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'I'm size 22 and tried Alton Towers' rides to see if I could fit in their seats'

S

Sambiasso

TS Member
'I tried to have fun, but I just felt humiliated. Living in a fat body is OK most of the time, and at others, the world can make you feel like it's the worst thing a person could be'

Reporter Kirsty Bosley works at the Birmingham Mail, and recently visited Alton Towers near Uttoxeter, for the first time in around ten years.

She is a size 22 and revealed what happened when she attempted to fit in the seats of many of its famous rides.

Speaking to Staffordshire Live she said: "Back in the summer, I went to Alton Towers for the first time in perhaps a decade.

"I was excited, two kids in tow and ready to ride. I hadn't really paid much thought to how much my changed body might cause me problems until the very first ride of the day, when it hit me in the worst way.

"Sitting my size 22 bum down into Spinball Whizzer, the barrier was pushed down to secure me. Click. And then, it didn't go any further.

"The staff member was kind as she applied a little force to click my harness once more, explaining that one wasn't enough.

"People started to look around to see what was holding the ride up and I felt my heart sink.

"Finally, another member of staff came along and tried one last time, clicking me in and letting the ride go.

"I tried to have fun, but I just felt humiliated. Living in a fat body is OK most of the time, and at others, the world can make you feel like it's the worst thing a person could be.

"In my head, I hear: you don't deserve to shop for nice clothes in town, because you're fat. You don't deserve to be happy. You don't deserve to have fun on rollercoasters with your family and it's all your own fault. Depressing.

"And so, for the rest of the day, I actively avoided any rides that would need me to be strapped in.

"When I was invited back to test out the Halloween Scarefest, I jumped at the chance, knowing there's no strapping in when it comes to horror mazes! So I went.

"The scare mazes had me feeling courageous, so I thought, this is it: I'm going to try and get on to all of Alton Towers' biggest rides, to see whether I could fit.

"There's always a sign outside showing height restrictions, but what of the fat body restrictions?

"There weren't many of those test seats knocking around to try, so I threw caution to the wind and queued, pre-emptively apologising to my straight-size pal for any last-minute, second-hand humiliation."

Here's what happened.

Wickerman
She said: "Because Wickerman looks so epic, I was expecting I'd need to be really strapped in for it, but it turns out that it's just a bar that closes down over your thighs.

"My belly is my biggest bit and so I didn't get much major discomfort from this, but I did feel snug and I wonder if someone with chunkier thighs than me would struggle to fit.

"I wanted to feel snug, personally. I was on a ride where someone had just threatened to burn me alive in a human sacrifice. It all went by without a hitch, no burns, no loss of circulation in my legs. Winner."

Nemesis
"With Nemesis shutting at the end of this season, I really wanted to ride it for one last time. But knowing it was an old ride, I did worry that perhaps I wouldn't fit my 47in chest into the over-shoulder harness (your legs stay dangling).

"So I asked. A lovely assistant with colourful hair was really relaxed when I did, advising that while this ride might not be ideal for people with bigger boobs, there was a trick. If I went to row four specifically, I would find a seat with two seatbelts instead of the usual one. This wasn't marked up as a fat seat, and no one noticed as I sat in it, but it might be more comfortable, I was told.

And I was - I felt safe and secure, not squashed or uncomfortable. It was a top tip, one to remember if you're popping up to have one last go on this legendary coaster!"

Galactica
"Of all of the coasters I went on, Galactica was the most uncomfortable. I asked about bigger seats and was told that while some are bigger than others, 'it won't make much difference'. The staff member added that they'd 'do what they could', but the idea of another squash attempt made me cringe.

Fortunately, a brief shove clicked the almost full body harness into place, though my boobs were super squished. Factor in the force of being tipped up into a flying position, and I'd say I was uncomfortable. I was in, but I'm not sure it'd work for anyone bigger than I am. I was glad when it was over."

Th13teen
"I received excellent customer service from the guy whose job it was to secure me into the very spooky Th13teen," she said.

"Am I going to be too fat for this?" I asked while waiting for our turn to board. The young man looked at me kindly, smiled and said: "Of course not". I felt much better.

"Sorry!" he added, as he pushed my bar down tightly. I was in though. My belly was very squashed in and while it wasn't painful, it was a little uncomfortable as the ride blasted around the track.

