The Ride Access Pass system at Chessington worked fine except for one major flaw...

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

It took us TWO HOURS of queuing to get into the park in the first place!

45 minutes in the car queuing to get into the car park. Then a massive queue to get tickets (we had bought online things but they needed to be exchanged for the actual tickets).

After 30 minutes of waiting we were only about a third of the way to the front, so I found a member of staff and explained DS2's difficulties. He was very kind; took us into the park and showed us to the Adventurers' Services office where we got the pass and wristband for DS2, then took us to a different entrance with a smaller queue so we could buy our tickets.

Even that queue took us another 45 minutes (I took DS2 off for a walk and came back to where DH and the others had saved our place).

I understand that there were a lot of customers, but it would have been useful to have the same rule as queuing for the rides themselves; letting us into the park but with the pass stamped to say we couldn't go on the first ride until the two hours (that everyone else was queuing for) had passed.

By the time we got into the park, I had used up every one of the strategies in my repertoire for managing DS2 and we were all feeling rather frazzled.

Other than that, it was a great day out! But if you are planning a trip with someone who would need a Ride Access Pass, please be warned.

ive just read a blog on facebook by someone who went to lego land yesterday and their experience was very similar to yours as well regarding the queuing for the car park and then customer services

Between bouncing off the people in front and behind us in the queue, DS2 kept saying "Well this is somewhat ironic."

i was one of those naughty mums who took my dd and ds to theme parks in term time, only once or twice a year, but we didn't have all the pushing and shoving mid week, we realised this when dd was in the junior school and was supposed to be going camping with school, they would take payment and then decide the day before camp they couldn't take her as they couldn't meet her needs, first time they said it needed more planning and could go following year, but same thing happened 3 yrs in a row, they expected me to send dd to school when all her class was at camp, I took her to theme parks,etc for days out instead.

We were at legoland yesterday and it was unbelievably busy. I was sweating big time when I realised it was going to take nearly an hour just to get into the car park!

And yes, we were incredibly grateful for the ride access pass we ultimately received but the queue at guest services to get that essential aid was massive...and it was very very difficult for us with ds1. Most people were exchanging clubcard points etc and it was pretty frustrating that I was standing there with a severely disabled child who finds it very agitating and upsetting having to queue.

Maybe I should have tried to find someone to see if we could bypass the queue but I couldn't see any way that we could be seen quicker without pissing off a lot of other hot and bothered folk (plus i didn't want to come across as 'entitled'!) so I left it.

As OP says, it is a bit of a flaw if you have to queue for an hour just to get a card that helps you to avoid queuing!!!!

i know on facebook yesterday they posted that noone else could come in by lunchtime as they were full to capacity.

Imagine travelling all the way there with hyped up children, only to be turned away.