Seatbelt Follies

[AlpineDL]

Seriously, do people use seatbelts on their drive to the park or what? Now the Indy/Tours/Soarin/Tower variety are one matter, but some of the things I've seen people try to do with Matterhorn belts, and the Heimlich/Dumbo variety just astound me.

• The One-sided seatbelt idea, where someone has one of the ends of the seatbelt and is looking for some spot to plug it into the opposite wall of the vehicle. I know going from Indy to an elephant could make someone figure on plugging it into the vehicle, but usually the other end is already on their lap or something, and is clearly visible when sitting down. One side of the belt doesn't even reach where they're trying to go anyways.
• The Loose-strap buckle attempts, where people try to stick the end of the male side of the belt into the female buckle. Now seriously, since when does the cloth part of a seatbelt act as the part that you stick in the buckle? Maybe look 6 inches up the belt at the actual metal tooth thing the extra strap is coming out of?
• The Tightening confusion, where somehow people have no idea how to manually tighten a seatbelt. Again, I can understand after riding Star Tours that one might figure another ride seatbelt would pull in tension on its own, but did nobody have an old nasty station wagon in the 80's where they had to sit in the middle on some twisty road even though they warned their siblings they'd puke, and have that one cheap lapbelt that tightened up by pulling on the extra strap? Did they not loosen the belt by pulling that same extra strap the other way through the buckle 10 seconds earlier? Is looking down and doing nothing, then preceding to continue fondling your skanky girlfriend crammed in the seat between your legs a proper response to "Tighten up your belt please"?
• Looping belts around random s*** happens a lot too. You know those bars to hold onto inside bobsleds? Yeah, let's loop the seatbelt through those (it's pretty hard to fit through) so the belt is like 6" away from our body! I'm sure it's supposed to work that way! Another great idea to loop the belt through the handle of a purse, camcorder bag, etc, so that it's directly between the belt and someone's body. I'm sure that'll be comfortable and safe while coming to a fast stop. I'd imagine Tower and Indy have this problem a lot too, even with the PLEASE PUT YOUR STUFF HERE bags right there in the cars.
• I will not even get into the "there are two belts, one for each rider" issue. :deadhorse

So, any good stories from the more high-tech seatbelt rides? I know people would freak out on Indy getting advanced to belts, since now they seem to be really clear on spieling that they'll get checked ahead, but there have to be some very amusing stories aside from that.

[The Canuck]

How about a few of these from Mission Space in Florida (it uses the rollercoaster style restraints, and you'ld be surprised at how you can confuse those)...

Shortly after watching the safety video with the line "pull down on your restraints" showing someone reach above their head and pulling it down over their chest.

You get people...

stare at you
grab the back of their necks and rip forward (then turn around and look behind them)
grab the place where the restraint is hinged (you can't pull it down from the hinge).

And probably more I'm forgetting.

Oh and lets not forget the people that freak out once it passes their face and decide they'd be safer with it sticking out in front of their neck so when the capulse tip forward they'll have it resting right up against their neck.

or the ones that pull it on as tight as they can ...

[darph nader]

Maybe they should try the flight attendant approach. Have some cute gal (guy for you girls),demonstrate how to work the restraints. Of course there could NO plunging necklines.(I'd never be able to get my belt 'tight' enough. ;)

[DLRFantasmic!Dan]

• I will not even get into the "there are two belts, one for each rider" issue. :deadhorse

Or the other way around...... guests who strap themselves in on Astro and not around their entire party in. I have to repeat myself with, "There is only one safety belt for the ENTIRE group in the rocket!" What selfish S.O.Bs!

Most times, the guests are clueless on how to attach the belts!! OY!! What is NOT to get?? It is not that hard!! I then tell them that it doesn't take a "ROCKET" scientist to figure it out, pun intended! LOL. They would hand me the belt, not knowing how. At times, I tell the guests to tug on the belt to make sure it is securely fastened and they take it off and handed it to me!! It's like they don't understand English!

I get the dilemma where the belt won't fit around the group because of the bags they jammed in there. So, I offer to take the stuff and put it aside for them, some refuse, others give it to me.

