A plus-sized British woman has called out theme parks for not doing more to cater to larger people. Heather O’Neill, from Surrey, visited Thorpe Park recently and admitted she was worried that being size 24-26 would mean she couldn’t ride the rides with her friends. She filmed her experience and posted it on TikTok.
- Heather could fit in most of the seats. In her video, Heather was seen using the various test seats for the roller coasters to ensure she would safely be able to buckle herself in before getting into the line to get on. To her pleasant surprise, she was able to go on most of them.
- There was one ride Heather couldn’t fit into. “I tried to go on Colossus anyway – didn’t fit but staff were really nice and discreet and gave me a fast pass to another ride, so not bad,” she told NTK.
- Heather hates that her size even factors into her days out. As she explained, being bigger shouldn’t prohibit people from having fun. “The fact that I even have to think about if I will fit the rides is the first difference [in being a plus-size customer],” she said. “The feeling nervous before going, the pushing the seat down trying to get it to close. Worrying about how safe the ride will be for me, after that poor man died on a ride in America.”
- She believes rides should be built with bigger bodies in mind. Heather, who’s a student mental health nurse, said she hopes things will change at amusement parks in future. “I used all the test seats that I could find, which most people don’t have to do,” she said. “But rides aren’t built for plus size/fat people, it’s about accessibility and making spaces inclusive for all bodies and accessibility needs.”
@heatherruby96 My guide to the seats at thorpe park for my fellow fat/plus size babes! I only didn’t fit on colossus! This is a fat positive page so no hate! 💖 #fatacceptance #fyp #bodypositive #fatpositive #haes #accessibility #fattok #fatokay
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