I 'fat tested' the rides at UK's most popular theme park - there were so many seats I couldn't fit in

Daily Mail​

a day ago

A group of women 'fat tested' the rides at Thorpe Park to see if they could fit comfortably in them all.
Jo and Nat, known as @team.topsy on TikTok, shared their experience of testing the attractions at the popular theme park alongside some friends.
First up was Rush, a giant swing ride that goes up to 75ft high at 50mph, and the video showed the pair being flung into the air.
'Never ever, ever again,' Nat commented afterwards.
'I must say, getting into the moulded seat you have to really get your bum back, it was quite tight,' Jo explained.
Nat felt it wasn't 'the most comfortable' ride because of the seats being 'hard plastic'.
However, overall they felt 'very secure' and were happy with the good amount of 'air time'.
Zodiac was next to be put to the test. The ride spins 60ft high and has no restraints holding passengers down.
'Apparently gravity will keep us in when we go upside down,' Jo said.
Nat quipped: 'Will we defy gravity?'
After the ride, the pair shared their verdicts and Nat described it as 'brilliant'.
Jo added: 'What a fantastic ride, you don't have anything holding you in.'
Nat interjected: 'Absolutely nothing, you are sat practically on the floor of a cage with nothing, just hold on.'
Jo joked: '... gravity keeps you in, and if it kept us whoppers in, it'll keep you in as well.'
Vortex, a swinging pendulum ride, was next, and Nat hopped into the tester seat outside of the ride to see if she would be able to comfortably fit.
She described it as 'very narrow at the thigh' and no green light appeared above the seat meaning she would be unable to ride.
Jo also didn't pass the test, and neither did her friend Yvette, though their pal Susan managed to sit in the set fine.
The friends then tested Quantum, a flying carpet, family ride, which secures riders with a lap bar.
Nat commented: 'It's very comfortable, easy to access.'
Family roller coaster, Flying Fish was also a success but The Swarm's tester seat proved to be too small for Jo and Nat, meaning they couldn't go on the winged roller coaster.
In a second video, the group of women tackled Hyperia, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the UK.
Neither Nat or Jo were able to pass the seat test, while their friends Yvette and Susan did.
Despite not being allowed to ride, they commented how impressed they were with the accessibility information board nearby Hyperia.
Colossus, a 10-looped roller coaster, was up next, and Jo demonstrated herself attempting to fit in the test seat.
She said: 'I'm not going to fit, but in the interest of transparency, showing you how much space I've got left from the seat belt.'
'I would say, if you're up to about a size 18 you could do Colossus,' Jo shared.
The group of friends then attempted to test out Samurai, a spinning mechanical arm that flies 60ft high.
A sign next to the seat said: 'Guests must be properly secured in the ride seat, which may not be possible for those with chest measurements approaching 51 inches.'
'My chest measurement is 63 inches, so there's absolutely no way I can even try it,' Jo commented.
She then tested exactly where the harness needed to go down to be able to ride, and was surprised that the gap was quite small.
'If you're over a size 18, you're not going to fit on this,' she said.
SAW - The Ride, based on the film of the same name, also wasn't a success for either Nat, Jo or Yvette, though Susan did fit.
Though they were able to enjoy The Walking Dead ride, Jo shared: 'The only thing I will say is you have to have two people per cart so me and Nat were really really squashed in together, she had to have her arm around me for the whole ride which I'm sure she enjoyed.'
Roller coaster Nemesis Inferno was next, and everyone was able to fit in the tester seat.
'If you are in a larger body, ask for row four and five because they have two seats on there that have double seat belts and they are are a bit more generous,' Nat explained afterwards.
'So I sat in one of those, Jo sat in front, Susan was okay in the normal buckle next to me but there are options if you are bigger bodies.'
Drop ride Detonator proved to be a success for Yvette, but Jo and Nat couldn't pass the three safety clicks needed to fit into the seats.
Meanwhile, roller coaster Stealth's tester seat was a struggle for three out of the four.
Nat shared her overall verdict and said: 'I think the rides are really good but I wouldn't say it's completely accessible for a plus size body.
'I would say accessibility for disabilities is brilliant, though we did seem to ride more thrilling rides at Alton Towers.'
It comes after Blackpool Pleasure Beach unveiled footage of its newest ride - which promises to be the 'tallest of its kind' in the UK and transform the resort's famous coastline.
The park released the first CGI video of Aviktas, a brand-new £8.72m pendulum ride set to open in 2026.
Riders will fly on the towering 138ft gyro swing, alongside the popular Big One roller coaster and parallel to the coast, which is displayed in new footage created by the park's creative team.
The ride will be the 'tallest of its kind' in the UK, surpassing the current leader, Drayton Manor's Maelstrom, which reaches approximately 74 feet in height.