I’m a ride operator at kings island and a lot of parents get mad at me when I tell them they’re kid isn’t tall enough to ride, wish everybody watched this video before going to amusement parks
I've seen some problems occur when parents take height requirements as a proxy for how scary or psychologically intense a ride is--which it is not, not necessarily. For instance, Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom has a low height requirement of 40 inches, but a lot of the little kids who are physically safe to go on that ride end up not having a good time on it at all!
This is nowhere more evident than at my home park, Six Flags Magic Mountain. At 42 inches you can get on Ninja. But at 48 the door opens. Gold Rusher, and Revolution are some of the tamer rides in this category. However at 48 inches you are also good for X2, arguably the most intense and scariest ride in the United States. Height requirements aren’t a judge on what a child is ready to do, it’s just the lowest point at which the restraint can hold you securely and safely for the ride.
@@Amrepdude499 if we are talking intensely I'd argue el Toro in six flags great adventure since that ride literally pushes you around but I haven't rode x2 yet so I can't say if that's worse
As a kid I used to be upset that I wasn't tall enough or thick enough for some ride safety restraints.. A cast member overlooked this when I was around 13 I was a skinny 80 pounds and as tall as a hobbit, I was falling out if the ride Soar at Epcot on Teir/Level 3 and my aunt had to hold me the entire time. No one heard us yelling for help. Always take these seriously!
i nearly fell out of a flat ride at my school's fair when i was 9 as well. i was barely over the height requirement, and i was extremely underweight for my age and height. it felt like if i let go of the restraint i would've been thrown out of the ride 😬
@@pokemonfanwsbgalt8574 it was over a decade ago so unfortunately i don't remember much, but i do remember it was called "the dominator". from a quick google it seems to be owned by affordable rides australia now, and has been since the 90s.
Man I wish more people saw this video. I am a ride operator at Legoland Billund and, unfortunately a lot of people don't understand why the height thing is that important. We make no exception, even down to the millimeter, and some people get upset when they cant persuade us to let their child on anyway.
@@coasterbot unfortunately, as we have seen in great abundance over the last several years, the average person has a complete and fundamental lack of understanding for even the most basic possible scientific concepts
I think if a parent is going with a kid and they are a millimeter too short, if the rollercoaster isn’t very thrilling at all, then that’s the ONLY exception.
I am a ride operator, and the park I work at has some pretty rough bumper cars so we have signs everywhere explaining why our bumper cars are 42" requirement to ride AT ALL, if a child is any smaller, they could end up getting the safety lap bar smashed into their face. You would not believe the amount of parents who have been pissed off at me because of the height requirement, even when I explain the potential danger they think I am lying. Its ridiculous. I wish more people could see this video.
Similarly, the old swings ride at my park has a 48" height requirement since the only restraints are loose metal bars held in place by seatbelts. Of course I always feel bad when I stop the smaller kids from riding, but it's better than risking someone bumping into them or grabbing onto them and sending them flying during the ride.
The hulk coaster's ride requirement still makes me mad, though I understand entirely why it's as it is, because I went to ride with my parents the year I met 54 inches. I was checked at the entrance, we waited nearly 2-3 hours in the queue, and when we got to the loading dock, they loaded my parents into the coaster then checked my height again. This time, I failed by half an inch. Because the coaster was already loaded and apparently needed to get moving, they had me step across the train and wait on the other side, next to the operator, and had to watch for my parents to come back. I was heartbroken. I finally got to ride it the next time we visited years later and it was as awesome as my parents had proclaimed.
6:40 - went on steel vengeance with a friend yesterday, and noticed when I got to the front there was metal detectors. They also gave us lockers to put our stuff in for free. Turned out later I realized why they did that as the ride was far rougher than any other ride at Cedar Point.
It might have been cause I was so scrawny at the time but I remember the only time I rode X2 was when I was finally tall enough to do so (I don't remember if I was just barely 48 or taller) and I ended up terrified because I the restraints felt so loose on me and I genuinely thought I was gonna slip out 😖 Like I said, I may have just been tiny for my height but it's definitely weird that X2 has such a low height requirement!
X2 was the worst ride ever for me. The restraints were having constant issues, to the point where we were stuck in the heat just sitting there for like 10 minutes as they fixed the restraints on the riders behind us
Height requirements are tricky but many unfortunately see it as an indicator of what a child should do. It’s not. At my home park (Magic Mountain) at 48 inches you can get on X2 while to do West Coast Racers which is far tamer and honestly good for most families you need to be 54 inches. There’s no way I’d let my child onto X2 before they had a chance to experience some of the tamer coasters which are in the 54” height requirement
Very informative video, Harry. Safety is always the number one priority, so having proper height requirements is crucial to keeping everything safe. I tried going on a dragon coaster at a fair with a maximum height of 56 inches. Although the operator let me on, my legs would not fit into the seat. From that experience, I understand why those tiny coasters have maximum height requirements. Good work!
