Summer fun came to a screeching for a visitor to the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
According to reports, a 300-pound man was recently turned away when he tried to board the roller coaster, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, because he couldn’t fit into the ride’s seat.
Universal reps say all the seat restraints on the ride require three clicks from the safety bar. If the bar does not click three times for a passenger, the person is asked to forfeit his seat.
Sounds like a real summer bummer, right?
Not if you are Banks Lee.
Lee is the overweight rider who got rejected from the coaster. However, instead of slinking away from the embarrassing situation and drowning his sorrows in a mountain of funnel cakes, Lee is using the theme park’s size restrictions as motivation to lose weight. He recently launched his own blog, called “Three Clicks,” to motivate weight loss in himself and others.
“And it just blew up. People said I was positive motivation, saying I am inspiring them. It’s such a breath of fresh air that people are not complaining or suing, because it is my fault — because I’m overweight,” Lee told local reporters.
The weight-challenged thrill rider says he is determined to get back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and on to the coaster, so he can hear the three clicks by the end of the year.
Gotta love his determination. I hope Lee is able to make it happen.
His story reminds me on a trip I took to Six Flags Great America last year. My daughter and I were standing near the exit to the Batman The Ride roller coaster when a heavyset man came stumbling out swearing up a storm. I overheard him complaining to a companion that he couldn’t fit into the seat and was asked to exit the ride.
And yes, there is a sample seat at the entrance to the ride, but the guy didn’t bother to try it out because he didn’t think he wouldn’t be able to fit into it, so he stood in line for nearly an hour just to discover that he was too big to fly.
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