Trouble at Hagrids

Sergeant Watermelon

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Just want to start off by saying I am in no way looking to bash universal or anyone who works at this ride im more so just looking to vent as I tried to keep a pretty positive face to not bring down my family.

went to universal and islands yesterday and had a great morning at universal. We then headed over to islands and went directly to Hagrids motorbike adventure.

just for backstory we planned this trip back in April and with that came a weight loss journey with riding this attraction as my motivation. I started at 324 and the morning we left on the 15th I was 284! Super proud of myself.

anyway so we get to the attraction and I jump in the test seat, and sadly no green light. I tried everything I could think of by it wouldn’t turn green. my thighs were too big for the restraint to close far enough down. So I started walking away kinda bummed and a team member working the test seat area asked me to try again. He told me “I want you to ride this, I know you can do it” so with a little hope I hopped back on the test seat. And with his tips I got the green light on my own no problem.

fast forward to now in the queue and I of course get pulled out of the line to try the indoor test seat. This whole interaction made me a little flustered and nervous. Your in a big room and everyone has nothing else to do but watch you as they stand in line and I don’t know what happened but I couldn’t do anything to turn that light green again. I tried explaining to the gentleman that I could do it outside and that maybe if my wife pushed a little it would turn no problem. But it didn’t matter he said if I couldn’t do it on my own I would have to wait for my family in the hallway.

I am no way mad at this guy. His job is to pretty much be the bad guy if he has to be for the safety of anyone who rides the ride. and I honestly wish I got the young guys name outside because he really lifted my spirits when I was feeling pretty defeated trying the seat outside.

I hope this doesn’t come off as being mad at universal or any of the team members because I’m not. I know that the only one to blame here is myself. I’m just looking for a place to vent as I didn’t want to bring down my families day so I just put on the tough guy face and left. I will say it did cut pretty deep andI felt pretty terrible the rest of the day. I think it was because I got so excited I could ride it and then got flustered and nervous and screwed it up for myself.

anyway if you have made it this far I appreciate you hearing me out
 
Just want to start off by saying I am in no way looking to bash universal or anyone who works at this ride im more so just looking to vent as I tried to keep a pretty positive face to not bring down my family.

went to universal and islands yesterday and had a great morning at universal. We then headed over to islands and went directly to Hagrids motorbike adventure.

just for backstory we planned this trip back in April and with that came a weight loss journey with riding this attraction as my motivation. I started at 324 and the morning we left on the 15th I was 284! Super proud of myself.

anyway so we get to the attraction and I jump in the test seat, and sadly no green light. I tried everything I could think of by it wouldn’t turn green. my thighs were too big for the restraint to close far enough down. So I started walking away kinda bummed and a team member working the test seat area asked me to try again. He told me “I want you to ride this, I know you can do it” so with a little hope I hopped back on the test seat. And with his tips I got the green light on my own no problem.

fast forward to now in the queue and I of course get pulled out of the line to try the indoor test seat. This whole interaction made me a little flustered and nervous. Your in a big room and everyone has nothing else to do but watch you as they stand in line and I don’t know what happened but I couldn’t do anything to turn that light green again. I tried explaining to the gentleman that I could do it outside and that maybe if my wife pushed a little it would turn no problem. But it didn’t matter he said if I couldn’t do it on my own I would have to wait for my family in the hallway.

I am no way mad at this guy. His job is to pretty much be the bad guy if he has to be for the safety of anyone who rides the ride. and I honestly wish I got the young guys name outside because he really lifted my spirits when I was feeling pretty defeated trying the seat outside.

I hope this doesn’t come off as being mad at universal or any of the team members because I’m not. I know that the only one to blame here is myself. I’m just looking for a place to vent as I didn’t want to bring down my families day so I just put on the tough guy face and left. I will say it did cut pretty deep andI felt pretty terrible the rest of the day. I think it was because I got so excited I could ride it and then got flustered and nervous and screwed it up for myself.

anyway if you have made it this far I appreciate you hearing me out

I'm sorry that happened to you. How disappointing to have worked so hard and then not been able to go on the ride at the very end. But congratulations on the weight loss. That's absolutely a great accomplishment.
 
