Parents using their children’s disabilities to skip the queues at Disneyland

[satsumaqueen]

I know the title will probably infuriate some people, and I just want to say from the outset that I am not writing this thread to cause offence. I’m writing because I don’t have much experience with having children that have disabilities such as Autism and ADHD and I am genuinely curious and want to understand more.

I’ve been planning a trip to Disneyland Paris and have joined some groups on social media to get some tips etc. I’ve been really surprised at the amount of posts asking how to get a special pass from Disney so their children can skip the lines on all the rides.

I know there are some conditions which very obviously make it physically impossible to stand for a hour, however a lot of these posts are from parents whose children have ADHD or Autism. I also know there are varying levels of autism (my cousin is severely autistic), and I know there are numerous things that people with autism have to deal with like sensory overload etc, but there are also many forms of autism where people can function like every other person, and would have no issue in standing in a queue with everyone else.

ADHD I really have no experience with so can’t comment on it, but isn’t our job as parents to teach our children how to cope in society? Things like queues are part of every day life. Why does having ADHD excuse you from waiting like everyone else?

I know there will be many genuine requests for those passes, but I also feel because of the sheer volume of them, that a lot are trying to claim them because the parents can’t be bothered to wait in line and are using their child as a free way to skip the queues? This then impacts everyone else’s experience who then have to wait even longer in queues to accommodate all of the people skipping.

Shouldn't these passes be reserved for the people who really do need them?

I have young children, so believe me when I say I know what it’s like to stand in line for long periods of time with children who find it difficult to stand still/stand for long periods of time. I’m just struggling to understand why parents with toddlers have any less of a difficult time in the queues than those with children who have ADHD as a example, but they are expected to stand in line for a hour with no option to skip. - I will just add I’m not expecting parents with young children to skip the queue, I just don’t understand why a child with ADHD or mild autism (sorry if this is the incorrect terminology) couldn’t wait in the same queue as everyone else?

Ok so from reading the OPs post I think she is genuinely trying to better her knowledge on this so she can understand shall we say. Sometimes when people have a lack of understanding of something it can come across as having an ignorant sort of rude attitude to it, however I genuinely don't think k that was OPs intention and I say this as a mum who has two ND kids plus a DSS who is ND and as someone who is waiting for assessment for both conditions herself. Would it not be more helpful as SEN parents that when people reach out for help understanding that we actually try and educate these people a little rather than go at them lynch mob style. I know how frustrating it is explaining to people about our kids needs repeatedly but not everyone is out to make the same old comments we usually hear. X

I’d imagine Disney relies on a certain percentage of guests being in queues to manage their capacity. If they only had a handful of people physically queueing at any given time, the non ride areas would be packed on busy days and they would have the let fewer people into the park, which I would think is why then haven’t rolled out virtual queuing across the board.

Parenting children with disabilities is so much harder than normal parenting. One of those struggles is managing DC1's condition so that often overlooked DC2 gets to do the things other children do. If queue-jumping is offered to families like this, then hurrah! They have enough s**t in their lives, they deserve to get a small perk once in a while.

We get accessibility passes for various things but I need to provide either blue badge or PIP evidence beforehand.

DS is beyond theme park age, but the Chessington pass worked in a similar way back in analogue days. If you skipped a queue at 1.00 and the queue was an hour long, you were allowed on the ride straight away, but the attendant wrote 2.00 on your card and you couldn't skip any queue again before then. In the meantime, you could go and do other things, but you couldn't use it to just go on the big rides all the time.

You are complaining because you perceive them having an advantage for one day. Have you thought what it is like for them the other 364 days of the year? And not just the disabled child but also the siblings who miss out on so much? Skipping the queue (but often not the queueing time, just the queue itself) might make the difference between the family spending the day at Disney or having to give up after an hour - that is not just the child with the disability but their siblings too. It won’t be the first time their siblings would have been dragged away from an activity either.

Ds could never cope somewhere like Disneyland so for him that isn’t an issue but for many places the reasonable adjustments of not having to queue or similar are the difference between being able to deal with a few hours in a venue or not. Being able to use his blue badge to park nearer also makes a massive difference.

I am all for places having tight criteria on who can access these things so those who do need them can benefit but they are very much needed

It depends on the park. Some parks you're in a virtual queue ie Legoland. The rest you use the disability or fast track queues.

OP, no one with autism can 'function normally'. If you encounter someone with 'mild' autism that means that YOU experience their autism mildly, as in its not immediately obvious or they can hold a conversation, maybe even eye contact etc that doesn't mean they don't struggle hugely internally and that to be able to function as well as they do has taken alot of therapy, rest breaks, little accommodations to make life easier etc
I dont have a child with autism but 2 with Dyspraxia, one is more affected than the other at least on the outside. One would struggle hugely with queuing as she also has hypermobility and her legs ache even after standing for a very short period. Sensory overload is a huge thing for her too, theme parks can be noisy generally and then sometimes being beside someone playing an iPad out loud or shouting on a phone call can really impact her. We went to Disney 2 years ago and the pass was a godsend.

