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Ride Access Pass and Disabled Access - 2024 Discussion

Until people actually want to have an open, honest and of course an uncomfortable discussion about what's really happening, nothing is going to change guys. In the last 10 to 15 years in the UK what has changed so rapidly? Have we all of a sudden got a lot more people with mobility issues? Not really and the stats don't back that up either.

However one issue that has soared is the out of control mental health crisis and specifically relating to ADHD.

According to data from gov.uk....

"Mental health impairments have increased over time, with 16% in 2012 to 2013, to 34% in 2022 to 2023. This is a rise from 1.9 million people to 5.4 million people".

And that data is now out of date by more than two years. We're probably over 6 million now.

If you allow that many people to qualify for the pass of course it's not going to work as was intended. Deep down everyone on here knows there are lots of people who are using that pass who could and should be standing in the regular lines and leaving that RAP line for people who genuinely need it and could under no circumstances visit a theme park without it.

Suffering from mild forms of anxiety and mild ADHD should not qualify you for that pass in my opinion. However I can see why the parks don't want to touch the debate and conversation with a barge pole as within 5 mins of somebody being refused there'd be posts on facebook and other social media sites having a pop at them and saying they aren't inclusive enough. They genuinely can't win and the end product is that nobody wins.

The last time I visited Towers on a peak day (few years ago now during scarefest) the RAP queue for Wickerman was easily over 35/40 mins which makes the whole thing pointless as they are queuing for a long time anyway. Sounds like things haven't got a whole lot better since.
 
Benjsh said:
The last time I visited Towers on a peak day (few years ago now during scarefest) the RAP queue for Wickerman was easily over 35/40 mins which makes the whole thing pointless as they are queuing for a long time anyway. Sounds like things haven't got a whole lot better since.
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We didn't go to AT in 2025 but my understanding was since the capacity restriction was introduced the long lines of Wickerman are no more. That has certainly been the case when we visited Chessington which suffered similar issues on rides like Vampire previously.

With the introduction of the digital system for 2026 that will virtually ensure it is always the case as the amount of people allowed to join the queue will be contained. Again, this is how it is at Chessington and it works.

So i don't think the implementation of the system is a problem anymore. As you say, the issue is the amount of people eligible for the system is the problem and means that it is very difficult for people to gain access to slots. Too many people relative to the number of slots available for a functional system.

Merlin are not going to change this. They've rightly outsourced it to an independent body and the system is recognised nationally (and in some cases internationally).

Are Nimbus going to engage with the uncomfortable truth that increased accessibility for too many defeats the purpose? I expect that is unlikely.

Of course Merlin could improve reliability/ops and reduce FT whilst lowering park capacity meaning fewer people need RAP in the first place (*cough Paultons cough* but my arm is tired from banging that drum.
 
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Benjsh said:
Suffering from mild forms of anxiety and mild ADHD should not qualify you for that pass in my opinion. However I can see why the parks don't want to touch the debate and conversation with a barge pole as within 5 mins of somebody being refused there'd be posts on facebook and other social media sites having a pop at them and saying they aren't inclusive enough. They genuinely can't win and the end product is that nobody wins.
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It is worth keeping in mind that the parks and Merlin Entertainments do not have their own independent qualification policy. They rather wisely accepted an industry recognised scheme for providing access to various entertainment venues, which is run by a disability first social enterprise.

Merlin do not decide who qualifies for a Ride Access Pass, Nimbus Disability does. The application process for an Access Card (which Merlin uses as the gold standard for verification) is rigorous. It requires the submission of supporting medical documentation and is assessed by a team of experts with lived experience of disability. It is not a case of simply ticking a box that says "I have anxiety" and being waved through.

This is not to deny that there is a cottage industry which exists to coach people through the application process for an Access Card, once they've had a diagnosis, but that is a separate issue entirely which Nimbus need to address, rather than Merlin.

You state that "suffering from mild forms of anxiety and mild ADHD should not qualify you for that pass". Who determines what is "mild"? You? Ideally, that decision is left to medical professionals and the assessors at Nimbus who review the evidence provided. What appears "mild" to an observer in a queue line may be a person masking incredibly hard to hold it together in a stimulating environment, a state that is often unsustainable for the duration of a standard queue.

The rise in statistics you cite from Gov.uk is not indicative of a "crisis" of false claims, but rather a correction of decades of under diagnosis and a broadening understanding of neurodivergence. We shouldn't be punishing people for a society that is finally becoming better at recognising these conditions.

The issue with the RAP queue length isn't necessarily the number of people with the pass (though numbers have risen), it is the lack of park capacity and operational efficiency to handle them. A 40 minute RAP queue for Wicker Man is frustrating, yes, but if the main queue is 120 minutes, it is still serving its function of reducing the wait time to a manageable level for those who cannot queue for the full duration. The "point" of RAP isn't always zero wait, it's an accessible wait.

Blaming the users of the system for the system's failure to scale is letting the operator off the hook for not investing in capacity or better management solutions. The latter of which they are seemingly doing, with the changes introduced this past season and into the next.
 
Wickerman RAP queue was only bad on my last visit was because the batcher was doing a terrible job and the pre-pre-show room was packed solid and incredibly unsafe.
 
Islander said:
"Incredibly unsafe"? Quite the claim
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In the event of a hasty evacuation required it would've been. Especially with a wheelchair in the way. People barely see wheelchairs going through it at best of times.

The entire building is an atrocious bit of queue design. And if the staff aren't arsed about batching properly and stuffing it to the gills then they need to revise what should be the correct protocols.

Will stand by my claim that having any room filled with people has the potential to be unsafe.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Trying to get my head around the logic if this one.

MAP is too cheap, which means that more people are abusing loopholes within the RAP system.

Disney is too expensive, which means that more people are abusing loopholes within the RAP system.

Do you have locks of golden hair, @flyingguitar?
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That isn't my point, it isn't that MAP is too cheap, it is that it exists and is popular.

Let's put it another way, many people see RAP as a "free fast pass" but you have to spend time to aquire the RAP, if you only had one trip that time, compared to the time you save queueing isn't that well spent.

We can also look at this in a financial sense, (made up number of course) if fast passes cost £80 for unlimited, and someone worked for £10ph and it took them 10 hours to get an RAP then it would cost them £100 interms of their time, they could have worked extra and saved time and just brought a fast track.

However if they are planning on visiting 10 times in a year, that would then be £800 in fast tracks or £100 in RAP.

That financial sense is the reason for Disney, their fast passes are so expensive and their experiences are so valuable it makes more sense to try to get their version
 
owenstreet7 said:
With the annual passes, couldn't a solution that could help be that we split allocations between Annual Passes, hotel guests, day guests and emergency so each pot will get a certain amount.

This way, it'd give opportunity for RAP users to get what they need.
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(Sorry about the double post)
I think that would just kick the can down the road, I think it is needed (as you need to be able to know if you have booked a room if you can visit) but for MAP holders and probably day guests we will probably be in a similar situation where everything is booked out
 
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