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Please send in your reports to help others! Nancy
- January 2006 2008 Unviersal Studios and Islands of Adventure I have learned that it is not your weight, but rather your measurements that dictate the access to the rides. I weigh 280 and was able to go on all of the rides at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. For reference, my bust is 53", waist 46", tummy 55", my butt 51" and thigh 30". (thigh reference as there is a "hump" in the middle of seat so thighs need to fit on each side) The trick is to get the seat in row 3 or 6 that has 2 straps. With this seat I was easily able to do up myself, no help from the attendants required so no embarassment. (from my experience on this people with slightly larger measurements should be ok as well in the chest) This worked well for most rides, including the Hulk and Dueling Dragons. Hulk I was very comfortable in, dueling dragons my butt was a but snug but ok. Only ride that I needed help to push down on bar to secure was the Doctors dooms fearfall. Ripsaw falls was a bit tight, but able to do. The ride that was the tightest for my butt was Men in Black...but still managed. Don't be embarrassed to use the test seats, too bad what others think! I am happy to report that once others saw me trying they did as well! Have fun! ***** I
am 5'7" and weigh about 350 pounds. I am really big around my middle,
no so much around the chest or bottom. Islands
of Adventure. I didn't try the coasters, not that brave......Turnstyles
all OK. Universal
Studios: ***** Universal
was not too bad. I didn't go to Islands of Adventure, so I can't say
anything about that. ***** I am 5'8" and 300 pound woman. A solid size 28. I never have much issue at WDW fitting on rides and this trip was no exception. Some things are a little snugger than others, but I always fit. Universal is another story. We did Universal Studios first. I was so nervoius about riding the Mummy. To be honest, I had plenty of room. It is a great ride. I was suprised that I felt more cramped and uncomfortable in Men In Black. I still fit, but it wasn't as comfortable. At IOA I wasn't able to fit on any of the looping coasters. I had read someones comments about trying the seats with the 2 buckles cause there was extra room in the chest area. That wasn't my issue. I couldn't have got my hips in that seat for a million dollars. I loved and had no troble with Spiderman. On Dudley Do Right I tried to get into the second seat of the log. It was tight. I then moved to the front seat. The operator told me when he saw me moving that while those seats are easier to get into, they were impossible to get out of. I thought I would take my chances. It worked out OK. I think it would have been a little hard to get out of no matter where you sit. ***** I visited Universal Studios In January 2006 and went to: Fear Factor - these are bench seats -- no problem fitting Twister - You stand up the whole time and travel through three separate rooms - there were no turntables to worry about. Mummy - They have a test seat located at the outside of the Mummy for patrons to sit in and test if they will be able to fit. It was a little embarrassing to walk over and get into it, however, one of my co-workers coaxed me into it. When you sit in the chair you have to pull the lever down to see if it will close. Unfortunately I was too large for the ride. As a point of reference I am 5 feet, 4.5 inches. I weigh 360 and alot of my weight is in my lower stomache/thighs. I know it is embarrasing, however, try the seat -- you may feel funny for a minutes, however, if you pass and get to ride the Mummy, you will soon forget it. And if you don't, fit, just walk over to the Twister! ***** Also spent 2 days at Universal. Islands of Adventure was a major disappointement as I did not fit in any of the coasters and the lines for Spiderman and the Jurassic Park River Adventure were well over 90 minutes each. We were willing to wait....but the kids vetoed the idea. Did enjoy a great (but pricey $$$) lunch at Emeril's in the Royal Pacific Resort. Universal Studios was better as I was able to ride everything but The Mummy....which was, of course, the ride we wanted. I had read here that it was not geared to the larger riders.....however, I tried the sample seat outside the ride and fit just fine. However, inside was a different story. We took the front row of a car and I could not get the bar closed enough. A little embarrasing...but I disembarked and sent the family on their way. The cast members controlling the ride went out of the way, however, in apologizing and even gave me a pass to the front of the line on all rides that was good for the remainder of the day. For the larger patrons.....just be prepared as there is a (Disney) world of difference between Disney and Universal in how they accommodate larger patrons. ***** Just wanted to let everyone know that Universal and IOA is