To think Chessington (MERLIN) need some disability training?

[youarenotkiddingme]

My ds has ASD and a neuromuscular disorder.

These are lifelong conditions which he will not grow out of.

We have been annual pass holders for legoland for years and decided this year as hilltrain has been out for action for so long and he can't manage the Hill not to renew.

We decided instead to try a chessington with a view to purchasing MERLIN annual passes or just a Chessington annual pass.

I looked at their ride access pass information online (having always had them for DS) and the criteria has changed. So I rang them up.

They will no longer accept sensory OT reports, Camhs reports, EP reports, EHCP etc that all state he has social communication difficulties, tactile sensory difficulties and struggles with crowds and noise.
Why? Because the reports aren't dated within the past 12 months.

Well of course they aren't because they don't re diagnose him yearly with a life long condition!

They won't accept his neuromuscular consultants letter dated within past few months that clearly states his physical difficulties in keeping up with his friends because it doesn't state that he'll need a ride access pass for that reason.

Well of course it doesn't because it's a generalised letter stating his disability.

They will accept a letter from the GP that states in 1 line that due to x y and z DS would benefit from a RAP.

The letters are only done privately - at £30 that's the cost of a ticket!

I understand they need a system and need to make sure everyone gets equal enjoyment out of the day. But the RAP doesn't mean more rides it simply means not needing to stand in the main queue. You have to wait between rides still (usually an hour).

AIBU to think Chessington (etc) need to be more disability aware and realise if a child has a lifelong disability and still receives DLA for that disability (which they'll accept for a carers ticket) then whenever the report/assessment/diagnosis was written they will still experience those difficulties.

I'd be interested if anyone can link or explain somewhere in the equality act that reasonable adjustments can only be made with recent proof of disability.

Would they crept the ECHP with this year’s annual review attached to show it is still in place?

Accept not crept.

Nothing about “dates” online. They simply want a certified letter from your GP. If the cost is £30, then I don’t see why you couldn’t use this for the upcoming x years.

“What are the accepted forms of documentation?

If you require a Ride Access Pass you will need to provide one of the following forms of documentation:

A certified NHS Letter from your doctor or consultant clearly stating why you are eligible for the policy
A letter from a professional body (e.g Nurse, Bupa Healthcare Advisor) clearly stating why you are eligible for the policy
A DLA, DWP or PIP letter stating you are entitled to higher rate mobility allowance – please note we will only accept higher rate mobility allowance for a Ride Access Pass, no other letters will be accepted.
A blue badge along with an additional form of photographic identification”

I know this is complete away from the nature of your post, OP, but if you wait a couple of weeks Merlin will be doing their summer sale and you will get the passes a little cheaper.

Have you looked at getting a national disabled identification card , you do have to pay but it should be acceptable for these types of places .

I would email them and tell them about your experience, tell them about the £30 that you’ve had to pay unnecessarily etc and ask for a discount on an annual pass. They’re dicks at legoland too. They were trying to quiz my son who has autism, asking him his name to see if it was matching name on the blue badge which has his picture on FFS! When he couldn’t answer they were raising eyebrows and looking as if they were suspicious. They definitely need more training. They’ve also changed he ride access rules now and you get a Q-boy instead, which means you have to wait hours before you can join another queue.

Petulant that's the issue. I have loads of paperwork stating he has the needs and disabilities meeting there criteria but none are dated last 12 months which is what they want.

They won't accept EHCP either. Even with AR attached.

They will only accept a letter from consultant or GP clearly restating saying ds difficulties dates in last 12 months.
Rung GP and it's £30 because it's a private matter and will take up to 2 weeks after they've received it in writing from me and processed the letter.

Oh and not only must it state he has these needs but that he'll benefit from a RAP because of them for Chessington to then assess if they'll give one or not.

That's a good idea about emailing to say the cost is £30 and can it be offset against an annual pass!

I found the paediatrician very helpful, even when DS had been discharged. I asked for a new letter of diagnosis as his previous was no longer being accepted. They sent me a copy of his diagnosis with a renewed date free of charge. They also added a paragraph that I needed for flight assistance.

I contact ds consultant via epilepsy nurse. Shes replied that he's he's on holiday 🙈
Don't blame him really he has 2 boys slightly younger than ds - and it's half term here.

Tried his OT too but she's TT only contract.

I'll definitely ask at next consultation about adding a bit on consult letter.

I've had the exact same problem. They were so incredibly rude and patronising to me that I cried while standing at the desk trying to get a new Ride Access Pass for the year! I've got annual Merlin passes paid for by a large charity for disabled children and I can't use them until I've got £50 for a letter from the GP. Absolutely awful.

