Height Requirements

[beastrider97]

Hi everyone I'm new here so I want'ed to say Hi. Well which height requirements do you think are too tall or too short. I have to say that Adventure Express is too tall and FoF is too tall.

[The Interpreter]

Height requirements are set by the parks in coordination with state regulations, inspectors and manufacturer and insurance company suggestions/requirements. Some have changed many times over the years, most frequently rising.

As an older adult, at age four I was riding coasters that these days have (or would have) 52 inch height requirements, or more. Times were different. People were less safety conscious, less litigious, and generally acted more responsible. Restraint systems were far less robust, or even non-existent. Seat belts on rides were almost unheard of. Whips, Tilt-a-Whirls, Scramblers ran at much greater speed than today. At the same time, there were many more injuries and deaths on rides than there are today.

[beastrider97]

Height requirements are set by the parks in coordination with state regulations, inspectors and manufacturer and insurance company suggestions/requirements. Some have changed many times over the years, most frequently rising.

As an older adult, at age four I was riding coasters that these days have (or would have) 52 inch height requirements, or more. Times were different. People were less safety conscious, less litigious, and generally acted more responsible. Restraint systems were far less robust, or even non-existent. Seat belts on rides were almost unheard of. Whips, Tilt-a-Whirls, Scramblers ran at much greater speed than today. At the same time, there were many more injuries and deaths on rides than there are today.

I have to say that you are correct.

[MarketingExpress]

Hi everyone I'm new here so I want'ed to say Hi. Well which height requirements do you think are too tall or too short. I have to say that Adventure Express is too tall and FoF is too tall.

I think for as extreme as FOF is, the height requirement is just right.

[markr]

It really peeves me when parents try to get out of the height requirements such as by having their children stand up on their tippy toes, make their hair wavy to make them seem taller, etc. How anyone could put a ride ahead of the safety of their own child just infuriates me.

[The Interpreter]

Not to mention the ones who claim:

"But he rode it THIS morning."

a. If he is too short, it doesn't matter he sneaked on once, he isn't getting on now.

b. Most times, it isn't even true that the kid rode this morning.

Sigh.

[CoastersRZ]

Yep. I don`t know how many times I`ve heard the "But he rode it this morning, yesterday, last week, last year" excuse from parents. What amazes me the most is working the Rock O Plane at Coney when I tell parents that their kid is too short to ride. They have to be 48" to ride. And the sign that has the height requirements on it is right next to the entrance where I check heights. When I tell them their kid is too short to ride, the most asked question I receive is "They can`t even ride it if they`re going with me?"

[Browntggrr]

^ But as a parent, there are some things that even I question.

For example, the Scrambler at Waldameer here in Erie, PA. In the summer of 2005, both of my kids could get on the ride with an adult. But this summer, neither can no matter what.

Ok, obviously the height requirment changed. And I'm sure it was for a good reason. But let the patrons of the park understand the changes by putting up a posting, or let the ride operators know the reasons to pass along the information to the guest.

Unfortunately, some parents will let their emotions take over when their child wants to ride something they had previously been on, and now can't. The look on a disappointed child's face is heartbreaking.

Sometimes a little information can go a long way.

[The Interpreter]

Do parents REALLY want to know about things like a death on a Scrambler type ride in Rye, New York? Which caused an increase in the minimum height requirement in many parks and jurisdictions? Perhaps some do, but most do NOT.

What is the park supposed to say? Perhaps:

Due to the fact a girl who was old enough to know better decided to try to ride a ride very similar to this one in Rye, New York while seated with her rear on the back wall of the ride carriage, and did not survive the attempt, the height requirement on this ride has been increased, in the hopes that only more mature riders will ride?

In many ways, parks use height as a proxy for maturity, not just a physical size to be restrained adequately. And this sometimes results in unfairness to more mature children who may not be physically large though very mature.

[Browntggrr]

Obviously going into that much detail is absured. Nobody wants to hear about a fatality.

But just saying that there was an incident at another park and a determination was made to increase the height limit as a safety precaution would be fine.

Again a little information.

[The Interpreter]

I'm sure the reason they don't give out a little information is because it would immediately be followed by requests, and in some cases demands, that the rest be disclosed. Kind of like the reason ride operators are told to tell guests only that the ride is temporarily experiencing difficulties and (a) we are expecting only a minor delay or ( we suggest you go ride something else but you can continue to wait in line if you wish or © the line is now closed, we suggest you go ride something else. NOT that the problem is with a sensor, braking, etc. At some parks, at least, disclosing the type of problem to a guest can get the ride operator disciplined.

[Browntggrr]

From a ride operation, "is it running, or isn't it and why", yeah you are correct. But even mentioning that the ride is having technical difficulties is still a little information that can easily be followed by requests.

But as I am looking at: "What is the lesser of two evils."

1) Giving no indication as to why a policy has changed, thus leaving the guest confused and upset.

-or-

2) Mentioning that there was an incident at another park, and the height requirement has been changed as a safety precaution.

Not mentioning anything and just telling the guest nothing is rather poor customer service. Much like when a guest will go to customer service with a complaint, and the representative will not even try and smooth the situation over by apologizing for the guests' trouble.

[The Interpreter]

Several years ago, the height requirements on Racer and, I think, Adventure Express were raised. These changes were widely publicized, and it was explained in appearances and press releases that insurance and manufacturer's recommendations were taken into account in making the changes.

Later in the season, a woman came to the park with her small children. She then discovered, once inside the park, that her children could no longer ride The Racer and Adventure Express (again, the latter I think it was). She contacted GR, but wasn't satisfied. So she went to the local tv station "I need help" consumer affairs news feature thing. Jeff Seibert ended up refunding their money, if I remember correctly.

[PKIVortex]

Both of those rides have been changed several times in last 7 years. Racer and AE used to have a 42 inch height requirement, then went to 44 and now they are at 48 inches.

[shadow2k3]

You know, it really ticks me off about how some parents take it so personally. It's almost like we've done a disservice to them, and we're preventing them from having a good time. Dude/Lady/Uncle Joe, they're put there for a reason. We'd much rather see your kid sitting safely in the kiddie corral under the op's supervision than see your kid injured. That and we don't want to get sued.

Why I'm still talking like I work at the park is beyond me. O-o

-S