I am looking for anyone (preferably a few people) who can tell if my girlfriend will fit in the rides in Universal Studios Japan, specifically the rides in Super Nintendo world; Yoshi’s Adventure and Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challange. And also if there rides test seats before entering the queue or something like that.
We have heard stories of Universal Studios Orlando that people with a waist over 40 inches can not ride, but we cant find such information about the park in Japan anywhere. My girlfriend is currently on a weightloss journey, but we are going to USJ in November already. We have looked everywhere on their website, but there is no such information and we tried to contact USJ, but they do not respond.
The reason we want to know if she fits in advance is bc we want to buy the express passess that garantee entry to Super Nintendo world with skip-the-line tickets for these 2 specific rides. This because its gonna be a once in a lifetime visit for us and we want to ensure we can do these bucketlist rides. Because this costs quite a bit, we want to make sure we can both physically ride these rides. These are her current measurements:
Waist: 113cm/ 44 inch
Hips: 133cm/ 52 inch
Clothing size: EU48/US18/UK20/XXL
We are looking for anyone who has a similar bodytype as her to please tell us your experience in Super Nintendo World Japan. Or perhaps someone smaller as her who didnt fit, or someone bigger as her who did fit, that would also help a lot.
She has never experienced not fitting in any themepark ride in Europe (For example, she fits in every single ride in Disneyland Paris).
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As someone who has experience with working at theme parks and truthfully everyones body is so different it’s hard to say.
People carry their body differently. 4 different people could all be 44in or so but all carry their size differently. Person A might not be able to put a lapbar down but fit nicely in the seat, person B might be able to put the lapbar down but not quite fit in the seat, person C may have issues with both, and person D may have 0 issues at all even though they all claim to be the same exact circumference but no one is perfectly round in all the same areas. Some people sit higher, some lower, etc. I’ve had people come through that I would be iffy on but they’d make it work no issues and there are some that seem like they’d be ok but lo and behold just the way their body sits impedes the lapbar even if it doesn’t immediately appear to be an issue. People are just so unique that’s it’s hard to say definitively.
If you are overly concerned with not being able to experience these attractions and the amount of additional money you are attempting to throw at these attractions I would probably avoid doing so as the disappointment if things don’t work out is just going to be exasperated due to the cost and the “I only wanted to do these two things and this was a once in a lifetime thing”. If you don’t mind possibly being turned away and don’t think it’d sour your experience then by all means.
Is there no way you’d be able to go to CA or Florida in the Future? Florida is opening soon with more additions than what currently exists in USJ.
FWIW I’m like 225lb-ish, so a bit chunky. And I was able to do the amazing Thunder dolphin coaster at Tokyo dome without a problem. Haven’t gone to the major theme parks though.
She might be able to do yoshi, but probably not Koopa.
Please take this with the non-judgemental kindness I am intending, but could she maybe wear some shape wear just for that day, it can trim an inch or two off the body if correctly fitted? There’s the kind like Spanx, which cover the whole stomach/thighs/butt area. This might make her feel slightly more confident. However it would be a terrible idea in current weather conditions, she would overheat with the extra tight layer on.
TLDR: I am fat, and I fit on Koopa Challenge but not Yoshi.
I am a similar size to your GF, albeit I am a man. My waist is probably larger than 44 inches these days, maybe as big as 48. I tend to wear all my weight on my belly, with a huge beer belly and biggish thighs, but otherwise pretty normal/skinny limbs.
I was able to fit pretty easily on the koopa challenge. It was a little snug, but there was no real trouble. There is a test seat, and it is a continuous glide and lock mechanism, so as long as you reach the green zone on the lap bar, you are fine. There are friendly staff members who will help you check in the test seat.
The only thing to be aware is that the actual ride seats on the koopa challenge are slightly different than the rest rides. You will be fine, but if the test seat is tight you might be slightly uncomfortable.
These test seats are on basically every ride, and most of them are off to the side or behind a decorative wall so as to be relatively private.
