Going on a Ride When You're Not Supposed To

Maybe you've seen it: People who don't meet a ride's boarding restrictions ride anyway... and nothing bad happens. Ride operators, here's your chance to tell us why those restrictions are important anyway. Or are your ride's restrictions really too harsh?

My son has a heart problem, but he rides all the rides his eyes see, and nothing happens. But most rides do not allow people with heart problems on, warning those people who do about the consequences. Has anything like this ever happened to you or someone you know?

[Maybe you've seen it: People who don't meet a ride's boarding restrictions ride anyway... and nothing bad happens. Ride operators, here's your chance to tell us why those restrictions are important anyway. Or are your ride's restrictions really too harsh?--Robert]

Last time I went on GrAm's Giant Drop more than a year ago one of the riders brought a disposable camera on-board the ride. I admit that tempted me to follow in her footsteps in bringing my digital camera. Good thing I never did it. :)

This is probably one of the most foolish things you can do. The ride restrictions are set in place to protect people from themselves. At the park where I work, we have five seperate restrictions that aren't height related. They are: Recent Surgery or Illness, Head, Neck, or Bone Injury, Heart Condition, High Blood Pressure, and Pregnancy. A ride could have any combination of these depending on the type of ride. These are put in place to protect people from themselves. People often over-estimate their capacity for rides, and these signs are put there to prevent injury.

Having said that, we cannot refuse to let someone ride unless they don't meet the height restriction, or the restraint won't close properly. These rules have been put in place by the individual parks in co-ordination with Manufacturers, the local government, and other parks with similar rides. These are not arbitrary rules put there to discriminate against people. These are rules that have been posted after much thought and deliberation. As I said earlier, we cannot force someone with any of those conditions to not ride, but we strongly suggest that people with those conditions don't ride.

It is extremely important that people read the safety warning posted at the front of the rides and make a decision based on their individual needs. If you have any doubts at all about your safety on a ride, ask the operator. If the operator cannot tell you, then I would suggest not riding. If the operator isn't aware of what the safety rules are and the reason behind them, then you should think twice about boarding that ride.

I think that it is important to note that often ride restrictions are put in place to protect riders in case *something goes wrong.* They aren't always intended to simply protect riders from a ride's normal operation.

Take my former attraction, Big Thunder Mountain at Disney. Its height restriction was 40 inches. Now, I'll concede that you *could* take an infant on this ride--it is so tame. In fact, I've watch operators eat bowls of cereal during test rides, without spilling a drop of milk.

The 40 inches in the minimum height someone needs to be for the lap bar to catch you if the train hits a safety brake in the middle of the ride. That might happen once a month or so, on average. So over 99 percent of the time, attentive parents could take a child under 40 inches on that ride and get away with it. (Assuming the child did not freak out, but I'll get to that in a minute.) But the damage that would result from a small child being on the train that did hit the safety brake simply isn't acceptable, even when factoring in that seemingly small risk.

Would you take a one in a thousand chance that your under-40-inch child would be ejected from a roller coaster at 28 miles per hour, hitting jagged concrete upon impact? I don't think so. Same scenario for people with back or neck problems. Do you want to take a one in one thousand chance of hitting a brake that will take you from 28 mph to a dead stop in less than 10 feet? With only a lap bar to hold you?

Again, I don't think so.

Yes, there are rides where a height restriction is necessary for normal operation. I wouldn't want to ride a roller coaster like Magic Mountain' X if there were any chance that my body was small enough to slip out from under the harness keeping me in place. And it is pointless to put a small child on a ride like Islands of Adventure's Spider-man, where a toddler would be too small to see over the dash or seatback in front of him, or too small to wear the 3D glasses needed for the ride. (Two reasons why I think Spidey should go up to a 44 inch height limit.)

Pay special attention to neck and back restrictions on flight simulator-based rides like Spidey and Indiana Jones. Unlike a roller coaster, where you can see the track ahead and get some idea what's upcoming, the motion on these rides is unpredictable for first-time riders, leaving your head to whip around in a sometimes violent manner.

