AIBU that fast passes and disabled access lines should be different.

[2021isnottheyear]

We went to a well known theme park yesterday with daughter who is disabled.
The ride access passes are now moved to virtual queues so you wait the same length of time as everyone else but just not in the actual line. This is absolutely fine. However the issue is you wait the same length of time and then when it is your time you go to the access and end up waiting in a line / longer because it’s the same system they use for people who have purchased fast passes.

1. It means you still end up waiting in a line and 2 actually end up waiting longer than without a ride access pass ?

Also in terms of the other customers who don’t have fast passes this then makes their usual long waits even longer.

The system seems very flawed.

Surely the point of the virtual queue is to avoid queueing in the first instance.

I'd complain!

The issue lego land have 3 different ones

Virtual line - nornal amount of time but don’t have to physically line up

Virtual line express - don’t have to line up and waiting time reduced by half

Virtual line extreme or something like that - virtual line - immediate access

Then you have the ride access passes which are equivalent to the first option

Then you have original line and people with no passes.

I think they have made it too complicated.

@Ylvamoon

Yes originally, the old system of ride access was if you had one you went to directly to access point ( they would allow one access person on at once ) so it was never like the normal line was distrusted too much.

Then they changed it to virtual line queuing ( there has been a lot of complaints about how it wasn’t fair we could push in as such )
Not the virtual line is not an Irish really.
It would work if there was no lines at the end of the virtual line time slot.

I remember a time going out and queuing up like everyone else instead of paying for push in. Its completely wrong and I avoid places like this for the money making scheme it is. Totally different for disabled access but it's poor greed from the companys and unfair on family who can't afford to spend extra money on passes.

@Fullofglee it’s not like they are even reasonably priced either

I have 3 kids and myself it would be over 500.00 for one day at the three park. Which actually we could afford but I know many others wouldn’t.

There should be one line for non disabled and one for disabled. The only people with fast passes should be those who cannot queue. There should be no charge for this.

@2021isnottheyear

It’s honestly not worth the money for families who can only afforded the usual park tickets anymore.

This. I went to Alton towers before covid. No fast passes. We were there from opening to closing and planned what rides we wanted like a military operation, we ran from one ride to another. We got on 7 rides.

Actually we didn’t even do 7 because Smiler broke down after we’d been in the queue for 90 mins. We did 4 of the big roller coasters which is what took up 80% of the time. One smaller coaster with hardly any queue and then the laser quest goats train thing which didn’t have a queue. The queue for wickerman was nearly 2 hours.

I hate fast passes, they won't because of the money, but they should get rid of them so that the queue moves quicker, and families like yourselves can do the virtual queue without having to queue again.

We haven't been to a theme park for years as it's so annoying. We went when the Darren brown ride was fairly new, we went just for that and waited for nearly 4 hours whilst the fast queue sauntered through, honestly can't be arsed now. Also really needed a wee by the time we got on it so was willing it to finish!

@ForeverSausages

We turn up at the FP line 10 minutes before our time is up. More often that not even if you get to the front before the time is up they'll let you on. If not you do what most other people do, stand to the side and wait for the counter haha.

Sounds like this is the solution.

I went to Alton towers before covid. No fast passes. We were there from opening to closing and planned what rides we wanted like a military operation, we ran from one ride to another. We got on 7 rides

We had a similar experience with Chessington 4 rides from opening to closing time.

I know it's not feasible for everyone, but we now go abroad for theme parks every other year. I make sure it's in spring/ autumn outside the country's school holidays.

There is very little queuing, and kids can visit rides more than once!

This is why we didn’t bother using the option of the disabled ‘fast pass’ at Alton Towers recently as it all seemed such a faff and I doubted it would make much of a difference time wise anyway.

@Mumoftwoinprimary not really because it depends on the length of line when you arrive even if we arrived 10 minutes before slot we would still need to line up and wait for the line to get to the front.

