So, this is me.
This was me leaving my absolute favorite park of all of WDW early this month (my fifth trip). I am 5’6″ and was about 385 lbs when this photo was taken. Size 32 jeans, 4 and 5x shirts. I carry most of my weight in my butt/hips/thighs (though the rest of me isn’t small either). Actually, I’m not small by any means. And I’ve never been below 300 on a Disney trip, so anything I say about a ride is coming from a plus-size point of view.
So, for all of you lovelies who are concerned about fitting on rides at the Most Magical Place On Earth: DON’T WORRY! Overall, you will be FINE. There are very, very few snags to potentially run into.
So let’s break it down, shall we?
1) Animal Kingdom, Pandora, Flight of Passage: This is a no go for me. I tried the test seat and it was beyond not happening. That said, this ride seems to hit everyone differently. I’ve heard of a few people my size riding, I’ve heard of many people smaller than me unable to ride. The restraints are odd, so there’s no way to tell if you’re going to fit without trying the seat for yourself. People with knee, back, or kidney problems really should be careful trying this one out.
2) Magic Kingdom, New Fantasyland, Seven Dwarves Mine Train: Can ride, but super tight on the knees. It’s almost like it was only made for the seven dwarves to ride.
3) Test Track, Star Tours, Soarin’, Dinosaur, and the Like: I ride all of these regularly. Before you sit, pull the seat belt allll the way out and that will help with buckling. Dinosaur is the easiest on my hips, BUT others have said it’s way too jolty and hurts their hips. Test Track, Star Tours and Soarin are harder for me to buckle. My wife sometimes has to help me get them, NOT because the belt is too short (I still have room) but because of the divider configuration between the seats.
4) Test Track, Space Mountain, Frozen, Rock n Roller Coaster, Nav’i River Journey, and certain others: These rides have more leg room in the front seat, which is great for tall people and those of us who have thicker thighs and belly areas, because it allows you to stretch your legs out a little more, making it easier for the restraints to fit well.
5) Theaters (Hyperion, One Man’s Dream, Carousel of Progress, Philharmagic): So this part kind of sucks. These theaters were built way back before Disney started realizing that there are guests above a size 16. The seats are narrow, and most of the armrests don’t move. In my experience, the best suggestions I have involve asking a CM because for some there may be an a seat that has a armrest that moves (not everywhere, but some of them, apparently do). Otherwise, try to sit on one of the ends, on the very edge of the seat. If you can slide back without it hurting your hips, go ahead and do that. I sometimes sit diagonally across the seat.
If anyone has any questions about specific rides of anything, I’ll do my best to help! I’ve been to all four parks and both water parks at Disney, but none of the other Orlando area parks. I can also give my own recommendations on restaurants around the parks. I haven’t been to all of them, but I’ve done a lot of them. I have some experience with travelling with babies and young kids, and on an adults only trip. I’ve got experience navigating the DAS system if anyone’s struggling with that (my wife has Crohn’s disease and we’ve used it since our first trip after it was rolled out.)
JUST so we are all clear, I am NOT a travel agent or anything like that. Just a Disney fanatic looking to help anyone else have a magical trip. So, I can’t actually help with booking anything, but can give you tips and things that have worked for my family.
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