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!

Surely you can see that someone who has maybe had their foot amputated would maybe need a wheelchair but be quite keen to live the same life they had before?

No but there should be as people with seriously disabling autism that need 24/7 care are about to find it much more difficult to claim benefits, get blue badges, get help at airports etc this is just the beginning when significantly different levels of autism are grouped together

Makes sense. All my family have ADHD.

As usual the many have ruined something for the few. My DS is ADHD, he finds waiting really hard and it completely dysregulates him, but he wants to do the fun stuff. We just have to manage it with distractions. Yes he'd be that child in the queue playing on the switch to keep him distracted, people can judge all they want. It would never occur to me to use a disability pass. I imagine a lot of people are using ND to gain an advantage which spoils the system for those who genuinely need it.

Also the lack of understanding on this thread is wild. How can people not understand that going on a ride and standing in a cramped queue for extended periods are two very different experiences.

@TheUsualChaos
As usual the many have ruined something for the few

what does this mean?
too many people using the card that is offered?
how do you know that they could cope?

I’m afraid it’s lack of imagination about what other people might want or need that gets us into these situations

It's the wants that often cause the issues, not the needs. The problem is, how fo you assess the needs of people with eg anxiety in this settingto ensure that the problems that have arisen are minimised.

That's the most ridiculous comparison I've heard! Being in plaster for six weeks or so compared to being a permanent wheelchair user? Of course you'd be OK to avoid certain activities for a few weeks - you might feel differently about for the rest of your life!

I think the councils are bankrupting us all with their council tax rises.

But seriously, it wasn't too long ago, I read an article that schools/council are rising the fines for taking kids out of school to go holiday cheaply, and typically, there was a parent with ND child/children saying that they have to go when it's cheaper, because their child can't cope with the airport or hotels during school holiday time, when it's extra busy. I flew late November to Tunisia, early morning and the airport was very busy (East Mids Airport) then.

Incidentally my own daughter, now 25, loves Alton Towers and has SEN. Possibly autism. I have never used the virtual queue system. I didn't know it existed until recently. She loves the fast rides. I get sick as a dog 🤮

when attending theme parks/other events etc there is the hassle of queuing and waiting. No one likes or enjoys this, there are times in life when we have to make judgments about the level of hassle for the enjoyment level , just as we do when spending money. As inconveniences are swept away for attendance at parks etc while everyone else is waiting with the number of those seeking passes etc has increased. There is a question of level of need and thst is perhaps what needs to examined

There are so many things wrong with your post, ignorance being one of them. How are the public having to continually accommodate “these people” to their extreme disadvantage? Too easy to get a diagnosis? Really? What do you know about the process or do you consider the view of that idiot Wes Streeting and the Daily Mail to be an authority on the matter? Your post show your total ignorance and your bias. You are exactly the person who would be making the same remarks about “these people” but in a different context they would be black, Asian and other ethnic minority. For the benefit of us all, please go and educate yourself.

It means that I think it's highly unlikely that everyone using the passes genuinely needs to which has resulted in the issue of saturation and the system failing to work as intended, i.e making the rides inclusive those who genuinely need to be able to queue for much shorter times.

This is a problem primarily caused by parks by constantly selling more tickets than they have capacity for. It’s a conscious and deliberate business decision so they can then upsell fast track tickets and /or overnight stays. Poor maintenance is an issue too. When 5 of your 7 main rides are shut/broken down, it’s not exactly rocket science that your remaining ones will have ridiculous queuing times. Then they turn around and claim it’s the fault of the “wrong type” of disabled people.

This is a problem primarily caused by parks by constantly selling more tickets than they have capacity for. It’s a conscious and deliberate business decision so they can then upsell fast track tickets and /or overnight stays. Poor maintenance is an issue too. When 5 of your 7 main rides are shut/broken down, it’s not exactly rocket science that your remaining ones will have ridiculous queuing times. Then they turn around and claim it’s the fault of the “wrong type” of disabled people.

Exactly! But some here think it's all fine because they're a business and no one needs to go to a theme park, and they need to make money, however unethically they do it.

well said

it is not for you to judge, show some empathy

There’s a reason they don’t publish the exact number of RAPs that are being used and instead playing on people’s assumptions/prejudices.

She said she couldnt understand why someone in a wheelchair would even want to go on a rollercoaster.

It wasn't even actually that easy to get those passes even before the rule change. Probably just a little free marketing for Alton towers just before half term tbh, but the increased footfall will be unpleasantly bigoted people (along with those who have missed this all together of course). Disabled people spend money too by the way Alton towers.

I can’t remember where it was but one park was offering a quiet separate place to wait - but wait you had to. This removed the “unfair” advantage of being able to go off and go on other rides whilst waiting for your allocated time slot.

So foolish those posters complaining about parks being crowded. They are businesses experiencing ever-higher running costs. Ridiculous to imagine that guests should be hugely limited - prices would have to balloon.

I expect many disabled people will vote with their feet, we will. I doubt many families can afford the fast pass so just won't bother going.

If enough people stop going then AT will change their policy. Realistically they only care about profitability.

I understand that Disney and Lego are the same. Someone I know had to do a business deal with Disney and he said they were the nastiest bunch of people he’d ever dealt with.

In this scenario, why can't someone accompanying them queue like everyone else. Then at the last moment swap with the disabled person.

No queue jumping and as long as it is always a one for one swap why would anyone object.

Define hugely limited. Capacity at Alton towers is 28000!! Is it fuck! Also, they can’t be doing too badly with a 2.1 billion revenue across all sites, an increase of 8% in 2023.