My First Trip Report..Rather Ranty

A group of us went to Cedar Point on Saturday. We got there, expecting it to be slow because it was both cold and the forecasters were threatening rain. UMMMMM NO! It was insanely busy much to our chagrin.

Ok. So We first headed right for the Millenium Force. Unfortunately, because the restraints were shortened allowing only itty bitty people(and men with no butts) I obviously couldn't get on. Especially since they consider women who are 180+ as "exceptional size". I wasn't too heart-broken since the ride was a bit tall for my taste.

We then hit some of the smaller rides like the Scrambler, Witch's Wheel, the Music Express, and the carousel. We also went on the WildCat which was great except that me knees got murdered. Oh but this man who tried to sneak his too-short son on it put up a huge fuss when the OP told him that the little boy had to get off the ride. The police came and everything. Very entertaining but I felt bad for the 3 kids with him. They were clearly embarassed.

Then we headed over to The Raptor, which is my favorite ride in the park. We waited inline for two hours. We reached the platform and I was so psyched. We get into the seats and when I pulled down the harness, it locked and I went to buckle the belt.....and it wouldn't buckle. Even though the harness came down enough to lock, the belt was too short to connect. The OP came over and she was really surprised and she started pushing down on the harness(very painful) and the belt buckle was literally a milimeter from clicking. So I had to exit the ride.

It really bummed me out for the entire day and I refused to wait inline for any coasters at all out of fear that my chest and ghetto-booty would prevent me from getting on. So I went on a bunch more flat rides including the Tilt-a-whirl which is my second favorite ride.

We then ate dinner and hit all the haunted attractions where they got a few good(and surprising)screams out of me. The loudest one came from me in the Lair of the Vampire. They got me pretty good. The only fun part of Werewolf Canyon was the line. We had the pleasure of having a group of hilarious, snarky, young men behind us. Pharoah's secret was lame except for the 3-D effects and the foggy walking areas were ok though none of the "screamers" tried to scare me. We enjoyed the clever decorations like the Rock Cemetary with the graves of all the dead musicians and the ride cemetary.

Now onto my ranty part...

While I understand that safety should be the priority, the new shortenings and weight standards are quite extreme. Especially towards female guests. I saw girls who obviously weighed less than me get booted from coasters because their hips and thighs were too curvacious to allow the belts to buckled and leave any slack. I saw other women unable to ride because the over-the-shoulder restraints were impeded by their breasts.

The men seemed to have an easier time because they tend to carry their weight in their guts, which can be lifted(nice image) up and the belt slid over their thinner thighs. More women are rejected from the rides than men are. Though I did see some burley men kicked from the OTS rides because, like me, they couldn't connect the shoulder bars to the belt.

I know I'm not the only one who couldn't ride some of the rides but it doesn't make one feel any better and it was heart-breaking to watch excited kids get pulled over by the employees and asked to sit in the test seat(infront of everyone) and find that they can't belt themselves in. I saw some tears.

Some of us "rejected" watched in bitter awe as some person with cerebal palsey in wheelchair was taken up the ramp and put in the front seat of the train. He got to cut infront of people who'd been waiting 3 hours!!

I don't mean to be a jerk, but why on earth does the park allow someone with an extreme deformity and can't even walk be allowed to ride the coaster but the park isn't willing to purchase the ride manufactorer-made belt extensions(like many other parks have) to accomidate someone who might have a little more tush than a supermodel??

It's really sad that I either have to kill myself dieting to be able to ride the coasters next year or simply be content to pay $40 to ride the Scrambler.

The only positive thing that really came from the day was I got to ride all the rides that I normally don't get to because I spend half the day waiting in line for coasters.

So... you're complaining that someone with cerebral palsy was allowed to ride, but you weren't? Wow. That's so amazingly horrendous of you to say that I hardly know where to begin.

