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!

If Merlin said those in wheelchairs could no longer use a RAP pass there would be uproar

Not if they did it the right way.

It'd crazy. I have some Deaf friends all independent, communicate verbally and or BSL. They all got fast passes! One of them said they got vertigo due to inner ear issue so queuing a long time difficult, I said well being chucked about on a white knuckle ride wasn't going to help.

If a child or adult even cannot queue then a theme park is just not the right place for them. Plenty of other places to go for fun. I don’t know why some people seem to think that theme parks (and Disney even more so) are some sort of human right. Want to skip the queue? Buy a fast pass like everyone else or just don’t go.

Don't I? I suffer from an anxiety disorder and other mental health problems myself. I would find it very difficult to tolerate being in a queue at Alton Towers, which is precisely why I'd never go.

This is just another example of everyone gaming the system, and those people who these things were set up for in the first place, those with real needs, lose out.

People are unbelievably f*cking selfish these days and do not care about people living with real issues.

It's nothing to do with visibility of the disability. Many disabilities which cause difficulty standing or urgent toilet needs are invisible.

This isn't a fair comparison at all, you are describing able bodies people abusing a family members blue badge, Alton towers are taking away an accommodation from disabled people. Non disabled people are not getting RAP without someone who qualifies actually being with them.

Were they actually RAP passes? Or fast passes? Because anyone with the money can get a fast pass.

Merlin could do this if there was another reasonable adjustment that could be made for them to access the rides. As there is no other physical way to access a ride apart from the normal queue or the ride access queue entrance they don't have a lot of options.

Equality law says that they don't have to offer every disability the same reasonable adjustments, this is fair and makes sense eg you wouldn't offer a deaf person a ramp as a means of meeting their needs.

Merlin know their RAP system doesn't work. They've offered other reasonable adjustments to those who don't meet the criteria for RAP. They do not have to have their needs met via RAP.

People with severe LD or autism would need supervision and support in the bathrooms so would likely qualify that way.

I appreciate i'm quoting a reply to the relevant post. So not aimed directly at the person quoted.

Why?

It's hard isn't it to be fair to all. My teenager went to Blackpool pleasure beach with school , it was really busy, think she went on 2 rides all day but a few children with ADHD/Dyspraxia who she knows were eligible for fast passes and got on a lot more.

People do have to accept that if you are disabled there will be limits to things you can and can't do. If you are unable to stand in a queue and wait your turn then you can't go on that specific ride it is what it is. I haven't been to a theme park in over 10 years because of my disabilities. I don't want or expect special treatment. Its nobody elses problem that I'm disabled

If you agred with the changes please email, merlin need to hear both sides.

[email protected]

Thanks for explaining the difference between having to queue with people and the sensory experience of the rollercoasters. It’s exactly how my DC is. People are so judgemental on here sadly about autism, adhd, anxiety etc.

Tbh I don't know . Just seems kind but then I'm agreeing more with others if you can tolerate a white knuckle ride a queue should be a breeze.

Well I have the pleasure of having both a physical disability plus autism and an anxiety disorder.

I think physical disability should always take priority if places need to be limited because no matter what therapy I have, what medication I take, what support I get, how hard I try, how much I want something or what help I have in learning skills my legs will never work any better whereas the rest of it can be worked on and improved.

Why not allocate a couple of rides for the disabled and those with ADHD, and anxiety. They would have shorter queues.

Everyone else goes on the other rides and queues.

Why should disabled people do without when the problems they suffer can easily be ameliorated? You might just as well say that disabled people shouldn't be able to use public transport because helping them to access it is a bit inconvenient.

Unfortunately the result of too many people taking the piss. Freddie, just put this sunflower lanyard on and we'll all get through the queue quickly. Poor Freddie being too young to understand that his parents are selfish cunts.

The problem is that it doesn't matter how genuine the need for such a pass is, if too many are issued, it's logistically impossible for them to function. It will just create two queues, one for neurotypical, able people and another for neurodivergent, disabled people. That is a mathematic certainty.

There is a solution but the theme parks will never do it because they have monetised queuing by offering ridiculously priced fast-passes for people who are rich enough or prepared to save up in order to pay the same price for a day at a theme park as you might pay for a week at Butlin's.

The solution is for theme parks to do away with queuing for everyone and offer time-slot access via an app. So at the start of the day everyone books their slots on the popular rides and turns up when they're due to ride. You miss your slot - tough luck. Ride breaks down - tough luck. But no one has to queue for longer than it takes to load one circuit of a ride.

They will never do this while people pay £1000 for a family's worth of fast passes. The answer is in the hands of the public - vote with your feet and they'll do something about it.

You completely misunderstand why people may need to avoid the specific stressors of long queues and yet they can enjoy the sensory experience of various rides. Please don’t judge people in the way you are. It’s hard enough raising children with disabilities without people making unqualified statements.

This is exactly it. If they have technology that means no physical standing around for one group of people, they have it for everyone. They're just choosing not to utilise it across the board in order that they can charge even more money. And lobbing in a bit of "fake disability bashing" by way of distracting us from this.

I think it would be totally fair enough if the queues were wheelchair accessible. Apparently this is what Disney have done and I don’t see the problem with it.

Usually people have to produce evidence of their child’s disability at theme parks and don’t/can’t rely on a lanyard!

I think the whole point of reasonable adjustments making things accessible to those who would otherwise be unable to access things has severly bypassed many in this thread.