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!

How does ADHD prevent someone from queuing?

Reported

Most queues cannot accommodate wheelchairs. So they wait at the side when their time comes up and get a bit of assistance getting on and off the ride. It’s a wonderful accommodation for people with various types of limited mobility but are otherwise fit and health.

I don't think that those who need the short queues for mobility reasons are effected by the changes.

If you have visited Uk theme parks you will know many of the queues are difficult for wheelchair users.

So many people not understanding anxiety, ASD, ADHD at all.

The challenges related to anxiety do not mean you can enjoy thrill seeking activities.

Educate yourselves before making ridiculous comments.

It's amazingly wonderful how much progress we've made in our views of mental health. And then you come across discussions like this and realise, not much has changed

Haven’t read the whole thread but the OP and first half dozen posters clearly quite ignorant about ADHD etc and ableist. ☹️

too many ableist arseholes on this thread who don’t have the slightest clue.

I honestly don't think it's safe to put a child suffering from epilepsy on a roller coaster ride no matter how much they beg for it.

What would you do if he has a seizure during the ride?

Being neurotypical has now become the norm -
It's totally crazy. People have realised the benefits financial and otherwise of having a "condition".

I don’t understand why they don’t just use virtual queues for everyone, so people only have to wait, say, 15 minutes at a time. Everyone could have an app with allocated time slots for each ride. The last time we went to Alton Towers, I queued for nearly two hours for a ride in CBeebies Land with our five and six-year-old, while my husband took our two-year-old around the park and had a lovely time wandering about. Small children don’t want to queue, no one does for that matter.

They’d probably make more money too, people would spend more on food and drinks instead of standing in a queue all day. It just feels like a much fairer system if no one has to stand in a long queue. It’s got to the point where everyone seems to need some sort of pass now, and if that’s really the case, they might as well scrap physical queuing altogether.

I used to go to Alton Towers 30+ years ago as a child and none of this existed. These days it feels like everyone is diagnosed with something, and there’s hardly anyone left who’s expected to just queue, well except, apparently, my family. Knowing they’re starting to clamp down on this would actually make me more inclined to go. I think virtual queues for all is the future though.

Sorry neant neurodiverse!

Common sense prevails 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I wouldn't want to queue and my neuro typical kids would struggle to queue for any length of time, which is why we don't go to these places, or only go on an inset day.... paying hundreds for privilege of queuing all day and eating shit expensive food, no thanks!

As everyone has some sort of diagnosis not v surprised it's being scraped. Is a shame for those who genuinely need it though.

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.

Those of us who live not too far from Alton Towers (can easily do a day trip) realised this years ago. It's probably all over Trip advisor as well. Like I said, my DD went to Alton Towers as part of a school trip (her only visit ever) and came back saying that whilst she enjoyed the rides the queueing just wasn't worth it. And with the coach fare it was expensive even with the group discount.

I think Warwick Castle used to be run by Merlin and that was fab probably because you only had to queue for the dungeon.

I'm diagnosed with ADHD and the "benefits" I get from it is reasonable adjustments to enable me to work and medication. That's it. Most of my ND friends don't even get that, many haven't even managed to get a diagnosis.

Some people are ND but their needs are way more severe and they do need more support.

It's a minority of people who see it as a challenge to milk the system for everything it's worth regardless of if they need it.

Boy in my daughters class claimed this, Adhd/ autism, guess anxiety didn’t stop him physically attacking my daughter or breaking a girls arm in her class for getting on his nerves, after he had every intervention in the world penny is now dropping that he’s a violent bully who got away with it for years, nobody can tell him what to do and we are supposed to watch him walk on rides? Great

Just make up your own nonsesense why don’t you.

i was just pointing out that you expect children who can’t understand what queueing is , to be able to jump the queue in front of other children who won’t understand queueing or why people are just jumping ahead

I never said anywhere that I oppose disability adjustments.

I said that there were other options that can be used to help. The park are providing other reasonable adjustments. It’s a trial and if you don’t mind people like you who are blaming people in this thread for it, need to give your head a wobble and realise who actually is to blame for the changes

How do you know it's a minority? The burgeoning figures say otherwise.

So, as I said in a previous post. You take the opportunity to use it as a learning moment and explain that many other children have disabilities which make it difficult to follow traditional rules. Those disabilities are not always obvious but it’s kind to let these people go first.

So NT children can be taught but ND children cannot.

OK.

I appreciate the former is probably easier than the latter and any decent person would do that with their children but you hit the exact point I was making. People think that the NT children should be taught to just accept it. Whereas the ND children don’t have to learn about queues or learn coping techniques or in fact do anything.

I appreciate that not all children would be able to learn but it appears that no one wants to try and help them

I mean surely people going to the park and showing the measures implemented don’t work is better than just blaming & attacking people who had absolutely nothing to do with the decision making at all.

I probably do agree with your last paragraph & I know that having certain disabilities its really hard to get any kind of help for them. I think this is a situation that people are fighting with the wrong people about. Ultimately the RAP pass is no longer fit for purpose but I don’t believe that virtual queueing would work either if it was for everyone

As I suspected - right over your head.

Not what I said. But carry on.

I actually can’t believe I’m reading this - you evidently have no understanding of neurodiversity and the challenges people face… (which bare no similarity to riding a roller coaster 🙄)

No one can pay for fake ADHD diagnosis! It's really hard to get it and includes a lot of assessments and friends/family and doctors to prove it. Are you one of those people who believes immigrants arrive in the UK and get a free house, car and TV? The sheer ignorance on this thread is staggering.

Too many people using the system who dont really need too have spoilt it for those who really do need the help