Woman 'too fat' for Swedish theme park ride
Published: 10 Jul 12 16:47 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/41946/20120710/
A Swedish woman was denied entry on to a roller coaster at an amusement park in western Sweden after ride attendants told her she was too wide to ride.
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However, after waiting 30 minutes in line to ride one of the park’s main attractions, the "Balder", staff members refused her entry onto the ride, telling her that her waist line did not fit within the restrictions for the theme park’s safety routines.
Later, the 28-year-old was also left sidelined as her friends enjoyed the carousel, with staff also telling her she was too big for the ride.
“I felt offended, and people stared,” she told the Aftonbladet newspaper.
Andersson, who paid 375 kronor ($54) for the day, was unimpressed when her request for a refund was turned down.
“You pay a lot of money to be there for a whole day. I paid to go in and ride and that didn’t happen,” she told the paper.
Agneta Caspersen, information officer at the theme park, explained that each ride has its own safety restrictions and that weight has little to do with it.
“Each attraction has a safety belt, or a strap that must be able to be closed. It depends a little on how the kilogrammes are divided,” she told the paper, adding that that it’s impossible to set a weight limit.
Bo Larsson, head of the park, explains that a weight restriction is a precarious undertaking.
“It’s sensitive and can be misinterpreted. What one possibly can inform is that certain rides have a waist circumference,” he told the paper.
Andersson has since received an apology from the park, as well as a free ticket back with a so called “quick pass” to speed up the waiting process at the rides.
She was also given a toy rabbit.
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Common, stop eating at McDonald's and quite complaining!
I feel sorry for her.
And knock off the "fatty" jokes, it says a lot more about you then her.
I don't think the apology, free pass or toys was a good idea. Now more fat people will see this as an excuse to audition for their fifteen minutes until someone dies in an accident.
Nothing about that offer of a refund in this article.
The only mention of a refund, was when "her request for a refund was refused".
She also mentioned nothing about asking for refund for that particular ride only.
I really hope this woman loses weight. It's important for her health, and maybe when she loses weight she can actually ride the rollercoaster. I think it would be a great victory and a good reward. Small rewards start showing up out of the blue when you lose some poundage (like I was able to fit into my old jeans again!) So I hope she can do it if she wants to!
Mate, if one is so heavy that one does not fit into public transportation (and that what this is essentially), there is little place for sorrow.
This is definetely a CHOICE of a person to look like this, precisely like alcoholism or drug addiction and no excuses about big bones or lymphatic diseases can justify such a size. These people are not harming only themselves, but they actually cost the society quite big bucks when looking at the bigger perspective (statistical heart failures, blood and liver deseases, inflammatory and respiratory problems etc) . They cause the insurance money and taxes go up for EVERYONE.
I am not even starting on disturbance they create in public transportation like airplanes. So, excuse me, but looking like a whale and expecting that nobody would pay attention to that, is naive. I feel more sorry for small kids, who cannot go onto Balder because of their height, since it is something that they cannot impact.
"bcterry
Mate, if one is so heavy that one does not fit into public transportation (and that what this is essentially), there is little place for sorrow. "
I have absolutely no problem with their not allowing her to ride, my problem is that they did not immediately honor her simple request for a lousy $54 refund, that was IMO completely justified, and that would have been the end of it.
Instead, she had to go through all this bullsxxt, which in the end resulted in an apology from the park, when it all could have been avoided in the first place for the sum of $54.
Cheers
If she had paid specifically for this ride, a refund might've been in order, unless the size limits were made obvious to people before they start queueing.
And seriously, very few non-pregnant women have good reasons for weighing more than say 65kg, or 85kg for men. There aren't THAT many basketball stars or genetic freak bodybuilders. Eat less and work out, it really does work.
If they are doing it for safety reasons then try to understand that some extra weight can harm you,
I would not give your money back if you pay for a whole day and the only thing you couldnt go was a ride but ok a rabbit is ok,
try a diet enough to get into that ride next time, not be completely thin just bare it withit, some extra luggage is not that bad but orca fat is not cool...
This includes the lack of employee togetherness. There is a inability to coordinate in companies here, so that the person at the ride couldn't with total faith say, "I'm sure you will be well taken care of at the head office". Also, nobody really cared enough to avoid this kind of marketing black mark, let alone knew how.
All that being said, I am definitely with the park on this one. Still, there's a difference between being right and being smart.
isn't that nice, now she can return for free and get through the line faster to be told she is still too big.