Sorry this happened to you...especially after getting the green light at the test seat.
That would be incredibly disappointing!
 
I think it says so much about your maturity as a person and your strength of character that you didn't yell, scream and blame UO or come onto the forum, Yelp or trip advisor to rant, as so many do. Congrats on your amazing weight loss - that's the real win here:dogdance:

I would be VERY frustrated if that happened to me - getting the green light in one spot, then not inside.
 


First and foremost: CONGRATULATIONS on your weight loss!! :woohoo:Having weighed 287 at one point (I am a 5'6" female, so pretty big) I know how hard it is to lose that kind of weight. I also know how happier your knees, back, blood pressure, etc. are with the weight loss. You are stronger and healthier, and that's what's important!

I am sorry this happened to you. I know how humiliating it is to have one's size emphasized, especially in public. I understand why Universal (or Disney, Cedar Point, etc) has to do this, but after "passing" in the first vehicle this must have been uber-disappointing; you thought you'd made it! Of course this also represents the goal you'd been striving for since you started planning, so really it was a double-whammy. However, you DID meet your goal! You are on your trip with your family, healthier and stronger than ever. It's a disappointment, for sure, but in the greater scheme of things, you ARE a winner!
 
Thank you everyone for the replies! I didn’t want to talk about it much with my family as I didn’t want to bring them down. They all loved it so it sounds like universal did a fantastic job! It’s great to have everyone on here to vent and relate to about it.

I’m very proud of myself for weight loss but still let down with myself after this but there’s always next time is what I tell myself, I’m sure I’ll be back in a couple years or so.
my next worry is will I fit on flight of passage at Disney’s animal kingdom. After the incident I started second guessing myself and actually just skipped the rest of the rides except Spider-Man at islands. Animal kingdom is planned for tomorrow so fingers crossed!!
 
How disappointing! Weight loss is hard no matter how much you lose or how much you needed to lose at the start. Keep it up and maintain or improve the loss. Don't less this disappointment cause a permanent backslide. A temporary one is fine; I know I would need a bit of food consolation after that. I can't imagine how that feels, and I bet most people can't either. The UO rides can be very finicky, and it's not always due to excess weight. Sometimes it's height or just the build of your body. I am short and have been afraid that they would make me use the center strap on Soarin', because unless I sit up very straight, I am below the line. However, I would still be riding, but you didn't get to :( Don't give up on other rides either at UO or WDW. They are all different. Be sure to fully sit all the way back in the seat too to help maybe get a better fit. Good luck! And try to enjoy the rest of your trip.
 


This is the most positive ranting I have ever seen. I'm sorry that happened, and I'm glad the Universal staff were kind about it. Congrats on your weight loss - I know how that feels. You'll definitely get to ride next time, and I'm sure you'll fit on Flight of Passage.
 
I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm sure it was disappointing for your family too since you didn't get to experience it with them.

I'm worried about my son-in-law when we come in December. He's a bigger guy and has really large lower legs (calves). His large calves are what kept him from going on Disney's Flight of Passage last year. He didn't show his disappointment, but the rest of us were bummed that he couldn't ride with us and I know he had to be too. I'm wondering if that will be a problem for him on Hagrid's or any of the other rides at Universal. He's lost weight since our Disney trip, but I don't think his calves have gotten any smaller. Any thoughts?
 
After the incident I started second guessing myself and actually just skipped the rest of the rides except Spider-Man at islands.

Well, that wasn’t a decision I would recommend. My then husband was bigger than you started (at 5’10) and it was only Hulk, FJ, Mummy, Gringotts, and RRR that he couldn’t ride. There are sooooo many more rides than those.

[Note! Last time my ex went was before Hagrid, so I don’t know how he would have dared on that ride.]

MOST people actually aren’t watching people on the test vehicles. My ex could never ride the bigger rides, and still I don’t know where the in-line test vehicles are. Most people don’t watch and don’t care. And if there are people watching they are almost certainly thinking positive thoughts for you. The occasional jerk (and my then-husband dealt with a group of them 10 years ago at Disney) isn’t worth worrying about.