Working with the coasters in the efteling can me a nightmare sometimes. We have: 1.00, 1.10, 1.20, 1.30, 1.32, and 1,40 meter for 6 coasters, and the hights of the riders determines there place in the train. Python, Vogelrok and De Vliegende Hollander are the easy 3, just 1.20 and you can go. Joris en de Draak has 1.10 for the middel rows and 1.20 for the back and frond rows. Joris en de Draak is way more intens, but smaller childeren can ride it. Baron 1898 has 1.32 for the 2 seats left and right and 1.40 for the 2 middel seats, these are XL seats with 2 seat belts. A stupid thing that makes quest panic when the see they only have 1 belt XD Max en Morits....... they have 1.00 with an adult and 1.30 for riding allone... try explaning that to a guest by the gates of Python and Joris en de Draak. Efteling wants childeren to ride as many coaster as posible, thats were alle these lengts come from, but fore us its not always a farytail
@@Wolfsschamane most of those rides have these measuring boards near the entrances. Which parents can put their kids next too to see if they can ride it.
I’m at exactly 52 inches so height requirements are very important to me, and even being exactly the right height doesn’t mean the most comfortable ride…I’m thinking about you Vortex even after all these years, with a side of Chang
I know that maximums are important for safety, but as a tall person, it really sucks. Me being at such a young age and me already not being able to ride a quarter of Intamins really does suck
Iron Dragon's height requirement used to be only 46". They seem to have changed it recently. I was a tall child in the '90s (rode Magnum at 48" at 6 years old), and Iron Dragon used to be my favorite ride.
Thank you for this video. As a coaster op myself, it’s sometimes difficult for guests to understand the safety protocols that make up the height requirements.
I've hit my fingers on a crossbar just before reentering the station house on the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. The following year there was padding on that board. I hit my fingers again on it. The season after that the board was no longer there. The interesting things is I never told an employee or complained about it. The first time stung my fingers while the second time with the padding didn't.
Kiddie coasters like flight of the hippogriff definitely need a max height. Being a tall person sitting with my tall brother I remember being scared shitless as the lap bar only went a quarter of the way up our legs and no were near our hips due to the netting aspect and demographic. Honestly surprised we were allowed to ride.
When i was a kid (like 7) me and my dad was going to take a rollercoaster and we took one ride, then we came back and the staff said he couldn’t go on the ride bc he was too fat… he isn’t that fat but you know not skinny
Maximum height restrictions are in place on some roller coasters in the world. These are usually coasters with headchopper elements, as it's important (obviously) to ensure that the riders don't actually bang their heads.
Federal law in the US does not allow anyone under 36" or 3 years of age to ride anything except a carousel or ferris wheel. This requirement came from years of study in medicine, child development, insurance claims, chiropractors, and rehabilitation for injury. Its all because of head weight to body weight ratio. Smaller humans have a higher head weight ratio than larger humans, and this is directly linked to age.
This is either false or a bunch of parks are breaking the law. Many rides at Disney parks have no height requirement, and not just the carousels or Ferris wheels. There are also a few at universal parks with no height requirement. I have not come across a roller coaster with a height limit below 36” though, so it could be true specifically for roller coasters.
At the risk of putting some people off of roller coasters entirely, I feel like some parents need to read stories about people thrown or almost thrown out of coasters for not having a properly fitting restraint cause if I had a kid, you would NEVER catch me fussing at an operator to let little 46in Timmy onto the Shorts Shitter 2000 ride with a 48in requirement. You go to amusement parks to have fun, not fear for your kid's life.
It’s also similar in dividing weight with riders. Most fair rides mostly do this like Twister, Musik Express- ski lift and Cyclone. They sit the biggest person on the side on where the biggest force is at. It’s to keep younger and lighter people from being crushed by force from the other person and being thrown out. Edit: I had a typo
Its crazy how much more intense rides felt when I was really little, I can't imagine being able to get on a giga coaster when I was only like 4 feet tall lol. Even the kiddy coasters felt like insanity back then
In the german Costerfriends forum was a discussion a few weeks ago where some people just couldn't understand why some rides are possible for kids and some other, seemingly more harmless rides, not (based on height). I shared this video there, so maybe they will understand now and you will get some new followers. :)
And with all the guidance and reasoning around height restrictions, some parents still insist that their below height child, should be allowed to ride, Doh!
Unfortunately this is exactly why I never got to ride Mr Freeze or Batman while dad was alive. I did get to ride Flashback after it was moved to St Louis as well as The Boss, American Thunder, and Screaming Eagle at Six Flags St Louis because the ride operators were lenient there and didn't accurately measure me.
Child at SeaWorld Orlando in 2022: Mom, why can I ride that seat flipping fireball Metallica coaster in California but I can’t ride Ice Breaker? Mom: Because dear, comfort collars are stupid.
Do you have any insight on why they changed the height requirement for Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando for 48" to 54" to 48"? Were the comfort collars hurting shorter riders?
@@ElectriKong- Raising the height limit on a family coaster was a real galaxy brain decision. The comfort collars don't actually do anything in the way of safety, they just make inversions less intense, and are an optional add-on for Premier Rides coasters. Glad they realized they were shutting out a good percentage of their target audience and ditched the comfort collars.
the whole thing about intensity i didnt know, i think only some parks take that into consideration because when i went to plopsaland de panne in belgium my at the time 5 yr old sister could almost ride Ride to happiness, which i thought was more intense than the hulk.
