Admission prices for disabled

[Anna85]

I am taking DS to Colchester Zoo tomorrow and looking on their website it stated disabled can get in at discounted rate including carer......does this include any children etc that gets DLA do you think as it said proof of disability needed in way of blue badge, letter etc?

DLA should be fine.

We are members of Marwell Zoo, and we've never had to prove DD1's disability (although now, tbh, she probably does 'look' and 'sound' as though she has SN, and the big clue is her in a harness/mac major and her younger sibling free-range).

We always take along her council-issued 'disabled' card, and DLA award letter, for belt and braces.

Yes usually most places allow the carer in free and you just pay for the disabled person/people. But I know the zoo's seem to be different and just reduce it by a little bit.
When we went to Chester Zoo it actually worked out cheaper to get the family pass than to get a discount for disabled and carers!
I don't show any proof, don't have any apart from the badge which you need to leave in the car anyway.
A couple of times someones asked me to prove they're disabled and I've said fine I'll leave them with you for ten mins while I nip out for a fag and a coffee and then let you tell me they're not! Always works haha

we go to colchester zoo , blue badge , dla form ,consesionary bus pass. carer gets in cheap to , if you have obvious disability that you can see(DD was on crutches last year) that is usualy enough , I have ASD and show my bus pass

It is always, always worth asking. DH hates to ask so I do it . It amazes me how variable it is; one local kids' attraction offers a tiny discount to the disabled child (something like 10% off, even though the child won't be able to access most things there) and a similar tiny discount to the carer (even though there's nothing of any interest to adults there so the carer can only be there to support the disabled person). We don't go there - it's not the money so much as the principle of the thing, they clearly don't understand the problem and don't want to understand the problem because they don't give a toss. Another place down the road gives the disabled child a discount and lets the carer in free so we go there far more often.

Proof is confusing. Before DLA the "disability register" was a big deal and anyone who had a disability was on it, so proof of being on that was what everyone asked for. Now it's a local database which not all councils keep in the same way and some don't tell you you are on it, so even when somewhere asks for proof you're on the register, they often really mean your DLA letter. We have a specific letter we got the paed to sign - DD1's condition(s) are rare and obscure and it was just easiest to have a piece of paper with "NHS" at the top, saying what she needs.

DLA letter or blue badge is ok for chester zoo, discount isn't much though, £1.40 off the non donation adult price and nothing off the child price. At knowsley safari park, disabled person pays full price and 1:1 carer get in free.

We dont usually get asked for proof - but with ds is in his wheelchair I guess its fairly obvious!
One place (nature reserve) said on their website that carers were free if they showed their "carers card" so I did ring to ask what this is as I have never heard of such a thing. They didn't seem to know either!!!

i always check the internet as some websites offer buy one get one free tickets, they can work out cheaper than the disabled person tickets or carer tickets. a lot of the zoo's have bogof offers on at the minute, Drayton manor is doing a bogof at the minute, if i go as a carer it's more money than booking online,

chester zoo, discount isn't much though

Yes Jonesy, I found it cheaper to get a family ticket. They hadn't actually realised themselves that this was cheaper so I don't know if they've altered it now (this was back in April)

Something I've never asked for but been tempted is E.g. when you go to the cinema for orange weds, I go in free as a carer but surely one of my two boys should also go in free as the BOGOF deal?
But I know what they'd say, you're already getting a bonus. But I don't agree with this as I don't feel going in free somewhere that you wouldn't normally go (e.g a kids film- my boys are 12/14) because they'd go alone if non disabled isn't a bonus, it's a necessity.
What do others think? (if you understand what I mean!)

Yes, SFM, we got asked for a "carers' card" a couple of days ago. I was all "wtf?" but they took one look at DD1 squawking in her buggy and said: "no, that's OK."

Does anyone know what the state of play with the national trust is atm? I emailed them a while back and they confused me. They used to have an "admit one" which was a card issued to the disabled person which got a carer in free. But I think they tried to tell me that they now updated the membership card so the scanner on the gate would show the staff there that the person has a plus one. Which is all very well but it's MY card we get in on, not DD1s, because she's a child on a family card. So I am not sure how well it is going to work now.

would be interested to know about the national trust too

you can get a carer card for the cinema called a CEA card, the carer gets in free