Not a professional opinion but...... I think they are in the right. As a matter of fact even public parks make exemptions to certain areas due to safety concerns. Don't take it personally. Even though the ADA represents great strides in forcing accommodation, it is not always possible. You simply have to consider your own safety as well as that of others.

Hear your point, but where do we draw the line between safety and discrimination.

My point is that with long pants on I was able to go and ride every ride with no problem, but if I wanted to wear shorts they would not let me on the ride just because I have a prosthetic leg. I feel there should be something for me to sign or bring to prove that my leg is safe for the ride, on a hot day like it was I could wear shorts like everybody else, and be told I not able to go on the ride.

Dennis

googled this

Safety First
St. Petersburg Times 7/20/05

It seems that theme parks are doing whatever they can to error on the side of caution these days. Around the country, there have been incidents of guests with potential pre-existing conditions dying on attractions. However, Busch Gardens Tampa has managed to create a bit of negative publicity by trying to avoid such an incident. An 8-year old girl, who competes in swimming events in the National Junior Disability Championships, was denied access to three water rides. Jessica Rogers suffers from lumbosacral agenesis, a condition that stunted the growth of her legs, which were amputated. Unfortunately Jessica had left her prosthetic legs at home, and ride attendants did not want to risk strapping a person into attractions that have a primary harness that secures the lower portion of the body. This situation poses a very interesting question: Should theme parks do whatever is possible to make attraction accessible to everyone, and risk an incident caused by a guests pre-existing condition, or should they create negative publicity by turning away guests because they dont want to take a chance?

In a litigious society like the United States, its difficult to blame Busch Gardens for turning this little girl away. Who wants to take responsibility and bear the inevitable lawsuit if someone with no legs is ejected from an attraction? However, what theme park wants to prohibit children from riding, especially disabled children? Disney actually had a problem last year when a rider was ejected from the Mad Hatters Teacups, primarily because of a lack of strength in the lower body. The ADA requires that theme parks provide adequate access to rides and attractions for people with disabilities, but if disabled people cannot be secured by an attractions restraints, those people have to be denied access. It may break the hearts of little kids and anger their parents, but if we want to have theme parks to go to 30 years from now, parks cannot risk any major lawsuits or endure negative publicity centered around safety.

another read..........

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/09/army-amputee-thrown-from-new-york-roller-coaster-dies/?test=latestnews

Ok good point I do understand there point of view, but they should do more treating the individual then grouping everybody together and saying there the the problem is fix our, butts is cover.

It would like telling you that you are not able to go golfing because you dont have two good legs and its unsafe for you to be out on the golf course. That is how I feel about this I enjoy going on rides I will pay the price to go to the park, but to find out that I am able to go just because they don't want to risk being sued. I just feel that they should make it more personal.

I also was down at six flags St Louis in the beginging of June of this year I was able to go on all of the rides, and I only had to take my leg off for one ride.

Its just to bad that there is poeple out there that looking for easy money.

Dennis

My Happy Feet has it right I am afraid. In this day and age when a hand shake on a deal means nothing and people sue over the smallest infractions, theme parks are just being careful. Try and buy a ladder that doesn't have safety stickers plastered all over it and you will see what I mean.

I do understand there point of view about making sure that all rides are safe to ride for everybody. I went to other parks web site and check out there policy on prosthetic legs and I am posting them here for your review. These parks are willing to work with the person to make sure they are safe to ride not just telling you that you are not able to ride because they feel that its unsafe for you to ride.

Cedar Point Ohio
Guests with any type of prosthesis should not ride Power Tower, Raptor, Skyscraper, Skyhawk, Wave Swinger or Wicked Twister unless they can ensure the device is properly secured and will remain in place during the ride. If there is any concern of the prosthesis becoming dislodged during the ride, guests should contact the Park Operations Office for assistance.

The manufacturer of Shoot the Rapids, Wicked Twister, Maverick, Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster and the manufacturer of WindSeeker require documentation from the manufacturer of the prosthetic device guaranteeing that the prosthetic device has been designed to remain in place on a high speed roller coaster ride exceeding a maximum speed of 120 MPH (70 MPH Maverick) with maximum G forces from -1.5 Gs to 5 Gs with sufficient safety factor for single point failure. Questions? Please call 419-627-2301 prior to your visit.

Valley Fair Minnesota
Guests with any type of prosthesis should not ride unless they can ensure the device is properly secured and will remain in place during the ride. If there is any concern of the prosthesis becoming dislodged during the ride, guests should visit Guest Services for assistance. Guests with prosthetic limbs must consult with Guest Services prior to waiting in line or riding.