What if they lower the mako height requirement to 52 inches but now it has a 54 inch requirement. To change the mako height requirement to 52 inches, they need to add seatbelts on every train and car and seats making mako with 2 restraints which will be a seatbelt and a lapbar
I am 38 years old. And i am a male. And i am 60 inches tall. Or 5'0 feet tall. Or 152.4 centimeters Tall. So i am tall enough to ride any rides safely.
As a 2m tall person it sucks that I am too tall for a lot of different ride types, mainly B&Ms and even some Intamins (basically everything with over the shoulder restraints).
I'm on the taller side (6'2). The only thing that worries me is that I'm just on the line of almost too tall. For example, I can ride every coaster, but I absolutely must not raise my arms. For example, at a certain ride at Orlando's Island's of adventure (I believe velociraptor) there is a ride that I was allowed to ride, but when we went past a certain structure where if I hadn't taken my hands down in time, it would have ripped my arms off.
A mild criticism: When giving the imperial measurement, we're talking about height requirements, so you really should be saying them in FEET and inches, not just inches.
So... what about weight requirements? I can imagine a very skinny but tall person being able to slip between the restraints, or a particularly heavy person upset the balance?
Tallest height requirement I've ever seen is 1.5m, for the enso seat on icon at blackpool pleasure beach! I saw that in the line and did a double take, I've never seen one above 1.4.
for some reason troy a wooden coaster i rid was 1.2 meter requirement my little brother almost went on but it goes like 30 meters up and down really steep and goes 90kmph im sure he would have hated it
At 79", the maximum height requirement is one of my biggest theme park fears. I already know there's quite a few rides I can't get on around the world, but I'm going to Orlando soon and I really hope none of the coasters at Universal have a maximum height below mine. I heard Rip Ride Rockit's limit is exactly 79", and well, that's the one I'm worried about.
Update: Went to Magic Mountain, and the Wonder Woman ride wasn't too nice on my shoulders. Most of the other rides with over-the-shoulder restraints were fine, just that one felt a bit bad. There's plenty of good rides that have simple lapbars there, too bad most of them were closed because Six Flags.
The Wonder Woman ride is the new one right? The restraints on that one don't seem the most comfortable. It's a shame most of the other lap-bar rides were closed for you!
@@coasterbot Yeah, it is. I will probably go on it again in the future, though, unlike Viper, which hurt my shoulders so bad I vowed to never get on it again.
i dont see why how height matters in intensity. I do see why it matters in safety. And i dont understand why a park would disallow for people to put their hands into the air. That makes me feel like the park itself is unsafe. And I also do not understand how height matters in safety of obstacles. Im 1.72meters but i have long arms compared to most people so i dont see how height matter for safety.
I'm on!y 5ft (60") I stopped going on some coasters bc even tho I meet the height requirements my head doesn't come up high enough thru some of the over the shoulder harnesses. My head n ears bang back n forth on the sides. It hurts!!! Thankfully my eardrums didn't burst but one time my hearing was muffled for a while from it n my ears are ALWAYS sore on the outside afterwards 😓
7:51 the same thing happened to Baron 1898 in the Efteling. When it opened the hight requirement was 1,40 meters, and at that time I was just 2 cm too short and very disappointed that I couldn't ride. But it was changed to 1,32 meters one or two years ago which I think is funny. 10 yo me would have liked it to be 1,32 from the beginning
Hello There, this is a great Video and it was interesting to hear about the impact that varying height resitrctions have in terms of accessbility and the overall g-forces that people of specific target audiences can enjoy throughout. Thank you for producing this and what were the different rides and attractions used in this Video? Keep up the good work! Cheers Peter :)
I´m just 1.88 m tall but i have in comperison very long legs which unable me to ride some family coaster like for example "Van Helsing" At movie Park or in the same park Bandit. where im just barely able to fit my legs in or in case of van helsing not able at all. In this cases the chase just need to be a little biger so i can put my legs in. really annoying.
I’m 6ft. So I’m able to ride roller coasters no problem. In fact growing up, I was always a big kid. I remember being able to ride most roller coasters when I was only 7 years old.
What is frustrating is that maximum height restrictions could be easily avoided if considered during the planning of the ride by designing the safety envelope with higher tolerances. As someone who is 2m of height and fits into pretty much all restraints, it's sad to see new rides (often with 1,95 or 2m height restrictions) to open having such restrictions.