This one might have been a little more uncomfortable on my body, but the sweet staff member meant it was easy on my heart!

Rita
The Queen of Speed, Rita is that rollercoaster that blasts you from 0-60mph in seconds. As such, I remembered it being quite an uncomfortable experience on the whole, especially if you don't keep your head back and braced for action.

I got on absolutely fine and didn't feel squashed in at all - I had space to move, even. That, I could have done without as we went razzing round the track at mental speeds. I had to have a little break after that!"

Smiler
"I had never had a go on Smiler before this very day and, looking at all the loop-de-loops and corkscrews, it looked absolutely bonkers. I desperately wanted to fit on it, so we queued.

"After the trauma of the horror mazes, Smiler couldn't do anything to ruin my day, even if I didn't fit. I asked if I was going to have any problems, and staff assured me I wouldn't. So when I clipped into place easily, I felt relieved. I didn't feel crushed, I felt comfortable and safe.

"It turned out that it was a smart idea to end the day on this one, because it was the best rollercoaster experience I've ever had.

"I was beaming from ear to ear the entire way round, understanding how it had earned its name, and also smiling because I hadn't let my fear of having the 'wrong' body stand in the way of a good time. Everyone deserves one."

www.mirror.co.uk

'I'm size 22 and tried Alton Towers' rides to see if I could fit in their seats'

'I tried to have fun, but I just felt humiliated. Living in a fat body is OK most of the time, and at others, the world can make you feel like it's the worst thing a person could be'
www.mirror.co.uk www.mirror.co.uk
 
The thing with these articles is that no “solution” is ever offered … because there isn’t one. Yes there are adult enthusiasts, of course, but the majority of theme parks make their money from families - and by default, children. Make the ride vehicles any bigger to accommodate for those who are extremely overweight, and then those same kids wouldn’t be able to ride until they get even taller / larger.

These articles just stir up division
 
I concur. It's a sensitive topic. There was a thread on socials recently and that logical, engineering based view on upping the size capacity excludes the smaller got shot down a bit on the basis that larger folk should be accommodated because average size is going up.

I'll risk some wrath here, but this is coming from someone who was medically obese! Ultimately health is a choice, it isn't up to Theme Parks to accommodate. Sure, as I know very well, it's easy to hit a healthy size for some and bloody hard for others. But outside of some very rare and very extreme medical conditions - it's a choice. I have no issue with people making their own choices. But I stop short at this sort of bollocks. It's like bringing back smoking in public places not to hurt addicts feelings. /Rant 🤣
 
tayspru said:
The thing with these articles is that no “solution” is ever offered … because there isn’t one. Yes there are adult enthusiasts, of course, but the majority of theme parks make their money from families - and by default, children. Make the ride vehicles any bigger to accommodate for those who are extremely overweight, and then those same kids wouldn’t be able to ride until they get even taller / larger.

These articles just stir up division
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That's not true though, is it.

There are 3 ways of allowing the maximum range of differently sized guests to ride safely:
  1. Don't restrain more than is required. If a lap bar is all that is required, only provide a lap bar (Wickerman, Th13teen)
  2. Build restraints and seats to ergonomically fit a greater range of guests (Galactica is the closest to this that Alton Towers get, but it can be better)
  3. Provide a range of seat sizes and restraints and provide guests information so they can self-select (Oblivion, Nemesis - but Alton Towers need to do more to tell guests these seats exist)

If anything stirs up division, it's when somebody who is able to do something tells somebody who is not able to do something that they should just shut up about it.
 
It really shouldn't be that much of a sensitive topic but sadly it is. She's over weight. Massively overweight by the sounds of things.

Everyone can put on a few lbs on here and there, myself included, but nobody gets to that size by accident. I think as a country we are now the fattest nation in Europe and one of the top 3 in the world. We really need to stop pandering to people with this body confidence nonsense. It's really not 'okay' to be that size. It's actually incredibly unhealthy.

I sometimes don't fit into rides because my legs are too long being 6ft 5. It's frustrating but one of those things as I can't control my height. However if I had to do the 'walk of shame' due to my belly I'd probably go on a diet and start walking / exercise.

Tough love needs to come back in this country in my honest opinion.
 
That article turned out better than expected.

