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SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

Thomasland

10 replies

devientenigma · 13/01/2010 21:15

Hasanyone been to Thomasland with their special needs child and is there anything I would need to know. Son doesn't do crowds and noise very well but do have ear defenders to help. Son has a heart condition so can't do rollercoaster type rides. He has severe challenging behaviour so would need someone to ride with him and SLD among a list of probs if this helps. If this doesn't go down well i'm hoping the zoo will. Please let me know of any hints and tips. TIA

OP posts:
devientenigma · 13/01/2010 21:16

*has anyone

OP posts:
donkeyderby · 13/01/2010 21:28

Ooo, what's Thomasland? Is it a Thomas the Tank Engine theme park?

TotalChaos · 13/01/2010 22:08

Yes, it's a Thomas the Tank engine themed section in Drayton Manor theme park in staffs. I went summer before last. As it was in the school hols it was v. crowded, so lots of queues for everything. Also a lot of the rides seem to be geared for under 5s, so would check on website for age/height/weight range for the rides to see if it's definitely possible for you to ride along.

littleredcorvette · 14/01/2010 10:16

We've been a couple of times during the school holidays and really enjoyed it.

Although it was very crowded, because ds has SN (including being in a wheelchair), we were all given free wristbands from 'Guest Services'. This meant that, instead of waiting in the main queue, we were allowed to wait at the exits and then let on the rides first.

I'm not sure how old/how tall your son is, but one of us went on all the rides with him, whilst the other one looked after his wheelchair and the bags.

Here is their Special Needs guide:
www.draytonmanor.co.uk/Assets/pdf/DraytonManor_Special_Access_Guide_2008.pdf

Hope that helps

waitingforgodot · 14/01/2010 12:15

I took DS last year and he loved it. Have just read the special needs guide. It doesn't mention ASD. Does anyone know if they provide queue hopper passes for this? Thinking of taking him again but the queue waiting puts me off

littleredcorvette · 14/01/2010 21:53

Not sure if they give them for ASD, but I've found that they're very quick at responding to e-mail queries (and sending info in the post).

HallelujahHeisBorntoMary · 15/01/2010 08:12

They ARE willing to give them for ASDs, just email them and they'll advise, including on quiet areas. Have an email somewhere, just can't find it at the moment...

herjazz · 15/01/2010 10:29

yes agree you should be able to jump the queues

I went with ds last year and saw some families with no obvious disabilities, a walking, talking child looking down at ground and playing with hands being ushered straight onto rides

tbh - depending on when you go - if its not school holidays and sunny - it will most likely be far from rabid anyway. I went in july before end of term and it was blissfully uncrowded

used to go to drayton manor LOADS as a nipper. Thomasland is basically some marketing folk's brill idea to put a new spin on all the baby rides / train that was already there. Kerching! V well done tho and much better than I remember it as a kid

waitingforgodot · 15/01/2010 10:53

thats great to know! Thanks for that. Do you reckon midweek then during term time should be the best bet?

HallelujahHeisBorntoMary · 15/01/2010 11:23

Midweek term time would be very quiet yes, but to be honest, I've always found it quiet there compared to other parks. We've never had to queue for anything longer than 1/2 an hour, even on a Saturday in the summer holidays. The troublesome trucks had the biggest queue, I think.

I've found the email, reprinting here, hoping you find it useful:

"Thank you for your enquiry. I must admit it is very valid information that you require, however, we have never had an enquiry of such before which is probably why the issue is not addressed in any of our literature. As previously stated the access bands are there to help those who find queuing in a busy area difficult (the exit area allows a maximum of 5 guests to wait at any one time so there are fewer people around), however the theme park itself has not had information printed on areas to recover from sensory overload.

The medical centre is a fairly large indoor area that is usually quiet and available to guests throughout the day if they do require some time away from the park. However, use of this area may be restricted if emergency aid to a guest within the park is necessary.

There are also picnic areas around the park that tend to have less people around, (particularly one hidden away just before entering the zoo on the left hand side and an undercover area next to the Excalibur attraction) however, announcements and background music may still be heard in these areas and the amount of people in these areas often depends on if the park is busy or not.

The best area I can advice to use for a closed off contained area would be a room next to the zoo toilets. If you telephone in advance we can ensure this room is available for members of your party to use when necessary on the date of your visit. In order to arrange this please contact us on 01827 252400 and ask to be put through to the first aid department."

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