Larger women - 2015 - help!

Final Force 500 said:

My wife is a size 20, and I consider that slightly overweight.

Going based on an assumed/average height of 5' 5" - A size 20 is, conservatively, between 240 and 260 lbs - which is a BMI of around 41.6.

Anything over 25 is considered overweight, anything over 30 is considered obese.

I have no leg room on CCMR even when I do the "cross and tuck" with my feet and I'm 5'10". Mean Streak is a pretty tight fit for me. Not the seat belt, just the width. Corkscrew also feels confined and so does Blue Streak. The Intamin coasters are not tight on space but the belts feel short. B&M trains seem to be the most accommodating to me as I have no trouble with them.

Seating on every ride is different just like every "body" is different. If anyone truly believes that a person who has trouble fitting simply needs to lose weight, then please feel free to join me at the gym tonight and tell me all about it. Tonight we'll be doing deadlifts and squats so please come prepared. :)

LOL. You wanna go squat for squat/DL for DL? :)

How about you join me for my memorial day MURPH?

e x i t english said:

I recently lost 35 lbs with CrossFit and diet...

I don't believe you. People who do CrossFit don't talk about anything else. You must be doing it wrong. ;)

coasterblu said:

Mystical Matthew said:

Cedar Point is truly a park for "families" and not just "teenagers" then they need to outfit their rides with restraints that fit normal Americans. This is not Europe.

Lay off the chips and hop on the treadmill. Blue Streak's seats are tiny, but were the right size in the 60's. Now Americans are growing fatter and fatter. Most ride manufactures are not American, and won't be specially changing their seats to fit obese people.

You do realize that the Blue Streak does not have the same seats and restraints that it did in the 60's... Right? It used to just be a bench seat with a single white lap bar that went across.

So yeah... In the 60's it was fine... But that's not a reasonable comparison.

As someone who's been to every edge of the scale (and beyond), I can say with full authority... A lot of the comments in this thread are the problem, not the solution.

You can't shame someone into losing weight. All of the embarassing, hurtful comments you've just made aren't doing anyone any good. If you're goal is to be a jacka**, then good work. If not, realize that you just made things worse.

It's not as easy as "laying off the chips and hopping on a treadmill". It takes a level of commitment and determination that most folks, frankly, don't have. I know this because I lost the weight in 2008 and have kept it off. No surgery. Just diet and exercise.

...Seven years later it's still a daily war.

You make major life changes because you learn to care about you... That's not easy... It helps to have a network of encouraging, uplifting people who don't refer to the extended seat belts on Rougarou as "Fatty Straps" (as happened in another thread).

If this girl really does need to lose weight (and I'm not saying she does), then y'all had a chance to be that network for her. To be something positive. To... Just for one moment... Be more than a bunch of nerds that argue over roller coasters.

...But no... I guess that was expecting too much.

You were expecting a bit much if you expected this board's members to be some kind of support structure, and you getting all preachy up there (a lot of which I disagree with) also serves to be part of the problem.

That said, the woman simply asked what rides she could expect to be able to ride or not ride, without much paraphrasing beyond that. It's a legit question, with factual, objective answers. Unfortunately, without knowing more body shape and such, it can only be boiled down to things like...

Blue Streak is tight with wide hips. Millennium Force will be difficult with a big stomach. Mine Ride will be tough with fat or long legs. There are other nuances on some rides, but in general, everything else in the park is relatively friendly to those who are overweight, so embrace what you can.

FloridaGirl said:

Dill7198 said:

On Millennium, I know from experience that the red train is the best. Specifically, the seventh row on the right side. I have family and friends that have used this seat that couldn't sit anywhere else, and I've never had them turned away in doing so.

Thanks.... is this for 2015? I was worried that since MF has new belts that this might not be the case anymore. JIC I will definitely memorize this information and try to get that seat.

I don't particularly wish to see this thread turn into a debate about whether Americans should be less fat... lol. I didn't complain that the seatbelts are unfair. I was just hoping to get some concrete information on what I can expect when I get to the park and what might increase my chances of being able to ride. FWIW, I know for a fact that plenty of men that are a lot fatter than me, with a foot of waistline that I don't have, can ride MF easily.... whereas I have a skinny waist but wide hips, which is what might be problematic.

Also, since apparently there's some question about it, I'm tall (5'9). And I hate funnel cakes lol. I'm not insulted, I will only repeat, my issue is definitely not about being obese. It's about my unfortunate particular body proportions and my wide hips and butt. I wear a size 14 dress but size 18 pants because of this.

