Hello Friends!
Welcome back and thank you for joining me again if you are doing so on the back of my last blog post about this topic!
Today’s post will mostly be covering rides. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of rides, I have the ones I love to do (Phantom Manor and ToT are my faves) but rides are not my priority on a Disney Trip. Having said that, I have been going to DLP long enough to know which rides do and do not work for fatties, so let’s hop to it!
Disneyland Park
Town Square/Main Street/The Hub
There are often vehicles and horse drawn carriages available to hop on to take you up and down Main Street. The majority of these vehicles have a step up to get into them and then a wooden benchseating system, I have been on a couple of these and had no issue at all with getting on/off or the seating so I’d say they’re all pretty fat friendly.
Disneyland Railroad is accessible from Town Square and then each and every land throughout the Disneyland Park. There are stairs to the platform in Town Square but there is also a lift if you have mobility issues with staircases. The seats are very comfortable on the train and although it often has long wait times is a cute and comfortable way to travel between lands or do a tour of the park.
Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant/La Taniere du Dragon
These are both walk though attractions, to see the sleeping beauty story in the stained glass windows you have to go up a small staircase, it isn’t many stairs and they are fairly wide. I can use them no problems.
The dragon is under the castle and has step free access from the side, again this is a walk through attraction. Please be aware that it is very dark, if (like me) you have very light sensitive eyes then you may find in the brighter months you struggle to see for some time while your eyes adjust to the darkness.
Discoveryland
Buzz Lightyear laser blast – The turnstiles for getting into the queue line for this ride are the biggest issue, they are tiny. I am able to do them if I stand on tippytoes and go through sideways – you can ask the CM at the front to let you through the gated entrance though. The ride vehicle is big enough for both me and my partner so there are no issues with that whatsoever.
Orbitron – The rockets on this ride are very small, my sister is a size 16 and her and my niece fitted but she said that the vehicles are very small and I wouldn’t have fit in them. Not such a bad thing as she said all the going round in circles fast made her feel a bit sick anyway
Autopia – The cars on this ride are all perfectly fine for people of size, I had no problems fitting into one when we took my nieces.
Space Mountain – This is a firm no. The coasters which have over the head seatbelts mechanisms in DLP are not designed for people with large chests. I believe that the maximum chest width is 50″ but cannot find anything to support that, it may have just been what I was told. I have also been advised that Plus Size/muscular or wide shouldered men on the taller side may have issues with this ride too.
Star Tours – This is a simulator with chairs and a lap seatbelt. I have no issues at all with fitting on this ride … I just can’t deal with the motion sickness afterwards
Fantasyland
Small World – large boats with bench type seating, they allow you to say how many will be sitting on each bench so I usually make the party split so I feel more comfortable the boat is balanced (that’s just my paranoia though as I have done it with 4 of us in the front row squished in like sardines with no issues too – that’s a story for another time though) This is a ride that you have to step down into and step back out of as well.
Mad Hatters Tea Cups – This is a seated spinning ride, the actual hole that you get into the cup through is really small and a bit of a squeeze but once inside it’s snug but not uncomfortable for me. Handy tip, if going on with a child, hold the middle to prevent them spinning it so much you end up feeling sick
Carousel – The horses involve a reasonably high step up and you need to be able to hook your leg over the back of the horse, adults do not need to wear the safety straps though (they definitely wouldn’t fit me) if you are worried about the transfer on to the horse there are carriages that you can ride in too.
Alice’s Curious Labyrinth – This is a standard walk around maze, there are some smaller doors you can go through in the maze part but I have never had any issues with any part of this attraction. The end allows you to go up the Queen of Hearts tower, the steps are narrow and steep but the view at the top is amazing. I only tend to do this on less busy days as it can be tricky passing people in the stairwells of the castle when you are larger and there aren’t many crossing points.
Les Voyages des Pinocchio – Wooden bench style ride vehicles with a lap bar that comes down. I fit in these absolutely fine, what I would say as with all of these type rides is if you are going on with a small child the bar will be too high for them so I do not do these kind of rides with my nieces for that reason.
Blanche neige (Snow White) et les sept Naine – Wooden bench style ride vehicles with a lap bar that comes down. I fit in these absolutely fine, what I would say as with all of these type rides is if you are going on with a small child the bar will be too high for them so I do not do these kind of rides with my nieces for that reason.
