"Walk of shame" an issue for larger enthusiasts

At the International House of Gravy......

Oh, gosh. Remember they used to have those huge pointy roofs painted brown with speckles? Ah.... Memories....

At Dorney Park on Hydra and Talon there are signs for "larger size seats in this row" on two different rows I think in rows 4 and 5. Each of these rows had one such seat.

I tried to compare the differences between the regular and special seats but it was hard to do that with limited time. To my eyes, the seats (frames and heights) were identical, but the difference is that the two special seats (lager) had seatbelt extensions between the OTS and the clasp.

If that is the ONLY difference, would it be so hard to make all of the seats like that? This is not an expensive solution.

By the way, I (thankfully) had no trouble on Steel Force and Possessed using regular seats.

B&M "big boy seats," as they are know by enthusiasts, are a little bit roomier, Richie. You can feel the difference when you sit in them. Some parks don't advertise that they are there, but ride hosts know.

I thought the only difference was that those seats had two seat belts on either side of the middle "bump" in the restraint where the normal seatbelt goes. Basically allowing the seatbelt to have more slack since it didn't have to make it over this protrusion in the harness.

Take a look at this picture I found on Google.

As I understand it, ^that^ is precisely the difference between regular seats and "big boy" seats. The regular belt goes over the bump, whereas on the "big boys" - there's two belts that go *around* the bump.

So why not just 86 that bump and make it so all the seats accommodate everyone with one belt?

I've wondered the same. Never understood why that bump was important to the design of the harness.

I think that bump is key to positioning you properly in the seat.

It probably prevents you from sliding side to side in the seat.

The only coasters I'm genuinely worried about at the moment personally are Blue Streak and Mean Streak because they both have that stupid divider in the middle. I have absolutely no room for error on those rides and of course both of them have seat belts that buckle on the side instead of on top so getting them unbuckled at the end of the ride is no fun.

As far as the whole shaming thing I'm just going to say this. If you had asked me at any point in my life (aside from pregnancies) if I would ever have to worry about fitting in a roller coaster seat I would have laughed at you up until four years ago. I had a health issue come up that caused a bunch of medication changes, limits to physical activity at first because I didn't know what was safe and then for a long period of time afterwards because I felt like crap and had no energy left once I got home from work. When it first began I gained weight so fast that I went up an entire clothing size in two weeks. After an experience like this your attitude about other peoples' weight changes really fast. At one point I told one of my doctors that every time he increased the dosage on a particular medication I gained five pounds. All I got back was attitude, a scolding to exercise more and push myself away from the dinner table sooner (he even gave his desk a push as if I needed a visual cue of what it looks like to push yourself away from a table) and then raised the dose of the medication again. I don't need anyone to shame me. I'm unhappy enough about the situation as it is. There's no reason for anyone to be nasty about it because it will not make me thinner.

Another point to consider is that those of us who started out taller and larger bone structure-wise have less room for error when it comes to weight gain before we have problems fitting places. Being a size 14 at my ideal weight there are many women out there who are "fatter" than me and yet because they started out so small they wear a smaller clothing size than I do now and can still fit in places I can't.

Lord Gonchar said:

I think that bump is key to positioning you properly in the seat.

ApolloAndy said:

It probably prevents you from sliding side to side in the seat.

Are we all talking about the same bump? I am referring to the bump on the outside of the shoulder harness that the normal seatbelt goes over once it is connected. I am not sure what it would have to do with positioning since it doesn't touch the body or prevents the body from doing anything it shouldn't. If it comes in contact with anything it is the "crotch bump" on the seat itself when the harness comes all the way down when no one is in the seat.

No. I was talking crotch bump.

So...only dudes (and post-op female-to-male transgendered folks) can position themselves properly?

^No it works fine for females too. See the below picture (of the same seat/harness) to have an idea of just how far up the bump comes with a smaller person in the seat. It does act as a divider of the legs to keep you in the seat and to prevent you from sliding forward.

As for the seatbelt, I am referring to the bump in the red circle. With the seatbelts on either side of this bump, it allows the harness to have a bit more room than with one seatbelt. As I mentioned above, the only reason I can see the need for this bump is for when the harness comes down as far as it is in the picture. Possibly acting as a "bumper" when it hits the seat.

Right I meant 86 the bump on the shoulder harness. I fully understand what the crotch bump is for.

(There's gotta be an STD joke there somewhere but I can't figure how to word it...!)

The correct joke would have been, "I have a crotch bump, but I'm getting it checked out by a doctor later this week."

The biggest gripe I have is the shortening of belts on rides after years of operation. When MF opened, the belts were long. Magnum's belts were untouched until the 20th anniversary. Then they got shortened every year. How is a shorter seatbelt safer than a longer one? They are good enough in a automobile. Next thing we will see is test seats at the local dealership. "You must fit in this seat to buy the car".

On MF & TTD, the worst thing is the placement of the buckle. Trying to bend myself into the position to fight my hands around the side-bar and get the halves buckled is hard. As you do this, pressure is being put on belt and making it harder. I prefer the belts on Outlaw Run where they buckle in front. Much easier.

That was my main gripe about the seat-belts on Outlaw Run. The buckle being pressed down by the lap bar can be painful, especially if the buckle is not laying flat.