Banks Lee and the three clicks

**Chrissy&Tayen** · 07-20-2010, 01:46 PM

Orlando, Florida -- Most of us remember being too small as a child to go on rides at the amusement park. Banks Lee of Orlando has the opposite problem.

The 24-year-old recently went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and found he was too big to get on the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride.

Lee admits he is large. He says he's 6'2" and 310 pounds. Lee and others his size and larger are being turned away from the ride.

Universal requires the seat restraint on "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" click three times to secure a rider. Lee only got two clicks.

But instead of complaining that Universal didn't make the seats large enough, Lee is fighting back against his own body. He's started a diet and exercise regime so he can fit on the ride.

He's even started a blog to chronicle his progress. It's called "Banks Lee & the Three Clicks: My Journey to Fit on an Enchanted Bench."

i guess this is becoming a big issue over there.. alot of unhappy people

**zippitydoodah** · 07-20-2010, 03:15 PM

Good for him for using this to go on a diet and get healthy

Hopefully he gets to ride the ride soon!

It must be hard to design the seating for rides... especially rides like this one where you need to be fully restrained and it needs to be safe for everyone. I am 5'5 and pretty average-sized (I'm smack in the middle of the healthy BMI for my height) and I've been to a lot of parks with my sister who is 6'0 and just under 250 pounds. She has always fit on rides no problem (she's never been told she can't ride anything), but I know that in some rides where I'm nice and comfy shes a bit squished or more often, her legs are all cramped up since she's tall. The opposite happens too though, where she feels fine and I feel VERY un-secured and unsafe. We went to a local amusement park this weekend and when the lap restraint (it's not really a bar) is all the way closed there is still quite the gap and I go flying up and down off my seat during the ride quite a bit whereas she feels secure. Now, like I said I'm pretty average sized, so if they were to make the ride to accommodate people in the 300 pound range +, than any children or people who are petite (or even average like me) would not be safe at all. I think that that's the reason why they really can't make a seat where one size fits all, especially when safety is a factor and people need to be snug and secure. Luckily there aren't a whole lot of Disney rides that require guests to be strapped in to this degree, but I know that this isn't just a Universal issue.

**Chrissy&Tayen** · 07-20-2010, 03:20 PM

im proud for the fellow and what he is doing and i hope he reaches his goal soon.. but i would be so mad if got there after spending all the money to get there and cant ride the ride.. how sad that would be

**WDW4Ever** · 07-20-2010, 03:22 PM

There's one way to get people to lose weight

**zippitydoodah** · 07-20-2010, 03:23 PM

Hm I agree... but I've read quite a few posts on here about larger people asking beforehand about different attractions and whether or not they would be able to fit. Just like if you have a kid who REALLY wants to ride a certain attraction but you're not quite sure if they're tall enough you might want to research beforehand and see so that they are prepared to not be able to and not be disappointed once they get there. He maybe should have thought about it before paying all the money... or maybe he knew that that is a possibility, since he says he's not angry and understands that he is a bigger guy. I do feel bad for him though. But surely he's been to some sort of a theme/amusement park before and realizes that there are ride restrictions? Unless he has had a recent weight gain and did not realize...

**Chrissy&Tayen** · 07-20-2010, 03:25 PM

well i seen the video and he said that he doesnt have a issue on any of the other rides.. so he didnt think he would have a issue on this one.. and they are saying it is so much the weight.. but where you weight is.. if your weight is mostly in the spare tire section.. then you will have a issue by what people are saying.. the seat wont be a issue for me.. but i have a few friends i have to break bad news too

**zippitydoodah** · 07-20-2010, 03:38 PM

Ya I've heard they strap you in pretty good for this one... because its pretty much like soarin, if the seat for soarin was attached to a robotic arm, which in turn was attached to a roller coaster track. Or at least that's the impression I get... so its a bit more secure than most other rides. I guess it's a good thing... that they're making sure people are safe. I'm sure if they could think of a way to keep the ride safe for everyone and have everyone fit they would (hey, more people fitting on the ride mean more people visiting... not that they need that right now!).

There is a lot of info on the all ears page about each ride at Disney World and the issues that bigger people have had WDW At Large - One Size Does Not Fit All!
Luckily as I was reading through it seems like a lot have been fixed. For instance one lady got stuck in the turnstyles at POTC and held up the line and had to get her family to push/pull her out and was VERY embarrassed, but since then they've been changed to bigger style ones.

**Chrissy&Tayen** · 07-20-2010, 03:40 PM

oh my gosh... i would just die!!! and feel so bad if that happened to me.. that poor lady

**zippitydoodah** · 07-20-2010, 03:43 PM

I know

it would be so embarrassing the poor lady! It's a good thing that Disney seems to be pretty good at fixing things like that to make sure it doesn't happen again... especially since that obviously isn't a matter of safety!

**Chrissy&Tayen** · 07-20-2010, 03:45 PM

i have been looking up HP world on youtube all day and just getting really excited for it

**zippitydoodah** · 07-20-2010, 04:20 PM

When are you going? I'm heading in just over 3 weeks (its a mostly Disney trip but we all love Harry Potter so a visit was in order). I'm a bit nervous about all the lines though... lines to get into the area of the park, lines to get into the gift shops, huge ride lines... especially in the August heat yikes!

**Chrissy&Tayen** · 07-20-2010, 08:32 PM

were going the end of october.. i dont know when they guy on youtube was there.. but there was like no lines..

**zippitydoodah** · 07-20-2010, 11:09 PM

Was it at night? Because they've been having problems with the amount of people that are showing up... they've been giving fast-pass type tickets with a designated time for people to come back to get into the WWoHP (not the rides, the general area of the park) because people have to wait in line for hours just to get to that section of the park. I just found an article that is from last week that said that last Monday there was a one hour wait to get into the 3 broomsticks and a 2-3 hour wait to get into Olivanders. And those are just stores! I'm not as excited to go anymore because of it and might just do the rest of the park and see if the lineups die down by that night. You should be better off in October though!

**Chrissy&Tayen** · 07-21-2010, 07:41 AM

naw it was during the day.. and i asked when he was there and im waiting on a reply.. but it was during the day and slow.. and i was reading in the other post that someone guy said he went into olivanders like 10 times and got picked like 2-3 times for the wand thingie.. i hope it does die down in october.. im going to universal that day just for hp world..

**zippitydoodah** · 07-21-2010, 08:15 AM

Ahh when did he go?! There are even news reports about how the crowds are such a problem :Potterheads Flooding New Theme Park! It's A Problem | PerezHilton.com

Crazed Harry Potter Fans Swamp Wizarding World Of Harry Potter - DailyFill.com

I'm going to try to go in the evening one day and see how the lines are then, and then if that doesn't work I'll come back in the morning another day. I can't avoid being there in August though!