No rides for dad

Disclaimer: I am a guest of exceptional size. I'm 6'9" and 275 lbs - not fat at all, just tall and well proportioned and much bigger than a regular sized person.

But I have to strenuously disagree with Ben, Jo, et al.

No, we don't know plw's body shape, weight, etc, so we have to take that out of the equation. And yes, a person can take steps to try to fit on these rides if they feel that strongly about it.

But here are the facts as I know them: I have been riding every single coaster at Cedar Point (and dozens of other parks) for 25 years, and never had a problem until the last one or two. Something very severe and very unholy is going on with shortening/tightening of restraints - obviously due to rider deaths and lawsuits around the globe, and attempted mitigation of risk for amusement park ride manufactures and operators.

The key issue here is not that large guests will not be able to ride everything - that I can perfectly understand. I've never ridden Maxair after trying the test seat, and figuring out that I just don't fit. The core of the problem is that for a LOT of folks, the same rides that have been fine for years - even decades - have severely changed.

I know it's mostly not Cedar Point's fault (yes, I said mostly), but this seems to be a situation where everybody loses. I can't follow my passion, the parks lose my family's spend, possibly impacting ride manufactures future ride orders, etc.

It makes me very sad to know that for the first time, my park visits are little to nil this year due to this - and will continue as such until this situation is resolved - if that's even possible.

plw said:

My point here is that a patron shouldn't have to pay $45 to go inside the park and check out each test seat--obviously a size 40 waist varies per person.

Put a bank of test seats outside the gates.

As far as the passage quoted from the "exceptional size" booklet, what you have added was only from the PDF, the roller coaster names (which is pretty much all of them) are not listed in the on-line (on the web page) version of the notice.

You do have a unique body shape so it should be expected that on your part that Cedar Point and other parks will not be able to accommodate you.

Cedar Point can not be expected to put test seats outside of their gates. Nor should Six Flags, Busch Gardens, or Walt Disney World. The ride manufacturer of the rides do have a set standard for how long the seatbelts have to be. You are going to find the same policy at every park.

The "Exceptional Size" part is on the website, the PDF guide, the park guide, and at the front of every ride for VERY specific policies.

I am not trying to be rude or discriminatory against people with unique body shapes. Cedar Point can nor redo their restraints, but they can keep guests informed on what their policy is. That is what they are doing.

plw said:
Sorry, they owe me a refund.

No, they don't owe you anything. Admission to CP or any amusement venue is just that. Admission. You paid to be admitted through the gates, and you were admitted through the gates. You got exactly what you paid for.

I don't get where your sense of entitlement comes from. I mean, yeah, it sucks that you couldn't ride, but that's really not their problem.

They held up their end of the bargain, their rides were maintained, safe and available. It's unfortunate that you did not meet their criteria to be able to ride, but they still do not owe you a refund.

Doug Rowe said:
I know it's mostly not Cedar Point's fault (yes, I said mostly)

It's entirely not Cedar Point's fault. Ohio state laws require amusement parks to follow manufacturer specs on all of their rides. If Intamin, B&M, or whoever come out and say the seat belts can only be this long, Cedar Point has no choice but to make the seat belts that long.

. The ride manufacturer of the rides do have a set standard for how long the seatbelts have to be. You are going to find the same policy at every park.

But here is where its the Parks job to actually cut ALL the belts the same size, including the test seat! Every year there is the same complaint that almost all the seat belts are different lengths, and someone that could get the belt buckled on the test, cannot get it buckled or even close to being buckled on the ride.

Okay, last reply here and I'd like to close this thread.

No, no sense of entitlement, only that of fair play.

The lap-belt restrictions at CP are not all the same, Dragster being the most restrictive, as related by Park OPS to me on 7/21. Millenium being second, and so on. And according to Guest Services they have gotten tighter recently. If you were borderline a couple of years ago then you may be out of luck now.

Yes, sorry, the park should put a bank of test seats outside the gates if they are going to enforce a no-refund policy, or defer from offering non-rider park passes. There are always going to be borderline sized people and we shouldn't have to pay full admission to get in the park to find out if the latest seatbelt adjustments have banned us off the rides.

I would assume CP would like all of their patrons to leave happy--my family had a good time and will remember the visit. I unfortunately just got a good tan.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Fair play would be you understanding the fact that the can not accommodate every body proportion. It is absolutely ridiculous and absurd that you think Cedar Point should offer a refund for something they can not control. Cedar Point must comply with the manufacturer and state regulations regarding their seat belt policies. The seat belts on Millennium Force have gotten smaller since opening. The park also says that on their website.

Sorry but their are more rides that you could ride besides Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. My question is: Why doesn't Six Flags great America (the park you have been to) not have to put their test seats outside the park when you want Cedar Point to? The point is, you could have gone on other attractions but you chose not to. You could have made the best of the situation and you chose not to. When Cedar Point is protecting your safety by saying you can not ride, you chose to bitch about it and try to make the worst of your day. It is simple.

Fair play would be you understanding the fact that the can not accommodate every body proportion. It is absolutely ridiculous and absurd that you think Cedar Point should offer a refund for something they can not control. Cedar Point must comply with the manufacturer and state regulations regarding their seat belt policies. The seat belts on Millennium Force have gotten smaller since opening. The park also says that on their website.