Finally, height restrictions can provide a good way to keep off young kids who might not be ready mentally for a particular attraction. At Thunder, we could not dispatch a train from the station if it had a crying child on it. Since kids don't usually carry ID on them with a date of birth, a height restriction is a better method to screen young children than a n age restriction.

So, to sum up, my advice is... please, please respect the boarding restrictions that a park puts in place for its rides. And, as a parent, do not assume that if your child meets these restrictions, it is appropriate for them to ride. Take a look at a ride first, ask an operator for help. Visit sites like Theme Park Insider and get recommendations from other parents.

I'll grant that theme parks are don't get very explicit about the risks involved on certain rides. Nowhere on the warning signs for Thunder Mountain, for example, will you see a description of a safety brake and what it does. Of course, theme parks want you to have a good time. They don't want to scare you. But that lack of detail, coupled with people's skepticism, leads some folks to believe that the boarding limits are too restrictive, and that you can get away safely with ignoring them.

A few times, on a few rides, perhaps. But at what risk? There are just too many other ways for your child, or for you, to have fun at a theme park while remaining 100 percent safe. Don't take a unnecessary chance.

This may sound a bit--how should I put this?--dumb?, ...

I have two major conditions: Very High Blood Pressure and Epilepsy.
I am a Coaster Enthusiast and have been since the age of nine (not counting rides like TheGALAXY or JUMBOJET). I am also TERRIFIED of heights!

The Epilepsy I have under control with medication, ... My blood pressure has not been adequately controlled due to most of the meds I have tried cause seizures :/
However, it has been proven my blood pressure drops after riding a coaster. (I believe it skyrockets on the lift hill and I seriously don't know how I would handle a situation if the chain lift were to fail at the top--I get the shakes so bad riding in the elevators on the Eiffel Towers at PKI and PKD, and I avoid drop towers.)
I certainly understand the warnings and accept the risks. I also realize I can in no way hold any Theme Park responsible if I were to have a conniption.

I was on board Mind Bender a couple summers ago when the train stopped near the top of the lift hill while we waited for an operator to climb the catwalk ... a rider was physically ejected from the ride at that point for tossing his hat down to a friend at the bottom. I breathed easily and remained as calm as I could. There was one benefit to this ride, however, the lift hill seemed to be terrain guided and the trees camouflaged some of the height. The ride started after about three minutes and I was fine. A couple hours, tho, on a higher ride may have had adverse effects.

Some say it may not be fair to owners, operators or other patrons if I did happen to have a major problem. But, I think of it this way ... The rides are FULL of young adults who may not yet have been diagnosed with any of several maladies, and then there's the small percentage of idiots who have had surgery, back problems and truly physical limitations ... Anything could happen.

I do watch all rides before queuing up and I absolutely WON'T ride if I feel funny.

I am NOT a risk taker, but I am a thrill seeker (to a point) and I would be less of a human; less happy if I were to be forced off a ride because 'something' could go wrong. ... I was hit by a car crossing at a red light once. I was pushed through a plate glass window at age nine; cut to shreds. I busted both legs skiing at age eleven. And lightening hit a puddle I was standing in while waiting for a school bus at age fourteen. Real life has its problems.

KANNi8L KL0wN
-I Taste Funny

Klown: Just to put things in perspective for you...I had to deal with a guest who had been diagnosed with a condition (I can't say which one because of privacy concerns) who had an attack at my ride. Because this person believed that this condition was under control, they felt safe riding. When they had this attack, we were unable to run the ride for 30 minutes while paramedics assisted this individual. The guests all understood, and I wouldn't have run the ride even if someone had threatened to kill me, but this was downtime which was avoidable. I'm serious when I say that people must pay attention to the posted restrictions not only for their own safety, but also out of respect for other patrons.

BTW...I'd welcome you on my ride anytime...you know what your limitations are and you know that you cannot ride certain types of rides. Good for you!

