy for some people then.
 

GhostHost1000

Premium Member
I'm 5'7 250lbs and I can ride just fine. The lady that sat next to me was pushing 300 easy. Her back seat didn't latch so they made her push forward and then it snapped in place

The main thing is push chest against front and legs as forward as possible as well.

It's not as bad as some are making it seem. Will some not be able to ride? Sure but it is what it is
 

TyrantBossMedia

Member
Original Poster
In my opinion, no. It stinks, but many rides have specific height/weight requirements and restrictions all around the world.
It's not discrimination, just logistics.

Height and Weight requirements are meant for safety reasons. These are not safety based requirements...they just made the cars too small so bigger people cannot fit in them.

Clearly you are not a big person.
 

TyrantBossMedia

Member
Original Poster
The world isn't fair everyone does not deserved to be catered to, I am a larger guy. And have found rides and activities (skydive, trapeze school, amusement rides). That I have been too large for. I chose to be this size through diet and workout routine. If a company had determined that my segment of population is not cost effective to cater to than that is there choice

So based on your argument health care companies should be able to not provide service to every segment of the population that they don't find it cost effective to provide health care. And handicap accessibility costs money to put in so companies should not be allowed to do so because they don't find it "cost effective".
 

TyrantBossMedia

Member
Original Poster
First off, I completely agree there should be demo seats at the entrance for all rides where this could be a issue.

I wouldn't pin the blame on Disney. Manufacturers can only make seats large enough before safety for "regular/smaller(?)" guests are at risk of falling out. So dedicate a seat or 2 ONLY for larger guests? Well when there isn't someone to fill that seat, then you're wasting ride capacity. I know FJ and newer B&M coasters have a "fat" seat that seems to work out well since it's only slightly larger but even then there are some people complaining it's not big enough.

There's also the concern of weight. Some coasters wouldn't be affected but TTD at Cedar Point is heavily affected by it. I'm surprised about how many people are making a big deal of this when most coasters AND flat rides at any other park would give larger guests issues. Cedar Point is extremely strict on size, belts are shorter then other comparable coasters in other parks.

I see where you're coming from, but if "manufacturers" could make Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and most every other ride fit larger people in them comfortably....then it stands to reason that they should not be prohibited from doing so for other rides.
 

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
I see where you're coming from, but if "manufacturers" could make Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and most every other ride fit larger people in them comfortably....then it stands to reason that they should not be prohibited from doing so for other rides.
I completely get what you're saying. I'm sure if a company like Disney said "we want a ride with the following specs" and threw $$$ at the manufacturer, they'd be glad to. But you know...budgets and stuff. But for a ride like FoP, it's a unique, one-off design so they should've expected this and designed accordingly. But again, budgets.
 

sedati

Well-Known Member
I've always assumed any restraint has a margin. As you accommodate the larger, the smaller sizes can no longer be safely restrained. Disney wants children to ride, and there are already plenty of eager children who can't ride many attractions already due to the height requirements.

Also, I know it's a small percentage of the population, but I don't think I've ever heard complaints from little people (full grown adults who through no fault of their own fall below 44 inches) about thrill rides not accommodating them.

I think your poll needs more options. Consider is a vague concept. I think they should (and do) consider larger sizes. But honestly what is larger? Anyone reading it probably only thinks of it within their own circumstances, but there's always going to be someone whose even bigger. If accommodating every possible adult takes whole ride concepts off the table, then no, Disney or any Theme Park should not feel bound by that.
 
Last edited:

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
This is an issue because of how good Disney has been in the past accommodating all body types. For all the talk of having to exclude either small or large guests, rides like RnRC, BTM, E:E, Soarin', ToT all seem to accommodate pretty much everyone. In hundreds of visits, I don't recall ever having seen anyone turned away from any pre-7D WDW rides.

One has a strong suspicion that if those rides had been at another park (Uni, say) they would have been far more restrictive - WDW made a point of being accommodating. That seems to have changed now - a fundamental design philosophy seems to have shifted. And it isn't unreasonable for folks to wonder why that change occurred.

In contrast to the respective parks approach to body type, having traveled with a wheelchair-bound friend, I have consistently found Uni to be MUCH more accommodating and their employees far more helpful to him. It's actually a little aggravating to see high-tech, long-in-development new rides that seem to make no allowances for folks who have genuine difficulty moving.
 

Absimilliard

Well-Known Member
Height and Weight requirements are meant for safety reasons. These are not safety based requirements...they just made the cars too small so bigger people cannot fit in them.

Clearly you are not a big person.

Are you aware of what goes into designing a ride system, seating units and restraints? The Flight of Passage ride system is custom and the ride motions and desired experience is what drive the seating requirements. I will use Star Tours and Soarin' as an example since most of us are familiar with that ride.

Ride simulators can have 6 types of movements, called the "Degrees of Freedom" or DoF in short. Star Tours is capable of all 6 and use a standard air locked seat belt. The ride motions and the fact you're in a contained unit in a seat with high armrests mean a simple one tongue seat belt is sufficient.