Never said they should (accomodate all), only to offer accurate sizing information as they do for rider height, or test seats outside the gates, since CP seems to be one of the most stringent/restrictive parks I've been at.

Sorry but their are more rides that you could ride besides Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. My question is: Why doesn't Six Flags great America (the park you have been to) not have to put their test seats outside the park when you want Cedar Point to? The point is, you could have gone on other attractions but you chose not to. You could have made the best of the situation and you chose not to. When Cedar Point is protecting your safety by saying you can not ride, you chose to bitch about it and try to make the worst of your day. It is simple.

Well, actually I did try to salvage things and tried test seats on close to eight other coasters during the course of the day with little luck, and was then told with a straight face by an attendant in the Guest Services that I could ride the steam train if I wanted.

I don't believe Six Flags (Gurnee) is having these same issues, to answer your question, but if they are then test seats at the gate would be a great idea.

^They do provide accurate information. Compare Cedar Points to Six Flags website. Six Flags barley says anything on the website about guests with exceptional size.

So, they put a test seat at the gates, and then what?

You leave your family for the day and go find something else to do in Sandusky?
Tell your kids "well dad can't ride, so we're all going home"?
Do you demand that they refund your parking, or demand that they put test seats at the parking booth?

Where does it end?

Secondly weight/shape restrictions are a lot harder to predict than height. I can put a hard number on it, say 46", and anyone under that hard limit, cannot ride, anyone over it can.

But I can take 3 people with 40 inch waists, 1 will barely fit, 1 will have plenty of room and 1 will not be able to ride. Most of it depends on the type of restraint and where the person carries their weight.

And while the lap belt is a secondary restraint, on Intamins it is a measuring device for the primary restraint. If the belt fits and X amount of slack can be pulled, then the lap bar will fit properly. That's how Intamin has decided to ensure that riders are properly restrained.

Maybe he could do soak city while the rest of the fam goes into the park.

Instead of whining about a refund. This should be a clue to you to do something about your weight. I did I was up to a size 40 the back in may i started reading the post about weight issues and coasters and that was the motivation i needed to to something.

I have lost 18 pounds so far in a little over 2 months. I feel better too. I have made a complete lifstyle change and vow to keep the weight off. Stop whining about a refund its clearly posted that if your at size 40 or more you may not fit on many rides. Man up stop expecting someone else to bend over backwords for you being obese. Get some willpower and lose the weight by exercising and eating less and better You'll be glad you did as you get older and have less health problems!

JuggaLotus said:
So, they put a test seat at the gates, and then what?

You leave your family for the day and go find something else to do in Sandusky?
Tell your kids "well dad can't ride, so we're all going home"?
Do you demand that they refund your parking, or demand that they put test seats at the parking booth?

Where does it end?

Logically, when the park teleports a test seat for each ride to your place of residence...

plw said:

...since CP seems to be one of the most stringent/restrictive parks I've been at.

.......that I could ride the steam train if I wanted.

Maybe because CP is the most safety concerned park you've ever been to. Yes, sometimes to the point of unreal (seat belts on Vortex at KI as an example) but there is a reason for their strict policies. When manufacturer guidelines are not followed it could cause guest injury or worse. Those same manufacturers may change their guidelines at any time.
There are parks out there who do have "big boy" seats on some of their coasters, but those coasters are newer coasters. You cant possibly expect CP to invest the millions of $s it would cost them to add one of those seats to all their established rides do you?
Again let me state that there are way more people who easily fit in the all the coasters at CP compared to the ones who do not.

Also this was the 2nd time you've mentioned park ops telling you you could ride the steam train if you wanted.
I could be wrong but I believe the trains at CP are coal.

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2231 :)

Seat belts on Vortex is a very, very good thing.

^^They may be coal, but they use the coal to make steam to power the locomotive ;)

Did you really sign up here to bitch about the size restrictions here, on a fan site? I doubt you're going to get a lot of people sympathetic to your situation. And as someone else pointed out, even if they did have test seats outside, what are you gonna do, turn around and go home? "Sorry kids, daddy doesn't fit, so we're going home!" That would go over well.

My wife was pregnant most of last season, and we had a blast on every visit with our season pass. Obviously she didn't ride anything. The park owes you nothing.

I've never had any issues riding anything, at any park, but I am sometimes unhappy about my weight. When I am, I take responsibility and do something about it.

^Really well put Jeff.

Jeff said:

I've never had any issues riding anything, at any park, but I am sometimes unhappy about my weight. When I am, I take responsibility and do something about it.

Exactly! The last time I was at CP was in 2002 and 2003. I went this past week (drove 9 hours there, then 9 hours back) for 2 days for fun and my HalloWeekends interview. Millennium Force is my favorite coaster, and due to weight gain since then, I couldn't ride it! That really bummed me out, but I've been working on my weight and I know by next season I'll be ok! There are lots of things to love and enjoy at CP and I could ride pretty much everything else! I still had a blast and was able to enjoy my 2 days at the park, and when I work there this fall, I'll still enjoy all of the rides and look forward to riding MF next year. For the time being, I'll accept it and move forward!

CedarPtForever
Just for future reference; on every post you make, there is an "edit" option to eliminate double posting.