Canadian mom says she was kicked off amusement park ride because of her size

After a mortifying experience trying to fit into a ride, a BC mom is calling on fair organizers to add signage with weight restrictions for rides so others don’t have to feel embarrassed. 

For the first time in years, Claire Bowman made a trip out to the PNE Fair in Vancouver with her husband and two young children for a day to enjoy all that the fair has to offer. 

She tells Daily Hive she had a great time with her family filled with lots of fun. But one awkward encounter stayed with her for days. 

@clairebowman._ Such a fun day!! 🖤 #vancouverpne #vancouverbc #vancouvermoms #adhdmoms #adhdtiktok #adhdinwomen #GradeUpWithGrammarly ♬ Summer day – TimTaj

The Dizzy Drop is one of the PNE’s family rides that requires an adult to accompany anyone between 38″ to 42″ tall.

So, Bowman and her husband waited in line with their kids for about an hour until it was their turn to take a seat.

Bowman says she had no trouble sitting in the ride but had trouble clicking herself in with the overhead restraint. 

“The attendant came over and he tried to push it. He was looking at me and looking around awkwardly. And then he said, ‘I’m gonna have to push on it harder,'” she explains. “I consented … So he tried to push again. Then it clearly was not going to latch … I was embarrassed at this point. And I said, ‘Oh, I guess I’m too fat to ride this.'”

Usually, in response, someone may say, “Oh, no, it’s okay. It’s the seat,” Bowman says. “You blame the ride and not the person.”

However, she says the employee agreed with her.

Plus-sized people are not treated “as human beings”

This is not the first time Bowman has felt she was treated differently because of her size. This is why she says she’s noticed how people with bigger bodies are not treated “as human beings.” 

She says the PNE employees neglected to understand that this kind of experience could impact someone’s life “so deeply that they never go to an amusement park ever again.”

“It’s not just that the person doesn’t fit on the ride. The person is body shamed, and this affects their confidence. And [suggests] there’s something wrong with them and not the ride,” she explains. “If the attendant had just said, ‘I’m really sorry, sometimes rides don’t fit the parents and it’s just the ride and not you. This ride doesn’t accommodate everyone, so we were going to have to step aside’ that would have been okay. But he didn’t say that.”

@clairebowman._ I wasnt going to bring it up but my followers said I should. 🤔 #playland #playlandpne #playlandvancouver #vancouverpne #fatproblems #greenscreen ♬ Suspense, horror, piano and music box – takaya

In a response to Daily Hive, the PNE says its rides team manager has reminded the young employees about how to talk to guests that are not able to ride.

“The operators have indicated they were feeling bad for any guests who are not able to get the green light on the safety restraints,” an email from the PNE reads. “They are instructed to let the guest know that they may have to apply a bit more pressure to secure, if that fails, then to very efficiently let the guest know they are not able to get the safety light to confirm its locked in place and they are not able to ride. To reduce any possible embarrassment for guests, we direct the team not to go into long explanations and draw more attention to the situation.”

After the seat did not secure around Bowman, the overhead restraints were lifted for everyone seated, and they all had to shift to another seat. She says she felt she was then ushered out and left feeling like she was an “inconvenience.”

“It was really awkward,” she says. “It was like this big production. And then my kids were like, Mommy, why can’t you ride on this?”

Bowman says since this experience, she has been left wondering, “Why do you have a family ride that requires a parent and you don’t fit all parents?”

“It doesn’t make sense to me.”

The Chilliwack mother says she is secure in her body but is worried for other fair goers that may be insecure. 

Considering there was a long wait, the “walk of shame down” after someone can’t fit a ride can be “very embarrassing” she says. 

But she adds, “This doesn’t even just affect plus-size people.”

“This could affect larger bodies, like even buff men or tall people, or even people that are underweight.”

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Bowman is urging the PNE to add a weight limit like it does a height limit on its signs so fairgoers do not spend time or money on rides they can not use.

If there was proper signage Bowman says she would have moved on to another ride she and her family could go on together.

“This was a family experience. We only go once a year so it was very, very special. And I feel like my time was wasted. So this could benefit a lot of people not only from feeling mortified, but also not wasting their time.”

PNE responds to why it does not have weight restriction signage

The Dizzy Drop is one of a few rides at the PNE that have an overhead restraint safety system.

“The safety systems are designed by the manufacturers to ensure the highest levels of safety, but the overhead restraints mean that not all body types can safely ride,” the PNE explains.

“The Dizzy Drop doesn’t have a posted weight restriction, but does have required height allowances – you must be both tall enough and not too tall.”

 

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The fair adds, regardless of some guests’ weight, they are not able to safely lock into rides like the Dizzy Drop.

However, there is a safety sign posted to warn guests “This ride employs safety restraints, which may restrict some guests from riding.”

“Fun shouldn’t have a size”

In the past two years, Bowman says she has lost 70 lb, “and a lot of that has to do with accessibility.”

She explains that some people may not understand but smaller bodies tend to be accommodated more than bigger bodies despite the average size being larger. 

According to a study published in 2016 in the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology, and Education, “the average size of an American woman is now between 16 to 18.”

“So if you are a [average] sized body you should be able to expect going to an amusement park and fitting the ride,” she says.

Bowman says the intention of speaking about her experience is not to shame the PNE but to educate. 

“There’s so many women that are going through this and men,” she says.

“Imagine if that happened to a 12-year-old or a 14-year-old. How would that impact their confidence for the rest of their life? An amusement park … there shouldn’t be boundaries as to who can have fun with their kids and who can’t if you’re an average size. It just seems off to me.

“Fun shouldn’t have a size.”