Alton Towers to remove disability pass for people with ADHD and anxiety

[AnitaRita]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2gwgj4xreo
Too many people wanting to join the "Fast pass queue" so you actually end up with two queues rather than one queue and a fast entry! Got to agree with them - if you're too anxious to queue then a white knuckle ride is probably not for you!

Ah yes. Famously, disability discrimination is just about not pleasing people.

You don’t see that standing in a queue surrounded by people and being swung in the air are two completely different sensations….? You don’t think there’s any difference to that?

Unfortunately this is a real life this is why we cant have nice things example

I think its good they are scaling it back. It was intended to make joyful places accessible for people for whom the world if often an unkind and unforgiving place. Those people aren't getting that benefit now.... both queues are now huge so 🤷🏻‍♀️

It isn’t just people with anxiety though. It’s people with all neurodiversity. Autism, learning disabilities, Down’s syndrome…..

If you understand that everyones wait is the same, no matter which queue system they use, then it seems we agree that "to many users reduces effectiveness" is completely false argument.

Your reason to appose disability accommodations now seems to be based on wether non-disabled children mighg feel jealous. Do you feel the same when they have tird legs and feel jealous of someone in a wheelchair? or if they wanted a pet and felt jealous of someone with a guide dog? How about if someone with allegiance were given a different type of cake which they wanted?

Just wondering how far you would take the beleve that disabled people should be denied adjustments if non-disabled children might also want them.

That’s very easy for you to say, because you have your brain and that’s how it works. ND brains are wired differently - literally the whole point of “neurodivergence”. This means that many people with adhd and autism have brains that demand sensory feedback. If you spend any time with people with profound autism you will notice that many of them hand flap, jump up and down, spin in circles. That’s because they are trying to create the sensory stimulation their brain craves. Rollercoasters provide this resonator stimulation - it’s the whole reason people enjoy them, so an ND person will enjoy a rollercoaster more than a neurotypical person because it’s giving their brain the stimulation it’s hardwired to require.

how do you mean people take the piss?
who is taking the piss?

perhaps the queues will be quicker when there are no concessions?
i guess they are not getting of paid fast track though

You can't pick and choose in life.

How many people are happy and relaxed when they receive their salary. However, stressed and anxious when doing the work/ having an appraisal? You don't get one without the other. Ah but you do, but that discussion belongs in one of the 'bendfit bashing' threads.

We seem to be reaching the stage were being healthy and working equates with being the disadvantaged.

I wonder if maybe once a month to see if disabled kids could have a day for just them? I mean to advertise it obviously.My DC is older now but as a child she loved RC and AT .Hated waiting .Didnt seem to understand it !

That's not strictly true about everyone waiting the same length of time for rides. Eg:- family one (no RAP) enter the park and immediately get in the queue for Nemesis. They queue in the line for an hour, go on the ride then go to queue for Galactica, queue there for an hour, then ride then get lunch. Then queue for 90 minutes for the Smiler.

Family two (one RAP) enter the park and ride Nemesis with RAP, they then decide they want to go on Galactica and while hour wait is counting down for RAP they ride curse of Alton Manor and maurderers mayhem. They then go on Galactica and get some lunch while their counter is going down, walk over to the Smiler and ride that.

Family three (two RAP's) enter the park and ride Nemesis with RAP1, they then walk over to Galactica and ride that with RAP2. While waiting for RAP1 to count down they do a couple of rides in mutiny bay, they then walk over to the Smiler and ride that with RAP1. They get off the Smiler and ride Oblivion with RAP2. They then get lunch.

This is not really surprising.

My ex boss received a diagnosis through right to choose and very quickly put out a statement declaring her disability on her website and thanking her customers for supporting her disabled-owned buisness. She then claimed every single bit of support, funding and resource available from lanyards, equipment, life coaching to even having a support worker who she delegated to packing her orders for her. It left a bitter taste in my mouth so I quit.
I know people who really struggle to access this kind of support, struggling with form filling and even knowing of what kind of support they need or what is available which has seriously impacted their quality of life.
Just because you have a diagnosis you shouldn’t be exploiting the system.

why shouldnt you go for what is available with a diagnosis?
i have colleagues who are just as judgmental about this, and yet, when i pointed out that they can have free vision tests due to their age, they jumped for joy.

