I’m a size 26 & tried loads of rides at Thorpe Park park to see if I could fit in the seats – I was right to be nervous

HEATHER O’Neill, 26, from Kent, is a size 24-26, and was concerned that her fun day out would be ruined due to potential accessibility issues.

 “I was so nervous to go, I nearly cancelled out of fear that I wouldn't fit on the rides,” Heather, a student mental health nurse, told NeedToKnow.online. 

“The fact that I even have to think about if I will fit the rides is the first difference [in being a plus size customer].

“The feeling nervous before going, the pushing the seat down trying to get it to close.

Worrying about how safe the ride will be for me, after that poor man died on a ride in America.

“It's the same as flying – worrying if the seat on the plane will be too small or I'll need a seat belt extender.

“I used all the test seats that I could find, which most people don't have to do.

But rides aren't built for plus size/fat people, it’s about accessibility and making spaces inclusive for all bodies and accessibility needs.

“I feel like the staff did everything they could, were helpful and kind, but Thorpe Park is not built for fat people like me.

“Theme parks, aeroplanes, buses – society isn’t built for anyone who is outside of society's norm of straight, able bodied and slim.”

Heather decided to film her experience at the park, showing herself trying out the different test seats available.

While she did fit in the majority of seats and could go on most rides, she found she did not fit into the Samurai ride test