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!

Yes, I love a day trudging around Legoland to go on the worlds most boring rides and fend off shutdowns all day. It's all for me me me.

I think it might be a case of the many spoiling it for the few. Its a shame for the few people this will genuinely disadvantage but makes a lot of sense to stop piss takers.

Ds has AuDHD and will queue for rides. He's a PITA whilst doing it but that's usual. I like to go to AT when it's quieter and it's not worth it on a busy day. I think if anyone with ADHD and autism can queue in the fast lane it's just too many people and there's no point to the fast lane and makes the normal lane a misery.

I travel a lot for theme parks and going abroad will fast pass as its not like I can come back and I want to try all the good rides. AT is a great theme park and their fast pass is expensive so you want to know its worth it.

I've definitely known people taking advantage of free carers pass and queue privileges at attractions when the disability wouldn't warrant it and they'd go and queue as normal or pay their own entrance anyway without it.

I welcome the decision by AT.

I was going to say this. Realistically, Alton Towers wants to make a profit. These changes have been made because the organisation thinks it will be more efficient / profitable as a result. If it isn’t, they will change it back.

That's like saying you can't be racist because you have a black relative. And no you don't get it. Just because it doesn't affect your relative in that way it doesn't mean it doesn't effect others in that way. Most rides are two to a carriage so you aren't squeezed in with lots of people at all because there's only you and your carer in that space. No one else can reach you, or touch you or bump you.

Agree. This is something that comes up regularly on threads about disability. The perception is that PIP/child DLA etc should be spent on directly disability related things like care, aids and adaptations etc, when in actual fact it’s intended to acknowledge that participation in society as a disabled person is generally more expensive. Disability benefits address some of the additional expense incurred in doing the normal everyday things that non disabled people take for granted, but which can present huge barriers to someone with substantial disability.

This is something that comes up regularly on threads about disability.

Personally I wouldn't characterise such floods of drivel as "threads". The propaganda to information ratio is so high your could power you home with it.

I don’t like being ripped off so we would take a picnic.

It’s just a question of numbers. If too many people claim the pass then it defeats the objective. In Disneyworld you used to be able to take six family members with a DAS pass. Ultimately it led to people hiring themselves out if they held a pass.

I am entitled to a pass. Can I queue? Yes, most of the time. Should I use one? Tempting if it saves hours in queues. Morally? Dubious.

yes, same here

Then going someone else is win-win.

So, if you’re not disabled, it’s better not to go to the park at all, as you’ll be stuck in queues for hours. I think this should be widely known to the public so that people don’t waste time and money.

The more a them and us scenario is forced upon us the more divisive society becomes.

You ultimately lose the goodwill and natural empathy.

What about children or adults with low or high blood pressure, or with sun (heat) intolerance? It’s not considered a disability and often not even a formal diagnosis (I’ve tried with the NHS for years, even after collapsing from overheating).
That’s why we only took our child to Legoland twice. One visit was a mistake on a Saturday; the second time we went on a school day and had to say they were ill that day.
I think it would be better to leave parks to people with a formal disability if the parks were changed back to how they used to operate.

I think it’s a shame for those who genuinely need it, however there are some parents who take the piss with this type of thing. One of DD’s class mates is autistic, and the dad has a pass to park on the school car park for drop off and pick up (no parking is allowed on school grounds otherwise unless you’re dropping off at breakfast club or collecting from after school club).

In my opinion he takes the piss with it as he uses the parking even when the boy is off school sick and he’s dropping the younger one off🙄 they live very near school so no need in my opinion if you’re not dropping off the kid who needs the parking

I have flat feet (and no I'm not overweight and I'm wearing orthotic inner soles in my trainers). Standing in queues causes great pain as the day goes on. I'm fine when walking around. I'm not classed as disabled, have no special pass. I still visit Alton Towers once a year. I just go at a quieter time when there's less people. I realise I'm an adult and not restricted to school holidays.