Ultimately, safety should always take priority over making someone feel slightly embarrassed. Just look at the Icon Tower incident.

I'm a bit overweight and some rides are a squeeze, I've only ever not fit on one ride (Superman at SFMM). Was annoying but understandable.
 
I think the best solution if you're too fat to go on rides is to lose weight, yeah body positivity is good and all but if your health isn't a good enough reason for someone to lose a few lbs and you really want to go on a ride hopefully that will give a boost of motivation.

This is coming from someone who is 6'6 and a fairly big lad I know how it feels everyone watching you trying to squeeze in and then having to walk away whilst everybody's restraints reopen after a long queue, I do understand.

I just think when it comes to being too fat to do things, exercise and healthy eating should be more encouraged, I know it can be a hard hill to climb but it'll make people feel miles better after, speaking from experience.
 
This is something that has never affected me, I’m a beanpole so it’s a not an issue I’ve had to deal with personally. However I do feel a little sorry for people when I see a ride op trying to very visibly force a restraint down on someone, not so much because they are missing out on the ride but more because it feels like it’s a very public spectacle that must feel a little undignified.

This is why test seats are such a good thing as they let people see for themselves whether or not they want to try for a ride if they aren’t sure whether or not the restraints would be suitable for them. I think the worst one I’ve seen is Eagle’s Claw, the KMG Afterburner gyro Swing at Lightwater Valley. I’ve seen quite a few people that don’t even seem that large having to do the walk of shame for that one after very publicly having the op trying to force the restraints down on them and failing. As it’s a ride where all the seats on the gondola have inward towards each other it’s a very public spectacle and then person may have the added awkwardness of not only everyone looking at them but also feeling that they are holding up the ride as well (even though it’s something that can’t be helped).
 
I'm going to leave this topic up as there's been a bit of discussion already, but just as an aside could we please only start new topic when you add your own opinion rather than just copy and paste an article. Thanks!

Anyway, I don't see anyone's comments as particularly "vile" in this topic. It's a fact, plain and simple that for the vast, vast majority of people their size is due to their own personal choice. Yes, it'd be great to have a variety of seats, but for an industry that needs to get bums on seats, fastened in and out of the station as quickly as possible, that's not a realistic prospect. You can't have a mess of queueing systems inside another queue - it's bad enough when you have front row and in some cases a "big boy seat" row. If you're larger on the weight side of things, you simply have to accept that you're not going to get on every ride, or it's going to be uncomfortable. No one's really saying shut up about it, they're saying that if you want to change the issues you face, you have to go through some effort to lose that weight.

Ergonomics is an incredibly complex profession. There's already a massive amount of effort to make coaster restraints able to fit the largest variation of body sizes as possible. Just because a larger person don't fit, doesn't mean they're not ergonomical - it just means that they haven't been able to cater for that specific body type while trying to accommodate the majority.

"Just make the lap bar more shaped to allow for larger legs" - What about those with narrower legs who now may have too much movement and could fall out?
"Just make the shoulder restraint higher to allow a taller person to ride" - What about someone who's shorter who could now go smacking their head on the top of the restraint or fall out of the side?

Basically, whatever is done to accommodate someone larger will almost always have a detrimental effect on others. We already see this on the big boy seats on some rides, where there's another 10-20cm added to the height limit of those rows as those who are shorter would be more at risk of coming out. Is that fair to shorter people to miss out on a ride on a particular row? Or is it fairer to just say to those who are larger that they should perhaps make a bit more effort to lose some weight?

And before someone jumps down my throat for being vile and hateful, this is coming from the perspective of a bloke who's carrying a fair bit of weight who has to squeeze the seatbelt shut on Nemesis and Oblivion, cross his legs to get that click on Wicker Man or Spinball and sometimes get a bit of a push on Galactica to get it registered as locked. Let's not even talk about Funk and Fly being pretty much a tourniquet and I'd lose my legs from lack of blood flow if I ever got stuck on that thing (when it works anyway!). I accept my fat arse, chunky thighs and belly mean it's a bit of a squash to get on stuff at times, but should I expect manufacturers to fully accommodate me? Nah. I accept they have to cater for as many varieties of body types as possible - and if I don't fit within that it's just how it is and I need to do something about it.
 