This is overall a really irrelevant comment. Really all I wanted to say is that ride requirements dont mean everything to a child’s experience at a family park, but I kind of went on a rant. If you would like to read that, you are welcome to I guess. When I was a young child, I lived under 30 minutes away from SeaWorld and went to the park quite often. As such, SeaWorld is a large part of my childhood. There are many parts about the park that I loved, but I especially enjoyed the attractions I could go on. I have always enjoyed coasters and always had the desire to go on the biggest and most intense attraction possible; however, when I visited SeaWorld, I couldn’t go on any of the what I called “big kid” coasters. Even so, seeing these coasters in the park never disappointed me as a child. From a young age, I kind of concluded that there were two “parts” to theme parks: the smaller coasters and the larger coasters. I wanted to go on the larger coasters, but I understood that I was too little (I was told by my parents for safety reasons). Contrary to how others may feel, not being able to go on larger coasters just made me more excited to one day be able to go on them. It kind of became a family joke that I was going to sneak on the big coasters such as Kraken with my dad (even though I never would; I understood the reasons well) which added to the experience of the park altogether. Additionally, there were enough smaller attractions, shows, and extra activities to keep me satisfied throughout my childhood years, even without the biggest pull factor of the park being accessible to me. In my opinion, SeaWorld attempts to be both a family and thrill park, and it does a relatively good job at it. I loved SeaWorld when I was younger and continue to love SeaWorld as I grow older (and I enjoy the coasters there; my younger self did a great job picking out Montu for older me to ride on). For children, scary rides aren’t always the focus for a park. There are many things that children will enjoy just as much or even more than coasters, and I feel that is relevant in choosing what rides will be added as well. Idk I kind of just went on a rant sorry
and then parents get all pissed off why they're little five-year-old isn't allowed to ride Incredible Hulk, even though they paid a bunch of money to get in sorry that they care about your kids safety more than you do
Nice video! My local themepark is Hansapark in germany and my 7yo. son always wants us to visit Heide Park. But while in Hansapark he is allowed to ride all but one coaster (and even my 4yo. can ride 50% of the coasters) in heidepark he is allowed to ride only ~2 out of 8 or something like that. One thing that you didn't take into account is age-requirements. Especially in Heidepark are many rides only for guests age 14 or older. Why is this? Why can't they just offer to let younger guests ride with their parents?
Is it possible the Nemesis height minimum would decrease with the retrack? I couldnt see it just from the perspective of consistency with the other rides but I'm curious.
I remember the first amusement park I went to - which was also the most frequent in my youth - for most of the rides you had to be at least 36 in. to ride, and 48 in. to ride without an adult. Basically, I didn't ride any rides alone until I was six.
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Goofy ahh COASTER BOT emoji💀💀💀
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_"There you go! Now you know why height requirements exist, how they're determined, and _*_how they can be manipulated_*_ "_
7:56 and 8:01 You mean to tell me that this is.................The ONLY Giga Coaster In The World, suitable for families?
What if your too tall
I’m a ride operator at kings island and a lot of parents get mad at me when I tell them they’re kid isn’t tall enough to ride, wish everybody watched this video before going to amusement parks
there*
Especially when their head JUST grazes the mark
ME TOO except dollywood… they get so angry for no reason
@@marposted their*
@@trexnewsvideos Yea Ik now I didn’t wanna correct myself again
I've seen some problems occur when parents take height requirements as a proxy for how scary or psychologically intense a ride is--which it is not, not necessarily. For instance, Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom has a low height requirement of 40 inches, but a lot of the little kids who are physically safe to go on that ride end up not having a good time on it at all!
This is nowhere more evident than at my home park, Six Flags Magic Mountain. At 42 inches you can get on Ninja. But at 48 the door opens. Gold Rusher, and Revolution are some of the tamer rides in this category. However at 48 inches you are also good for X2, arguably the most intense and scariest ride in the United States. Height requirements aren’t a judge on what a child is ready to do, it’s just the lowest point at which the restraint can hold you securely and safely for the ride.
@@Amrepdude499 Gold Rusher is a 48 inch requirement? That's crazy, knowing that Trailblazer at Hershey is 36
then I see kids on some scary ass rides and I'm like well if a little kid can do it then I can too
@@Amrepdude499 if we are talking intensely I'd argue el Toro in six flags great adventure since that ride literally pushes you around but I haven't rode x2 yet so I can't say if that's worse
Dude that ride traumatized me
As a kid I used to be upset that I wasn't tall enough or thick enough for some ride safety restraints.. A cast member overlooked this when I was around 13 I was a skinny 80 pounds and as tall as a hobbit, I was falling out if the ride Soar at Epcot on Teir/Level 3 and my aunt had to hold me the entire time. No one heard us yelling for help.
Always take these seriously!
i nearly fell out of a flat ride at my school's fair when i was 9 as well. i was barely over the height requirement, and i was extremely underweight for my age and height. it felt like if i let go of the restraint i would've been thrown out of the ride 😬
@@j_0annawhat was the ride model?
@@pokemonfanwsbgalt8574 it was over a decade ago so unfortunately i don't remember much, but i do remember it was called "the dominator". from a quick google it seems to be owned by affordable rides australia now, and has been since the 90s.
Man I wish more people saw this video. I am a ride operator at Legoland Billund and, unfortunately a lot of people don't understand why the height thing is that important. We make no exception, even down to the millimeter, and some people get upset when they cant persuade us to let their child on anyway.
Thanks for the comment, it is a little strange that people don't think height requirements are very important
@@coasterbot unfortunately, as we have seen in great abundance over the last several years, the average person has a complete and fundamental lack of understanding for even the most basic possible scientific concepts
@@protowavetrue , ride operator at Six Flags Over Texas and I have to excourt adult riders from my area (Bugs Bunny Boomtown )
I think if a parent is going with a kid and they are a millimeter too short, if the rollercoaster isn’t very thrilling at all, then that’s the ONLY exception.
@@Galaxia_Moon there's no scientific measurement for "thrilling". it's a good thing that there are no exceptions.
I am a ride operator, and the park I work at has some pretty rough bumper cars so we have signs everywhere explaining why our bumper cars are 42" requirement to ride AT ALL, if a child is any smaller, they could end up getting the safety lap bar smashed into their face.