Peter Pans Flight – The flying boats are suspended from the ceiling, they are a bench style seat once again with a bar across you. I fit in these absolutely fine, what I would say as with all of these type rides is if you are going on with a small child the bar will be too high for them so I do not do these kind of rides with my nieces for that reason.
Dumbo – I have no issue fitting into the elephants for this ride and they still go up and down with my weight
Casey Jnr – I have not ridden this, so I have no idea if I will fit to be honest. The carriages don’t look particularly small though.
Le Pays des Contes de Fèes – These boats have plenty of room, again bench style seats and you do need to be able to step down and out of the boats to access.
Adventureland
Pirates of the Caribbean – The boats are similar in designs and accessibility as small world. They are wide bench style seats which you need to be able to step down into and up out of. Please be aware that it is very dark in the queue area, if (like me) you have very light sensitive eyes then you may find in the brighter months you struggle to see for some time while your eyes adjust to the darkness.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril – This is another rollercoaster with an overhead seatbelt system, so I am unable to do this ride.
La Cabane des Robinsons – The Robinson’s treehouse looks lovely from a distance and I’ve been underneath it, but frankly I do not fancy walking up all those steps to see the top. I’m assured that it’s not too bad as they aren’t steep and that the view is worth it, but it’s not something I can be bothered to do
Aladdin’s Enchanted Passage – This is a walk through attraction, it’s cute and accessible to everyone.
Frontierland
Big Thunder Mountain – The wildest ride in the wilderness! The seats on this ride are bench style with a pull down bar, myself and my partner fit in this ride together fine, I have even ridden this wearing my huge petticoat underskirt and still fit ok.
Phantom Manor – The doom buggy’s are nice and wide and have a pull down bar which stops no where near your body so this ride has loads of room. It’s also one of my faves
Molly Brown – huge boat that you can wander around or sit on while it floats around the lagoon. No access issues at all.
Walt Disney Studios
Flying Carpets over Agrabah – Ride vehicles are plenty large enough for me, similar to dumbo sizing.
Crush’s Coaster – I haven’t tried this ride as I was advised by the cast member at the front that it was unlikely I would fit in the vehicle and nobody wants to wait as long as the crush’s coaster queue just to not fit at the end of it . I understand that it is a tight lap bar. My friend is a size 22 and quite tall, she said she struggled with this ride but fit with help from a CM forcing the bar down.
Cars Rallye – The back seat of this ride is larger than the front. I can fit in this if I sit in the back and my nieces sit in the front. This ride makes me feel a bit sick though
Ratatouille – wide bench seats in your rat-mobile I found that I fit easily, bar comes down over you. The CMs usually notice you are larger and don’t add a single rider with you, if they do then I can be a little snug, but not unbearable.
Toy Soldiers Parachute drop – this ride is fine, has a lap belt and a bar that comes down. The bar was tight on my legs and stomach but fitted over me, I didn’t find this comfortable though and wouldn’t do it again.
Slinky Dog – I haven’t actually tried this to know, the vehicles don’t look particularly small though. I would try it but my nieces didn’t want to queue for it so I wasn’t going to do it on my own.
RC Racer – This is an overhead seat belt which I cannot fit in. There is a plus size seat in the front row which has a blue headrest to identify it. This chair is used for anyone who may need more room so you may have to wait longer for it.
Tower of Terror – very narrow turnstiles again like buzz. If you go up in the lift to the right there are less steps once you come out, the lift to the left has a few flights of stairs to walk up to get to your lift. Once on the ride there is a lap belt which fits me with plenty of room to spare … word of warning about TOT it would appear the larger you are the more ‘air’ you get in the drops! I come out of my seat to full extension of the seat belt
Armageddon – This is a walk through attraction so is accessible to all.
Rock and Rollercoaster – This is an overhead safety harness so once again I am unable to ride this rollercoaster because of my chest.
I have found that the cast members are super helpful on the rides, so if you are at all unsure whether you will fit then please ask them and they will advise you accordingly.
Well, that was another long blog post so it looks like there will be a Part Three. I will cover Plus Size shopping at DLP, The Disney Village and Access to shows and parades as well as any other little tidbits I can think of
Thanks so much for sticking with me on this blog and for all the lovely messages on Twitter about the first part – I’m glad people are finding it useful
With Love
Alyssa xx
** This blog is entirely made up of my personal experiences and opinions, you may find that your experience differs from mine as we are all different shapes and sizes. I have been as transparent as I can be about my size and shape but please do contact me if you have any further questions **