Too tall to ride?

[Leon_K]

Hi all!

For me there seems to be a curse on riding B&M coasters. I am from the Netherlands and for a long time the Netherlands had no B&M coasters build. Now there are two but it's still a huge question if I will be able to ride one soon. I have been unlucky before because of a ride closing but the main reason for it is that I am almost 2 meters tall and a lot of B&M's rides have restrictions of rideheight until 1.95.

Yesterday me and a friend bought tickets for Gardaland in Italy and I will visit this place in a couple of weeks. The park has two B&M's, a dive-coaster and a wing-coaster that I would love to ride, but unfortunately the website informs about what I was already afraid of: ride restriction only under 1.95.

Now I am curious: are there any people on this forum that have the same experiences as me? And, how strict are parks usually with height restrictions in terms of centimeters?

Who knows someone has something usefull to say about this...

 

[rob666]

I am bang on 1.90m, and have ridden Infusion at Blackpool every couple of months, for years, with a 1.95 limit.
I have only had my height checked once.
Stoop a little, they tend to check for under height... but don't blame me if you lose a foot at the ankle.

 

[Leon_K]

I am bang on 1.90m, and have ridden Infusion at Blackpool every couple of months, for years, with a 1.95 limit.
I have only had my height checked once.
Stoop a little, they tend to check for under height... but don't blame me if you lose a foot at the ankle.

Surely I don't try to mess with the safety rules too much!... though it seems like it often has to do with the restraints more instead of seating height above the ground(!?)

 

[The Undead Creature]

In my experience, it is extremely rare for someone to be turned away for being simply too tall despite the maximum height specified by the manufacturer.

Unlike the minimum height, the maximum is more of a guideline as if you are are too tall then you likely won't fit into the restraint. It all depends on body proportions, if your upper body is disproportionate to your height then you may fit.

I can't speak for Gardaland but it may be worth asking if you can test the seats to see if you will fit. If you visit with the expectation of being turned away from 2 rides, you won't be too let down if you are too tall.

 

[Leon_K]

In my experience, it is extremely rare for someone to be turned away for being simply too tall despite the maximum height specified by the manufacturer.

Unlike the minimum height, the maximum is more of a guideline as if you are are too tall then you likely won't fit into the restraint. It all depends on body proportions, if your upper body is disproportionate to your height then you may fit.

I can't speak for Gardaland but it may be worth asking if you can test the seats to see if you will fit. If you visit with the expectation of being turned away from 2 rides, you won't be too let down if you are too tall.

Thanks, that's kind of what I thought about too. For a wing coaster I can imagine it can be dangerous in situations of near-misses. But I guess on dive coasters the height of the seat and and the size of the train fully surrounds you, so it's possibly more about the restraints.

 

[The Undead Creature]

Nahh, the clearance envelope is so huge your legs alone would need to be 2 metres long to hit anything.

 

[Matt N]

My dad is around 6’6” (1.98m in metric, so a similar-ish height to yourself), and passes the maximum height restriction on a number of rides, so he has a fair bit of first-hand experience in terms of the enforcement of maximum height restrictions. And from my experiences with him; it very much depends on the park or even the individual ride team. I would certainly recommend talking to Gardaland directly if you’re really concerned, as I’m sure they would be happy to allay your concerns.

In terms of stuff dad’s been turned away from; I think the only rides he’s been turned away from on the basis of height alone are Spinball Whizzer (happens almost consistently) and Stealth (oddly, this only ever happened once; he’d ridden it numerous times before without issues, and rode it again on our last visit). There was also Colossus at Thorpe and Hydro/Drenched at Oakwood, but they saw him get turned away on the basis of the OTSR not being physically able to close over his shoulders as opposed to being over a max height limit.

However, if you want a B&M to compare with; he’s never been turned away from a B&M, and even in the case of Thorpe Park’s Swarm, with a 1.95m restriction, he’s never had any issues with it and rates it as one of his favourite rides! He’s been measured on it before, and when that happens, he just seems to stand with very loose posture. And although even then he’s visibly above the 1.95m mark, the staff just tend to shrug and let him on anyway!

