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Parque Warner Madrid: General Discussion

If it's busy enough for the rides to have queues then it can be unpleasant. Staffing levels when I was last there were so low that even if they'd been running 2 trains on the B&Ms the throughput would not have been any better - there was only 1 host on each who had to manage fastrack and load the bays whilst the train was cycling, inevitably the train would be in the brakes long before they'd finished but unable to enter the station as there was no-one to press dispatch/advance.
 
Happy to report back at the end of the month @Bowser . Interestingly the crowd calendar prediction on Queue Times is identical for my visit as it is for yours, so it could be a good litmus test for you!

I've only been to the park once before and that was right at the start of last year - a chilly weekend in March. In hindsight, it wasn't the ideal time to visit. The park had really only soft-opened: most water rides weren't open and much of the winter maintenance clearly hadn't finished - Coaster Express was closed for refurbishment and Stunt Fall hadn't yet opened at all that year. I will say that Stunt Fall is notoriously unreliable - only a handful of Vekoma GIBs were ever made and it's one of only three left in the world for a reason. Gotham City Escape is brilliant but temperamental - because it's Intamin and because its overly complicated. It was stressful watching it test all afternoon hoping it would reopen (it did, before breaking down again!). So you do need to be a bit flexible and be prepared for a bit of downtime. For my September trip we are actually booking a second day as an insurance policy against any such issues.

I didn't notice terrible queue jumping at Parque Warner last time but it was noticeable at Parque de Atracciones, particularly among groups of unaccompanied minors. If one were attending during school trip season I imagine it would be awful! As I said, I think it's just something one has to accept as a cultural difference and not allow it to ruin your day. Rather like Italy, there's a general atmosphere of disorganisation and jovial chaos in parts of Spain (exemplified by a memorable visit to a churros cafe in central Madrid!) and you do just sort of have to go with the flow with it or you'd go nuts. If you think that might be challenging, then maybe Spain isn't the best choice.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
So you do need to be a bit flexible and be prepared for a bit of downtime. For my September trip we are actually booking a second day as an insurance policy against any such issues
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Yeah I think we’ve had such a high bar set with our European trips to Efteling and DLP (and imminent expectations in Germany) that it might be a shock to the system for my family. And perhaps spending that much money on a difficult trip to what is essentially a Six Flags isn’t prudent.

I work in Spain a lot so I’m personally very well aquatinted with their “relaxed” approach to… everything.

They also sent this very unhelpful response to my request of which UK documentation is accepted for the RAP equivalent:

Good morning,

Disability-friendly passes are provided at the park, so we cannot guarantee which type you will receive. However, to obtain a disability-friendly pass, you must prove your disability with a foreign document at Warner Park. You must present the original document issued by your country of origin certifying a disability of 33% or greater. With this document, you can purchase a reduced-price ticket and have the option of entering with a companion for free. This companion does not need to arrange for admission, as free admission will be granted upon presentation of a valid official document along with a passport or equivalent identification.

:rolleyes:
 
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I think that response ties in more in how our continental cousins distinguish between the various levels of disability rather than having a blanket coverall that the UK does. Hence the 33% reference.

Look up Europa's stuff and it goes on about the various letters for example.

Would imagine an Access Pass might be enough but will require much toing and froing or translating. Last time was in Spain Port Aventura didn't give a **** about our letter (pre blue badge) but Tibidabo bent over backwards to help. So half of it is probably the staff you get.
 
Seeking clarification from Parque Warner has not gone as planned:

Parque Warner Madrid accepts foreign documentation to certify disability, provided that the original document from the country of origin is presented, indicating a disability of 33% or higher. Only certified photocopies are accepted, and electronic or photographed documents are not admitted. Medical reports or diagnoses are not accepted as proof of disability.

In your case, since the UK does not measure disability by percentage and uses the 'Access' card, it would be necessary to present the original document that certifies the disability according to the criteria mentioned above. If the 'Access' card or any other document does not specify a percentage, it might not be accepted unless it meets the stated requirements.

😐
 
Bowser said:
Seeking clarification from Parque Warner has not gone as planned:

Parque Warner Madrid accepts foreign documentation to certify disability, provided that the original document from the country of origin is presented, indicating a disability of 33% or higher. Only certified photocopies are accepted, and electronic or photographed documents are not admitted. Medical reports or diagnoses are not accepted as proof of disability.

In your case, since the UK does not measure disability by percentage and uses the 'Access' card, it would be necessary to present the original document that certifies the disability according to the criteria mentioned above. If the 'Access' card or any other document does not specify a percentage, it might not be accepted unless it meets the stated requirements.

😐
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I'm confused about what they're actually asking for here, do they think that everyone in the UK who has a disability goes through some sort of formal process to recognise their disability? Because I can't see how what they're asking for would be different from a diagnosis letter.

I guess if you were in receipt of PIP or DLA then you might have paperwork relating to that process but there's no way anyone in the UK would ever ascribe a percentage of disability to a person. Disabilities are complex and people are not numbers.

If you're planning to keep on fighting this I'd suggest responding by stating that you can only provide what documentation is typically issued by your country and we do not have an equivalent to the "Certificado de Discapacidad". Disability is instead considered on the basis of having a "physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities" and this definition is set out by the Equality Act 2010, which protects persons that meet that definition from discrimination.

It does seem to be a common problem though, I found a lot of discussion about this on expat forums but there doesn't seem to be an easy answer. If you were a Spanish citizen you would be required to go through their assessment process on order to be able to access disability concessions and accommodations, and they seem to enforce this very strictly. But there's no official guidance on how to provide equivalent evidence from other countries with different systems and processes. Might be a losing battle unfortunately.
 
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