Sorry if I've misunderstood, but are you saying the line for disabled guests is the same line as those with fast pass tickets? If so that's not on!

[quote 2021isnottheyear]@Mumoftwoinprimary not really because it depends on the length of line when you arrive even if we arrived 10 minutes before slot we would still need to line up and wait for the line to get to the front.[/quote]
But you'd have knocked ten mins off the virtual wait to even things up a bit maybe? Make sure you're at the front of the queue when your virtual wait is up, instead of the back of it, would that work?

I went to Alton Towers in the May half term and most of the big rides were shut for most of the day, we got on 4. They just let too many people in, it should be pre-booked tickets only. It didn't matter how you organised yourself and I'm really glad we didn't get fast passes as it would have been a lot more money down the drain.

YANBU. The system should equalise access for your family - it's failing to do that if you are ending up waiting longer than someone in the standard queue.

IMO, the experience at Merlin parks is not worth it now. (We have practically given up going, but ds requested legoland as a birthday treat 😬)

The whole virtual queue system was copied (again) from the Disneyworld set up, but of course there is actually loads more to occupy you during your virtual queue at Disney - much better theming if you just walk around, better food and snack options, parades, things like photographers to take good pictures, sometimes with special effects, characters to meet, etc. At Merlin parks, you have rubbish snack options, a load of concrete to hang around and no other parades etc (yes, there are sometimes shows, but there are drawbacks - the shows are static, with a limited audience (rather than moving and so many vantage points to watch from), often run only a couple of times a day.

The experience is not the same at all at Merlin parks, but they expect the customer to magically find something to occupy themselves, and the customer is left feeling underwhelmed (to say the least)

I dont know the detsils for disabled passes but if say 1% of the population are asd alone then plus carer etc. And obviously any other disabilities.
When we went to ppw queuing for hours with under 4yos who similar to add literally couldnt wait to then see everyone getting on via the exits. The ride then broke down. When we went to the park the next time dc2 who is very tall was big enough for the bigger rides so we hardly went on any peppa pig ones.
(Which are badly designed as take only 4 people at once say.)
How many rides can the paid for fast pass people go on? As i think ppw they could only do 1 fast of each ride.
Agree with pp basically charging so many people to go in.

4 rides? 7 rides? Why do people go and continue to give these places their money? I remember in days of olde going to Drayton manor and often you could finish a ride, run round to the entrance and get straight back on. The parks need to start limiting the numbers coming in.

@HSHorror even the old rules though with the disabled access it was only one allowed on each time of the ride. So it would be like if there was 10 disabled people in the ride access line ( which was never the case ) they would all go on before anyone else.

@fourminutestosavetheworld but we are still lining up for long periods of times the whole point of the access passes is because we can’t line up.
It does solve the waiting a bit longer but only if the person working allows it.

This thread has got me a little concerned now; we are going to T.Park on Wednesday with our autistic (and currently undiagnosed ADHD) DS who cannot cope with long queues. We have got a ride access pass. I was already planning on taking lots of little things (travel 0's and X's, top trumps and his music) to keep him calm and as unstressed as possible.
Anyone who has been before got any advice? We will try the 'get in the disabled queue before your time is up'

Totally different for disabled access but it's poor greed from the companys and unfair on family who can't afford to spend extra money on passes.

I agree disabled access should be a separate thing from fast passes, but you can't really say paid-for fast passes are unfair. You get what you pay for. Is it 'fair' that one family can afford basic tickets and another family can't afford to go to the theme park at all? Probably not, but unless we have complete wealth equality, there are always going to be people who can afford more things, better things, upgraded things.

I don’t understand how you end up waiting longer with a fast pass than you would have done if you’d been in the standard queue?

Whether this is a problem or not depends on how long you’ve ended up waiting as a disabled person and carer. 10 minutes is acceptable, any more than that isn’t really.

These places main purpose is to make money, not provide families with a nice day out, so I understand why they are doing all they can to profit, it’s why they exist.