big boy seats? wtf?

can someone please explain the concept of "big boy" seats and does universal orlando have them and/or any pics for proof...?

i am a bigger guy and i was told about it, but i don't trust the source?

thanks in advance *** Edited 6/15/2008 4:39:42 AM UTC by OhioCoasterFan***

Depends on the ride.. most B&M coasters (in Orlando that's Hulk, Dueling Dragons Fire & Ice, and Kraken) have modified seating in rows 4 and 6... follow the signs. (You'll know you're in one if you have 2 safety belts.)

The rides in Orlando are generally more forgiving to different body shapes.

Don't see any pictures... follow the signs, use the test seats before waiting.

Although keep in mind that the test seats are often smaller or the seat belts don't come up as far as the real seatbelts. CPJ is correct when he says that the B&M's often have a larger seat in some of the rows...although when I rode in one of those seats because there were no others, I noticed absolutely no difference. Maybe the harnesses are angled slightly differently or something.

I'm not positive, but as nearly as I can tell, the only real difference is that the safety belt goes around the 'bump' on the front of the shoulder bar instead of over it, meaning that the belt...same length as on other seats...will allow the bar to latch one notch higher.

The trouble is that they only put those seats in the inside positions in the middle of the train.

--Dave Althoff, Jr. (can still ride in the 'normal' B&M seats)

i heard that the seats were a little wider and had a double belt. has this changed?

They just have the double belt as far as I can tell. And I'm a bigger girl with...let's say HEALTHY hips.

I would always yield to RideMan on any ride subject.. but it does seem to me I've seen people not even appear close to fitting in a regular seat and fit just fine with room in the modified seats with room to spare...

I've got into a seat on a B&M before, noticed that the seat felt much larger than normal, and then realized, "Oh yeah, I must be in a big boy seat". Might be my incredibly vivid imagination playing tricks on me though.

Thanks all for your replies... I just want the reassurance that I'll be able to ride next month when we go. Ive went on a weight loss campaign and I've lost 63 pounds and i need to loose another 40ish pounds to be at my goal... by what you guys have said, I don't think I'll have any issues.

I still don't understand why, if a smaller person in a bigboy seat is perfectly safe, they don't make the whole train that way.

But I think we've already had that thread before. I might have even started it.

At BGA, the seats for the big boys are the exact same size. Only difference is 2 belts connecting from the side of the crotch hump.

BGA also put big boy seats on the back row of Sheikra.

You are right, as usuall, Dave. There is not difference between normal B&M seats and the "big boy" seats other than the seat belts go around the bump.

I believe Dueling Dragons and Hulk have them in rows five and six. I sat in that row last week, and it was the second seat from the right of the train (on Fire, anyway). They certainly exist.

---

RideMan said:

The trouble is that they only put those seats in the inside positions in the middle of the train.

---

No that's not the trouble. The trouble is this country is OBESE.

I have to think that there is more to it then the extra belt, because if it was such an easy fix I doubt Raptor and the older B:TRs would still be running without them.

Maybe older big boy seats are larger, and newer big boy seats are normal sized. I know that I've sat in a big boy seat before and noticed that it was larger.

There are two belts, and the computer will allow the harness to be locked one click higher than the rest of the seats. I can fit in a normal B&M seat, and the computer requires the harness to be one more click lower. Sometimes (mostly on Griffon for the extra airtime) I ride a bigboy seat (and Griffon offers 4 seats per train). The computer will allow the train to dispatch with the harness in one higher click, that allows larger people to ride.

I give B&M a HUGE thank you for seeing the need in this. I wish Intamin would have figured this out years ago. Some of those things are mighty tight.

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember Raptor once having 2 big boy seats in row 5. Back when they had signs/arrows above the rows, that told you what row # you were waiting for, I swear one said "larger riders, this row". Am I crazy?

The computer has no idea how far the harnesses are down on a B&M inverter.