Also, I should preface that by saying that Swarm is the only B&M I’ve ever personally encountered with a maximum height restriction.

Hope that helps; if you have any more questions for me, don’t be afraid to ask!

 

[rob666]

Nahh, the clearance envelope is so huge your legs alone would need to be 2 metres long to hit anything.

Yes, I thought that, then rapped my knuckles hard on the first inversion on Icon, upside down slow flop, and clunk on the knuckles...not fingertips, on the track underneath.
Clearance envelopes aren't always perfect, south park on BPB...Big Dipper, Big One, Steeplechase and Icon all have "possible contact issues" in places.

 

[UP87]

Ah... remember that you're not allowed to put your arms outside of the vehicle according to basically all coaster regulations I can think of. Look at the signs. If you hit something with your arms up it's more or less your own fault. As legs on a Wing Coaster or an inverter can't be moved it there has to be a lot more clearance for those.

 

[Ethan]

I'm 6 foot 1, so not exactly giant, but I have found that OTSRs like Oblivion's do touch my shoulders constantly now and it's not that comfortable. Gone are the days that OTSRs were just lapbars with annoying bits on top!

I've never been refused to ride anything however my friend and I were really pushing it on Cyclonator at Paulton's

 

[Leon_K]

Thanks for all the replies!

I've send Gardaland an email so I am curious what they are going to say.

Also, I should preface that by saying that Swarm is the only B&M I’ve ever personally encountered with a maximum height restriction

I think there are three B&M's within a 300km or 190 miles radius from where I live, if I'm right. Two of them, Black Mamba at Phantasialand and Fenix at Toverland, have a height restriction of 1.95. Only Baron at Efteling does not have this. So when I saw both their rides at Gardaland having this restriction I had the feeling this must be the case for most of their rides. But maybe I am just unlucky with B&M's rides I encounter myself haha.

 

[caffeine_demon]

Have your legs amputated just below the knee - sorted!

 

[Hixee]

Have your legs amputated just below the knee - sorted!

Bit of a burden to have to head to Towers to ride The Smiler before heading off to Italy - there aren't really any convenient airports in that neck of the woods...

 

[The Undead Creature]

Yes, I thought that, then rapped my knuckles hard on the first inversion on Icon, upside down slow flop, and clunk on the knuckles...not fingertips, on the track underneath.
Clearance envelopes aren't always perfect, south park on BPB...Big Dipper, Big One, Steeplechase and Icon all have "possible contact issues" in places.

They aren't perfect, or indeed present at all on older rides.

But something as new as Icon shouldn't have passed its design review if you managed to hit something with your hands.

 

[zazobo]

If it helps my husband is 6ft 5 and he's only been measured a couple of times, Spinball Whizzer (Alton) and Fenix (Toverland). Just stand in a slouchy way when you're being measured, being an inch above the maximum isn't going to lead to injury.

 

[Matt N]

Also, maybe you could try wearing some shoes with thinner soles (to make yourself as “short” as possible when they measure you), as remember, you’re measured in footwear at parks?

So basically, I’m kind of suggesting something like how small kids often wear really thick shoes to get onto rides, but in reverse! If you’ve got any footwear with fairly thin soles, I’d certainly wear those on your trip as opposed to your beefiest pair of trainers.

If it helps my husband is 6ft 5 and he's only been measured a couple of times, Spinball Whizzer (Alton) and Fenix (Toverland). Just stand in a slouchy way when you're being measured, being an inch above the maximum isn't going to lead to injury.

I think the Spinball team must be particularly hot on the max height restriction checking, because it’s the only ride where my dad has ever been consistently kicked off every single time; me and my mum always have to ride Spinball alone (we are far shorter), whereas on Thirteen (the other Towers ride with a max height restriction), the ride ops have never even batted an eyelid at the fact that dad is 6’6”. The Thirteen team have never even so much as measured him… he does always slouch as we get near the station just to be sure, however!

 

[Leon_K]

For the good order, I take measures in case of safety serious. That's also the reason why I've send Gardaland an email. If they have something interesting to say about it I am willing to share their response.