You would not believe the amount of parents who have been pissed off at me because of the height requirement, even when I explain the potential danger they think I am lying. Its ridiculous. I wish more people could see this video.
Similarly, the old swings ride at my park has a 48" height requirement since the only restraints are loose metal bars held in place by seatbelts.
Of course I always feel bad when I stop the smaller kids from riding, but it's better than risking someone bumping into them or grabbing onto them and sending them flying during the ride.
Those parents are the same type to complain about any injuries if their child was let on despite the danger signs
The hulk coaster's ride requirement still makes me mad, though I understand entirely why it's as it is, because I went to ride with my parents the year I met 54 inches. I was checked at the entrance, we waited nearly 2-3 hours in the queue, and when we got to the loading dock, they loaded my parents into the coaster then checked my height again. This time, I failed by half an inch. Because the coaster was already loaded and apparently needed to get moving, they had me step across the train and wait on the other side, next to the operator, and had to watch for my parents to come back. I was heartbroken. I finally got to ride it the next time we visited years later and it was as awesome as my parents had proclaimed.
Glad you finally got to go on it later on.
I can see how upsetting that is
i love how coaster bot is making videos to ease in the general public that are just getting into coasters
6:40 - went on steel vengeance with a friend yesterday, and noticed when I got to the front there was metal detectors. They also gave us lockers to put our stuff in for free.
Turned out later I realized why they did that as the ride was far rougher than any other ride at Cedar Point.
Interesting point!
We found SV almost too intense. A truly crazy ride experience.
Interesting.
The craziest one to me is X2 being 48” (1.2m) I just can’t imagine that the kids who can barely ride the arrow mine train gold rusher can also ride X2
Gotta turn the boys into men somehow
It might have been cause I was so scrawny at the time but I remember the only time I rode X2 was when I was finally tall enough to do so (I don't remember if I was just barely 48 or taller) and I ended up terrified because I the restraints felt so loose on me and I genuinely thought I was gonna slip out 😖 Like I said, I may have just been tiny for my height but it's definitely weird that X2 has such a low height requirement!
X2 was the worst ride ever for me. The restraints were having constant issues, to the point where we were stuck in the heat just sitting there for like 10 minutes as they fixed the restraints on the riders behind us
Height requirements are tricky but many unfortunately see it as an indicator of what a child should do. It’s not. At my home park (Magic Mountain) at 48 inches you can get on X2 while to do West Coast Racers which is far tamer and honestly good for most families you need to be 54 inches. There’s no way I’d let my child onto X2 before they had a chance to experience some of the tamer coasters which are in the 54” height requirement
Very informative video, Harry. Safety is always the number one priority, so having proper height requirements is crucial to keeping everything safe. I tried going on a dragon coaster at a fair with a maximum height of 56 inches. Although the operator let me on, my legs would not fit into the seat. From that experience, I understand why those tiny coasters have maximum height requirements. Good work!
Working with the coasters in the efteling can me a nightmare sometimes. We have: 1.00, 1.10, 1.20, 1.30, 1.32, and 1,40 meter for 6 coasters, and the hights of the riders determines there place in the train.
Python, Vogelrok and De Vliegende Hollander are the easy 3, just 1.20 and you can go.
Joris en de Draak has 1.10 for the middel rows and 1.20 for the back and frond rows. Joris en de Draak is way more intens, but smaller childeren can ride it.
Baron 1898 has 1.32 for the 2 seats left and right and 1.40 for the 2 middel seats, these are XL seats with 2 seat belts. A stupid thing that makes quest panic when the see they only have 1 belt XD
Max en Morits....... they have 1.00 with an adult and 1.30 for riding allone... try explaning that to a guest by the gates of Python and Joris en de Draak.
Efteling wants childeren to ride as many coaster as posible, thats were alle these lengts come from, but fore us its not always a farytail
that's really interesting. thanks for the detailed info!
How does that even work? Do you go and messure by hand in doubt? This sounds completely confusing as a guest too.
@@Wolfsschamane most of those rides have these measuring boards near the entrances. Which parents can put their kids next too to see if they can ride it.
TLDR: Because the manufacturer says that’s how tall you need to be, to be safe- repeated in every possible variation for 12 minutes.
I’m at exactly 52 inches so height requirements are very important to me, and even being exactly the right height doesn’t mean the most comfortable ride…I’m thinking about you Vortex even after all these years, with a side of Chang
I know that maximums are important for safety, but as a tall person, it really sucks. Me being at such a young age and me already not being able to ride a quarter of Intamins really does suck
It does suck but safety comes first
@@coasterbot better to be safe than sorry
Unless you're over 81" you can ride pretty much everything in the U.S except Pantheon at BG.
When I went to Busch gardens and forgot to check my height on Montu and some said I wasn’t tall enough but I think that the worker was tricking me.
The fact that arrow mine trains and RMC’s have the same height requirement
Iron Dragon's height requirement used to be only 46". They seem to have changed it recently. I was a tall child in the '90s (rode Magnum at 48" at 6 years old), and Iron Dragon used to be my favorite ride.
Thank you for this video. As a coaster op myself, it’s sometimes difficult for guests to understand the safety protocols that make up the height requirements.
I've hit my fingers on a crossbar just before reentering the station house on the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. The following year there was padding on that board. I hit my fingers again on it. The season after that the board was no longer there. The interesting things is I never told an employee or complained about it. The first time stung my fingers while the second time with the padding didn't.
