Cedar Point Puts Size Limit On Coaster Riders

New Seat Belt Position Won't Fit Some People

UPDATED: 9:30 AM EDT May 20, 2004

SANDUSKY, Ohio -- Some Cedar Point visitors may need to shed a few pounds to ride one of the park's most popular coasters.

NewsChannel5's Linda Passariello reported how new seatbelt positions on the Millennium Force may not fit some of the coaster's bigger riders.

The ride has thrilled millions since it opened in 2000, but some riders who've been on Millennium in the past are now being turned away.

Two summers ago, Tony Ventresco, of Youngstown, had no problem riding the roller coaster.

But now, Ventresco, along with other borderline bigger riders, are finding the Millennium's seatbelts a little snugger.

Cedar Point officials say the ride's manufacturer mandated the seatbelt brackets be repositioned after a man was killed when he fell off the Superman coaster at Six Flags New England.

Discuss: Cedar Point's Coaster Restrictions

"What it does is make it a little more snug, tight, and, unfortunately, prevents some riders who were able to ride in last year from riding it this year," said Robin Innes, public relations director at Cedar Point.

"I'm not much larger than anybody else ... I feel it would be unfair ... I'd be a little upset if they said I couldn't ride," said Ventresco.

Signs are posted, and ride operators pull questionable guests out of line to try the test seat.

But some guests make it all the way onto the ride before they realize the seatbelt's a tight squeeze.

It not only has to fit, there has to be a certain amount of slack on the belt before the riders get a "thumbs up" to ride.

So far, Millennium Force is the only ride affected by the stricter seatbelt guideline.

Cedar Point admits they've had some complaints, but they also point out their Web site, where they talk about size limitations for certain rides.

Didn't millenium force also have a t-bar restraint system?

If so then PKI doesnt have any t-bars thus we shouldnt see the problem.

Tiny

Yeah, this should be just for Intamin T-style restraints. Since PKI's only Intamin is DZ, and it doesn't have T-bar rrestraints, we shouldn't have any issues.

well the seatbelts on beast really suck when it comes to having to check an entire side by yourself...

you get to about halfway and you have to let a person out to get their seatbelt fixed or they are sitting on them.... by the time you fix it you have all the trains stacked... and they wonder why our capacity is a lil lower than last year...

yeah PKI shouldn't have anything to do with this, and i think this is a safe move by CP because now they are making sure everyone will be safe riding the Force.

This is called Covering thy asses after the S:ROS stuff.

I bet CP has made a lot of people mad. Now, I'm not sure if the friend I went with last year to CP will be able to fit. I'm getting worried about myself. I'm 5'11" and weigh 205 to 210. I think it was stated that around 220 lbs., you may not fit any more. And I am not a large person.

Back on topic, this will not affect PKI as stated before that they have no Intamin coasters with tbar restraints.

In an e-mail to a friend of mine, CP swears that if your waist is less than 40", you should be fine. Another friend of mine has a muscular build, and though smaller than the 40", could not fit.

When you go back, you are allowed to go up the exit to try your luck in an actual train....do not rely on the test seat.

Yeah, this should be just for Intamin T-style restraints. Since PKI's only Intamin is DZ, and it doesn't have T-bar rrestraints, we shouldn't have any issues.

We have other Intamin's, such as White Water Canyon.

Plus the Eiffel Tower, Congo, and Ship are Intamin

Yes, but all of those rides do not have individual locking lapbars like the Intamin coasters. Apparantly, the Intamin T-bar lapbars have had some issues, and the shorter seat belt size is an attempt by Intamin to fix the issues without installing new lapbars on all the trains.

I don't think shortening the seatbelts is a real solution to the problem. I think Intamin should have to go back and retrofit old cars with the new t-bar restraints like on Dragster. Have you noticed that B&M does not have this problem? They can generally accomodate larger guests.

The reasoning behind the shorter seatbelts is that the bar will be closer to the guests waist, so that it will be harder to slip out. I think that they should not have to rely on the seatbelts either, but should instead redesign the restraints so that they can accomodate guests with larger proportions.