not very "Fluffy-Friendly". I am a 5'7" and 270 pound women, with my trouble areas being tummy and thighs and fanny and... I did fit onto all of the rides, including the Mummy, but the other coasters were a bit "snug". Snug, meaning the attendant has to PUSH the bars down, and a seatbelt comes between your legs and latches onto the bars. Also, the seats are very NARROW and my fanny wouldn't even fit all the way into the seat. We did have a great time, but with the coasters, take those size restrictions seriously. The Mummy, however, did accomodate much larger people, even though the seats look narrow. Also, be careful at SeaWorld with the Kraken...almost didn't make that one! ***** I am a 5'4, 320 pound woman, a solid size 26/28. I'm just back from Universal parks in FL (6/21/2005) Parking. You can pay more money to do preferred parking. Preferred parking is a rip off (even in the opinion of the few employees we spoke with in City Walk). They put you next to handicap parking, which is in the same gararges (there are 2, equal distance from City walk) that everyone normally would park in. Regular parking just puts you on a different level in the deck. (same amount of walking, all you have to do is ride the elevator. They do offer valet parking (for more money) which we didn't try, but I could tell using this method of parking would cut off a few blocks, which may be worth the extra dollars (and time off your feet). A word of warning. Be Prepared to Walk! The parking deck is a good 6 blocks from where the park entrances are. While they do provide the moving escalators to get you into City Walk, I found most people were rude and in a hurry to get around us other slower people that were not walking (rather standing around) on the escalators. They detour you through City Walk (tons of shopping, eating, entertainment) before you even see the main entrance for either park. When you enter City Walk, there are no longer any moving escalators to assist in the walk to the main gates. I was impresed with both parks, as they seem to have newer turnstyles that are lower. I walked through without getting stuck. I had no problem fitting in any of the rides at Universal Studios EXCEPT Men In Black. I probably could have jammed my body into the molded seat, but even a few thin people complained the seat was not appealing. There is a sample seat outside. Shrek 4D- Theater seats Jimmy Neutron- Bench seat with pull down bar (same bar for all in your car) with thick padding. Was a tad tight Twister- standing ride Earthquake- bench seats Jaws- boat with bench seats Back to the Future- I skipped ths one. Had rode it the first year it opened, when I was 280, without any difficulty. ET - Tip: You can ask to ride on a bench seat (they may call it handicaped seating). There are a few special cars that have a bench seat in the last row. Lap bar (individual) fit with no problem. T2- theater seats, tight The Mummy - was tight but I did just barely fit, the best ride at the park by far! molded seat with a padded individual lap bar. At some points I was out of my seat catching some major air on this rollarcoaster. Beetlejuice show - bench seat Makeup show - theater seats, tight Feer factor show - bench seat Island of adventure, here are my comments on a few rides I did try: Spiderman - car with a bench seat with lapbar (same bar for all in your car), no problem, great ride Dudley Do-Right log flume - tight fit. Individual seat one behind the other, I was so scared we were going to fly right off the track, then to top it off, we had a ton of water in our flume. Too much weight. I'd have to be thinner to ride this one again Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges - Tip: you can ask for a seat belt extender, I did need one. seatbelts are individual, rather than having 2 people belted in together. Cat In the Hat - bench seat with a lap bar (same bar for all in your car), no problem As far as Disney, I 've never encountered a problem fitting into any of their rides in all of their theme parks in CA and Fl. ***** Just got back from Universal Studios and while having a wonderful time, I was a little disappointed by not being able to ride The Mummy. This ride does have test seats out front but I didn't fit in them. (I'm 6'1" and 400lbs, 58 waist). The rest of the rides were no problem, since they mostly have bench type seats throughout the park. The only other ride that was a squeeze was Back to the Future, but the CM gave me some advice, always ask to sit in front it is most comfortable and she was right. I skipped IOA for just the simple reason of the reviews on here, I didn't waste my time. These parks really need to rethink ride designs in the future to allow a "wider" percentage of the population the chance to experience the rides. Thank you for the chance to submit my perspective. ***** Tammy writes: I am a 5'10, 400 pound woman, roughly size 32. My husband is 6'3 and 450 pounds, and wears a size 60 waist... we