King Island Ohio
Guests with any type of prosthesis should not ride unless they can ensure the device is properly secured and will remain in place during the ride. If there is any concern of the prosthesis becoming dislodged during the ride, guests should visit Guest Services for assistance. Guests with prosthetic limbs must consult with Guest Services prior to waiting in line or riding. Guests with a prosthetic leg cannot ride Flight of Fear or Drop Tower. Guests with a prosthetic above the ankle cannot ride Diamondback

Dennis

Dennis,
When you first posted this I was sorely tempted to respond, but I didn't. I watched the responses grow, and it looked like maybe you got it, but that is a big maybe. This is what I mean.
If you are required by your insurance company to get a second opinion on a surgery, are you doing it to make them happy or to get your surgery (hopefully)? Businesses (like 6 Flags) follow the recommendations of their insurance companies because they need liability insurance to open the park. If they don't follow those recommendations, they don't get insurance.
You listed a few parks policies on dealing with prosthetic devices. I would be willing to bet that their idea of "ensuring the device will not fall off" is not a simple signing off of a waiver. 6 Flags has some similar language on their site, or at least identifies rides where having a prosthetic can be an issue. Either way, you need to do more digging than hoping if riding it what you want.
So you fooled them all and put on sweat pants and rode the rides you wanted. I know you have some sort of vacuum pump on your prosthetic leg, which SHOULD keep it on during normal activities. But with the high G forces and high speeds some rides generate, plus throwing in all that extra sweat, how would you have felt if your prosthetic leg slipped off and became a 120 mile projectile?
You do realize that is the real problem with a prosthetic on a more active ride. You won't get hurt (typically) if your leg falls off! But some poor person on the ground might be an unentended target for your leg. Yeah, you might have to rent crutches once the ride is over, but if your leg has flown into one of those tree lines instead of hitting someone else, are you the type to sue for the cost of your lost prosthethis because they let you sneak on the ride in sweat pants?
Knowing the ages of the kids who work there at the park, they probably realized they can not have them making decisions on the spot if someone can safely ride with a prosthetic leg or arm. And they have also probably lost a few prosthetics that riders left when they got on the ride that disappeared before they got back.
Finally (yeah, I know, it's about time) I see you started out being very happy with your visit 4 years ago when you received special treatment with the "no wait" feature they employ for the diabled. Gosh, I was surprised this didn't annoy you being singled out for that! (okay, I couldn't help the sarcasm). I know you want to make sure that we all get the best treatment possible, but there are going to be times when that just will not be possible.
Kevin

Ok I hear your point Kevin, and I do understand six flags point of view, and the insurance company point of view. But I know my leg will not fly off during the rides because I have beeen on many rides with my leg. Plus I went down to six flag one year after my accident, and with the pin lock systems on and I did not have any problems with that coming loose during the ride or all most coming off. I know this as a fact because I have been their. So to have people tell me that they don't want me to ride because there is a chance that my leg might fly off and hit somebody is BS to me. I know this that I could hang upside down hanging from my leg and it will not come off (and no I have not tried this) I just know.

Kevin have you ever been on a ride that has any G-force?

I do like hearing other people point of view on this but I do hope somebody does understand where I am coming from. I dont want my leg to fly off and hit somebody, if was not sure on how well my leg will stay on I would not ride.

Thank you
Dennis

First, I want to thank you for the responses I have received. I value the opinions of others who understand where I am coming from.

My purpose for buying the sweats was not to "fool" anyone. I just felt it was unfair to basically change the policy from one year to the next. I paid full price to get in, not to get in and only go on four rides. I have been to other amusements parks that had no issues with me going on the rides. One was even a different Six Flags (outside St Louis). So, I went down to Gurnee thinking I would have no problems, only to find out it was a problem for them. I understand different states have different liability laws, but it still rubbed me the wrong way to be told I wouldn't be allowed to ride the coasters I wanted to because of a lost limb.

One of the rides was the Wizard. No Gs, it is like sitting in a car. There are no loops, no inversions or centrifugal curves. The only way to ride that ride was, in their words, to have "four good limbs." Even if I took my leg off (which I have offered to do) I still would not have been able to go on this ride. My leg is lost below the knee, so strapping me in is not a concern. This was like telling an experienced sky diver who lost his leg that he can't sky dive anymore because his leg might fall off while coming down. It is the same for downhill skiiers, rock climbers or anyone else.

My enjoyment is roller coasters and if I felt there was even a chance of my leg coming off, I would not go on the rides or at least make sure my leg was securely fastened to my body if need be. I don't want to see anyone else hurt because I was trying to "pull one over on them." I just wanted to go on the rides like anyone else, not to be singled out because I lost a piece of my body. As for the pass, anyone can get this pass. People with heart conditions, diabetes, a broken limb, whatever. It is not just for amputees.

I didn't do the research on Great America beforehand because I had been there since the accident. If you look at their website, there is nothing on there that states them prohibiting you from going on certain rides due to prosthetics. The policies I stated in prior posts were clearly stated on their websites. Six Flags Great America did not have anything clearly posted about this. I checked after I got back.

I did not post this with any intention of suing anyone. That is not who I am, I was just seeking the opinions of other amputees. If you went to this park and this happened to you, how would you feel about the whole situation?

Dennis

In my opinion I can see it from both points of view. Whenever I go to an amusement park I usually just stay off the ones where my legs have to dangle down as I can understand that being a safety issue... Wouldn't want it to fly off and hit someone. But I think they do take it a bit too far because I went to a park once and they wouldn't allow me to ride a roller coaster where my legs were in the carriage and there was a one hundred percent it would not fall off.

Ciara