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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I could go on rides at theme park?

113 replies

EightOfHearts · 28/10/2023 16:05

I'm on holiday with husband's family in the Netherlands and today we went to a theme park. We got on the first ride and the lap bar wouldn't fit and I'm asked to leave, absolutely mortified.

I was then careful to use the seat checkers when available and could not fit in any, other rides I just had to risk it. I found this very embarrassing particularly as it was infront of IL family who were very kind but I just could of cried all day. I would of gone home but as there were 8 of us and we'd car shared I couldn't as I didn't want to ruin anyone else's day.

The only rides I could go on were the log flume and rapids which didn't need any safety bars.

I'm size 20 and have only recently become this size - pre baby I was size 14/16 but the weight just piled on in pregnancy and ever since (baby now 9 months). I feel so stupid that I never even considered that this would be an issue. I know I'm overweight and it's become a problem but I just didn't think I was that big. AIBU or would others have thought someone size 20 couldn't go on most rides?

OP posts:
WYorkshireRose · 28/10/2023 18:42

EightOfHearts · 28/10/2023 16:24

Thanks for the replies. I just found today so upsetting/ shocking and I feel like maybe I'm kidding myself and I'm much bigger than I think I am.

I mean if you're a size 20 then yes, you're big. Are you actively trying to lose weight? If today's experience has been a shock, it could actually be helpful to bottle that feeling and use it as incentive to start losing the weight for the sake of your health.

PaperDoIIs · 28/10/2023 18:44

Out of curiosity, were you also wearing a thick , bulky coat?

lechatnoir · 28/10/2023 18:51

As someone who has been a size 20 and had to deal with airplane extension belts, not fitting in cinema seats, public toilets, the shame of shopping on the high street etc, I'm really sorry you had to deal with this but not surprised. I wouldn't have even tried a ride when I was a size 20 and it's only now I've lost some weight that I've realised/admitted to myself quite how big I was.

Anyone telling you size 20 isn't big or you can be healthy and a picture of good health at a size 20 is kidding you, themselves or most likely both. It took a similar shock to give me a kick up the arse and start being in the right frame of mind to actually lose the weight so hopefully it will be the same for you too.

Don't be hard on yourself but do be honest. Feel free to pm me I honestly not saying this to shame you but I've been there and managed to make changes

sparklefresh · 28/10/2023 18:51

TookTheBook · 28/10/2023 17:32

I'm genuinely surprised at that list. Most of the places I shop consider an L a size 14 and it's quite hard to imagine where larger people buy clothes in that bubble. Clearly I don't get out much (to the high street).

Wow. 'You're fat and poor' is peak teeny tiny £100k+ MN 👏🏼

DiscoBeat · 28/10/2023 18:52

It's a safety thing. Recently at a theme park my slim 13YO was sitting next to someone in a rollercoaster who could barely get the lap bar over them so my son was loose inside his seat - the lap bar wouldn't go down properly over him. He tried to get an attendant's attention but failed and it took off with him not secured in. So it is so important that people can fit in the seat.

AllrightNowBaby · 28/10/2023 18:56

You are not kidding yourself, size 20 is pretty big if you are normally a 14/16
Don’t let people tell you it’s fine, you’ve just had a baby.
It’s not fine and maybe this is the wake-up call you need to get back to your normal size.
Do it over this Winter and look and feel fab by Spring 🥳

MaryShelley1818 · 28/10/2023 18:57

Some of these replies really show how ignorant a lot of people are.
I'm a size 18-20. Yes it's big, and yes I should be smaller, no question about that.

However I'm a regular theme park goer - Efteling, Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Legoland, Paultons Park, Portaventura, Zoo Marine etc etc and have NEVER not fit on a ride and a lot of people a LOT bigger than me are also riding. The people saying rides are not made for us fatties are just simply factually incorrect. Unfortunately I think it's proportions more than dress size.

I have also never NEVER had problems buying clothes from high street, supermarkets, department stores and lots of designer wear. I did laugh at the comment that at this size you can't get clothes. Utter rubbish. (Whether you find that "right" or not).

mogsrus · 28/10/2023 18:58

A lot of rides are snug fit especially around the leg area & you find your knees up to your chin, there is a genuine medical reason why you end up sitting in a Z position. The speed & inertia of the ride can increase the blood flow from the feet to the rest of the body & could cause serious damage to a person. so the Z position acts like a brake to the blood speed

IsThereABarUpThere · 28/10/2023 19:04

The things in this world should cater for larger people, but that can't be the case when it compromises for safety.

A size 20 is big. Rides aren't designed for obese people.

Lookatmytoes · 28/10/2023 19:07

Most of us have the odd moment when we have to confess that we have got a bit bigger than planned. I don’t even think sizes matter - they are so inconsistent and varied according to shops and styles. Just check your weight against your usual normality and try and gently ease back toward it. I noticed today that my coat wouldn’t do up and it did last winter. There is no shame in being a bit fat and it is something we can work in. You have had in places some shitty replies on this thread - I trust your in laws are much nicer.

