How tall are you?
If you’re taller than 1.2 metres, roughly 48 inches, you can ride this roller coaster
- Wicker Man, and this one, Iron Dragon, and even this one, Tron - not bad!
If you’re a little bit taller, 1.4 metres, approximately 54 inches, you can discover
a whole new world of roller coasters.
You could ride the world’s tallest roller coaster, Kingda Ka; or even the one with the
most upside-down elements, the Smiler.
That’s pretty awesome.
If you had to guess the height requirement for this roller coaster, Iron Gwazi, you’d
probably be thinking 1.4m, 54 inches right?
It’s big like Kingka Ka and goes upside down like the Smiler?
Well, you’d be wrong.
Iron Gwazi has a height requirement of just 1.2m, 48 inches - placing it in the same category
as the first three rides.
Why?
Because theme park height requirements are complicated.
They aren’t just based on the size of the ride itself, but on a range of factors, from
the design of the roller coaster to rider comfort.
So, what are these height requirements, why do they exist, and why do they vary so much
from ride to ride?
Height requirements Height requirements dictate a minimum height
someone must be to be able to ride that specific attraction.
You’ll often find them measured in inches, or metres, depending on what part of the world
you’re from.
These requirements are measured from the ground to the top of your head - so rocking big hair
won’t help you sadly.
Most rides feature a height requirement board just outside of their entrance, highlighting
the minimum height required, and allowing you to measure your own height.
Generally, smaller rides and roller coasters have lower requirements.
Rides designed for children will be able to accommodate children.
For example, the DUPLO Dino Coaster at Legoland Windsor has a height requirement of just 0.9m,
roughly 35 inches.
This means that a child aged somewhere between 2-to-3 years old will be able to ride.
Something like the Incredible Hulk at Universal Islands of Adventure, a much larger ride,
has a height requirement of 54 inches, roughly 1.4m.
This isn’t surprising given its intensity, I’d be surprised if many young children
would be willing to try it!
So, who sets these height requirements?
The manufacturer of the roller coaster.
When a theme park pays a company to fabricate and build their new ride for them, it’s
the manufacturer of that ride that tells the theme park how tall guests must be.
Therefore, the manufacturer of the Incredible Hulk, Bolliger and Mabillard, told Universal
Islands of Adventure that guests must be at least 54 inches to ride.
That’s cool, but where does this 54-inch height requirement come from?
Ultimately, guest safety.
Manufacturers of rides determine the minimum height required for you to be correctly and
safely secured by the ride’s restraints.
This means that you won’t slip out of the restraint during moments of intense force,
or even be able to wiggle out of the restraint while the ride is stationary.
These height requirements also ensure guests are physically able to experience the ride.
A 2-3-year-old wouldn’t be able to tolerate or withstand the intense forces experienced
on the Incredible Hulk.
Therefore, the height requirement stops younger riders, who don’t meet a certain level of
physical development, from riding, preventing injury.
As a result of this, roller coaster height requirements are non-negotiable.
Theme parks strictly enforce the minimum requirements for your safety and the safety of other guests.
They also ensure employees enforce every ride’s height requirement, refusing entry to those
who aren’t tall enough.
Staff members at the ride’s entrance, or within its station, continuously check the
height of guests who they believe might not be tall enough.
Park employees are also trained to look out for things that might artificially increase
the height of a guest, including standing on tip-toes or even height-increasing shoe
inserts.
Maximum height requirements While all rides and roller coasters feature
minimum height requirements, some feature maximum height requirements.
These dictate the absolute tallest someone can be to ride.
For example, the Swarm at Thorpe Park features a minimum height requirement of 1.4m, roughly
54 inches, and a maximum height requirement of 1.96m, roughly 77 inches.
The reasons for maximum height requirements can vary.
Some are simply due to the restraint being unable to properly secure a rider too tall.
Whilst other rides might limit height due to clearance envelopes, that’s the space,
or really lack of space, surrounding the roller coaster.
Rides like The Swarm speed through near-miss elements, which have been carefully designed
to make sure you still can’t stick your hands out and hit anything.
Taller riders, ones who measure higher than the maximum height requirement, might accidentally
be able to breach the envelope and touch structures nearby the ride.
We’ve already made a whole video about clearance envelopes, and why you can’t put your hands
up on some rides.
Why not watch that one next?
Metres vs inches You might have noticed that I’ve mentioned
both metres and inches throughout this video so far.
Why?
Because height requirements actually vary within different countries around the world.
Within Europe for example, theme parks use metres to portray height requirements.
These are usually found in increments of 0.1m, such as 1.2m, 1.3m or 1.4m for example.
In the United States, it’s different.
There, theme parks use inches to portray height, commonly increasing in increments of 2 or
4 inches, such as 48 inches, 52 inches and 54 inches.
Nemesis at Alton Towers in the UK and Raptor at Cedar Point in the US are both inverted
roller coasters built by the same manufacturer, Bolliger and Mabillard.
Raptor features a minimum height requirement of 54 inches, while Nemesis has a 1.4m restriction.