Often times, I get the kids who wrap the seat belts around them BEFORE hooking it on the hooks, hahaha!! I then had to unwrap it around them and hook it on.

Oh, the part I love is at HISTA, I tell them to grab the seat belts and on the sides and strap themselves in and people look, hahaha!! :p: I then go, "I was just kidding!!!" Hahaha!!

[mechurchlady]

In Screamin' at DLR people seem not to understand that the restraints are to be snug. It is irksome when the Bobsleds and other rides have to wait for guests to be properly secured and all items secured. Bobsleds loading area is designed so that there is enough time to check the belts but you see people with one belt around two people.

Another complaint is when you find the belt and it is not long enough so you sit there inching the belt out. Why do i always get the seat that just had a midget or little kid in it, sigh.

I wish people would not sit on the seat belts then look around for them. I wonder if people purposefully try to crochet seat belts so that the next user cannot use them, oh what a tangled mess people can make.

[DLRFantasmic!Dan]

In Screamin' at DLR people seem not to understand that the restraints are to be snug.

At Screamin, I saw a kid moved down the seats and actually tried to sit in the non - seat without the restraint. Anyone know what that is for?? And why there is only one seat down in the wheelchair train?

Oh, I got an SGT!! About a week ago, I was on Screamin' waiting to be grouped. When a lady asked the grouper if the train would be missing a sit since the train before her was short one seat. The Grouper told her that he knows how he grouped and that the next train will have ALL the seats.

[bpgstudios]

Yep we got that problem at our Dumbo too. part of our speil is "Make sure your seatbelts are fastened" while pantomoming how to buckle the seatbelt. When I come around to check belts, they look at me like I have 3 heads or deer in headlight look.
A bit OT: Alpine, does your Dumbo have 2 loading pens? I sent Indy on a mission to find out, and he thought there was only one. We have 2.

Carrousel also has seatbelt problems. When I tell a kids parent that they need the seatbelt on, they look around for it. Sometimes some SG before them wraps it around the pole. Some of these SGs look around like they have never put on a belt to hold up their pants, and ask me to do it. Now, as my trainer told me, we cant fasten the guests seatbelts (probably due to them suing us like the tigger-slapped kid), and have had some guests refuse to belt their kids in. I made em leave the carrousel since kids whos feet do not reach the stirups must have a seatbelt.

I dont get it. Its not like the seatbelt is gonna do much on carrousel other than make a great set of reigns otherwise. Why not just belt your kid in?

[AlpineDL]

bpg: The end of west Dumbo's queue just follows the outside curve of the ride area, with a gate at the far end and another gate about 15 feet before the end. The queue doesn't get any wider or into a pen at all. There's also a 3rd gate about 20 feet further down right past the turnstile and 180* turn in the queue if there's some big group mussing up the end of a flight group. The only thing people really have HUGE issues with at Dumbo is completely ignoring the second exit gate, or barely touching it and expecting to open when it really takes a pretty hearty shove.

Interesting that there are belt issues on the Carrousel out there, I almost never have trouble with people not belting kids except when it's an adult/child together and they miss the spiel about just belting the kid. Never had anyone protest it certainly except for people with like 5 month old babies who probably should be on the bench anyways.

[mechurchlady]

Trains have six cars with two rows each, seating two abreast per row.

California Screamin' is designed to operate with up to six trains on the circuit. Vehicles: 5 - 24 person trains (Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, and Purple)/2 - 23 Person trains (Both Green). Some sites said 5/1 and 4/2 for the ratio of 24 to 23 passenger trains.

It is the front row of the third car on the left as you are seated. The wheelchair disabled load and unload from the left though with I usually used the regular line and the elevator. Do not yell at me if my memory failed me again.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/tag/dcaparadise.htm

Every green coaster train is equipped with a special transfer seat, making transferring from a wheel chair very simple.

I thought that was the answer but had to verify it.

[CBeilby]

Oh, the part I love is at HISTA, I tell them to grab the seat belts and on the sides and strap themselves in and people look, hahaha!! :p: I then go, "I was just kidding!!!" Hahaha!!

This was a favorite joke of the crew's at Shrek 4d too. I'd usually draw it out for a few seconds, and just stand and watch them fumble for them for a few seconds.