But that assumes that they are able to queue for the other rides while the time is counting down. If they were able to do that they wouldn't need or get a RAP. You don't just ask for one or even get one just for a diagnosis, you have to send evidence to nexus (eg. medical reports) that list the actual difficulty.

They might get one extra ride in because they aren't going to wait around for the time to count down after their last one, but in most cases they will also have to leave much sooner in the day anyway (maximum DC can manage out is 4h, possibly 6h if we did nothing for a few days before and after)

Maybe.

I think the bigger problem is memberships and Merlin passes. Annual Legoland memberships are £64 per person so only twice the minimum cost of a day ticket. Children under 90 cm are free. For a family of three it’s only £192, so visit say 10 times in a year, and take a picnic, and it’s only costing £19 per time for 3 people. Legoland aren’t really making much money out of that, but you are adding to the queues. If you were a family of three with a RAP pass, you could get two memberships for £128 plus free carer tickets, and have the equivalent of VIP fast passes for 3 people however many times you want to book.

Even Merlin passes at £20 per person per month is a bargain if you use it enough. Also comes with free parking.

It would be better to they scrapped memberships, but everyone paid £32 every time they visited. They could limit numbers, but wouldn’t lose too much money as I doubt many people are paying the full price anyway.

This is a good post explaining how RAP actually works.

I don't know what the answer is to the RAP issue... I'm in a Facebook Merlin pass holders group and 2 years ago people with RAP were posting the RAP queues were too long to be fit for purpose... Merlin brought out the limited number of passes a day...that didn't work as some guests couldn't get passes for when they want to visit. They have to have a system that limits the number of RAP during busy periods but it seems this new way is not workable for some guests either.

We’ve just come back from Disney World and people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters queued up like everyone else (as they should). They just got assistance with their wheelchair and getting on rides if needed once at the front

Loads of families do this, it's all over the Merlin groups on Facebook and theur are videos on tictok telling people how to go about it. Even the lierature from Merlin used to say you could go on rides with smaller queues while waiting for the time out to count down. It's a big part of the issue and it is a benefit which is why some people are grifters and abuse the system.

We seem to be reaching the stage were being healthy and working equates with being the disadvantaged.
Can you explain a little of what you mean by this. You used the word ‘disadvantaged’ but we’re talking specifically about disability here.

You can still buy fast pass tickets.

The most useful thing I’ve found in a park was a parent swap where if you had children too small for the ride one parent could go with an old enough child then the second parent could go when the ride finished for the first parent so you didn’t need to double queue. No idea which park it was now as my children are now in their 20’s.

By default making life easier for some equals life being more difficult for the rest. .This can be through lack of money, less time, extra effort, more obstacles.

This applies to all things as yiu can never achieve absolute equality

How would this help? Surely the queues would be massive and everyone would be entitled to RAP essentially meaning no one actually gets it?!

unless they can visitor numbers at 10% or something. Which would be a 90% loss in normal profit so I can’t see them going for it.

I have one autistic child that can queue and one that can't. It should go on need, not diagnosis. They need to be constantly moving, even after breakfast they had to skip up and down the living room several times to get the built up energy out. Funnily enough, that means they have problems queueing, but not going on the ride.

I can queue fine, but am eligible because I need to be able to access disabled toilets, so the new system is still letting in people who don't need it.

As a parent I agree this is very useful but not sure how it is relevant here. It just helps parents who both want to go on big rides, which kids can’t go on, to do so. Nothing to do with disabled access.

chessington still offered this when I last went 2 years ago.

This. Having a two tier system for people paying a fortune is shocking. They should have accessible rides but not fast passes.