54 inches, converted to metres, is 1.37m.
So, despite these rides being the same, Raptor has a smaller height requirement.
In reality, this isn’t true.
Cedar Point has rounded the ride’s minimum height requirement to the nearest one or two
inches, while Alton Towers has rounded to the nearest 0.1 of a metre.
Park discretion Theme parks can alter the height requirement
of their rides as they see fit, as long as they don’t go below the minimum set by the
roller coaster’s manufacturer.
Some theme parks are known to make their height requirements more strict for several reasons.
For example, despite Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point, and Twisted Timbers at Kings Dominion,
being the same type of ride; Steel Vengeance features a height requirement of 52 inches,
compared to Twisted Timbers’ 48 inches.
After testing their ride, Cedar Point determined that Steel Vengeance was too intense for the
original 48-inch requirement.
Therefore, the height was increased from 48 inches to 52 inches to better reflect the
long and chaotic ride experience.
Other theme parks alter height requirements to make variations in requirements between
rides easier to understand.
For example, Saw: The Ride at Thorpe Park features a height requirement of 1.4m.
However, the same type of roller coaster, Flucht Von Novgorod at Hansa Park, features
a much lower requirement of just 1.25m.
Thorpe Park may have opted to increase their requirement, one to reflect the rides’ more
sinister horror theme, and two, to align it with the other major thrill roller coasters
at the park.
All five of Thorpe Park’s large-scale thrill coasters feature minimum height requirements
of 1.4m, making it easier for guests to determine the rides they’ll actually be able to ride.
Despite it being uncommon, some theme parks have also been known to lower their height
requirements over time.
Millennium Force at Cedar Point opened with a minimum requirement of 54 inches.
However, after several years, this was reduced to 48 inches, increasing the number of people
able to ride.
Accompanied by a responsible rider Some roller coasters around the world feature
two sets of height requirements.
One dictates the minimum height required for you to ride by yourself, whilst the other
sets the minimum height required by a younger guest who is accompanied by an adult.
For example, guests 0.9m or taller can ride the DUPLO Dino Coaster.
However, you must be 1.3m or above to ride by yourself - those shorter must be accompanied
by a responsible adult.
With these roller coasters, theme parks might decide to require an adult to ride with the
small guest as an additional layer of safety.
Beyond guest impact While you’re the one directly affected by
the height requirement of a roller coaster, they also influence the decisions of both
theme parks and manufacturers of rides.
It’s the business of manufacturers of roller coasters to sell their rides to theme parks.
Theme parks want new rides to draw in new visitors to the park.
Therefore, these parks are always looking for attractions that fit the demographic of
guests they want to visit.
If a theme park wants to attract thrill seekers, they’ll build a thrilling roller coaster.
To do this, the park will contact manufacturers of roller coasters that specialise in building
large-scale rides.
Therefore, roller coaster companies design their rides around specific target audiences.
They’ll ensure their family-friendly roller coasters have smaller height requirements
by creating a restraint which can secure younger guests correctly.
On top of this, the roller coaster itself will be designed so it’s not too intense
for guests who just meet the minimum height requirement.
From the theme park’s perspective, it’s up to them to ensure their guests can experience
the rides and roller coasters at the park.
A theme park designed for families simply wouldn’t be entirely full of thrilling roller
coasters with higher height requirements.
As a result, most theme parks build a huge range of attractions to suit the different
age groups.
Some parks are better at this than others.
Disney theme parks, such as Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, excel at having countless attractions
that every member of the family can ride.
The highest minimum height restriction at Magic Kingdom is Tron, at 48 inches, 1.2m.
Guests who are 44 inches, 1.1m or taller, can ride everything at Magic Kingdom but Tron
- which is genuinely impressive.
This makes sense as Disney cater exclusively to families of all ages.
A theme park a stone's throw away, Sea World Orlando, doesn’t perform so well.
A guest shorter than 48 inches, 1.2m will only be able to ride 60% of the attractions
at the park, compared to Magic Kingdom’s 96%.
The future of height requirements Over time, we’ve seen a gradual decrease
in height requirements for the most thrilling rides and roller coasters.
Older large-scale roller coasters, such as Alton Towers’ Nemesis, and even the Incredible
Hulk at Universal Islands of Adventure, feature more restrictive 54 inches, 1.4m height requirements.
Despite being in the same park as the Hulk, the arguably more thrilling and modern VelociCoaster
features a 51-inch, 1.3m height requirement.
On top of this, Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa, widely considered one of the world’s
most thrilling rides, features an even lower minimum height requirement of just 48 inches,
1.2m!
As more roller coasters are built, and the competition increases, some manufacturers
of rides are aiming to make their rides more accessible so they appear more attractive
to prospective theme parks.
So there you go, now you know why height requirements exist, how they’re determined, and how they
can affect your theme park experience.
Next time you visit your local theme park, acknowledge the height requirements of the
rides - does it cater to guests of all ages?
Thank you for watching, and, we’ll see you all next time.