Kiddie coasters like flight of the hippogriff definitely need a max height. Being a tall person sitting with my tall brother I remember being scared shitless as the lap bar only went a quarter of the way up our legs and no were near our hips due to the netting aspect and demographic. Honestly surprised we were allowed to ride.
I feel you man when I went and felt like I was going to die at 6’3
When i was a kid (like 7) me and my dad was going to take a rollercoaster and we took one ride, then we came back and the staff said he couldn’t go on the ride bc he was too fat… he isn’t that fat but you know not skinny
Maximum height restrictions are in place on some roller coasters in the world. These are usually coasters with headchopper elements, as it's important (obviously) to ensure that the riders don't actually bang their heads.
Federal law in the US does not allow anyone under 36" or 3 years of age to ride anything except a carousel or ferris wheel. This requirement came from years of study in medicine, child development, insurance claims, chiropractors, and rehabilitation for injury.
Its all because of head weight to body weight ratio. Smaller humans have a higher head weight ratio than larger humans, and this is directly linked to age.
LOL Suprise and Bratz, never changed their ratios, or Betty Boop for that matter.
This is either false or a bunch of parks are breaking the law. Many rides at Disney parks have no height requirement, and not just the carousels or Ferris wheels. There are also a few at universal parks with no height requirement. I have not come across a roller coaster with a height limit below 36” though, so it could be true specifically for roller coasters.
What is the source for this? I couldn't find anything online.
At the risk of putting some people off of roller coasters entirely, I feel like some parents need to read stories about people thrown or almost thrown out of coasters for not having a properly fitting restraint cause if I had a kid, you would NEVER catch me fussing at an operator to let little 46in Timmy onto the Shorts Shitter 2000 ride with a 48in requirement. You go to amusement parks to have fun, not fear for your kid's life.
The height restrictions are there for everyone's safety. It's not safe to have a child under the restriction ride the roller coaster!
@@coasterbotI rode veliciraptor at IMG and the requirement is 130cm
It’s also similar in dividing weight with riders. Most fair rides mostly do this like Twister, Musik Express- ski lift and Cyclone. They sit the biggest person on the side on where the biggest force is at. It’s to keep younger and lighter people from being crushed by force from the other person and being thrown out.
Edit: I had a typo
I remember being a little kid and sitting on the wrong side of my very tall father on one of those once. Never made that mistake again!
@@stephaniedesmond8329 Sometimes the tilt-a-whirl
@@stephaniedesmond8329 the EXPRESS fair rides always have that problem
I think you should make a video about the new coaster at Liseberg: Luna, which is a boomerang coaster on top of the mountain at Liseberg
Its crazy how much more intense rides felt when I was really little, I can't imagine being able to get on a giga coaster when I was only like 4 feet tall lol. Even the kiddy coasters felt like insanity back then
Love being 204cm and having most attractions set a maximum height for 2m.
love the content ❤❤❤
In the german Costerfriends forum was a discussion a few weeks ago where some people just couldn't understand why some rides are possible for kids and some other, seemingly more harmless rides, not (based on height). I shared this video there, so maybe they will understand now and you will get some new followers. :)
As a 10 year old tall enough to ride El Toro,Kingda Ka,Incredible Hulk,Top thrill 2, and more I shall stand proud
A surprising amount of rollercoasters also have a height limit, but it’s usually not stated.
I watched this video unironically just after i came back home from alton towers
That's awesome, I hope you had a great time!
NEW COASTER BOT VIDEOOOOO
its a good day when coaster bot uploads
And with all the guidance and reasoning around height restrictions, some parents still insist that their below height child, should be allowed to ride, Doh!
Unfortunately this is exactly why I never got to ride Mr Freeze or Batman while dad was alive.
I did get to ride Flashback after it was moved to St Louis as well as The Boss, American Thunder, and Screaming Eagle at Six Flags St Louis because the ride operators were lenient there and didn't accurately measure me.
Child at SeaWorld Orlando in 2022: Mom, why can I ride that seat flipping fireball Metallica coaster in California but I can’t ride Ice Breaker?
Mom: Because dear, comfort collars are stupid.
Well now it’s back to 48 in since they removed the comfort collars
Yeah strange. Also same thing happened with Manhattan Express. It originally was 46" from what I heard, and its now 54".
Do you have any insight on why they changed the height requirement for Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando for 48" to 54" to 48"?
Were the comfort collars hurting shorter riders?
Yes. I think shorter riders were hitting their heads/faces on the buckle of the comfort collars.
@@ElectriKong- Raising the height limit on a family coaster was a real galaxy brain decision. The comfort collars don't actually do anything in the way of safety, they just make inversions less intense, and are an optional add-on for Premier Rides coasters. Glad they realized they were shutting out a good percentage of their target audience and ditched the comfort collars.
You forgot to mention Rock n Roller Coaster's minimum height requirement
when i was 4 i went to a big roller coaster in canobie lake
Love these informative videos👍🏽
Thank you 😊
the whole thing about intensity i didnt know, i think only some parks take that into consideration because when i went to plopsaland de panne in belgium my at the time 5 yr old sister could almost ride Ride to happiness, which i thought was more intense than the hulk.