I'm worried about my son-in-law when we come in December. He's a bigger guy and has really large lower legs (calves). His large calves are what kept him from going on Disney's Flight of Passage last year. He didn't show his disappointment, but the rest of us were bummed that he couldn't ride with us and I know he had to be too. I'm wondering if that will be a problem for him on Hagrid's or any of the other rides at Universal. He's lost weight since our Disney trip, but I don't think his calves have gotten any smaller. Any thoughts?

Gringotts is almost certainly going to be a problem because of the weird extra lower leg pads they have. Though it’s usually a combo problem. With my ex it was tree trunk thighs plus big calves plus a belly that worked together to keep him from sitting differently. If you only have one or two of those things it might be more possible.
 
I tried explaining to the gentleman that I could do it outside and that maybe if my wife pushed a little it would turn no problem. But it didn’t matter he said if I couldn’t do it on my own I would have to wait for my family in the hallway.

I do not know if this rubbing salt in the wound, or would make you more upset, but as someone that that has to worry about these things too, but luckily always fit on rides (but twice) I have a question. Is this the only person that felt this way and by that I mean, "if I couldn’t do it on my own I would have to wait for my family in the hallway", in regards of you testing? Or did every TM you encountered (on any ride) felt you needed to get into the vehicle yourself without assistance?

I ask since (while it's been two years since I've been to the parks) almost every time I've been on a ride when I've had my APs I've always gotten assistance while getting onto ride vehicles if on the chance it was a tight fit (FJ, Gringotts, Hulk, RRR), however have had a few TMs have had that mentality of refusing to touch the bar to assist what so ever.

I want to commend you for your weight loss, but the point of me bringing this up is not only it's a genuine question of mine to see if that seems to be a rule of thumb for all TMs now that they closely follow, or was one of few who had does this like I've encountered (as I'll soon be getting an AP again). But also to let you know, as someone who's ridden on FJ journey so many times I've lost count I've only not ridden it twice. So, those are pretty amazing odds. Of course, it is not a good thing to risk as the wait time for Hagrid's, as it is sketchy at the moment. While I do not want to put blame on the TM and make you potentially more upset, I had to ask and I do not want you to give up.
 
I do not know if this rubbing salt in the wound, or would make you more upset, but as someone that that has to worry about these things too, but luckily always fit on rides (but twice) I have a question. Is this the only person that felt this way and by that I mean, "if I couldn’t do it on my own I would have to wait for my family in the hallway", in regards of you testing? Or did every TM you encountered (on any ride) felt you needed to get into the vehicle yourself without assistance?

I didn’t encounter any trouble anywhere else really, it was close on the mummy earlier in the day. but the team member asked me to move to the outside seat and gave it a good push and I fit. He was actually awesome about it and played it off like he was doing the push in secret and asked several times if it was comfortable. It’s my thighs that have the trouble.

The team member at Hagrids was the only place they told me to do it on my own. But again I fully understand his job forces him to be the bearer of bad news sometime. I also get why he probably came off a little grumpy to me in the moment, it can’t be easy to tell people after waiting for so long they can’t ride and if people get upset with him it’s got to be even tougher to be cheery.
 
I didn’t encounter any trouble anywhere else really, it was close on the mummy earlier in the day. but the team member asked me to move to the outside seat and gave it a good push and I fit. He was actually awesome about it and played it off like he was doing the push in secret and asked several times if it was comfortable. It’s my thighs that have the trouble.

The team member at Hagrids was the only place they told me to do it on my own. But again I fully understand his job forces him to be the bearer of bad news sometime. I also get why he probably came off a little grumpy to me in the moment, it can’t be easy to tell people after waiting for so long they can’t ride and if people get upset with him it’s got to be even tougher to be cheery.

Thanks for letting me know. Your post made me curious. I have a feeling it's an actual rule and just a lot of TMs are lenient on it and just help anyway, then there are a select few who are strict on it. To me I can see why a lot are lenient on it, as it lessens the blow if you actually do try and I can't see a lot of safety issues if you're just giving a push, especially if it helps to secure that person. However, like you said it's a job, and people either are strict when following those rules, because they want to / it's part of the job description, or feel the pressures of feeling as if they need to follow those rules, or get backlash from higher ups.
 

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