Thorpe park an Alton towers 'Ride Access' abuse

[JustAnotherDadOf2]

We've got Merlin gold passes for Alton towers and thorpe park etc. I see perfectly able bodied people queue jumping and using the disabled ride access queues to turn a 150 minute queue into instant access (<15 mins queue time). Just watched some kid push his own wheel chair up to a ride, then sit in It while his parents push him the last 20m to the easy access queue start. I asked another family how they did it, and they quite happily shared that all you have to do is 'go to GP and say your child has ADHD or suffers with anxiety, and voila instant doctors note, its so easy and way better than queueing'. What a nation of useless wan*ers we've become.

So tell me; am I just an unreasonable jealous git, or am I perfectly reasonable to be so incensed.

This was common at Disneyland, and now it’s nigh on impossible to get DAS - disability access.

It’s really not as simple as you make out 🙄 plenty of able bodied people have disabilities that make them unable to manage a 3 hour queue. And you need to provide a lot of evidence to get a ride access pass.

It doesn't work like that. A GP can't diagnose ADHD. The child would be referred to a specialist who would decide if a diagnosis was appropriate based on the behaviour evidenced in several different settings.

No that's not the case. We have had a ride access pass at Merling in the pass and they use the access card to screen now. So you'd need DLA or medical evidence and how your condition impacts you.

We are autistic so we might not be obviously disabled. I also have ME and don't usually use a wheelchair. I could compeltely see how someone might use their wheelchair and then sit in it for rest.

Id love not to have a disability. Shorter queues doesn't make up for it.

Also it's not really queue jumping as sucj. If the queue was an hour you get "timed out" for an hour after the ride before you can use it again.

The kid in the wheelchair isn't able bodied just because he's able to wheel himself! Seriously?!

Also exactly what @SageBlossomBunny said - you still have a queue time it’s just not stood in an actual queue. You get straight in your first ride but then you can’t get on the next one until the queue time for that first ride has passed, and that continues all day for the previous ride. So you might skip a 3 hour queue but then you can’t go on another ride for 3 hours.

I don't think you need a wheelchair to get one of these passes. He may have other issues too and the chair is just needed if he gets tired? My DD has a chronic health condition - thankfully she is in remission at the moment but some people with her condition do get these passes for when they are in a prolonged flare or are still trying to find a treatment that works. We've also been told that we can request special assistance at airports to make getting through security easier - again thankfully we've never needed to.

Oh I'd so recommend special assistance at the airport. I got taken on a golf buggy through all the corridors!

All I have to do is go to the GP and tell them my child has ADHD and they’ll take my word for it?!

Why the hell did no one tell me before. I was weighing up a three year wait for diagnosis versus a few thousand in private EP fees.

This is life changing OP, I’m off to book a GP appointment…

Of course no one wants to wait in a long queue but you don’t know the circumstances of anyone you see using a pass to bypass the queue. I think you just need to give this zero thought because you have no idea what has led to other people having queue passes.

I think OP means that the kid was walking, pushing the wheelchair, then got in it, not just hand-wheeling. It still doesn't mean he's not disabled though of course.

This is the company that they use to process applications for a pass - https://www.nimbusdisability.com/services/access-card-and-nos/ - it is an organisation run BY disabled people FOR disabled people and describes their registration process as "robust".

They are literally the people that will not want the system to be abused, so I imagine it's not as easy to get as you think or have been led to believe @JustAnotherDadOf2 . Just remember - not all disabilities are visible and they're not black or white either. Some people might be OK one day, or part way through the day, but then might suddenly need their chair.

Oh come on, I'm not so stupid/insensitive as to think hand wheeling is faking. Yes, pushing it from behind, actually running while pushing would it and having a great time doing so would be closer. Actually the chair looks pretty big for the child, so maybe it's been borrowed.

You clearly are stupid if you think an ADHD diagnosis involves telling a GP you have it.

My sons friend has a condition where his hips have a poor bloody supply, he is an ambulatory wheelchair user, he can walk and run short distances, around 75% of his movement requires a wheelchair. As he lives in the UK wheelchair services are poor, he grew out of his wheelchair 18 months ago, he is still on the waiting list for a new one, so his parents had no choice but to buy one and boughy up as they can’t afford it to replace it every time he has a growth spurt.

