A 13 year old girl and her family were at an Alton, Illinois (St. Louis area) water park on Monday afternoon. The family wanted to ride the Mississippi Monster water ride. As it turns out, there is a 200 pound limit to ride the Mississippi Monster. The 13 year old girl was asked to step on a scale prior to getting in a tube for the ride. She weighed 205 and was turned away.
The girl is not as upset to not ride the ride as she was to have been asked to step on a scale in front of strangers. The family wrote a letter to the water park explaining their hurt at the humiliation their daughter faced at the water park.
The water park responded by saying new tubes are being ordered for more people to be able to ride the ride, but safety is a priority. They maintain that there was a sign at the base of the ride stating that all riders would be subject to stepping on a scale.