WillPS said:
Some truly vile judgment going on on here, I'd expect better from this forum.
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Nothing vile about it at all. Being massively overweight is in 99.999% of cases self inflicted. In fact I think this new modern approach to telling massively overweight people that 'big is beautiful' and similar stuff to that is actually just really patronising and not helpful at all.

Their health and therefore their life could be at serious risk. Personally I'd rather be told I need to lose weight than be lied to to protect my feelings. Maybe that's just me though.
 
Interestingly, Doctors often cite Theme Parks and specifically rollercoasters as a reason many of their patients finally lose weight. In a world of “body positivity”, it’s not very often the excessively overweight get told “no”
 
Benjsh said:
Nothing vile about it at all. Being massively overweight is in 99.999% of cases self inflicted. In fact I think this new modern approach to telling massively overweight people that 'big is beautiful' and similar stuff to that is actually just really patronising and not helpful at all.

Their health and therefore their life could be at serious risk. Personally I'd rather be told I need to lose weight than be lied to to protect my feelings. Maybe that's just me though.
Click to expand...
You've made a prejudgement about the author, who has shared none of the detail at all as to how she became the size she is, only that she is that size and wants to share an experience for others in a similar position.

You have no idea if it's a side effect of another illness (or the medicine taken to alleviate that illness).

You've chosen to instead presume it's the result of simple overeating. That is vile and you should be ashamed of yourself.
 
It’s a tough topic, as there’s a lot of sensitivity and emotion attached to it.

I would like to address some of the judgement of overweight people that appear to be going on in this topic, however.

Ultimately, a great many people simply cannot help being overweight, and I don’t believe they should be persecuted for this. Many people have a somewhat complicated relationship with food, and in many cases, being overweight is at least partially caused by genes. Obesity is technically considered a medical condition rather than simply something everyone can solve themselves, because for some people, there are many biological factors working against them if they try to lose weight, and they also find it difficult to do the things that are required to lose weight. You also need to consider things like eating disorders, which aren’t something you can simply snap out of.

While I am not overweight myself, I’d like to think that I can empathise with those who are to some degree. I’ve never admitted this on these parts before, but I’ll come clean and admit that I myself have had a somewhat complicated relationship with food/weight (albeit on the other end of the spectrum, so the exact struggles are of course different), and one thing I would say is that it’s very easy to tell someone to do something, but it’s much harder for them to actually do it when they have internal struggles discouraging them from it. And let me just say that it is quite demoralising to be picked up on as different from the norm and have your weight and eating habits mocked and judged. I know that such comments and judgements always come from a place of concern rather than any kind of malice or ill intent, but that doesn’t change how it makes you feel on the inside.

In terms of how this links to rides… my point is that I don’t think you can simply tell overweight people to “lose weight or suck it up”. I think you do need to consider their needs to some extent. Even if I myself am thin and do not struggle with fitting in rides whatsoever, I can empathise with the struggles of those on the opposite side of the coin. However, I do accept that rides cannot be tailored entirely around the needs of overweight people without excluding a substantial demographic of smaller people. One example that I think proves this is modified seating. For instance, Icon at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Silver Star at Europa Park both have modified seating that’s designed to fit larger riders… but this modified seating has a 1.5m height restriction rather than the base height restrictions of 1.3m (Icon) and 1.4m (Silver Star). Therefore, having all of your seats in the modified seating size would exclude a considerable contingent of children from riding until they are older/taller. Not to mention that a 1.5m height restriction would also exclude a not insignificant amount of adults; 1.5m is around 4’11”, which, while a fair amount below average, is not exactly an obscenely uncommon adult height, particularly for women. So having every seat on a ride designed for overweight people would likely exclude many children until they’re nearly teenagers, and it would also exclude a proportion of fully grown adults that isn’t insignificant.

So my basic point is; I totally get that you cannot pander primarily to overweight people when designing rides and restraints, because doing this excludes smaller people. However, I do feel that being overweight is not always a choice that you can simply undo, so I feel that there is more that could be done to accommodate the needs of overweight people without necessarily breaking the bank or excluding other demographics. It’s a tough one; theme parks can’t cater to everyone, so I think the approach needs to be more about limiting the number who are excluded than trying to cater to everyone.