Barnowlsandbluebells · 28/10/2023 19:09

sparklefresh · 28/10/2023 18:51

Wow. 'You're fat and poor' is peak teeny tiny £100k+ MN 👏🏼

Show quote history

Many high end luxury brands make bigger sizes. One of wealthiest friends (size 18) only wears designer brands and she always looks totally fabulous.

Boomboom22 · 28/10/2023 19:14

I get you op, remember after pregnancy the weight goes on the tummy so it may be that more than overall clothes size. Try to use it as inspiration, I find small children are effective weights 💪 especially when they wriggle, toddlers never stop moving so I'm sure it will drop off naturally back to your normal 14-16.

BlueEyedPeanut · 28/10/2023 19:22

It will be your shape rather than your size. If you are all butt and gut, your stomach will project even further when you sit down. Whereas if it is your width that makes you a size 20 you'll struggle more with seat sizes rather than belts and harnesses.

Whattodo112222 · 28/10/2023 19:32

I'm a 12-14 and I struggle on some rides.. I'm glad your in laws were kind though x

Tiredanddistracted · 28/10/2023 19:47

@MaryShelley1818 you couldn't be more right. I'm a size 18, down from a 20. I'm too heavy for my height, 100%, so I don't say this as a 'la la la everything's fine' response. Nor am I being defensive. But people do tend to think 20 is much bigger than it is.

When I was at a 20, I had a few situations where dress size would be mentioned and people would make comments that made their lack of understanding clear. They'd range from the sort of comments on here about how clothes would be impossible to find, to outright unpleasant colleagues about fat people - ' I bet she'd have to be at least a 20, can you imagine getting like that?' about a woman who was clearly more like a 28-30. When I'd mildly comment that, as a 20 myself, I'd never had any trouble, there would be a lot of surprise and insistence that I was more like a 16. I'm not saying this to brag- I was a very average 20, not one of those who 'carried it well' or anything and very similar, shape wise, to friends of the same size.

My point is that people tend to think that a size 20 is the sort of caricature fat that we see on certain American TV shows. They don't realise that several people in their lives are at that size, walking around, having partners, living.

GrammarTeacher · 28/10/2023 20:04

The size isn't that helpful. I'm a size 20 but don't need lap belt extenders on planes and have never struggled to fit into a theme park ride. I don't like ones with chest harnesses though as I have an HH chest (give or take) and it just hurts to be squished.

Weight distribution can vary hugely within size (as can overall shape) as can health and fitness.

Look after yourself OP. It sounds horrible. Look after yourself.

BlueEyedPeanut · 28/10/2023 20:33

Why are people fatsplaining? The OP is not asking people to explain to her why there are limits on rides.

Milliemoo6 · 28/10/2023 20:39

I really feel for you. Pregnancy is tough on the body and gaining weight is not something you should be ashamed of, whatever the reason. Nobody wants to be overweight, despite what many think it is not a choice, and it's a very complex issue. Hope you can pick yourself up and turn your experience into something positive. Give your beautiful baby a big cuddle and imagine being skinny but without the baby, I'm sure you'll feel like the weight gain was worth it.

Moveoverdarlin · 28/10/2023 20:40

Regardless of different theme parks, where people carry their weight, whether Auntie Jean got on Space Mountain in Orlando in 1997. If you are buying size 20 clothes, you are very overweight. If you’re unhappy with that, you need to lose it. Everyone has their line and their wake-up call and yours was today. In 5 years time you’ll be at another theme park with your kids and unless you get on top of the weight you’ll still be a size 20 or may have crept up to a 22, or 24, it’s so easy for it to escalate.

Oigetoffmylawn · 28/10/2023 21:43

I was a size 18 and really struggled at a UK theme park. It was actually the main motivation for me losing weight. I wanted to be able to go on rides with my kids.

I think it depends on where you carry weight. If you are narrow of hip but with big boobs then rides with bars and bucket seats won't be an issue but overhead harnesses might be. I'm big of hip so really struggle to fit in seats and get seatbelt or cars around me.

I'm now a 14 and have much less trouble.

eurochick · 28/10/2023 21:48

In the US you would probably be ok. We were at a theme park recently on a ride with a lap bar for the whole row. We shared (directed by the attendants) with a large couple of women. The lap bar came nowhere near me or my husband and I was concerned that my small daughter would go flying out. I saw the attendant look twice at where the lap bar was but he set the ride going before I could say anything. My husband and I held my daughter down on the drops - she could easily have flown out. But the bigger women were fine...

Tighginn · 28/10/2023 21:49

margotrose · 28/10/2023 16:06

I would say that most rides in the UK and Europe wouldn't be able to accommodate that kind of size.

I suspect in countries like the US you may have more luck.

Ouch!

UndercoverCop · 28/10/2023 21:52

I went to a theme park in the Netherlands a couple of years ago, I was over 17 stone and apple shaped, I got on all the rides but spent a lot of the time there and in the run up being anxious of being turfed off. It was the wake up call I needed. I also gained a lot of weight in pregnancy, had GD SPD etc and then lockdown, but I didn't want my size affecting what I could and couldn't do with my child. I've lost nearly five stone since then and would like to lose another but I don't worry about things like that anymore.

ehb102 · 28/10/2023 21:54

I'm shocked. As a size 24 I didn't have an issue at Blackpool pleasure beach.

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