 

[JoshC.]

I used to work on a ride which had a max height restriction.

Of course, in theory you're meant to be just a vigilant searching for someone who might be "over height" as you are when searching for someone who might be under height. Under height people, and those just above the minimum height restriction, are usually easy to spot, and you get so used to seeing them it becomes second nature.

Those around the max height restriction are much harder to gauge, surprisingly. You think of the max height being really tall, and that someone of that size would stand out, but then when you're seeing hundreds / thousands of people daily, and you're less than that height, all of a sudden someone who is say 6ft6" doesn't actually seem that different to someone who is 6ft2", say.

In the time I worked on said ride with a max height restriction (admittedly not long), I only ever came across one person who I thought "Hang on, I should probably check to see if this guy is too tall". And sure enough, he was (just). And yet he said he had done the ride before on a previous visit, and seemed fairly genuine in saying so (rather than just trying to blag his way on).

So my point here is that when it comes to max height restrictions, it does come down to luck of the draw as to staff members checking whether you'll be allowed on. Some will be very hot on it, some will not be thinking about it at all frankly.

As for whether you can physically, and safely, get into seats. Checking out test seats if available is always a good shout. And as has been mentioned previously, modern day rides *should* be designed that if anyone can fit in the seats and have the restraints lock, then they should be able to safely ride without fears of arms or legs hitting anything.

 

[Matt N]

I used to work on a ride which had a max height restriction.

Of course, in theory you're meant to be just a vigilant searching for someone who might be "over height" as you are when searching for someone who might be under height. Under height people, and those just above the minimum height restriction, are usually easy to spot, and you get so used to seeing them it becomes second nature.

Those around the max height restriction are much harder to gauge, surprisingly. You think of the max height being really tall, and that someone of that size would stand out, but then when you're seeing hundreds / thousands of people daily, and you're less than that height, all of a sudden someone who is say 6ft6" doesn't actually seem that different to someone who is 6ft2", say.

In the time I worked on said ride with a max height restriction (admittedly not long), I only ever came across one person who I thought "Hang on, I should probably check to see if this guy is too tall". And sure enough, he was (just). And yet he said he had done the ride before on a previous visit, and seemed fairly genuine in saying so (rather than just trying to blag his way on).

So my point here is that when it comes to max height restrictions, it does come down to luck of the draw as to staff members checking whether you'll be allowed on. Some will be very hot on it, some will not be thinking about it at all frankly.

As for whether you can physically, and safely, get into seats. Checking out test seats if available is always a good shout. And as has been mentioned previously, modern day rides *should* be designed that if anyone can fit in the seats and have the restraints lock, then they should be able to safely ride without fears of arms or legs hitting anything.

I’ve got to say, that really surprises me, as I always imagined that people who exceed max height restrictions would be far easier to pinpoint from an adult ride op’s perspective. (Although I guess it does depend on the staff member’s own height to an extent)

Personally, I find that height is incredibly hard to visualise once people get too much below 5ft, so I’d probably be hopeless at checking people who are below or around minimum height restrictions, whereas people who are at or above maximum height restrictions seem like they would be easier for me to judge. I’m somewhere between 5’9” and 5’10” myself (I’m never entirely sure exactly where, but I’m above 5’9” and under 5’10”), and according to Google, 1.95m is a little below 6’5”.

Admittedly, I’ve never worked as a ride op, but checking for people at least 7-8 inches taller than me seems a far easier job than checking for people who are a foot or more shorter than me; I can imagine the 0.9m restrictions on kids’ rides in particular being a nightmare!

 

[Thekingin64]

Haven't measured myself accurately for some time but know I'm near the 1.95m height limit present on some rides. I've only been checked twice though, once on Stunt Fall at Parque Warner and once on Joker at SFGAdv. Both times, I only just made it...

Funnily enough, when queueing for Joker, I noticed the ops checking the max height and mentioned to my friend that I'd only ever been checked once, despite many rides on rides with a max height restriction. Cue me getting checked by that op....

(ps. Does Jellikins count with it's very restrictive max height? (1.6m I believe) If so, I've been denied that before...)