The danger here is that these easy access queues are abandoned because of abuse, and those that most need it are deprived of it, but from what I can see, it looks like it's being abused, and that just isn't right.

Surely it's more -you can't use the pass for another 3 hours.

You can still go into any queue as normal if you are able to?

I’ll bite.
My DS uses a wheelchair for fatigue. He doesn’t need it full time. He does need it for a full day out (and he needs 3 or 4 days in bed afterwards). He can skip up to the ride entrance. He can’t stand and queue for 30mins let alone an hour +.
I won’t go into the scrutiny around evidence required for nimbus but can confirm it is robust.
OP you would be welcome to my DS’s ride access pass if you would take his disability too , we’d be delighted to swap illness for queuing.

Last time I went to Thorpe Park, kids were jumping into fast track from the main queue.

Lots of chancers about.

I think with the rise of ADHD etc queue passes should allow a timed slot.

We've recently been to Disneyland Paris and the passes allow walk on access making the regular queues so long.

I totally understand some people can't queue but a timed access is better.

Btw op to use a wheelchair you don't have to be completely incapable of walking!

Last time I was in Chessington we were in the fast track queue for a ride and a woman with kids went through to join the husband in the main queue, near the front. The kids were young and the queue was long, so giving her the benefit of the doubt I thought she might have just taken them out to go to the loo. Apparently not though.

People around the dad were really annoyed and it turns out mum and kids had never been in the queue. Dad was just saving the space then called them to join him!

Someone in the queue told the queue assistant when they got to the front and he made them leave the queue and gave them the choice of rejoining the queue at the back, or not riding the ride at all.

They didn't even attempt to argue - just wandered off as if to say "ah well, we tried"!

Selfish entitled fuckers everywhere nowadays unfortunately.

I had a disabled parent and as kids we had fast track passes. Was one of the only perks of being a young carer. Often carers get free fast track passes in my experience.

Merlin use Access/Nimbus to establish if people qualify for a fast pass.

It's not an easy process. You need to qualify for Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independent Payment which is a long process with a lot of medical evidence needed. Access then decide if your condition qualifies for a fast pass. The DLA or PIP alone isn't enough to be entitled.

As others have said you get a ride time on the app and go to the queue at that time. You still wait but you don't have to stand in the queue.

My daughter gets a fast pass. It makes an incredible difference to our day out. We can actually go as a family and it isn't too stressful. I always feel embarrassed though when I go to the fast queue because I know others are judging and DD would generally look happy and her disability isn't visable. If you had to queue next to her though you'd soon experience why she needs additional support.

My friend believes this kind of shite - she watches people with similar views on tik Tok and believes it as gospel.

My DD has a ride access pass. She has a heart condition so passes out if she has to stand for any amount of time.

Had to provide medical evidence in the form of consultant letters.

Do you think she should just not go?

My ds has had a merlin ride access pass (RAP) for about a decade, probably longer. We've seen lots of changes between the parks. I do believe it was heavily abused, you could hear people discussing it in the queues.

The system has changed this year, not only by making people go through nimbus but by also only giving out so many passes a day which have to be pre-booked. This was brought in as many people who couldn't queue were finding the rap queues were too long and so wasn't working.

I still think there are too many passes issued. Not everyone with disabilities like autism or adhd can't queue but nimbus can only go on what they are told and when supplied with pip/dla as proof of disability they're not really in a position to question the additional info on the form (I know of families that can queue that have nd dx and get RAP). Ultimately nobody should really be questioning why someone needs this accomodation but as someone whose child benefits and needs this accomodation, yes I'd like to see a more robust system.

In regards to being timed out, people go on rides with shorter queues while 'timed out' which is allowed but seen as an obvious benefit.

Disney US have just brought in a system which really limits their version of the pass (DAS) and many people who previously had it now don't but are being told to let one member of their party queue and then join them at the front as an alternative. It's causing no end of arguments and bad feeling.

The nimbus cards are great by the way for proof when asking for accomodations I just wish they were stricter with proof for some of the symbols.

most places now have very clear criteria for a ride access pass and it’s more than just a GP letter.

ds has a wheelchair from wheelchair services, infact just last week he was assessed for a new one by them, he can still walk and even run/bounce it doesn’t mean he doesn’t need the chair!