Posted on 07/05/2010 9:19:43 AM PDT by longtermmemmory
(June 23) -- When most people get in line at Orlando, Fla.'s new Harry Potter theme park, they're worried about the wait -- not their weight.
But according to some Harry Potter lovers, pudgy muggles -- those who weigh about 265 pounds or more -- are getting tossed from line at the most-hyped ride in Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter amusement park.
For them, the ride "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" is truly living up to its name -- and that's a big disappointment for fans who resemble Harry's rotund cousin Dudley.
Harry Potter fanatic Jeff Guillaume said he was "quite disappointed" after park officials turned him away from the Hogwarts-touring attraction because his 5-foot, 8-inch, 265-pound frame was deemed too large for the ride's safety harnesses.
"What it boils down to for me, and what surprised and disappointed me the most, was that many of Universal's other rides contain 'modified seating' rows for larger guests, and -- let's face it -- a good number of people in the Harry Potter fandom are a bit heavy, so why didn't Universal anticipate and accommodate us here?" he wrote on his website, the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator (HPANA to Potter maniacs).
Universal Studios representatives did not return calls in time for AOL News' deadline, but the Orlando Sentinel reports that park officials have "instituted a screening system" requiring random park-goers to sit in "test seats" installed in the line area of the "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" ride.
"I'm not sure what the system is, but team members take potential riders -- not all of them -- and test whether the safety harnass [sic] will latch," the paper's Theme Park Rangers blog notes.
Some park-goers are hexing Universal Studios officials over rumors that 6-foot-11, 265-pound Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was permitted on the ride while other heavyset Harry Potter fans were turned away.
But amusement park expert Dennis Speigel says the restrictions likely have as much to do with body type as they do with weight.
"Height can be a factor either way -- too short or too tall -- and girth could be a factor too," said Speigel, who is president of the amusement industry consulting firm International Theme Park Services.
While amusement park visitors are probably accustomed to signs informing them they "must be this tall to ride," Speigel says weight and body type restrictions are prevalent.
"It's not unusual," he says. "You have weight restrictions everywhere from Disney to the smallest mom-and-pop operators. It's for the safety of the guests. ... They aren't penalizing the person to be mean. They are exercising caution as it relates to safety -- and that's the prudent thing to do."
Even though more than one-third of American adults are obese, amusement park designers simply aren't creating rides for people who are very overweight, Speigel says.
"You can't design a ride for an excessively large person," he says. "You can't build for that narrow segment of the population. You try to hit average and little bit above."
The price of an electric scooter rental would cover a gym membership.
For the people you mention, it is about EXCUSES not fitness.
But there is a law somewhere that can be twisted and misconstrued that says you have to make accommodations for people with disabilities...like being obese. Yeah, that’s the ticket! Obesity = disability. And we have the ADA that will force this evil ride to be either shut down or physically altered at the ride operator’s expense.
Fatties at the amusement park ping.
Oh I hear you. I think someone recently was talking about ObamaCare and they were overweight. People want a pill so they can keep eating garbage and sitting in front of a TV or on Facebook, video game, etc. Usually playing some fantasy game or something childish.
What? Did I just read that some dude is about to drop dead of a massive heart attack and he is worried about getting on a Harry Potter ride???????????????????
Lol! No kidding. Wish they would do the same on airlines.
265 is pretty high a weight limit and should cover most people? I am still too short for many rides at 5’2” so I have little sympathy sicne I will never be tall enough to be 5’3” or taller.
And they rent those scooters because they can’t walk all day at the park.
ROLF!
“I wouldn’t exactly call 250 or 265 a lard ass.”
I would. Most people weighing that much are severely obese. Even a 6’4” muscle bound dood weights in at 240-260.
Obesity is not that type of disability. It is like saying voting for democrats is a disability.
My point is that I’ve been in the 250 range at 6’2. Should I be excluded as a lard ass? I understand the arguement for planes. But should Disney spend all that money in R&D and not be able to accomodate people of the upper limit of average without compromising safety for youngsters?
I guess I should replace the work should with could. Could Disney accomodate large people? Everyone is assuming large people are fat or lazy. Disney with its money and technology should be able to build a ride for most. Even NFL players should they choose to visit Disney and ride.
“But should Disney spend all that money in R&D and not be able to accomodate people of the upper limit of average without compromising safety for youngsters?”
That’s not your call. It is their business.
“My point is that I’ve been in the 250 range at 6’2. Should I be excluded as a lard ass? I understand the arguement for planes.”
I have BIL that is 6’4” and 245. He’s primarily muscle. My weight lifting partner is 6’2” and 225. If you are not muscle at 6’2” and 250, then, yes, you are a lard ass. Today’s standards might make you seem not a lard ass, but 250 is fat for most people.
You’re right. It is there business. They have every right to cater to 90 pound Japs. They won’t get my money, and that’s my choice.
Unless they're weight lifters, if someone is 5'8" tall and weighs over 190 pounds, they need to be seriously concerned with losing weight. A large-framed person who is 5'8" shouldn't weigh more than 172 pounds. At 265 pounds, they'd have a BMI of around 40 and be considered morbidly obese.
Isn’t Leftism a mental disorder according to Mike Savage? LOL! They definitely need ADA-compliant rubber rooms!
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