Moving over to Soarin', it use maybe 2, perhaps 3 at best of the 6 DoF with very gentle up and down movements outside of the initial ascent and descent. Even with that, due to the seating unit and the fact you're up in the air on a mesh seat, the seat belt design was upgraded. You still have the air locked seat belt, but now, it has a double tongue as a redundancy. Plus, guests under a certain height when seated, indicated by the red arrow add a secondary restraint. That is the loop the belt has to go through and this prevents them from sliding forward.

Now, we have Flight of Passage, capable of at least 4-5 DoF with noticeable and abrupt vertical movement. Story wanted guests to ride on a motorcycle like seat, so now you have to design seating for that. Legs and waist have to be restrained and to make sure the guest cannot slide out or be jostled uncontrollably, there are optimal positions for it, enforced by sensors. Height restriction was lifted to 44 inches and during test and adjust, the sensors position adjusted to allow the maximum number of guests possible.

One issue I see with Flight of Passage is the average WDW guest and their expectation of comfort. When I visited a theme park in China, there was a motorcycle coaster there. I was aware in advance that my large 6'3, 270 lbs frame was going to have issue fitting... so what did I do? I got on, squished myself against the padding and got the back bar locked. Not the most comfortable thing in the world, but I was willing to do it. I had zero issues on Seven Dwarves Mine Train even though I saw many complaints from people smaller than me. I got on, squeezed my legs together and pulled the lap bar down. I am quite happy Disney went with a daring ride system for Flight of Passage, not just a toddler friendly attraction.
 

sedati

Well-Known Member
Perhaps what's needed is something similar to what they do at the Nemo Subs at Disneyland where those who can't load have a separate experience that tries to emulate what everyone else is seeing. FOP could build a separate single floor theater that holds wheelchairs, ECVs, and those too large or too small. It wouldn't have the flight aspect, but would still show the 3-D film so nobody is missing out entirely.
 

TyrantBossMedia

Member
Original Poster
I completely get what you're saying. I'm sure if a company like Disney said "we want a ride with the following specs" and threw $$$ at the manufacturer, they'd be glad to. But you know...budgets and stuff. But for a ride like FoP, it's a unique, one-off design so they should've expected this and designed accordingly. But again, budgets.

You are talking budgets from a company that spent $4 Billion on Lucasfilm and each Marvel movie has made them over or close to $1 Billion and they keep raising prices each year. I believe budget is not their biggest concern.
 

matt9112

Well-Known Member
Courtesy of ChipandCo, there are some reports that there are body and physical requirements that guests need to know about for both Flight of Passage and Na'Vi River journey.

Bigger Guests

Apparently bigger guests (heavier, taller, etc) said that they could not meet the restrictions.

"The ride vehicle is a “link chair” and looks similar to the middle part of a motorcycle with a seat you will straddle. There are restraints that secure your back and legs and will need to “lock” in place before the ride can begin. Many guests are reporting no issues but some have been turned away because of the seat not being able to fully engage. Currently there is no modified seating option for larger guests who may need a little extra room."

So once again, very similar to Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Disney has catered to smaller body types and made another ride too small for bigger people. I am 6'4" and a former D1 football player and I could not fit on Seven Dwarves. Some NFL players friends of mine also could not fit on the ride and could not go on with their kids because it is geared for smaller people.

I'm not sure what the recent game plan is, but lately Disney seems to be going for smaller seating or smaller cars and as a result ignore specific body types.

in addition, Disney does not have demo link chairs to sit in outside of the ride to see if you can fit before waiting 2-3 hours to get on the ride only to find out you cannot ride it.

Here is the load up instruction video for Flight of Passage:


Apparently Disney did issue a statement that they plan to install a demo chair at a later date.

Disabled Guests

If you have a disability you will currently have to move from your wheelchair to go on the Na'Vi River journey. They have no wheelchair accessible boats at this time. This seems to also be an issue with Flight of Passage because you have to straddle a link chair in order to experience the ride.
Navi-River-Journey-Sign-338x600.jpg


With all of the time Disney had to plan out this park, perhaps they should have focused on these issues during the process.


Have to cater to the "most" type of guests. Dwarfs was shortsighted I agree because it's a normal coaster but with more advanced rides like FJ and FOP you have a complex layered ride system that has very specific systems. It's not just a bucket like a traditional coaster would be.

It's just one of those things IMO.
 

jgj123

Well-Known Member
This isn't necessarily a problem with new rides. Space Mountain is a problem for me because of the length of my legs. While I can squeeze myself in, it's awkward and very uncomfortable, so I don't ride Space Mountain.

You make the best ride you can and try to accommodate as many as you can, but there are always limitations.
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
You are talking budgets from a company that spent $4 Billion on Lucasfilm and each Marvel movie has made them over or close to $1 Billion and they keep raising prices each year. I believe budget is not their biggest concern.

You are also talking about a ride. A physical ride, with limitations.

Disney may have designed this one, but big name manufacturers have designed plenty of Disney rides as well.. so far, no one has figured out how to accommodate All People on every single ride...at any park any where. Probably never will.

A lot of rides have a minimum and/or maximum height limit. A lot of rides say "this ride may not accommodate guests of bigger size".

This is Common in the industry. It is Not discrimination. It's not meant to be an Insult to people. It's just what a ride design can handle, and what it can not.
 

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