Perhaps Disney could use some of its £30Bn a year gross profit to work out a way of customers not paying them to stand idly in queues for hours. Or perhaps it's in their business model.

I agree. I always cringe when my SD, who has ADHD, tells me how she's skipped the queues at Disneyland. I have ADHD too, I wait in the queue when I go somewhere. I don't enjoy it, no-one does. It doesn't kill me.

Wow, I have never seen anyone with a BB jump, and hop around. That may be because I am minding my own business. And you do realise that BB are not awarded, just due to mobility issues alone.

I agree with you OP. It's why Paultons Park have recently changed their process for obtaining the additional needs wrist bands. You need to show that queueing would be a struggle. Receiving DLA does not on its own show that you cannot queue.

OP, your perspective assumes that disabilities are only valid if they’re visible or meet your personal threshold of difficulty. Autism and ADHD aren’t just about “coping” or “functioning like everyone else”. They involve neurological differences that can make standing in long, crowded, and overstimulating environments physically and mentally unbearable.

Accessibility isn’t about “fairness” in the way you frame it; it’s about equity, ensuring that those with disabilities can participate in experiences without undue distress. The alternative isn’t just “waiting like everyone else”; for many, it’s being unable to participate at all. Dismissing the need for accommodations because they don’t align with your personal experience is exactly why ableism is such a persistent issue.

If you genuinely want to understand, listen to disabled voices rather than assuming bad faith. Accessibility exists because the world wasn’t built with neurodivergent people in mind,not because parents are looking for a shortcut.

And as for mentioning a “severely autistic” relative, that’s a bit like saying, “I can’t be racist, I have a black friend.” A single connection to disability doesn’t make one an authority on who does or doesn’t deserve accommodations.

What I don't get is surely at some point there will be so many people in the 'skip the queue' queue that it won't be that much shorter than the normal one?
Apparently it's money well spent to buy the queue jump tickets, as you can double the amount of rides you use. So you should just do that.
As for autism and ADHD, I'm sure it would be much more challenging for people with those conditions just standing there in the hot, moving at a snails pace for hours.

Your complete lack of understanding is ridiculous!

Before you start asking people on the internet why do kids with autism or ADHD get to use these passes …why don't you research what autism and ADHD are, how they affect the brain, how they are a chemical imbalance in your brain.

Rather that coming with the my young kids don't like queuing, but they do, yeah because they don't have a chemical imbalance!

Really really ignorant post OP.

You are completely correct and the best thing to do would be to ignore entirely but the deliberate combination of goadiness and ignorance makes it a hard task.

@Newuser75 the reason I wrote this post was to understand. I prefer talking/hearing from people who have experience of this conditions first hand which is why I posted on here instead of looking at Google. It’s good to hear how the passes had a positive impact on your son and family.

My son has autism and receives middle rate care and lower rate mobility DLA. However when we have looked at being able to get these passes before we have never been eligible as they required higher rate care and/or mobility. Having said that it was years ago so not sure if it has become easier to obtain

I stopped reading at ‘I don’t have much experience with these conditions’. Quite bluntly OP, you need to shut your mouth then.
At least have the intelligence to think maybe there’s a reason passes are given to these type of children.

Goady, ableist nonsense. As a parent of 2 children with SEND this is so tiresome and on top of meeting their conflicting needs and wrangling with failing systems within health, care and education I don’t have the capacity to explain patiently that I can’t teach or punish the disabilities out of my children. God forbid society try and make things a bit less crap for families like ours.

They used to be like that at the Merlin theme parks. Seems like a good compromise to me.

Ouch OP! You could actually be talking about me! We're off to Disney soon and I have ordered a pass for my AuHD son, but I'll tell you what, how about, if your there Feb half term, you take him off my hands for a couple of hours and then you can consider yourself educated???
He's 8, but make sure you keep the Airtag on him in case he bolts, he doesn't massively like it, but he needs to keep it on. And don't lose the bag with the spare pants, wipes and poo bags in case he soils himself. Make sure your keeping a close eye on him so you can predict the melt down before it happens, because if you get to that point you might as well just leave. Also he needs to be constantly distracted, so make sure your up on his current special interest, so you can ask him questions. And, like most kids, don't forget the snacks, fidget toys and ear defenders! OH!!! AND whilst doing all the above make sure you don't forget his sibling, because it's their holiday too!!

My severely autistic nephew (non-verbal, in nappies, can’t manage more than 45 mins at school each day) bangs his head on hard things when mildly distressed. Which is extremely distressing for my sister (who also has a disability and has to be extremely careful with how she moves - not easy with a strong 5 years old with limited reasoning skills that is physically harming himself) and anyone else witnessing it. It can happen instantly.

Can I ask, why do you think it's the job of ND children to fit into a society thats not built for them rather than society making adjustments for them so they can function?