What is it with Six Flags and maximum height requirements on their headline roller coasters?
Ok. This pisses me off. I went on the SFGA website, and saw the V2 Vertical Velocity roller coaster, a similar twin of CP's Wicked Twister. And when I saw the information about this roller coaster, I saw that it has a max. height requirement. But Wicked Twister doesn't. This is not all. When I went to SFNE, I had to have my height checked because SROS has a max. of 6'5. Millennium Force is an Intamin hyper like SROS, and it only has a min. height requirement of 4'8. It was the same for the SFDL Superman roller coaster. Why? Finally, when I went to SFGadv, while on Kingda Ka's loading platform, the ride attendant asked for my height because KK has a max. of 6'5. If a park builds a roller coaster that attracts lots of guests, it needs to make sure tall people like me can go on it too. Of course, my height is 6'2.
They build their rides for the average visitor. Its a shame that children or very tall people may not be able to ride some rides, but thats just how it goes. It is pretty much impossible to build a coaster that can acommodate everyone, having no minimum or maximum height requirement.
Because of this, rides are designed for the average guest and to allow the greatest number of people possible to ride.
They have them for safety reasons. Six Flags don't make up rules because they want to. I don't mean this in a negative way, but you got to ride, why are you ranting?
CoasterFanMatt said:
They build their rides for the average visitor.
Because of that, I have to check my height prior to going on their big roller coasters.
You're 6'2" and you were checked? I'm also 6'2" and the only coaster I was checked for Maximum Height was Deja-Vu at SFMM. I had no other maximum height problems at SFMM, SFGAdv, SFNE, or SFA. *** Edited 10/10/2005 12:47:39 AM UTC by Coaster Lover***
If you can't stand the heights, get out of the line.
I can't speak for the reasons on the other coasters, but S:ROS at SFA has a maximum height requirement for a reason. Check out the clearance coming out of the first helix where the track passes back underneath itself. I saw a very tall gentlemen ride and he ducked. He made the height limit, but barely. Why they didn't move him to the front row of his car (the lower seats) though is beyond me.
If you're 6'2, you need to worry about something else. AFAIK, there is no coaster out there that you are too tall for.
If you grow, come back and we'll mourn with you.
I've had some similar problems with max hieght requirements (I'm 6'3"), but it's not a big deal. Just because they check your hieght is not a reason to complain about it.
Intamin Fan - There are a lot of rides that I put my hands down or duck for a second. The worst (for me at least) is WDW's Space Mountain. It's freakin' terrifying.
Of course, a concern with inverts is that a tall person's shoulders might be situated too high in the seat for the restraints to close properly. I guess that holds true for anything with OTSRs.
All the B&M Inverts I know don't have maximum height cap. Volcano : The Blast Coaster at PKD (Intamin Invert) doesn't have a maximum. Raptor at CP and Batman at various Six Flags parks (B&M Inverts) only have a minimum.
Directly from CP's website:
Due to rider restraint system requirements, guests of exceptional size may not be accommodated on some of our rides. This may apply, but not be limited to, men who exceed 6’2”, or those who exceed 225 pounds, have a 40” waistline or 52” chest or females who exceed 200 pounds or wear size 18 or larger. Each person has different body proporations so it is not possible to list exact size and weight.
So, at 6'2", they aren't required to let you ride either. Apparently, Cedar Point does list this, you just didn't see it.
Also from the site:
Our larger guests may experience difficulty on Blue Streak, Chaos, Corkscrew, Disaster Transport, Mantis, maXair, Mean Streak, Millennium Force, Mine Ride, Power Tower, Raptor, Top Thrill Dragster, Wave Swinger, Wicked Twister.
Please not that 'larger guests' doesn't always refer to someone who is overweight.
I'm over 6', weigh over 225lbs (or at least did when I was at CP, but I've lost 15lbs recently), but I fit on Millie (after the restraint business started) and TTD and everything else. I also fit on Delirium at PKI, so I'm sure I'd fit on maXair, and I've rode RoS @ SFA, and fit.
Some rides are also unkind to the very tall with long legs. SOB at PKI quickly comes to mind. As said before, coasters are designed to be VERY safe for te vast majority of people, with the key word being majority. You can make a restraint that would allow any size to ride and be fast, but it might not be safe for everyone. Take a seatbelt in a car for instance, as is, they are unsafe for small children because of where the chest restraint crosses. You can make a restraint that would allow any size to ride and be safe, but it wouldn't be fast. Take a five point restraint in a racecar for instance, pretty much one size fits all, but it needs to be ajusted to whoever uses it. So coaster manufactures go for the fast and safe part, but at the cost of the "everyone" part. However, it's only a small minority of people who fall into the catigory that makes them unable to ride.
Just be thankful you're not in the NBA or a Sumo wrestler, then you wouldn't get on ANY coasters.
If you can't stand the heights, get out of the line.
Actually, I'm 6'6" and I have never been denied a ride because I'm too tall on V2, Wicked Twister, Deja Vu, maXair, none of it. I guess there are some pretty lax standards out there, but I never had a problem.
I know I've said it before, but the best thing to do would be to have a test seat and an attendant to check that the seat will close sufficiently at the entrance of any ride where there could be a problem.
I sing sometimes for the war that I fight, 'cause every tool is a weapon, if you hold it right. -Ani Difranco
It's been my experience in the cedar fair parks that the "too tall" classification is mostly based if the person can fit properly in the restraints. The only reason they say "over 6'2" is because that way they can't get sued. When people get tall, some people have a lot of the height in their legs, and so they're "normal sized" when they sit down, and there's no problem of fitting in the restraints. Other people have the height in their torso, and so sitting down doesn't change anything and they won't be able to fit in the restraints because of their shoulders.
"Life's What You Make It, So Let's Make It Rock!"
When riding S:ROS at SFA with a friend who is 6'4" we found 2 reasons why there is a height max. One is the head chop mentioned above. The other is his knees are right against the back of the front row of a car if he sits in the back row. He gets bruises if he rides to many times in the back row of the cars. So on rides like this he makes sure to sit in the front row so as not to bang his knees.
Watch the tram car please....
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