may be the biggest reviewers on the site, so should put lots of minds at ease regarding Universal Studios. Shrek 4D- Theater seats, no problem whatsoever. Jimmy Neutron- Bench seat with pull down bar with thick padding. Ride operator suggested standing up a bit and sitting down 'with the bar' (stomach on top), and this worked perfectly. Twister- standing ride, no issues. Earthquake- bench seats, no restraints, no issues. Jaws- boat with bench seats, no restraints, no problem. Back to the Future- molded seats with lap bar and side doors that close. The ride operators will guide you to the 'larger size' cars (Row One, I believe?) and will probably put fewer people in the row if necessary. We rode with our young children, so had no real problem fitting. The ride was jerky, so I found it unpleasant, but my husband and son rode three times! ET- I didn't ride this one, but my husband says he fit okay, but tightly. He says people with larger bottoms may have trouble, even I could probably have done it if I really wanted to and hadn't developed a headache by that point in the day! There is also a lap bar that comes between your legs, that he put under his stomach to fit. T2- theater seats, smaller, but still fit. It sounds like this might be the better choice of the Universal parks for larger people, because we had no problems, unlike reviews I have read from Islands of Adventure.
********** Meli writes: Many of the rides at IOA have test seats outside the attraction (basically, to see if you fit in the seat). My husband, who is 6'6" and about 350 pounds did not fit in any of them - they were too narrow. He was seriously disappointed that he couldn't ride any of the major coaster attractions. The water rides and Spiderman were not a problem. ********** Let me give my measurements as a reference point: I'm a shade over 6 foot tall and weigh about 290. I have a 44 inch waist (my stomach area probably measures about 50 inches) and about a chest size of about 42 inches. Like Karen, I too found the trial seats out front of the rides a bit on the embarrassing side. There is nothing like a large person being put on display to see if they would fit on the ride vehicles. Luckily the crowds were small when I went to IOA in December 2000. The first ride for me was the Hulk roller coaster. I tried just one seat (the one with one buckle) and it fit fine, so off I went to ride the coaster. I got in the car and like Nancy, the staff person had to push the harness down in order to attach the buckle. It was a little uncomfortable but I managed to enjoy the ride all the same. After riding, my family and I worked our way back to Dueling Dragons. Again, I tried out the seats in front. To my dismay, the seat I tried wouldn't buckle. I had tried the one with one buckle again. The staff person standing by the seat saw that I was upset that the harness didn't fit and explained to me that there were two types of seats (I didn't realize that the two seats our front of the entrance to the queue were different. I thought they had two seats to help move people along who wanted to see if they fit), one with one buckle and one with two buckles. The seats with two buckles are made for persons with larger upper bodies (as the seats themselves appear to be the same size. People with larger bottoms still may not fit in the seat portion. If you try the seats out front and you can't sit in them comfortably, then I would skip the ride). The staffer also informed me that each train has ONE seat in row 3 and ONE seat in row 6 (same setup on Hulk as well). I tried the seat with two buckles and it fit fine. I then decided to try out Dueling Dragons and I'm glad I did. I rode in row 3 on both Fire and Ice and had no problems with the harness either time. In fact, I was very comfortable. Later in the day I made it back over to Hulk to ride one last time before we left the park for the day. Again, I rode in row three and was able to get the seat with the two buckles. This time the staff person didn't have to push down on the harness in order to buckle it. I didn't really realize how much more I would enjoy a roller coaster without having the feeling that the harness was going to crush my chest during each of the seven inversions. This knowledge helped even more when we went back the next week. I already knew which row I'd ride in and where the seat was located. I hope this helps anyone of larger stature that may have been persuaded not to go to IOA. ********** I am an agile 5'4" BBW who weighs 220 and has measurements of 53", 50", 53". The reason I tell you that is so you can figure how I fit on the rides. :D Simulator-type ride Back to the Future - I fit snugly in the back row with my body mass and height - anyone taller might not. The caution I would give for back row large adults is not to go on the ride - this ride is herky, jerky and you bang your head a lot. I left the ride with a headache and not a happy camper. I won't ride it