I was a pretty tall 9 year old, rode the hulk's rollercoaster in universal studios, i DO NOT regret it! loved the experience
How could you ride it at 9, my 16 year old sisters were too scared😅😅😅
It's crazy how you can ride the smiler when you're 1.4m but you can't ride a pinfari RC70 lol...
What if they lower the mako height requirement to 52 inches but now it has a 54 inch requirement. To change the mako height requirement to 52 inches, they need to add seatbelts on every train and car and seats making mako with 2 restraints which will be a seatbelt and a lapbar
I am 38 years old. And i am a male. And i am 60 inches tall. Or 5'0 feet tall. Or 152.4 centimeters Tall. So i am tall enough to ride any rides safely.
As a 2m tall person it sucks that I am too tall for a lot of different ride types, mainly B&Ms and even some Intamins (basically everything with over the shoulder restraints).
I'm on the taller side (6'2). The only thing that worries me is that I'm just on the line of almost too tall. For example, I can ride every coaster, but I absolutely must not raise my arms. For example, at a certain ride at Orlando's Island's of adventure (I believe velociraptor) there is a ride that I was allowed to ride, but when we went past a certain structure where if I hadn't taken my hands down in time, it would have ripped my arms off.
A mild criticism: When giving the imperial measurement, we're talking about height requirements, so you really should be saying them in FEET and inches, not just inches.
lots of walibi shots. i love it
I was only able to ride Kennywood's Laser Loop during it's last season thanks to a handful of napkins in my shoes.
Lol that hulk one was not me when I was a kid😂 I cried when I couldn’t ride it
2:49 BARON VAN DE EFTELINGGG
Even though I'm under the maximum height, my torso is soo long that I haven't been allowed to ride on a lot of rides :(
That sucks, sorry!
So... what about weight requirements? I can imagine a very skinny but tall person being able to slip between the restraints, or a particularly heavy person upset the balance?
Tallest height requirement I've ever seen is 1.5m, for the enso seat on icon at blackpool pleasure beach! I saw that in the line and did a double take, I've never seen one above 1.4.
That's a good shout, I forgot the Enso seat has a higher requirement
for some reason troy a wooden coaster i rid was 1.2 meter requirement my little brother almost went on but it goes like 30 meters up and down really steep and goes 90kmph im sure he would have hated it
Sometimes the height restrictions doesn't match the intensity of the ride, like on Troy! It's still perfectly safe for anyone above 1.2m
My friends little brother can ride railblazer at CGA but not patriot at the same park
Interesting!
Hello, reprsenting the too tall club here!
i feel stupid that i have to search inches to feet, since I'm used to feet for peoples height and stuff
I really want to go on the smiler but im only 1.3 meters tall
Hopefully you'll be tall enough soon!
At 79", the maximum height requirement is one of my biggest theme park fears. I already know there's quite a few rides I can't get on around the world, but I'm going to Orlando soon and I really hope none of the coasters at Universal have a maximum height below mine. I heard Rip Ride Rockit's limit is exactly 79", and well, that's the one I'm worried about.
Update: Went to Magic Mountain, and the Wonder Woman ride wasn't too nice on my shoulders. Most of the other rides with over-the-shoulder restraints were fine, just that one felt a bit bad. There's plenty of good rides that have simple lapbars there, too bad most of them were closed because Six Flags.
The Wonder Woman ride is the new one right? The restraints on that one don't seem the most comfortable. It's a shame most of the other lap-bar rides were closed for you!
@@coasterbot Yeah, it is. I will probably go on it again in the future, though, unlike Viper, which hurt my shoulders so bad I vowed to never get on it again.
Hey great video! Just wondering what ride is in the thumbnail of the video?
When I was 11 I went on hulk and velocicoaster
im 7 but i just love rolercoasters
i dont see why how height matters in intensity. I do see why it matters in safety. And i dont understand why a park would disallow for people to put their hands into the air. That makes me feel like the park itself is unsafe. And I also do not understand how height matters in safety of obstacles. Im 1.72meters but i have long arms compared to most people so i dont see how height matter for safety.
But what happens if you're too tall
You won't be able to ride, simple!
I feel better about the maximum height requirement now, I thought it was the max height before you get decapitated 😂
I'm not sure many people would ride roller coasters if that were true! Ha ha 😂
I'm on!y 5ft (60") I stopped going on some coasters bc even tho I meet the height requirements my head doesn't come up high enough thru some of the over the shoulder harnesses. My head n ears bang back n forth on the sides. It hurts!!! Thankfully my eardrums didn't burst but one time my hearing was muffled for a while from it n my ears are ALWAYS sore on the outside afterwards 😓
lol in germany there's only maximum height requirements, as a 149cm female i see it as an absolute win
I am a 13 y/o girl and 174cm about 68inches and can safely say I can ride every ride.
I can ride most roller coasters, I’m ten and I’m 1.4 meters! So I can ride most roller coasters
I can ride the worlds tallest coaster all of a sudden
I have the opposite case, I'm very tall so I can't ride some coasters :/
same problem here.
i woke up when he uploaded
What they need to do is start catering to bigger/larger in size guests. Heavy people like rides too.
