"size" of rides vs. size of rider at Universal (and Seaworld)...

My husband and I are a bit on the "larger" side, if you catch my drift. I've never had a problem on any of the Disney rides, but I've heard many of the Universal rides are a little "snug". A woman on a board mentioned getting wedged in Rip Saw Falls and having to be hauled out. I don't know how big she is compared to me, but I want to avoid any potential for humiliation.... At Seaworld I rode Atlantis, but was afraid to try Kraken after hubby reported seeing a big woman try and not be able to buckle and have to get off. *sigh*

We went to universal this past Feb. My hubby and I are both pooh sized. I was nervous about that as well. I had no issues on any ride and neither did my dh. We had a blast and looking foward to going to IOA to check out Harry potter on our next trip.

I noticed that on the rides where there may be a question about "fitting" in the seats, there were sample seats set up outside the ride so that you have the opportunity to test whether you fit in the seat. I have a really cute picture of my kids sitting on the seats outside of the Mummy ride.

I think also there was an issue on Forbidden Journey with the seats not accommodating all guests, but they do have some reconfigured seats you can request.

I will say that we saw on several different occasions people having trouble fitting on the rides ... one time was Hulk ... the guy was large and tall, just a big guy ... and two Universal employees were working to try to have the overhead restraint locked into place. They were pushing and shoving on the restraint (and, in effect, the guy himself). It was a bit outrageous. They finally had the guy "buckled in" but I couldn't imagine how the guy could move or breathe. I assume the guy was okay with it because he wanted to ride, but the whole time I kept thinking ... no way the CMs would act this way at Disney.

Oh my! i don't know whether I'm amused or horrified!! But that is exactly the kind of thing I'm hoping to avoid. last time we went to Universal I skipped a lot of things because I was too embarassed to be seen trying the test seat, and now realize that I would have been fine on most, if not all, of those rides. There are people in the 300 pound range, which I'm not, who are saying they can ride nearly everything except Forbidden Journey. Guess I'll have to muster the courage to try the test seats! Better THAT small embarassment than having ride operators trying to back me into the harness ;-)

You may have to ask for a modified seat...that's what I was told to ask for. I never have gone on a ride at IOA because I was told this. I did have to get stuffed riding Krakken once and felt embarrased with everyone watching.
I feel US and Seaworld discriminates against larger people while Disney does not.

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Originally Posted by goofygirl67

I feel US and Seaworld discriminates against larger people while Disney does not.

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I assure you that Universal Studios and Sea World do not discriminate against larger people. Both parks make accommodations wherever possible so that everybody can ride nearly every attraction. Unfortunately, some people simply cannot fit on Forbidden Journey. There are also people who can't fit on Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom.

Unfortunately, neither Disney nor Universal can build rides -- particularly thrill rides -- that everyone can experience, but I promise you both are trying.

Yes, I'm sure that is true. No amusement park wants to "discriminate" and miss out on ANYONE's money ;-) Although I'll be disappointed if I can't ride Forbidden Journey, I understand that the nature of the more extreme "thrill" rides makes them a lot hard to engineer for larger riders. Lets face it - Disney doesn't have a lot of really intense THRILL rides.

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Originally Posted by Jared

I assure you that Universal Studios and Sea World do not discriminate against larger people. Both parks make accommodations wherever possible so that everybody can ride nearly every attraction. Unfortunately, some people simply cannot fit on Forbidden Journey. There are also people who can't fit on Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom.

Unfortunately, neither Disney nor Universal can build rides -- particularly thrill rides -- that everyone can experience, but I promise you both are trying.

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Originally Posted by mom2morgan

Yes, I'm sure that is true. No amusement park wants to "discriminate" and miss out on ANYONE's money ;-) Although I'll be disappointed if I can't ride Forbidden Journey, I understand that the nature of the more extreme "thrill" rides makes them a lot hard to engineer for larger riders. Lets face it - Disney doesn't have a lot of really intense THRILL rides.

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Right. I think Expedition Everest is the only Disney attraction that has those kinds of limitations.

At 6'2" and 340# I have gotten on every ride at Disney. ( minus rrc. And pp flight.)Space mountain was tightest fit.

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Originally Posted by mom2morgan

Yes, I'm sure that is true. No amusement park wants to "discriminate" and miss out on ANYONE's money ;-) Although I'll be disappointed if I can't ride Forbidden Journey, I understand that the nature of the more extreme "thrill" rides makes them a lot hard to engineer for larger riders. Lets face it - Disney doesn't have a lot of really intense THRILL rides.

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Forbidden Journey has test seats before the queue... You can test the seat out... There is a Team Member there to assist you... The test seat is the normal seat... If you test out the seat, the Team Member there will let you know if you can use a regular seat or need the modified seat... I just missed the regular seat.. When I tested it, I was able to fasten the harness, but it was a tight fit... the light almost made it all the way to green... I used the modified seat and fit perfectly...

And I am not so sure the limit on FJ is because of the nature of the thrill... I think it has more to do with the nature of the vehicle and track.. The benches are mounted on a robotic arm...I'm sure this has more to do with wear and tear on the robotic arm system (which is probably very expensive to repair) than the nature of the thrill...