Ride Hieght restrictions are never too harsh, even though it may seem so. Being a Supervisor of almost every ride @ Paramount's Great America at one point, i know pretty well how to operate and run the ride safely, also the harness system for the ride is desgined for someone of a certain hieght, not any lower than that. However, a point i have brought up before w/ Paramount Parks, it a person is too short to ride w.out there shoes on, but is tall enough with them on, then they are allowed to ride. I do not allow this @ all, most coasters are sit down having shoes on, nor off doesnt really make much of a difference in riding the ride. This is one rule that i do not allow on my rides, unless its a stand up coaster. over the last 4 years ive worked w/ rides, i can pretty much look @ a person and tell if they are tall enough or not to ride a ride. While people with heart problems and other such warnings posted @ a ride,can ride if they so wish, by law I can not stop them from riding if they so choose, but i do recommend that people w/ such problems not ride and if they do that they know as much information about the ride as possible, so they know what they are getting into and so they fully understand what can happen

I want to know about over weight people riding the rides we have some hefty people in our group, the question is will they be able to ride?

if there is a sample ride seat at the end of the queue line, by all means, try it on for size. The line operator can tell you if the fit is right. If there is not a seat to try, you might ask park operations if there are weight restrictions on any of the rides. They should be able to provide this info.

I am reposting what I posted over at Coasterbuzz here because the moderator, Jeff, believes in over censorship of the message threads and likes to delete messages at will if they are not to his own personal liking. A good lawyer could not come up with his posting requirements no matter how hard he or she tried. Jeff, get a life this is the open Internet for free exchange of information and public views on a wide variety of topics.

Ok Here is my experience when challenged by the ever-tightening amusement ride safety requirements:

I pushed, he pulled, he tugged with great might, and it fastened. The seat belt that is!"

Why is it that people who are experts in amusement ride safety put short seat belts on ride attractions that do not fasten comfortably when large people get on the ride? Here is what happened to me when I decided to get my Darien Lake season pass processed July 3 of this year and spend about two hours in the park since it was after 7:00 PM already. Keep in mind that this incident did not bother me in the least and I actually thought it was amusing. You need to laugh at life sometimes a little.The first roller coaster I attempted was the Mind Eraser. The name fits this roller coaster quite well because your head feels like a basketball in an NBA game during its run. Do to the rides roughness your head bangs from left to right hitting the pull over restraint bar. At least I fit perfectly in the seat and there were no problems with the seat restraints.The next roller coaster however posed a bit of a problem for me. As I walk toward the Superman Ride of Steel I asked the ride attendant if he thought there would be any problems with me sitting ok in the train. He paused and looked at me and said, “No, they will be able to fit you in.” At that point I had some wild thoughts that just came over me. What did he mean by that? Do they have a special shoehorn or something to wedge people in the train? Do they use oil or something?? The way the ride attendant said it and his expression, you could not help but laugh. I tempted fate and began the walk up to the load/unload platform. It was finally my turn to take the seat. Before I continue I have to say that I am not a small person. I larger than the average person out there but I am not a huge person by any means. I have a healthy girth size and a healthy thigh size and seat belts on airplanes and the Superman Ride of Steel do give me a bit of a problem. I went to fasten the seat belt and it was about four inches to short. I pulled it as hard as I could and it would not reach. I called over a ride attendant and said that the seat belt was too short. At that point I would have gladly gotten off the train. The ride attendant proceeded to try and fasten the seatbelt. I pushed, he pulled, he tugged, and it finally fastened. But wait it gets better. At the end of the ride, I could not get the seat belt unfastened. Everyone that was in the car left and here I am still strapped in. I called the same ride attendant over who help me fasten the seat belt. He said ah oh. In the mean time train number two finished its run and was patiently waiting to come into the load/unload platform from the brake track.The ride attendant finally got it unfastened and boy did it feel good….. Needless to say I did not experience any airtime. In fact, I probably could have went through loops and everything with no shoulder bar or lap bar that is how tight the seat belt was.Yep, I caused the Superman Ride of steel to get out of sync. I am pro amusement park safety and if I had the least concern that the lap bar would not latch properly, open up, or if I did not fit in the seat correctly I would have left the ride. The superman Ride of Steel roller coaster is an adult ride and seat belts should fit adult people who are larger than average. I do plan on writing Darien lake on this not as a complaint but more of an awareness of what happened. My feeling is quite simple on this. If I have to compete with short seat belts on attractions then I will not go to the park and please refund me my season pass money.