Given that I go on holiday at cheaper times, and there's always school age children around. Whether UK or abroad. I don't see why parents of children with these invisible conditions, don't just go at quieter times. I know I'll get flamed for this, but just have a sickie from school. Provided exams etc aren't going on.

Sorry I meant if people like me who have a formal adhd diagnosis and DC who do too but okay, capable of standing in a queue. Yes we find it a bit more difficult than some people but we can do it. If we had got this pass, I think it would have been piss taking.
Compared to other people with the same diagnosis.But who would find it nearly impossible to stand in a long queue. As of course these conditions present very differently for different people.

When I was growing up in the 90s I went once to Gulliver's World for a birthday party and once to Alton Towers with school. Soft play was also restricted to occasional birthday parties. Now, it's just something families do on a weekend or half term, so it's obviously going to be a very different experience.

Not sure I go along with that. I wouldn't dream of putting an autistic child on a roller coaster. If the child is capable of going on a roller coaster that suggests they are on the low end of the spectrum and then why have a separate queue at all? The definition of ADHD is also so broad at this point as to be meaningless.
There is an army of gullible middle-aged middle-class people queuing up to get an ADHD card (it's a great money-making venture) so they can play it as soon as anyone upsets them or use it to excuse past behaviour as Gregg Wallace has done.

Considering the sort of people on this thread also think my kid is bankrupting the council by needing extras support and transport to his SEN school. They'd be up in arms if he was costing all that money and not showing up.

Absolutely. My ND DS ( ASD, ADHD, Epilepsy) successfully begged for the £300 ish Merlin Gold Annual Pass for joint Christmas/Birthday present. I have no idea how I’m going to mention this to him. I believe a “ heads up” as to their mooting of the idea should have been given. If implemented, he just will not be able to go, as he finds the claustrophobic nature of queues challenging ( amongst other things).

If you have a pass, do you live near one attraction? Could you do an hour after school some evenings?

Have you got an inset day you can go on?

Look at the weather forecasts in March and April, also September October. Grey days have fewer visitors.

I think it’s a shame for those who genuinely need it, however there are some parents who take the piss with this type of thing

And that is the challenge. People on this thread swearing and accusing people of being ableist are preventing sensible discussion about how to create workable systems. The theme park is just one example. This poster uses another example of car parking.

I am in a large school with 1800 pupils and we have load of parents asking for a fast track lunch pass (for child + friend) as they cannot queue. So those in the actual queue stand and watch others 'fast tracked'. We daren't suggest the child brings a packed lunch so they don't have to queue !!

We have multitudes of parents saying that their child cannot sit in the exam hall and needs a private place for doing exams - we don't have capacity and invigilators!

My sister works in A&E and they cannot cope with the number of parents saying their child cannot wait and need fast tracking to be seen.

Everyone needs to be realistic about what can be offered!

Autistic children are all different. My DC is severely affected by Autism. It’s not even a hidden disability for her. She loves rides.

I don’t have any issue with people being fast tracked personally. It can be done in lots of good ways to make it fair. Eg at a secondary I visited recently the autistic pupils left the previous lesson 5 minutes early so they were already through the queue before others arrived. No delay for anyone and a fair result.

I agree that a minority have spoiled it for the ones who really needed it.
This is not limited to theme parks, my DS has autism and when he was sitting exams for selective schools, his adjustment was to sit in the first row of a smaller room. He told us afterwards that the ‘smaller room’ was all the kids with SN, and he was one of only two kids in the room with no extra time - in hindsight, we could have asked for it, but we didn’t because we were not looking for an advantage. (He got in, with an academic scholarship!)

We went to several theme parks over the years, queuing or buying fast track, and only one time, after an morning if queues and an epic meltdown, did we turn up to the guest services, they saw the state he was in, + an email with his autism diagnosis document and gave us a disabled pass on the spot. This one time I felt it was justified. But not the other 10+ other times.