Alpengeist and Volcano

Hi everybody. I am going on a vacation in a week to BGW and PKD. I would like to know if Alpengeist has a big boy seat. Also I heard that Volcano has seat belt extenders. Is this true? Thanks in advance.

Alpie definitely has a big boy seat. I've ridden Volcano but can't say for sure if it can accommodate larger riders.

When we were there the year it opened, I had to use the belt extender on Volcano, and it was still very snug to the point where it was not an enjoyable ride.

I'm looking forward to giving it another try in a couple weeks now that I'm down 90+ lbs. since then. :)

Alright, total n00b here. A big boy seat, I assume, is a seat that fits larger riders, correct? But what in the world is a seatbelt extender?

It's a short belt w/buckles at both ends. One end buckles in to the OSTR, the other to the end of the regular seat belt, thus making the belt a few inches longer to accommodate larger riders.

The "big boy seats" on Alpengeist are in row 4 and row 5 only, and have two harness buckles instead of one. Additionally, only one seat in each of those rows have the larger seat.

Volcano does have seatbelt extenders, but I have rarely ever seen them have to use them.The bad thing about Volcano is that its just too short. BGW is a great park, but lacks the flatrides that other parks have.

*** Edited 8/4/2005 6:59:28 AM UTC by Coasterfantom2***

I'm 5'7" tall and as of this morning weighed 231 lbs and can ride both Alpengeist and Volcano without a problem. I hope that info helps.

I just got back from both parks and am 6' tall 230 lbs with a 38" to 40" waist. I had no problems in any seat of either of those rides. However the seats on the woodies at PKD were very tight due to wider seat dividers.

I don't understand the whole seat belt extender thingy. If this exists, why the shorter seat belts on MF? Why not use the same extender? Or, is it because it's a suspended looper?

An actual seatbelt, per say, and the belt that locks an OTSR in place are completely different in what variance is allowed on the rider.

That along with the fact that on MF and other sit down coasters, Intamin felt the need to re-invent the seatbelt latch.

When I was larger, my problem on some coasters came from anything with an OTSR. It was weird too. On Volcano, I couldn't get the restraint down far enough for the belt to reach without the extender, but the bottom of the restraint didn't touch my stomach at all. It was getting hung up on my shoulders.

The way a big boy seat on a B&M works is with the twin belts that go more to the side, instead of the middle, where there is a large bump for the belt to wrap over. The belts aren't longer, but they allow more slack because they take a different route to the latch.