Theme park fans slam new 'fat-phobic' Mario Kart ride at Universal Studios

06 February 2023 , 14:26

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The new Mario Kart ride has been criticised by park users (Image: Universal Studios Hollywood)

Theme park users have slammed a new "fat-phobic" Mario Kart ride at Universal Studios after a new safety rule could ban larger visitors.

The highly anticipated Super Nintendo World is due to open in California, US, on February 17 and will see visitors compete as part of Team Mario in a battle against his rivals.

The ride, which is based on the hugely popular series of racing video games, will use “augmented reality and animatronics" to allow users to play against each other.

It will require guests to wear VR headsets and sit in vehicles based on Mario's standard kart.

However, the ride can only accommodate visitors with a waste size of 40 inches or smaller.

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And with the average waist size in the US for men at 40.5 inches and 38.7 inches for women, many visitors have hit out at the potential new rules which would bar a significant amount of guests.

The ride can only accommodate visitors with a waste size of 40 inches or smaller (Good Day LA)

Although Super Nintendo World does not open to the general public until February 17, some lucky Universal Studio pass holders were given the opportunity to try out the new rides during a preview event.

And social media users were unhappy with the new rules in place.

A Twitter user wrote: "Still mad about that 40-inch waistline requirement for the Mario Kart ride. “It’s just blatantly fatphobic, there’s nothing about it that can’t accommodate a bigger human.

Visitors have hit out at the potential new rules which would bar a significant amount of guests (Good Day LA)

"Let alone an average-sized one, as 40 inches is hardly monumental. I’m a few pounds from there myself!”

While another tweeted: "Can we discuss how at my biggest I would not have been able to fit on Mario Kart? A 40” waistline is about a size 20. Are you freaking kidding me? It’s a DARK RIDE.”

YouTuber Rocco Botte hit out at the body size limitations and said she could "barely fit" in the ride.

She wrote: “Nothing but wonderful things to say about Super Nintendo World except this: the body size limitations on the Mario Kart ride are absolutely ridiculous.

One guest out at the body size limitations and said she could "barely fit" in the ride (Good Day LA)

"I’ve never had any issue fitting into any ride in my entire life, and I can BARELY fit into this one. Completely absurd.”

However, it is believed the restrictions on some of the rides are put in place due to stricter safety standards.

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These are often requested by insurers who are concerned about potential visitor lawsuits.

Jim Shull, a theme a park designer who worked at Disney for over 30 years, told NextShark some rides have to limit the size of the adults in order to be safe.

The ride is based on the hugely popular series of racing video games (Good Day LA)

She said: "If you size every seat for the largest possible person, you’re guaranteeing that a smaller child cannot ride."

A Universal Parks and Resorts spokesperson said they trying to make changes so larger guests can go on the ride at Super Nintendo World.

It said: "We have a company-wide task force actively working with this community to make changes that can help them safely increase access to our experiences."

Liam Buckler