Rant : Fix the bloody seatbelts!

Yes America is getting fat, but All of us could ride MF without any problem the first 3 or 4 years of MF life, and not until the people at SF's starting to fall out because of ride op's did CP get paranoide and shorten the seatbelts.

Oh, chill. If you guys were all 110lbs 5'2 like me, there'd be no complaining! :D

But seriously, the majority of these complaints seem to be from overweight people.

Hey - I'm not b*tching about it for my benefit. I don't have any issues in fitting in the seats. I don't even care if not everyone can fit.

But it is not in the style of CP's tradition to have some seats fit and some not. And we're not talking about "almost fit" and "just not" - we're talking about "easy fit" and "no way". This is killing capacity on the ride, and pissing off and embarrassing guests.

This is an issue which they've had more than enough time to fix, and IMHO is not rocket science.

I'd prefer it if the test seat was the most restrictive belt in the place. At least then if you make the test seat, you know you're going to fit.

Earlier this year on MF I was able to get 2" of slack in the belt. Then I go up Friday, and my belt was like, 2" too short to even buckle.. Im thinking to myself, um, why?

So I go to Dragsters Test Seat, and I had like 3" of slack on that thing. I wish CP would change ALL the MF belts to be EVEN and the same length. Its rediculous. I know I can fit on MF, but I dont feel like guessing for which belt is proper length.

And for those who feel like they are better then everyone else because they are "thinner" and don't have troubles, how about shut your mouth. Because NOBODY cares about your comments except for you. So really, just shutup, simple as that. This is not the place to insult other people. Now im gonna go eat a twinkie or something and make the U.S overweight numbers gain... Like I care?

:)

*** Edited 9/11/2006 11:12:33 PM UTC by Invertalon***

I totally agree with Invertalon, get the belts all the same size, i feel imbarrised to sit in one train and buckle up and not fit in the next one, a real guessing game.

I used to live in Michigan...so Cedar Point was the park I visited the most. Now I live in Orlando...and I go to Islands of Adventure the most. At IOA...they have specific seats with extra restraints that are made to accommodate guests with larger bodies. Perhaps Cedar Point can follow suit and have a row of seats that will allow for the extra size of their guests. I am sure that anyone who has been kicked off of Millennium Force would be more than happy to wait for the seat that accommodates larger guests.

Does anyone who is having problems getting on MF have any problems getting on any of the other rides such as Raptor, Mantis, SkyMax, Maxair and such???

I have always had more difficulty with rides that have OTSR's. I have a "barrel chest" so those rides are always snug for me. There has only been 1 ride that I was not allowed on...that was Wicked Twister.

My coasterbuddy (who was able to ride MF until they changed the seatbelts) can ride everything except MF.

And I agree CP needs to do something about the varying sizes of seatbelts on the trains, which is the point of this post. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to fit the test seat, fit in a seat on the train, and on a second ride NOT fit?? How hard can it be to have consistent lengths on a seatbelt??

In my recent experience, yellow train seems to have the shortest belts. I was fine on all the trains until early August or so when I almost got booted from the yellow train. As of last weekend I could still just barely fasten the thing on yellow, yet had nearly an inch of slack on red and blue. I also agree with whoever said the test seat has the longest belt. I had 2 inches of slack with a jacket on in the test seat.

Sadly yellow was the train I had the pleasure of sitting in, very back row, left side (towred lake erie), so if you are above 120lbs, steer clear of that seat ;)

I am not small by any means, 6'6" and over 250lbs, HOWEVER, besides the lapbar not going over my knees on Premier rides, I have NEVER been denied bording on ANY ride ever for my size. On B&M's I have ample room, and on Dragster and MF (pre belt crap) I always have 2-3 inches of slack.

However, only recently has MF been a trick for me... If the belts were the length they are supposed to be, we wouldnt have these problems. Plus people like me would not have HOPE we get a seat with a longer belt...

And if CP trys to hide it, I know firsthand from an employee that has worked at that ride that he knew where the longer belts were and that all the belts are different length...

They really need to fix this... Dragster is consistant, as is every other ride in the park. Why does MF, one of the largest attractions have to be so inconsistant and turn off so many people?

I will try again this weekend at the red or blue train, but im not hoping for much. Ill try the test seat and if I fit there, ill complain or something... Its rediculous. We need to start sending chain letters to CP about the problem although im sure they know about it, and keep going at it. They should clear it up.

The incident where my friend was booted was on the yellow train, although on our first ride we had managed fine on the same train.

OldCPer has it right: how hard can it be? That webbing that the belts are made of has 0% stretch in it at the kind of loads we are talking about. Just cut it and stitch it the same each time. I used to make strap-handles for flying power kites out of similar stuff, using a home-sewing machine, and they were all identical - tolerances of well under 1/8".

It defies logic that the problem of inconsistency still exists after 2 years - someone's head should roll.

MF_Man:

I have seen people who are not fat but skiny like size 36 waist that can not ride or haves a tight fit. I have also seen a body builder get kicked off due to the belt not buckling on MF,

Size 36 inch waste is not skinny. Body Builders also might look healthy but the extra tissue they build that is technically unneeded is also unhealthy. Keeping the body at the size it is supposed to be is key in leading a healthy life.

Wow, that was necessary...

Anyway, we just got back from a visit (Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th) and we had a similar experience...in the red train, we had PLENTY of slack, no problem what so ever, but then we get in the yellow train and while we both were able to buckle our belts, they were noticably shorter. Also, the ride ops were telling people they weren't allowed to help you buckle your seatbelt...if you couldn't get it buckled yourself, they kicked you off. I saw this happen many times this trip...is that a standard new rule on Millennium and if so, why just Millennium? They seem to help you on every other ride... *** Edited 9/12/2006 1:37:32 PM UTC by airee85***

If they've shortened the belts, I unfortunately may not fit even with my recent weight loss. It's going to be pretty annoying if I don't get another ride this season because of that fact.

Just cross your fingers for the red train, lol. But seriously, I don't understand why Dragster belts can be long but Millennium's have to be short? And what's so horrible if they added say, 2-4 inches back on the belts? Are they afraid that someone is going to loosen the slack on their belt once you are out of the station? I'd like to know how with your lapbar smashing your snug belt into your crotch. And if it's a matter of the lapbars malfunctioning during the ride and you can only rely on your seatbelt then...then to the person who somehow managed to loosen their belt for whatever reason...they probably deserve to fly out anyway...in the small chance of that ever happening. I just don't understand.

I just don't see how you could fly out on MF. I can see flying out on all the SMROS with there ejector air, but there isn't any ejector air on MF. Cp is just protecting them selves by doing this seatbelt change, and it sucks, especially when we were able to ride the first 3 or so years

Signing off-- "Mr. Adam loves the roller coast"

I can not wait for the time when I have to shop at an extra small store cause the population has caused the need for FAT STORES.

*** Edited 9/12/2006 6:02:55 AM UTC by Adam_loves_the_roller_coast***

You sir are a stuck up piece of ****! And for your INFOR my friend who has a 36 inch waist is 6 ft 230. So, like other on here who are right, its how you body it and not how FAT you are. Go back to your play pin.

I agree with you MF_MAN you don't have to be fat not to fit in the MF seatbelts.