On the other hand, I did not fit on the Yoshi ride. The test seat is not a continuous lap bar, but one with discrete mechanical clicks. So if you are just slightly over the maximum allowed level, it won’t click into place. I was quite disappointed actually as I wanted to ride it, and expected it to be more lenient being a much safer children’s ride, but no dice.
I also did not fit on the Harry Potter Hogwarts ride.
On the other hand, I was able to fit with no issue on Jaws, Jurassic Park and Spider-Man.
The staff are great though. They won’t make an issue of things if you don’t fit, and they were absolutely fine with me following my friends through the themed queue areas even though I wasn’t riding, so I didn’t miss out on the theming and I didn’t have to wait alone.
All told I had plenty of fun as a fatty at USJ. The theming of Nintendo World alone was magically and a dream come true to me, and well worth the trip. The other rides were a fun bonus, but I’m not much of a coaster guy.
One warning though: depending on your physical fitness level – it’s a LOT of standing. There’s basically no seats anywhere, and absolutely everything from rides to popcorn to merch to food will require spiralling queues, sometimes in uncovered beating sunlight. So just be ready for sore feet.
Call that a wake up call…
Hey mate, I went to universal last weekend! Just by coincidence I found myself in Osaka.
I honestly think 52 inch hips will be too big for most of the rides in the park! That’s alot to scrunch into the seats. I’m a 32 waist 6′ and felt very snug on most of the rides.
But I would still get the pass! The rides whilst fun aren’t the major attractions in the studios I found. Going through super Mario world, Harry Potter, water world, it’s just alive with things to do. So even if you miss out on some of the rides, honestly you won’t miss out on an experience. Also the place is huge. I spent a full day there and only hit about 50% of it.
Im a 6 foot 3 with a 36 inch waist and I had a fine time getting into the rides, they are built based on the american size. She should be fine but she may have to ride alone.
I was there a few years ago and they have some test seats outside some attractions (Harry Potter at that time)
Why is so many people call “plus size” just admit some of us are really fat, nothing wrong with that
I was there in February and was able to fit in the Marion Kart ride. For context, I’m also a plus size woman and wear size 20 or XXL. Don’t know my exact measurements though.
There’s a seat to test at the entrance which I highly recommend using. I went in once I confirmed with that seat.
My only problem was that the space between my back and my butt has a big curve that kinda vacuum seal me to the seat so getting out was interesting lol
Was there yesterday, browsers castle was fine, but kyoshi seats were TINY. honestly not missing much. They will pull you aside if they think you might not fit and have you try the seats so just be aware of that!
The rides have test seats at the entryway if you want to be sure before getting on.
I’m a 42″ waisted (hips are obviously larger I don’t know the exact measure), 5’11” male. I had no trouble on the Mario Kart ride. I didn’t try the Yoshi ride. I wasn’t able to do the Harry Potter forbidden journey ride though, I could fit in the seat width wise but my torso was a bit too tall for the harness to come down over my shoulders. (I am a bit taller in the torso than average, when I sit down next to my 6’1″ brother I’m slightly taller, lol).
For the Harry Potter ride they have test seats well in advance of the ride. I believe they do for the Mario Kart ride as well.
I found an old YouTube video posted 4 years ago (so, not SNW ones) where a plus-sized Japanese woman (120kg = 265lb) couldn’t ride for safety reasons. I think your girlfriend might be declined for similar safety reasons.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kPJdjxHalZc
The Yoshi ride is quite tight and small since it’s primarily designed for kids, so this ride might be challenging for her.
I’m a similar clothing size and I went to USJ Feb 2023. My husband is larger too. I have a bigger stomach & upper body I guess which can make it more difficult to fit. They made us go into test seats in a private room prior for majority of the rides, however we were not rejected from any of the rides and were able to go on!
The rides I went on were Hollywood Dream rollercoaster, the Harry Potter rides (the Gringotts one & the Hippogriff one), all the rides at Super Nintendo World (Koopa, Yoshi), Jurassic Park and some other little ones. For the Hippogriff ride my partner and I had to ride separately as they had only 1 seat for bigger people. Hollywood Dream was the one I felt the most squished into though lol, was a bit scary!
I have to say the staff were super lovely. Definitely go, it’s so worth it!