With all that in mind, I would propose the following solutions to this issue:
  • Ensure that all rides fit the widest possible range of people to limit the number of people excluded. In fairness, modern ride restraints do seem to be prioritising this, with most focusing on a simple lap bar and spacious cars nowadays. The restraints on the likes of Colossus, notorious for “walks of shame”, seem to be a thing of the past, and I think moving away from this style of restraint will help accommodate a greater range of people both height-wise and weight-wise.
  • Have modified seating available on every ride (or most rides, at least) for those who need it. While I do not think every row should come in the modified seating size, I do feel that having one or two rows of well advertised modified seating is a good thing in order to allow larger people to ride. As with above, this does seem to be a practice adopted on many rides already, but it could be better advertised in some cases, in my opinion.
  • Have well advertised test seats available at all ride entrances. This would allow for larger people to check if they can fit before queueing, therefore meaning that they don’t waste time queueing if they can’t. What would be even better, in my view, is test seats with a traffic light system, with green indicating “you fit in all seats”, yellow indicating “please use modified seating”, and red indicating “sorry, you don’t fit in any seats”. Universal uses something akin to this on some rides already, and I think it works well, personally.
  • This one is less related to the rides themselves, but I also think that investing into compelling non-ride activities, or at very least compelling rides that do not require restraints, would allay this issue to an extent, because if someone didn’t fit into a rollercoaster, then there are plenty of other things they could do and the theme park experience as a whole is more inclusive for them.
I sincerely apologise if this post has touched a nerve with anybody. I tried to write in a balanced way, but you can obviously never predict if you’re going to offend anyone with a sensitive topic like this. I don’t mean anything personal to anybody; these are merely my thoughts on this particular topic.
 
tayspru said:
Interestingly, Doctors often cite Theme Parks and specifically rollercoasters as a reason many of their patients finally lose weight. In a world of “body positivity”, it’s not very often the excessively overweight get told “no”
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Where do they cite that? Anybody with that opinion clearly has no experience of being overweight; I can assure you it is pretty far from the most frequent activity where it causes issues/rejection.
 
WillPS said:
You've made a prejudgement about the author, who has shared none of the detail at all as to how she became the size she is, only that she is that size and wants to share an experience for others in a similar position.

You have no idea if it's a side effect of another illness (or the medicine taken to alleviate that illness).

You've chosen to instead presume it's the result of simple overeating. That is vile and you should be ashamed of yourself.
Click to expand...

It doesn't take much presumption. The amount of people who are that size due to medical reasons is miniscule.

Also I made no comments about her personally. I don't know her and I'm sure she's a lovely person.

This is about being overweight. Something that we all have the capacity to be. I think your kind of approach is the reason why we have so many overweight people in this country. Don't agree? That's perfectly fine but go walk down the local high street and take a look for yourself.
 
WillPS said:
Where do they cite that?
Click to expand...
Most recently it was discussed on an episode of Loose Women as well as This Morning, around the time a similar article was doing the rounds on social media. Psychologically speaking, it makes sense as in a large number of cases obesity is down to a lack of impulse control, so a situation where someone can’t get what they want immediately makes sense to be a motivator.

Also, it isn’t “persecution” to not be allowed on a rollercoaster because you’re too big for the restraints that in many cases were designed decades ago, well before the obesity crisis really hit
 
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Must admit, one of the saddest scenes I have seen in recent years was a very large person insisting on riding in the back (big boy) seats on Icon.
They simply didn't fit those seats either, the punter got angry, the staff had to stand their ground, the hole was dug deeper, the individual insisted it was discrimination, the staff explained politely it was overriding health and safety, other punters got angry, I was swapped out of my usual back seat!

And I don't want to take sides here, but I have read at least a couple of articles, mainly in lifestyle pages of broadsheets, of very overweight people facing up to essential weight loss, either to avoid ever doing the walk of shame again, or to join their kids on the rides in Orlando for the first time.
Both articles were positive, and ended with a positive result.
 
WillPS said:
Where do they cite that? Anybody with that opinion clearly has no experience of being overweight; I can assure you it is pretty far from the most frequent activity where it causes issues/rejection.
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I notice you’ve edited your response after initially posting the first sentence. I have no doubts that there is judgement in other areas, but a theme park is a straight up “you 100% cannot do this activity” - that wouldn’t happen at a cinema, shopping centre, any other number of venues.
 
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