Has anyone else had bad experience with a ride seat belt?

K-M I have found the Superman Ride of Steel's seatbelts at SFA to be a little on the short side as well, and the seat is a bit snug for me. I am a larger person but tend to carry my weight distrubuted all over and not just in waist and thighs area (thank goodness), but the problem that I have with the seatbelts on the Superman ride are not that they are too short but that they are difficult to fasten due to the location and type of latch. They are very low on the side and hard for me to reach over with my arm across my body to latch. I nearly needed help but got it latched just in time the last few times I rode last year. Seat belts in cars are designed to be placed very low across the hips. Be sure you aren't trying to fasten the seatbelt too high. You may need to lift up the belly some to get that seat belt low where it should be for best protection. I know after I had my son by c-section three years ago my belly tends to sag a bit. :-( I'm working on it but now we're expecting our next child just before the theme park season starts next year so all I can do is watch my husband and son enjoy those rides for this season. :-(

I am a supervisor at a waterpark and I have seen countless times what happens if a child under the height limit goes down our slides. Our restriction is 42 inches and kids sometimes get through. If they aren't a fantastic swimmer they always get pushed under the water at the end of the slide. Its a scary experience for a four year old at the least not to mention a serious injury waiting to happen. Those restrictions are there for a reason and that extra inch does make a big difference. Also, ignoring the restrictions and waiting in line may cause you to waste the 30+ minutes because when the operator catches it theyll tell you what you already know. So it probably wouldn't be worth trying anyway, even if you think nothing will happen.

A woman told me the most messed up thing about a month ago when I politely told her that her child wouldn't be able to properly fit in his restraints because he wasn't tall enough. She responded with "Come on...Let him ride. I won't sue you guys or anything if he falls out of the ride." The thought almost literally made me sick. Height restrictions are there for reasons along with all the other restrictions/recommendations. Check your child's height at the entrance of a ride before entering and waiting in line for 2 hours then getting to the front just to be told that your child is too short and then feel the need to go off on me. Another thing...there are many issues at my ride for restraints not fitting overweight people properly considering that it's mainly built for children. And once again, people get mad at us b/c they can't ride.No matter how nice and polite we are, we still get chewed out.

Air at alton towers has a replica seat for people to sit in before they start to cue. If you can pull down the restraint you have a good indication if your going to fit in this is the only ride my friend would go on because he is afraid of being told he cant go on it.
This women must have cared for her child so much "if he falls off we wont sue" that means she must have known thier was a risk for an accident.

I work at movieworld on the gold coast, and for instance, if im the entry host at scooby doo spooky coaster and someone comes up to me and says, "I have a back problem, but i still wanna ride." I cannot let them in.

If i know that the person has a condition that restricts them from riding, i CANNOT let them enter the attraction, let alone enter the ride.

Maybe that's something for the states to think about. If an attendant knows about a guest whose restricted from riding, then they shouldn't be allowed on.

any thoughts?

It's a good idea, but we cannot discriminate against people that way. We can strongly suggest that someone not ride, but if they feel that their condition is under control to the point that they can ride, then we have no choice but to let them. Whether I agree with this policy or not, I don't believe in discriminating against people because of something that we feel might be an issue.

i think though, that what most people forget is that the restictions are thier for their own safety. In Australia, if i know about a persons disability, and i still let them on the ride, that makes me, personally liable for any damage that happens to them.

Even if they are told of the risks, i am still liable.

So, if someone suffers a heart attack while riding your ride, despite the fact that signs are clearly posted saying that those with heart conditions shouldn't ride, and you were previously aware of this condition, you are liable above and beyond what is normally expected of you? How is that appropriate?

If someone suffers a heart attack on my ride, I am not liable for that person's safety anymore than I am for any other person's safety. I'm not sure I understand how it is better to deny people the opportunity to participate based on something that I have no qualifications to ascertain what their condition is or how severe it may be. I am not a doctor, nor am I qualified to state that someone may not participate in an attraction, and so because I have no qualifications, that means I am discriminating against them.

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