advertisement
Forums

The Forum is sponsored by 
 

AAPL stock: Click Here
You are currently viewing the Tips and Deals forum
Newer Topic Older Topic
It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: Zoidberg
Date: December 03, 2007 09:40PM
Okay, it's an old article (10/30/07) but I happened across it today:

[www.netcot.com]

Quote

Small World - Getting Larger

Some classic Disney attractions will soon be getting updates to accommodate larger guests. Rides like Its A Small World at Disneyland will soon be shut down to adjust the ride to compensate for guests that weigh more (on average) than their 1963 (opening year of the attraction) counterparts.

In 1963, the average man weighed 175lbs and the average woman weighed 135. Today, those average weights are frequently above 200lbs. The ride vehicles were not designed to easily accommodate these weights and in some cases, rides get stuck on the track because of the excessive weight.

Other rides that are prone to shut downs related to overweight vehicles include Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Reading the original source article at [calorielab.com] , one sees that Disney is denying the obesity connection, saying that it was just time to upgrade the equipment and vehicles:

Quote

A Disney spokesman has acknowledged the ride’s refurbishment but denied any obesity connection, according to the New York Times. Decades of fiberglas patching and repairs of It’s a Small World have built up the bottom of its flume at several stress points, making it shallower than when originally constructed, said the spokesman. The Los Angeles Times got the same response from Disney. However, the New York Times points out that heavier passengers may have brought this problem to a head sooner than it otherwise would have been.






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2007 09:41PM by Zoidberg.
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: AAA
Date: December 03, 2007 10:02PM
Taller, denser adds to average weight, too. Not sure of all the stats being thrown around.
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: Mike Johnson
Date: December 03, 2007 10:28PM
"Today, those average weights are frequently above 200lbs."

Writing like that bugs me something fierce.
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: mikebw
Date: December 04, 2007 12:27AM
I wouldn't think this was a problem if they had allowed a reasonable margin of safety. I think where human lives are at risk the minimum margin of safety is something like 5x what you might normally expect, in terms of load limits. Now I am not an engineer, but people gaining 50 or so pounds on average, a figure I just made up, shouldn't have enough of an impact on the ride to change anything given a margin that big.

Now what I could see is Disney making wider seats for all these supposedly larger people.
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: Mac-A-Matic
Date: December 04, 2007 01:23AM
Sounds like people's waistlines are increasing as much as the ticket prices for Disney.


Thank God I don't have kids to take there....
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: SteveO
Date: December 04, 2007 02:03AM
>n 1963, the average man weighed 175lbs and the average woman weighed 135. Today, those average weights are frequently above 200lbs.

Amazing. And yeah, the writing could have been much better.
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: AAA
Date: December 04, 2007 05:42AM
again....they need to cite the average HEIGHTs too. Everyone (average) has gotten taller than when Disney started. However, I would think the increase in Latinos might actually decrease that in the future.
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: RAMd®d
Date: December 04, 2007 07:52AM
Not sure of all the stats being thrown around.

Yes, lies, damn lies, and statistics.

That reads like it's all about fat America.

What does the average football player weigh now, compared to then?

The average height and number of Asians would tend to skew numbers as well. Of course, that may be only because I just watched Blade Runner





I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: AAA
Date: December 04, 2007 08:07AM
Plus, if it's JUST Disney, they need to determine the mix of 'locals' (USmericans) vs visitors, too. I would imagine that WDW has a HIGH foreigner ratio.
Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: Lux Interior
Date: December 04, 2007 12:25PM
Well, EuroDisney isn't making these changes

Options:  Reply • Quote
Re: It's a Fat World, After All - Disney redesigning rides because of expanding guests?
Posted by: EEMac
Date: December 04, 2007 03:16PM
Let me get this straight:

Disney: "Some rides that have been in near-continuous use since 1963 are being refurbished."
The reporter: "Fat people did it, right?"
Disney: "No, the rides were due to be refurbished."
Reporter: "Of course they need to be refurbished! It's because of fat people that are fat."
Disney: "No, we've been patching the flumes for decades. The rides are literally not as deep as they used to be. So we're refurbishing them."
Reporter: "Fat blubber fat whale faaaaat...."
Options:  Reply • Quote
Newer Topic Older Topic
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Online Users

Bixby , Fritz , gadje , kj , lost in space , LyleH , Markintosh , pdq , spacescape , vision63 , wave rider , wurm
Guests: 194
Record Number of Users: 186 on February 20, 2020
Record Number of Guests: 5122 on October 03, 2020