Just so we're clear, you do know that cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder, right? I certainly hope not, because you're saying that someone with a somewhat controllable condition - such as being overweight (and, yes, I realize the seatbelt situation has more to do with shape than weight) - has more right to ride than someone who has a neurological disorder that cannot be controlled. That's utterly inhuman of you.

I'm sure that guest would gladly switch places with you.

Yet another complaint about being too big for the seatbelts.

The iciing on the cake was the "extreme deformity" comment.

Wow...you're just fantastic!

It's worth mentioning that the way Cedar Point handles guests with disabilities is very fair - for them and everyone else as well. They waited three hours for MF as well. They just did it on the midway and not in the queues.

Wow.

Not only did you hold yourself in higher regard than someone eith CP, you also get negative bonus points for use of words like "curvacious" and descriptions like "more tush than a supermodel".

Great.

And what's worse is that she's (according to her profile) actually a year older than I am. I feel so incredibly wise by comparison (which, to those that know me IRL, is laughable).

Well, maybe she would act more her age if handicapped people weren't so... handicapped?

Oh, and BTW, I don't believe Intamin offers or condones the use of seatbelt extenders.

I also don't like when people complain about "killing themselves" with diet and excercise. It's just an excuse, the discomfort is temporary, and the results (as well as the health benefits) are more rewarding than you'll ever know by not doing it.
If you were truly "happy" with your "curvacious" shape, you wouldn't be complaining about not being able to fit on the rides.

Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but I work hard to get/stay in good physical shape and tone. If I can do it, there's absolutely no excuse for anyone else not to (barring physical/medical limitations of course).

I've been on the South Beach Diet for about 9 weeks now. I started right before I started my final year in college in August. Since then, I've dropped 40 lbs and feel much better. I now weigh 225 lbs compared to 266 when I began. I'm 6' tall. I was never turned away from Millennium Force, but I avoided it for a while for fear of being turned away. Cedar Point singlehandedly made me lose weight, because I wanted to be able to ride Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster without any issues. If you love the rides so much, it shouldn't be "Well the park better accomodate me!" It should be "I should try to get in shape so I'll be able to ride!"

I understand that there are exceptions to the rules and some people have a very difficult time losing weight. I am fortunate that I am not one of those people. However, the park should not have to accomodate every body size and type for their rides. For every extra inch that the seatbelts and lapbars expand to accomodate guests of exceptional size, it's another inch into being unsafe for someone who is at the opposite end of the spectrum, such as my girlfriend, who is 5' tall and weighs just over 100 lbs.

Thats not exactly true. A tight seatbelt is a tight seatbelt, regardless of how long it is. Making the belts longer to accommodate more people doesn't make the ride any less safe for skinny people. Provided they make sure their belt is pulled tight.

^ You hit the nail on the head there, Jugga! I is really irritating that some people on these boards are so bitter to those who cannot ride. I can understand if someone is extremely large, but there are many people of average size who are denied riding. I remember back in '00 when MF opened, I would have about 6" of slack. Now I have about 4-6" from even getting it buckled! And I am about the same size as I was then.

Here's a little tip about Magnum: for some strange reason, the belts in the very back seats are shorter.

People in wheelchairs who cannot stand in line (imagine trying to manuever a wheelchair through those queues!) get a pass from the ride op who gives them a time to come back which is roughly the wait time of the line. If the line is two hours long, then the person cannot ride until two hours has passed.

I understand your frustration in not being able to ride some of the rides. My best friend was able to ride MF from 2000 until Intamin (not Cedar Point) mandated the changes made to the seat belts. Even my husband, who is not overweight, but a large man (6'5") with very large, muscular thighs cannot fit on MF.

Although disappointed that she couldn't ride, my friend didn't complain. Instead, it spurred her on to lose weight. It's been two years and although she's able to ride TTD and WT, she's still too large in the thighs to ride MF. But it's a goal she's slowly reaching.