7:51 the same thing happened to Baron 1898 in the Efteling. When it opened the hight requirement was 1,40 meters, and at that time I was just 2 cm too short and very disappointed that I couldn't ride. But it was changed to 1,32 meters one or two years ago which I think is funny. 10 yo me would have liked it to be 1,32 from the beginning
An that's interesting to hear! Shame it wasn't lower when you were younger
My height is 139 cm and I cant ride tons of things
Grow 1cm and you'll be able to ride everything!
@@coasterbot Im the shortest in my school 😭im already 13......
Baron 1898! i love efteling
2:49 btw
This makes me curious whether a person with dwarfism (or any adult who doesn't meet the height requirement) would be allowed to ride or not
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I thought it was just so you don’t fall out 😂
That is part of it!
“It can be different in other countries.” “In Europe…” since when is Europe a country? 🤔
It's not, but it is a collection of countries!
My cousin Sophie 9 years old and 136cm or something went on hulk, also I’m taller than her 😂
Hello There, this is a great Video and it was interesting to hear about the impact that varying height resitrctions have in terms of accessbility and the overall g-forces that people of specific target audiences can enjoy throughout. Thank you for producing this and what were the different rides and attractions used in this Video? Keep up the good work! Cheers Peter :)
I can ride any ride 😎
I´m just 1.88 m tall but i have in comperison very long legs which unable me to ride some family coaster like for example "Van Helsing" At movie Park or in the same park Bandit. where im just barely able to fit my legs in or in case of van helsing not able at all. In this cases the chase just need to be a little biger so i can put my legs in. really annoying.
I think the universe knew I’d like rollercoasters because I stopped growing once I got to 6’4 since so many rides have a max height of 6’5
Just slouch a bit if you're 6'5"-6'6". Any taller than that is best to not ride probably
at La Ronde and Canada's Wonderland, they use inches for height requirement but other parks in canada use meters
I'm 4 feet, 2inches 😢
Boaster Cot?
Was wondering why my son could ride storm chaser but not Steel Vengeance, makes sense now. Thanks again Coaster Bot.
I’m 6ft. So I’m able to ride roller coasters no problem. In fact growing up, I was always a big kid. I remember being able to ride most roller coasters when I was only 7 years old.
What is frustrating is that maximum height restrictions could be easily avoided if considered during the planning of the ride by designing the safety envelope with higher tolerances. As someone who is 2m of height and fits into pretty much all restraints, it's sad to see new rides (often with 1,95 or 2m height restrictions) to open having such restrictions.
What is 2m like 6-6 you could probably slouch a bit and be fine for the 6-4 maximums. Never heard of any maximum lower than that
This is overall a really irrelevant comment. Really all I wanted to say is that ride requirements dont mean everything to a child’s experience at a family park, but I kind of went on a rant. If you would like to read that, you are welcome to I guess.
When I was a young child, I lived under 30 minutes away from SeaWorld and went to the park quite often. As such, SeaWorld is a large part of my childhood. There are many parts about the park that I loved, but I especially enjoyed the attractions I could go on. I have always enjoyed coasters and always had the desire to go on the biggest and most intense attraction possible; however, when I visited SeaWorld, I couldn’t go on any of the what I called “big kid” coasters. Even so, seeing these coasters in the park never disappointed me as a child. From a young age, I kind of concluded that there were two “parts” to theme parks: the smaller coasters and the larger coasters. I wanted to go on the larger coasters, but I understood that I was too little (I was told by my parents for safety reasons). Contrary to how others may feel, not being able to go on larger coasters just made me more excited to one day be able to go on them. It kind of became a family joke that I was going to sneak on the big coasters such as Kraken with my dad (even though I never would; I understood the reasons well) which added to the experience of the park altogether. Additionally, there were enough smaller attractions, shows, and extra activities to keep me satisfied throughout my childhood years, even without the biggest pull factor of the park being accessible to me.
In my opinion, SeaWorld attempts to be both a family and thrill park, and it does a relatively good job at it. I loved SeaWorld when I was younger and continue to love SeaWorld as I grow older (and I enjoy the coasters there; my younger self did a great job picking out Montu for older me to ride on). For children, scary rides aren’t always the focus for a park. There are many things that children will enjoy just as much or even more than coasters, and I feel that is relevant in choosing what rides will be added as well.
Idk I kind of just went on a rant sorry
I'm tall enough to ride all rollercoasters.
Hell yeah!
and then parents get all pissed off why they're little five-year-old isn't allowed to ride Incredible Hulk, even though they paid a bunch of money to get in
sorry that they care about your kids safety more than you do
Nice video! My local themepark is Hansapark in germany and my 7yo. son always wants us to visit Heide Park. But while in Hansapark he is allowed to ride all but one coaster (and even my 4yo. can ride 50% of the coasters) in heidepark he is allowed to ride only ~2 out of 8 or something like that.
One thing that you didn't take into account is age-requirements. Especially in Heidepark are many rides only for guests age 14 or older. Why is this? Why can't they just offer to let younger guests ride with their parents?
Is it possible the Nemesis height minimum would decrease with the retrack? I couldnt see it just from the perspective of consistency with the other rides but I'm curious.
I remember the first amusement park I went to - which was also the most frequent in my youth - for most of the rides you had to be at least 36 in. to ride, and 48 in. to ride without an adult. Basically, I didn't ride any rides alone until I was six.