again unless I can be in the front row and then it's even chancy if I would. The Hulk rollercoaster ride: I just fit - it has a harness that comes down around your shoulders, bosum and a seat belt locks it into place. I needed help clicking the seat belt into the harness. (The staff person pushed down on my harness and helped to finally click my belt in place - NOTE: it was not uncomfortable for my 53" bosum but the staff person needed to push in to click the seat belt) Check my measurements again to help you decide if you will fit. Dueling Dragons rollercoaster: Same fit, same device. I must admit that me snugly fitting into these coaster's seat arrangement does give you a better sense of protection. I didn't have any room left over but I was able to "catch-some-air" on both during the G-forces. What a cool sensation!! Jurassic Park ride: This was a tight fit once the padded bar comes down but I still fit And it wasn't uncomfortable. The Hulk has a seat for you to try out ahead of time to avoid embarassment when you try and board. I didn't see seat belt extensions for The Hulk or Dueling Dragons so I believe if you're large than me - you won't fit. : ( ********** A Special Report by Karen........ Oh, and boy, was I disappointed with Islands of Adventure. Before going to Islands of Adventure and paying the $97 admission for two people, I decided to call ahead and ask if there are accomodations for larger people (e.g., a few larger seats, seatbelt extenders, etc.). I was called back by a woman in Guest Relations and was told we "shouldn't have any problems", except on the two rollercoasters. For those rides, she said, there were sample seats out front, so you could try them before getting in line. For background info, I'm about 5'9" and a size 32W/34W and usually wear those clothes loose and am basically proportional. My boyfriend is 6'3" and can wear a XL to 3x size t-shirt and about a 50-inch waistband. Neither one of us looks like we weigh as much as we do, and usually don't have many problems with size, except some small restaurant booths or extra small theatre seats. I thought I might have a problem, but definitely not him. So, we get to the first rollercoaster ride (Dueling Dragons) and see the two trial seats out front. One even says it's a modified one for people with larger upper body proportions, apparently there are one or two of those on each vehicle. First, let me impart how embarassing it was to actually try the seats. They are in the wide open, facing a large courtyard where people gathered to sit/eat/drink while they watched people get on this very ride. If you ended up not being able to get into the seat, it would be a very pubic display. Of course, in hindsight, I suppose it would be more embarassing to get through the entire line and then not being able to get on. Well, I mustered my courage and tried it. Not a chance. My butt is not very big, but I could hardly fit it over the upcropping that you would normally straddle while sitting. The chest harness, when I could finally bend in two to get under it, would barely come down across my DD's, not to mention enough for it to get connected to the seatbelts that attach to it. My boyfriend, although much smaller, did not have any more luck than I. Although his butt fit better and he has a smaller chest, he could not get underneath the harness. Very disappointing. This same scene was repeated at the two other major rides, Incredible Hulk (coaster) and Dr. Doom (vertical slingshot ride). This day was hardly seeming worth the $97. I began looking at people as we walked around the park and realized a good 30-40% of them wouldn't be able to ride these rides. In fact, rides that most people COULD ride, like Jurassic Park, had waiting times of 75 minutes, while the Incredible Hulk's wait was just 10 minutes long. The very fact that they put the sample seats at the beginning of the rides, shows they've had problems with numerous people getting in line and then not being able to fit. It was quite obvious that this park as basically meant for teenagers and slender adults. The Jurassic Park ride was a kind of rollercoaster boat and I just did fit into that one. My boyfriend and I were given the back row to ourselves and we basically just wedged in beneath the cushioned bar, which we did not pull down. The other ride we were able to enjoy was the Dudley Do-Right log flume. This was a wide, although low seat, with no bars or belts, and you could have a seat to yourself instead of sharing. It was so roomy that I swear I almost fell out during one of the steep drops. It was quite fun, but hardly worth $97 and a $27 lunch (2 burger combos and refillable drink cup). Even if we had just brought small children with us, the 3 or 4 rides in Dr. Seuss land, would not be worth the price. Live and learn, I guess. I don't recommend this park to very tall or averagely large people. (Karen, 7/00) |
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