Frankly, there are a lot of people who are in your position and understand your frustration. But you do need to be careful about making judgements about others in comparison to yourself. As was said above, I'm sure the person with Cerebal Palsy would be happy to trade places with you.

See, Jerry, I completely understand your point. Though, I never hear you complaining about it at all, unlike some.

I'm not bitter toward people who can't ride. I'm bitter about people who make mindless remarks about handicapped people, and those who refuse to do anything except complain that they can't ride the rides.

It might be hard to eat healthy foods all the time, but if someone's "that close" to riding a ride, shedding those couple of pounds can easily be done without "killing yourself". All it takes is some research on their part, or some advice from someone who's been down that road and can offer some pointers.

I've given advice to people on these boards which would have helped them shed enough weight to ride, but they decided it was too hard, didn't follow it, and thenc omplained when they didn't fit again. It's like I said before, if someone really wants to ride MF, they'll find a way.

It's obvious that some people really just want to complain, and that's annoying.

To the person who started this thread:

Bitter awe of someone who can't walk "cutting" in front of a 3 hour line...

you are the type of person that degrades society, people like you, the self centered.. selfish.. I can't help my weight problem and the park should accomodate me, me, me...

I'd tell you to go somewhere, but you might already be there with those kinds of attitudes.

Let's keep flaming her!!!!11

I don't know. She sounds kind of cute. *raps* I like big butts... ;)

Hey, she brought it upon herself. I can honestly agree with everyone that has responded to her rant.
I had tiny bit of sympathy, but completely lost it when you had to complain about someone with a disability being able to ride. Real mature.

^^ If you say something that ignorant and insensitive, you deserve to get flamed.

*falls off chair laughing*

Sorry but the level of feigned PCism is hilarious.

"OMG!! DUNT U B MAD OF TH3 HANDICAPED!1!

I posted this same trip report on 3 other forums I belong to and the reaction was the exact opposite. I was surprised by the one though because it's a hippy forum full of people who frown when you complain about the behavior of small children. However, the concensus was, by using reality and earth logic, that(like young children)most extremely handicapped people should NOT be riding 300+ foot tall coasters that travel nearly or above 100 mph. They shouldn't. It's not about being mean or bitter, it's reality. The guy that was killed at Six Flags(the case that caused the restraint uproar) was handicapped. But instead of telling handicapped people they can't ride, they shortened the restraints and, essentially, punish people who could ride the previous years. They either have to lose 20 pounds or not ride. How is that fair, right, or even corrective of the problem? It isn't. What's to stop the next handicapped person from unbuckling his belt because he is unable to decipher that it's dangerous to do so? And when it does happen, who will get infringed upon next? Certainly not the handicapped, they are always exempt from any sort of discrimination or possibly having their feelings hurt. Better to give women more of a reason to become bullemic than to disenfranchise someone with CP or Down's.

Ugh.

I'll also note that I find it rather humerous that the same people harping on me for "talking less than kind" about someone with palsey are the ones ragging on anyone who is overweight. Either there is zero discrimination or everyone is open game. Period.

I'll also remember how annoyed you are with this subject the next time I read the trillionth post whining about line waits, rude employees, and how rickety the Mean Streak is.

With that said, I do believe I made it clear that I ended up having fun between the flat rides and the haunted attractions. The day was not a total loss.

JuggaLotus said:
^^ If you say something that ignorant and insensitive, you deserve to get flamed.

Ok. I expect to see you repeat that exact same quote each time you see someone making a "fatty" comment on other threads.

kirk06 said:
Hey, she brought it upon herself. I can honestly agree with everyone that has responded to her rant.
I had tiny bit of sympathy, but completely lost it when you had to complain about someone with a disability being able to ride. Real mature.

There is nothing mature about flaming. It's intarwebz childishness at it's finast.

Perhaps, instead of flaming, why don't you prove my opinion on handicapped people riding roller coasters wrong by using logic and reality rather than mindless and emotional PCism?