Major Thanks to CP for new seatbelts on MF and TTD 2014

Speaking of re-releasing restraints, Mean Streak's front car was having a big problem on a couple of trains. They had to bring out the manual release pull tool multiple times.

clevelander said:
It is not about the parks and ride manufactures making seats and belts smaller and tighter for kicks, they are doing their best to make them safer.

True, the problem I have is why any ride which opened in the last 15 years wasn't "safe" when it opened. The silliness of changing seat belt sizes (or adding them) and height requirements every year is embarrassing. Rides should be safe for people of a certain size, and that should not change from year to year (barring a change to the trains/cars themselves).

I think people very much have a right to be upset if they have been able to ride something for years and then couldn't because of seat belt changes. That has happened to MANY over the past 10 years.

I see your point but on that video of old Cedar Point posted in another thread, I saw a woman holding an infant on Cedar Downs while the person recording the video was on the horse next to them. Times were different back then but the horses on the ride have not changed, and I am pretty sure that handheld small children are not allowed to ride between a parents legs any longer.

The belts being made shorter prevents many larger people from riding and "most" of the time when a rider is ejected from a rollercoaster in a horrible accident, they were either obese and should not have been able to ride in the first place or had a medical conditional that should have prevented them from riding as well. True, thank the lawyers for shorter belts but also thank the general public getting lazier and fatter but also expecting to be accommodated at all costs and make a scene in the process.

Yeah I laughed when I saw the little kid on Cedar Downs. Things have definitely changed. I can (mostly) handle the safety improvements to old rides. Things like air gates are not a bad thing. They have been around long enough now that we are mostly used to those changes.

I laughed at that too then realized that whoever was filming them probably had a huge camera riding next to them! lol yes different times...

I can't think of a greater motivation to losing weight than being prevented from riding roller coasters because the lap bar won't reach my lap. It drives me nuts when a coaster is held up because the bar won't latch properly or the seat belt won't lock because someone is too embarrassed to use the test seat. Much less humiliating to find out at the entrance than having 100 or so people seeing you asked to leave the coaster train.

Rode Wicked Twister today and needed the ride op to push the restraint down a little so the seat belt could buckle. Last year the seat belt had slack. About 4 or 5 people couldn't ride on my train and had to get off. The belt can reach the back buckle though, a couple of young, very skinny girls used the back buckle.

Those belts are ridiculous on WT. I secretly wish the welds would fail and one tower would fall into the lake. Of course, nobody on or near the ride when this happens :)

The belts should not be anywhere near as short as they are. Similar rides have had LONG belts in the past and were just fine. Why they continue to shrink year after year makes no sense. I used to ride it maybe a few times a year, but the past few years I just walk by. Not worth the hassle. I can fit, but its quite a workout. I have no problems on any other ride I have ever been on.

How dare you say that about Twister's tower!

I have yet to go to the park this year, but I'm kind of curious just how short the belts are in the last row on the right side. That one is usually accommodating.

It seems pointless for the belts to get shorter to me also, considering our impulse doesn't even have a holding brake on the back tower to even put the riders into their restraints like that. I kind of hope one year they get belts like Maverick or Raptor.

clevelander said:
People need to take responsibility, if you are tossed from a ride line because you basically cannot fit in seat with a seatbelt, why get mad at the park or the manufacturer instead of taking that as a sign to get motivated to make some changes in your life?

I agree when we're talking about people who cannot get the lapbar to sit on their lap, due to being far too obese.

However, not everyone who was unable to ride in previous years, was necessarily because of being " lazy and fat".

As for me, lapbar sits fine on my lap. Don't kick me off because you have a stupidly short seatbelt that doesn't work, in part because I happen to be 6 feet tall. I would be willing to bet, had I been the exact same weight, but 3 inches shorter (read: fatter) I would have never had any issue fitting. Tallness plays a factor. I have a co-worker whose 6'4", and a stick figure, barely any body fat on him. However, he BARELY fits on TTD due solely to his tallness.

Not to mention, I have talked to people who have been all over, to many amusement parks, and say they fit fine on everything everywhere except CP. I have taken steps to slim down and have an easier time fitting, but I still call BS where I see it, and CP is far too overzealous on a lot of their restraints.

...

As for WT, I can't comment since I haven't tried too ride it in years. I don't really like the ride... the constant back and forth twisting is a headache to me. But I'm sure I wouldn't even be close.

I honestly have not ridden Wicked Twister in years simply from the fact that it is kind of rough and gives me a headache. For a relatively simple layout, that ride sure is bumpy and scrambles my brain for a bit after.

I found that the middle of the trains seat belts were easier to get on

Wicked Twister changed something the year before last. I was able to ride no issues the year before last and I did not gain any weight between 2012 and 2013 but could not ride last year at all. Why they change things all of a sudden is beyond me. If it's a safety thing, then it is what it is, but why all of a sudden?

One year you can ride then all of a sudden you can't when you physically haven't changed! I don't get it!!

Wicked Twister is a different problem because people who are tall or even have "bulk" in the chest are a tight fit. I theorize that's because the top of the harness will touch your shoulders before it touches your thighs.

Jeff said:
Wicked Twister is a different problem because people who are tall or even have "bulk" in the chest are a tight fit. I theorize that's because the top of the harness will touch your shoulders before it touches your thighs.

I agree with you there, but why is it that us tall guys who fit when the ride first opened and even just two years ago all of a sudden don't fit now? I guess it doesn't make sense to me. If it's a safety issue then like I said before it is what it is, safety first for sure....but it just seems weird that for many years it was fine then all of a sudden things changed.

In my opinion, nothing will ever be the same again thanks to the Texas Giant accident.

There have been several high profile ejections of obese riders, This one is just the most recent.

Staaber said:
I agree with you there, but why is it that us tall guys who fit when the ride first opened and even just two years ago all of a sudden don't fit now?

Because of what I described. If you limit for girth, you inadvertently limit for height.

Just as Jeff said, that's exactly how it goes. I'm 6'3" and last Halloweekends I had to have the ride op give me a push because of my shoulders. But for many people of different sizes, the problem is all in the legs. I noticed last year the belts seemed shorter than they did in 2011 when I worked the ride. Do the belts seem shorter than last year for those of you who rode it? Or about the same?

Halloweekends can cause issues itself because people are often wearing sweatshirts or jackets versus t-shirts/light shirts during the summer. Or jeans versus shorts. Can make a difference with shoulder harness or lapbar/seatbelt.

In terms of how sudden changes happen, I would expect that if the park/manufacturer determines that a change is needed, the change is made all at once. They do not phase the change in over time to allow people to get used to it. But maybe that is not the case.

Two other potential issues. A lot of people do not check their weight very often. So you may have gained weight but not really know it. Also, over time it seems to me that a lot of people tend to carry weight differently as they age. So even if your weight is the same, your proportions as they relate to ride restraints may change.