@TheWar
If the system is similar to the one at Alton Towers the time between rides ensures fairness and stops people moving between the main rides all day (and only applies to the major attractions so you could go on the smaller rides, to the cafes and to the other attractions while waiting for your next major ride) and getting on the big rides many multiple times more than ordinary guests. Under the previous system I managed to get on Air 5 times, Nemesis 3 times, Rita twice, Oblivion and a few smaller rides within 3 hours which is clearly not fair on other guests who have to queue.

Op ive found the merlin carers pass a luck of the draw. It really depends on who is at the counter. Ive had lame experiences at legoland and chessington dealing with clueless staff who tell me to talk to this person/ that person. Chessington was particularly bad, we traipsed to different parts of the park because staff didnt know what to do.

The reason is I've come across people offering paperwork outside to get exit passes. I've been offered (and refused) and seen it happen on several occasions. Blame those people.

But I do agree about it was too far in the other direction too at one point. I went with a friend whose DC had an exit pass and they managed on a not stupidly busy day to do roughly 3 big rides to every 1 we did-and we were going for the less queued rides.
Because it made such a difference I think this encouraged the trade in disability letters.

I’m sorry OP, but i see nothing about an expiration date in their terms and nothing to suggest you need a new letter from your GP every 12 months. You just don’t have any of the qualifying documents and are pissed off they won’t accept what you do have.

Why on earth do you think they need further training? Having a certified letter from a GP clearly specifying what they’ve asked for means that the decision whether or not you qualify is completely removed from their staff.

You’re expecting to bring a bunch of medical reports to someone who’s not a medical professional and are asking them to then determine whether your son qualifies or not. It makes perfect sense that they put the onus on the guest not on their staff. I’m sure staff have made errors in the past and parents were in an uproar, which has lead to this policy.

Petulant. I spoke to them this morning. They said it must be dated within 12 months. I was even told if I could get the same information from sensory OT sent to me again dated as of this month they would accept it.
I asked if that's because they were under the misguided belief that you grew out of autism

All ds wanted was to go to Chessington for the day with his friends. He wanted to go along and be able to access rides and be included.
Their system has meant we no longer can do this because he's been actively excluded.

Oh and I'm happy to listen to being told IBU as I asked.

But to stop stupid nitpicking over whether chessington actually want within 12 months when they told me themselves that it must be within 12 months - here's the screenshot of their page!

There really is a twelve month clause. Had to go through getting the go letter last year, and made sure to go a week before it expires this year, and will need a new one if we renew next year. They have changed chessington rap now to virtual queue on ALL rides not just the big ones. That really sucks.

I can see why they don’t just accept any dla letter for the purposes of ride access because dla doesn’t mean the need for ride access.

I would push them on the 12 months thing though as that makes no sense. I could understand 3 or 5 year cut off but not 12 months, thankfully when I had to apply for one for legoland last year we had just that week got an Ot report which couldn’t have been worded better!

Totally agree the dla sirzy. And I have that letter as we get it yearly 🤦🏼‍♀️.
Ds sensory report is written November 2016. His AR still says to follow it - so I have proof it's still relevant.

That's still not good enough for Chessington.

I even tried to save OT report from email as word document and adapt it date wise to 2017. But sadly they are read only documents

It just makes no sense to me - as a parent of a disabled child - why they'd increase what they need for proof when they've, quite rightly and I've had many an argument online in an holdouts abut this - reduced what a RAP offers and is simply now a quieter queue. It's a great reasonable adjustment - if you can jump through the hoops to get it!

Yup, has to be within the 12 months. So DS who surprisingly still has ASD 5 years on needs a new letter. I kicked up a HUGE fuss in person in February about this when we picked up our Merlin passes, and in the end they relented and accepted his IEP from his school, which clearly stated he couldn't wait in the lunch queue etc.

We don't see the GP, or consultants, or even CAHMS anymore. Doesn't mean his disability has suddenly disappeared!!!

We will have to suck it up and pay the £30 next year for a GP letter I think. And every year. Because Chessington is the one place we can enjoy as a family.

Though we went yesterday and their ride access queues were the best they'd been in years. People with clipboards checking number of guests going through, checking times, taking into account the wait we had had to get to the front of the disability line when writing down time for next ride etc. It meant we could leave after four hours when DS1 had been overstimulated enough

Stupid nitpicking? It doesn’t say that in the faq’s on the Chessington website, actually. But I’m.

But I’m wrong, it does say that when you click on their online form. You’re still rude OP