Trouble Fitting Into Rides at PKD?

My wife and I are planning a trip to Paramounts Kings Dominion later this month. In the wake of the tragic death earlier this summer at SFNE, I've heard that some parks have modified the restraint systems on some rides to increase rider safety, but at the same time made it more difficult for larger people to squeeze into the restraints.

I'm 5-11, 250lbs and I'm concerned I might not be able to fit into some the restraints at PKD. I was hoping to get some feedback from anyone who has visited PKD recently and whether or not they had any problems.

Thanks,
Kestrel

As far as I know, you should be able to. I went to PKD at 6' and 240ish lbs, and fit nicely into anything. Have you ever done an Impulse? You should be able to ride Volcano. Everything else is just normal restraints (wooden, arrow, Premier, which is more comfortable now), with maybe the exception of HXLC, which I didn't get to ride, and can't tell ya a think about, but doubt you'll have a prob.:)

One thing I did (since I'm pretty big: 6'1 180-ish) is I had a little trouble getting into Flight Of Fear for some reason, so, I slid my legs under the restraint before I sat down, and then everything worked nicely ;)

But as for everything else, the seats are pretty dang roomy. Except for HXLC... oh.. my... god.. I was stapled into the seat.. I have never felt so much pain on a ride before...

But anyways, have fun! PKD is a beautiful park! Not to mention the rides are awesome too!

I went to PKD in June and was 230lbs at 5'11" with a 39" waist. No problems fitting in any ride including Volcano and Hypersonic. Don't miss a front seat ride in Volcano! Bill

The only ride I would even be the least worried about is Drop Zone, but even still they have larger seats but judging by your description I don't think they will be necessary.

So, like others have said, don't worry about it and have fun!

I'm 5'7" and weigh 235, went to PKD last week, I only had a problem with fastening the safety belt on Flight of Fear. However, Anaconda was a painful ride for me. No problems with Volcano, Hurler, Grizzly or HS:XLC.

I've never had a problem with JJ at SFA, I wonder if the safety belts on FOF might be shorter at PKD. I also noticed when I rode JJ after my trip to PKD, it seems the seats are angled differently on the rides. Anyone know if this is the case? JJ I felt more upright, while on FOF I felt like I sat lower and back in the seat.

I took my fat ass there last year. Needed a bit of a shove to get into Volcano but it wasn't too bad. Shockwave (Sh*twave) is the only other one that was tight...I fit fine but it was uncomfortable and I couldn't wait to get off. Hypersonic, Drop Zone, and FOF were easy to fit into for me.

I think the FoF's in general, due to the station floor being too high, and the trains themselves being *a little cramped*, means that TALLER riders will likely have more trouble than heavier riders.

As for Sh*twave, WHY did Paramount have to take out the WRONG Togo? :(

Flight of Fear posed a problem for me and my 6'3" frame (no leg room) but Jokers Jinx at SFA gave me no problem just two days later. Go figure.

Volcano might be a little tight for you because Intamins sometimes seem to run on the "small" side but the wood coasters, Hypersonic, Avalanche, Shockwave and Anaconda should pose no problem for you.

I was there at the end of July and had some trouble. I'm 6'6" and about 320 lbs, but not all my weight is in my waist. I couldn't ride Shockwave, too broad in the shoulders; FoF, no leg room; Richochet, this made me mad because the restrain was down and locked, but the ride op wouldn't let me ride; Volcano, obvious reasons; and H:XLC, no leg room again.

You shouldn't have any problem. I did cause I'm just fat, but I will add since the end of summer break I've lost a good 20-30 lbs.

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The_Lost_Phantom said:
Richochet, this made me mad because the restrain was down and locked, but the ride op wouldn't let me ride; Volcano, obvious reasons; and H:XLC, no leg room again.

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Did they tell you why they wouldnt let you go on Ricochet? They should at least say why...

I know at SFMM before Riddler had the belts installed they made sure every restrain was down at least three clicks and 4 clicks on Colossus. So even if it was locked, maybe it wasn't down far enough?

Next time try sitting up front on Ricochet,you might be able to gain enough leg room to allow the lap bar to go down to the required number of clicks.

I was up front. The op told me that the light was still blinking on the control panel and the bar wasn't down enough to let the ride dispatch. I think I counted something like 7 or 8 clicks. When I asked how many clicks were needed to ride, she just stared at me.

Man does that stink for you because Ricochet is a good ride for a mouse.

Now of course if the ops detect that the restraint isn't down enough to allow the car to safely dispatch then what can you really do about it? they should just put in maybe one or two cars with deeper seats so as to allow for taller guests to ride.

When I went a few months ago I was able to ride everything without too much of an issue - Volcano needed a really big shove to get the restraint down tho. At the time, I was 5'11" at 285 lbs - but it really does depend how you are built, I've ridden everything at PKD before when I was at 295-300 lbs (prior to the new, smaller Volcano seats with a seat belt extension).

Now that I'm at 260 I wonder if I'll be able to ride TTD, MF and WT at CP at Coastermania - I've ridden TTD and MF last season but their changes make me nervous and I'm hoping for a 1st ride on WT.

George

I've seen the same thing happen on Richocet. Not sure how many clicks they need. Perhaps when the bar crushes the rider's thigh bone and makes physical contact with the seat?

A tall friend of mine had the same problem on Richochet last year. He was as stapled as could be, and she still said the bar needed to go down further. He did get to ride however, probably not very comfortably however.

I think parks need to make atleast one car on a coaster with bigger seats to accomidate taller riders. My problem fitting doesn't deal with me being to fat, it either deals with me being too tall or broad in the shoulders. Just one car. Is that so hard to ask for?

Man that's too bad,now if you're overweight you can do something about it but of course there's nothing you can do to change your height.

Slightly off topic: I'm hearing that the weather's turned pretty bad in the Richmond area this evening & that alot of parts of downtown Richmond have been flooded already.

Does anyone know if PKD has sustained any flooding from the storm at all? I certainly hope not as it would greatly hamper any construction for 2005 that may be in the planning stages or already underway. *** Edited 8/31/2004 3:06:07 AM UTC by BATWING FAN SFA***

i doubt PKD is flooding....its on much higher ground than Richmond is, as much of Richmond lies at the level of the James River, at the top of its tidal point...

as far as the retraints, u should have no worries at PKD, at least nothing more then you would have at any other park. they were pretty unaffected by the SFNE incident, as far as blatant changes....

and enough with the Shockwave bashing!!!! i love that ride:)

Tim...yes, i love Shockwave :)