Any tips for buckling the seatbelt more easily? Is it easier if someone else buckles it for me? I really hope the seatbelts aren't significantly shorter than they were in 2009 when I rode everything (MF, TTD, WT) fine... :( I am not interested in blaming the manufacturer or CP, but it doesn't seem like much to ask for some consistency.

Oh dear god I was half joking, I was just saying that people are generally larger nowadays and was not personally attacking anyone haha

You quoted an entire post for a one liner that didn't even include a period? You're doing it wrong.

Jeff, we vote up when we agree or like a post, correct? Is there a "vote down" when someone is being a jerk?

Chris

Yes. In fact, most modern mice come with a shortcut key - roll the scroll wheel toward you.

There's no dislike button on Facebook, don't count on PointBuzz getting a vote down button.

I always find it easier to pull the seatbelt out as far as it goes and buckle it before or as I'm sitting down when possible. This helps on some trains because it's harder to buckle after your hips are against the belt like Blue Streak and Mean Streak. It doesn't works so well on Dragster or Millenium. If anything I have a harder time unbuckling Blue Streak and Mean Streak because my hips are pressing the buckle against the side and my fingers have a harder time getting in there. I have also noticed on Mean Streak if you sit in the left seat instead of the right it seems to be a tiny bit roomier on the hips.

How about just going and make the best day you can? Try out the test seats when available. Don't wear thicker clothing (if possible), or load your pants/shorts(cargo) with stuff. JUST GO HAVE FUN! Eat whatever you like(before, during & after) and make a memory, even if its on a ride that isn't your normal preference. If you can't handle the possibility of not being able to ride your favorite coaster(s), due to weight, body shape or weather conditions...don't go. CP owes no guarantee of a days success, but you do. Sure, seats can be tight-fitting for any body shape/weight. We're all human and often forget that simple fact.

The restraint restrictions are, in fact, 'unfair' and some have been modified to be more restrictive based on nothing but pseudo safety. As already mentioned, Blue Streak used to have bench seats and buzz bars. MF had the belts deliberately shortened several years ago. A person who is able to comfortably and safely enjoy a ride with the primary restraints but later cannot because of arbitrary modifications to the secondary system (already of questionable necessity in many instances) is the very definition of unfair.

And Blue Streak with bench seats and buzz bars was totally awesome and nobody ever fell out of it that I am aware of.

We-o-we-oooo said:

The restraint restrictions are, in fact, 'unfair' and some have been modified to be more restrictive based on nothing but pseudo safety.

Is that opinion based on your extensive experience with human factors and physics?

Millennium Force has had shorter belts for YEARS now. This should not even be a surprise to anyone here anymore. Two of the people who were ejected from the seats on SROS (another Intamin) were morbidly obese. The woman who was ejected from New TX Giant was morbidly obese. The restraints cannot hold all that extra "stuff" in and are not designed to. I saw a morbidly obese woman yesterday who was not able to get onto Gatekeeper even though the ride host was pushing with all her might to get the push the restraint down. The rider had to do the walk of shame. The number one thing is SAFETY....for you and others on the ride.

OK today on Meanstreak green train front seat the right side was wider than the left. I noticed the trains there and Bluestreak if you look at the seat divider most of them are not exactly in the middle so if you look at where the seat divider lines up with the seam between the 2 seats you can tell quickly whether to sit left or right.

Paisley said:

OK today on Meanstreak green train front seat the right side was wider than the left. I noticed the trains there and Bluestreak if you look at the seat divider most of them are not exactly in the middle so if you look at where the seat divider lines up with the seam between the 2 seats you can tell quickly whether to sit left or right.

Thanks so much for the tips! I will definitely keep this in mind.

Has anyone noticed any major difference in the seatbelt length of WT, TTD, or MF this year? I'd still love to know if any trains/seats have looser belts. I found my old theme park pants after starting this thread... I'm close to around the same size as I was when I rode everything in 2009. As long as the belts haven't been made even shorter, I should be fine... I really hope they haven't.

I was sort of in the middle of Wicked Twister yesterday and had no problem. I don'tnormally ride that one so I don't know if it's shorter than before or not. I only went on because I was there with a friend who wanted to go on since she lost a lot of weight and can finally ride stuff again. I don't know her size but visually she looks bigger than me but she still fit. It was a little close but she made it.