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!

Congratulations on the most ignorant post here. You not only have zero understanding of ND, but you have very little idea of what disability actually is if you think you have to be in a wheelchair or have multiple complex issues to be considered disabled.

It’s a capacity issue.
if we all were in virtual queues the rest of the park (shops/ cafes etc) would be swamped. You need people in queues to keep them occupied and out of the way.
one water park at universal Orlando does do virtual queues (or did) but that’s a place where everyone has a sun lounger to wait at anyway.

people moan at Disney when new rides (Tron or guardians on galaxy had lotteries to enter and why not allow people to queue for hours if they want? As shown by 3-4 hour queues for new rides at epic universe.

I've always thought that how people behave at theme parks is the best indicator of their true politics. Lefties should say that there should be no paid for fast passes since everyone should have an equal experience, anyone who uses their money to buy faster access is a true Tory at heart.

What has anxiety got to do with ADHD?

It being given for anxiety in the first instance is a total nonsense.

I think they are probably right to do this. There seem to be more people claiming ADHD and anxiety than not these days.

My own son is autistic and we’ve never used these passes.

They’re sharing information that’s widely available. The DWP themselves have information available about how best to secure a successful claim - those on TikTok are sharing that information to a wider audience, and if you’d ever tried to make a claim for PIP or child DLA you’d understand why. There’s nothing fraudulent or wrong about it.

As anyone who has ever played any Theme Park Simulator games on the computer will know - you have to balance having the longest queue possible with people getting cross!

You mean a disabled tax? Imagine telling a wheelchair user the only way though ride was to spend hundreds of pounds more then a standard park user.

What about those people who aren’t claiming they have ADHD because they do have ADHD

The disabled already face extra costs for the privilege of being disabled. And PIP/DLA generally doesn't cover them all (if you can claim it).

I can't go to Theme Parks because I can't cope with the feeling of being ripped off everytime I go to a food stall. Maybe there should do a special pass for me so that enables access by giving me some 80% off food.

There are thousands of different types of day out. I think we have to just accept that some people won't like some of them.

Bizarre post.

Just my musing!

I can't go to Theme Parks because I can't cope with the feeling of being ripped off everytime I go to a food stall.

Have you had an assessment ?

I absolutely do know how the queue works. How do you think small children who apparently can’t understand queueing (regardless of being NT/ND) & get bored standing around feel when they are stood for two hrs to see others ‘appear’ to just walk right up.

Then parents should use it as a teaching moment to tell their child that some children/adults are disabled and have various conditions which you can’t always see, but which make it difficult for them, so it’s kinder to let them go first. Instead of which, many parents take the same childish ‘why should they go first’ view. The perception is that life is somehow easier with a disability and we end up with a situation where benefits, concessions and accommodations meant for the genuinely disabled are over subscribed and in danger of being withdrawn from the very people for whom they were meant to support.

The entitlement you speak of here is not that of genuinely disabled people, or those who advocate for them. Those who shout the loudest are usually the ones who want in on something that was never intended for them in the first place.

Yes because that's how sensory difficulties/challenges work. You might be unable to tolerate light touch or someone being too close in case they accidentally brush against you and be sensory avoidant to that type of tactile input, you but love being squeezed/squashed or the rough throwing around of a ride because that meets your sensory seeking needs. You might be able to play your own music very loudly but be unable tolerate a ticking clock. You might be able tolerate a loud noise but unable to manage lots of noises layered upon another even if they're all quiet ones. When your sensory needs arent being met it makes you anxious and thus even more sensitive to the stimuli around you if you're a sensory avoider, or, you require more stimuli if you're a sensory seeker, to keep you on an even keel aka regulated. When your sensory needs are met you can tolerate more things. So standing in a queue being unable to freely stim to sensory seek or having people brush against you and touch you when you're a sensory avoider will make you more and more anxious until you have a meltdown/shutdown. If you're on the ride and you're the type of person who finds fast rough rides meet a lot of your sensory needs you're able to tolerate things you otherwise might not (like more noise) because in that moment your sensory needs are being well met so your brain is able to regulate itself more like an NT person. Equally some children like mine can't stand those rides and it would dysregulate them, so obviously we don't go on them. As someone said earlier you can be a sensory seeker in some ways and sensory avoidant in others.

I really wish people would educate themselves more on this. It's not that difficult to understand.

Yes because that's how sensory difficulties/challenges work.

Being shortsighted is a sensory challenge.

Thank you for putting this far more politely than I can. If I tried, I'd get banned.

But there is nothing to stop someone actually going on another ride in that hour is there, in the normal queue? That is what some people do, use rap for a busy ride and do a few others whilst waiting.

Is that what you think this is about ?

And we have glasses to correct it so lots of people with eye sight problems can live like those without them. Or some people have assistance dogs to help them. What's your point? would you say people can't have glasses because they should just get on with it? Or they're grifters because they can get free eye care on the nhs due to the severity? Or they should just not go out if they can't see properly rather than expect some support?

Or are you just showing your ignorance around sensory processing disorders again? Because YOU don't think it's a real disability?

As someone with ADHD and on the assessment waiting list for ASD I would say at least 1-2 months of my yearly salary goes on supplements that I have to have in order to function on top of normal prescription medication and all the extra money I spend because I forget stuff or fines I get because I don’t notice a sign or having to take time off to go to court to fight “traffic violations”.
My dd thinks I have ASD because when I know I am in the right and signs are wrongly placed or not clear I can’t let it go

We always queued, my reasoning is that if they can’t cope with queuing, a theme park isn’t for them. They are crowded more generally not just the queues. The system was being abused by two many because the criteria was so wide. We do get special entry for dsd due to ataxia but she doesn’t go on big rides, we have to use a wheelchair due to distances too, we haven’t done Alton towers but at Disney they gave passes

Yes and I understand that. I have a disabled relative I understand challenges vary from person to person.

In this particular situation though, no. Queues are over stimulating with crowds and noise but being squashed into a ride with crowds and noise isn't? It's just too selective when the one intolerable bit is the part everyone hates.

I think it is about choosing days out that your children will enjoy. Lets face most of these kids are only going the theme park for the benefit of their parents in the first place.