As well as the huge health implications the obesity epidemic is also an issue for theme parks and their guests. The populations of the western world are getting bigger and so there are more and more people who are going to have problems when they visit the parks. I think awareness of the problems should be raised because guests are spending large amounts of money to visit parks in which many of the attractions will be off limits for them due to their size.

Ride Restraints

Most visitors are aware of the height restrictions on rides but many do not consider that there may also be size restrictions.  Despite the fact that most information boards outside of the attractions do give an indication of the chest proportions that can be accommodated by the restraints, guests usually don’t bother to read these and walk straight into the queue lines. They then step into the ride vehicles only to find that the restraints will not lock into position. This results in the guests having to leave the attraction after wasting a great deal of time queuing. The situation is embarrassing for the guests and the staff who must deal with the situation.

Most parks position a test seat at the entrance to rides to enable visitors to check out whether they fit. Most ignore this facility and those who do take the test have no knowledge of how far down the restraint must sit before it will lock into place and so falsely believe they are OK.  I think it is time for every park to have greeters at the rides to ensure that guests are advised correctly as to whether they can be accommodated by the restraints.

Some attractions have seats on the trains which are more generous than the others. These are generally and uncharitably called the fat seats. If guests do not fit in the rest of the train they can be directed to these positions to try again but in practice these seats are rarely much more accommodating than the others.

The other big issue is the fast pass systems offered by most of the parks. These are often sold to people without regard to their size leading to many guests wasting their money buying accelerated access to attractions that they will not be able to experience. All sales staff should also have the facility to check whether guests can use the rides before they sell them the services otherwise the rides staff spend much of their day dealing with complaints when people are refused a ride.

Using Force

Guests are often so desperate to ride that they ask the staff to apply force to the restraints in a desperate attempt to fit. This practice is very dangerous as it can put undue stress on the equipment and can damage the restraint systems leading to expensive repairs and long term issues. Sadly if someone does not comfortably fit in the seat, no further attempts should be made to force them into it. Rides are not like figure fixing denim! They do not stretch and should not be forced.

Information

I think it is time for the parks to provide more visible warnings regarding the size restrictions on their rides. I know they want to attract as many paying guests as possible but leaving the issue in the background is just leading to an army of disappointed visitors and a flood of complaints which are costly to deal with.

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Article by Sally Stacey