Tales From The College Program: No Seatbelt

When you're a CP without a car the parks are pretty much your only day off destination (not that I had a problem with that).  The downside of that being, after riding the Tower of Terror multiple times a week, the thrill is gone.  My roommates and I came up with a solution to this and we called it the Seat Belt Scam.

What we did was this; when we sat in our row we would pull out all the slack from our seat belts.  We would then buckle them and sit on the slack.  After the doors closed and the ride started we would wait till we reached the first drop and get off the slack.  When the ride dropped we would hold the seat belt out as far as it would go and jump off the seat, this way we would fly out of the seat as high as the seatbelt.  When the ride was over we would let go of the slack and the seatbelt would retract back in to the appropriate level of restraint.  This was enough thrill for us, until my friend Steven came to visit and gave a whole new meaning to "Seat Belt Scam."

We had told Steven about the Seat Belt Scam and he was anxious to try it out.  We were seated in the back row and Steven was given the middle aisle spot, which was perfect for what he had in mind.  We all sat down and pulled out our seat belts waiting for the ride to start.  When it did, Steven took his shirt off (which was something he would do on Test Track as a single rider to see the reaction of the strangers he was riding with).  As we approached the drop Steven slipped out of his seat belt.  As he did this, the seat belt retracted.  This was why we always held onto the slack at the end of the seat belt, once you let it go, you can not get it back.  Even if he wanted to, Steven wasn't getting back into his seat belt.

The doors opened, light flooded the elevator car and there was Steven standing in the aisle, shirtless and without a seat belt.  I'm sure the other riders were terrified for him.  Before the car dropped, Steven grabbed ahold of the metal ceiling grate.  We all watched as he lifted his legs up, hanging from the ceiling as the ride dropped.  He did this at every drop, jumping up and down laughing wildly.  Needless to say, it made our Seat Belt Scam look like child's play.

The ride ended and Steven realized he couldn't squirm his way back into his seat belt.  He put his shirt back on and sat back down placing his hand over his stomach to hide the fact that he had no seat belt on.  The rest of the car just looked at him in shock.  When the doors opened, we knew he was in trouble.  Waiting at the exit were 2 Disney officials in suits and a Tower of Terror Cast Member.  As we all walked off the ride one of them asked to speak to Steven.  Steven sensing he was in trouble said "I'm glad your here, I'd like to register a complaint."  He then started to go off about how he had a faulty seat belt.  The managers (or whoever they were) obviously weren't buying it.  "How did your shirt come off?" they asked him.  He told them it was blown off.  Surprisingly, he was not forced to leave the park.  He was told that if they ever caught him doing it again he would be asked to leave.  Steven still maintaining his faulty seat belt alibi assured them that he would not be riding the Tower of Terror again.

While Steven was talking to the Disney authorities, the rest of us stood at a safe distance and listened.  When he rejoined the group we all ran to the photo area hoping to see the picture of a shirtless Steven hanging like a monkey from the ceiling.  Unfortunately, the powers that be decided that our photo was "Lost in the Twilight Zone."