Ride Access Pass and Disabled Access - 2026 Discussion

[Benzin]

Some members here often wonder why the rest of the world doesn't appear to have the same level of apparent oversubscription to accessibility as the UK. The rest of the world doesn't have Nimbus.

We need a return to human assessment based on clinical evidence, not just bureaucratic paperwork. This means requiring supporting statements from recognised professional bodies, occupational therapists, SENCOs, specialist consultants, rather than relying on a DWP letter (which proves financial status, not physical capacity) or a commercial entity incentivised to say "yes".

Seeing this reminded me I need to sort out Access Card for Mrs for our trip to Efteling.

Took seconds because it's an automated AI. Granted it has also randomly decided she can't go on Baron (but everything else is fine?) so all hail our robot overlords.

But the reality is all it took was answering a number of questions as yes or no. No evidence provided. Our trip to Europa last year was literally showing the Access Card at rides and that was accepted by the staff. One guesses (and has assumed for a number of years) that our continental cousins are just a bit more respectful about the situations surrounding accessibility. Possibly because their laws are a bit behind in the matter. But even beforehand all we showed was a doctors note and as soon as staff saw MS on there was instant approval.

As for one shots the only park I've seen do it is Paultons. Also believe that it is only relevant for ambulant disabled as we could re-ride Storm Chaser on our last visit. Might be put to the test more next time since we'll be forced into Pig Land.

Liseberg even allowed a re-ride before moving on!

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

Seeing this reminded me I need to sort out Access Card for Mrs for our trip to Efteling.

Took seconds because it's an automated AI. Granted it has also randomly decided she can't go on Baron (but everything else is fine?) so all hail our robot overlords.

But the reality is all it took was answering a number of questions as yes or no. No evidence provided. Our trip to Europa last year was literally showing the Access Card at rides and that was accepted by the staff. One guesses (and has assumed for a number of years) that our continental cousins are just a bit more respectful about the situations surrounding accessibility. Possibly because their laws are a bit behind in the matter. But even beforehand all we showed was a doctors note and as soon as staff saw MS on there was instant approval.

As for one shots the only park I've seen do it is Paultons. Also believe that it is only relevant for ambulant disabled as we could re-ride Storm Chaser on our last visit. Might be put to the test more next time since we'll be forced into Pig Land.

Liseberg even allowed a re-ride before moving on!

With how quickly this chat has been moving, it's likely that you missed the previous discussion this.

The primary difference with our European counterparts is that they accept Nimbus' Access Card alongside a whole ranger of other identification. They're not tied into exclusivity.

The majority of UK parks (including Paultons Park) now will only accept Nimbus' accreditation and nothing else.

Although you're right that Disneyland Paris will accept an Access Card, the comparison you've drawn is a misleading one, as it misses the distinction that lies at the heart of the entire debacle.

It's a difference between using something as evidence versus mandating it as an exclusive gatekeeper.

At Disneyland Paris, the Access Card is treated as one piece in a portfolio of acceptable evidence. A visitor can present a Blue Badge, a DLA / PIP letter, or a relevant national disability card from their home country. The park's own trained Cast Members then assess that evidence and issue their own internal Priority Card. It is an in house system that accepts a variety of proofs.

Merlin don't simply accept the Nimbus card. It's the sole and mandatory gateway to the RAP system.

You can, of course, waddle up to Guest Services with your Blue Badge and a consultant's letter thick enough to stop a door, and they will very politely grant you a carer ticket. But for the Ride Access Pass itself? Nimbus assessment or bust.

It's more than an administrative difference, being more akin to a fundamental philosophical and commercial one.

The Disney model is a non-commercial, in house assessment of various proofs. The Merlin model forces every single applicant into the sales funnel of a for profit, third party company whose entire business model, as we have already established, is predicated on the volume of cards it issues.

One system accepts the Access Card as a valid form of ID. The other makes it a compulsory purchase.

 

[Dan12345]

Now I don’t see Footbal matches/Concerts etc offering tickets to people that allow them to “be away from crowds” and enjoy the event. Please correct me if I’m wrong

Murrayfield stadium will allow anyone who struggles with crowds to sit in a quiet room and get a pretty good view of rugby matches from a quiet room, in order to be away from crowds and enjoy the event

Scottish Rugby to unveil new sensory space

Situated above the South Tunnel at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, the space will be opened formally by Scottish Rugby patron, HRH The Princess Royal, ahead of the opening Guinness Six Nations Championship match between Scotland and Italy on Saturday (1 February). Previously, the indoor TV...

scottishrugby.org

 

[Ash]

Murrayfield stadium will allow anyone who struggles with crowds to sit in a quiet room and get a pretty good view of rugby matches from a quiet room, in order to be away from crowds and enjoy the event

Scottish Rugby to unveil new sensory space

Situated above the South Tunnel at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, the space will be opened formally by Scottish Rugby patron, HRH The Princess Royal, ahead of the opening Guinness Six Nations Championship match between Scotland and Italy on Saturday (1 February). Previously, the indoor TV...

scottishrugby.org

They’ll need a bigger room…

 

[Dan12345]

They’ll need a bigger room…

Obviously you also need to buy a ticket to enter the stadium

But of course, the situation is different. I’ve not been in there but my guess is that it’s a similar size to Alton Towers’ sensory room. It would appear fewer people need a sensory room than need access to a RAP virtual queue system!

 

[Hid]

I don't want to see a single comment complaining about RAP queue lengths. You didn't like the system they changed it to and is now back to the system you did not like in the first place.

Also U Turn is always taken in negative context when in reality its actually a sign of strength admitting to your fault and changing course when needed.

In my opinion there should be only 2 queues main queue and single rider. Scrap RAP and Fastrack and have the queues accessible to all by ensuring theres benches around the queue. Toilets in the queue line and lots of accomidations

 

[Blackrock]

This U turn was unnecessary and they kowtowed when they shouldn’t have. They’d already taken most of the heat and now they’ve just made things worse for themselves.

Also there’s sometimes in life when you don’t apologise, you just carry on and eventually the background noise will fade and things will carry on as normal.

 

[Hid]

Merlins biggest problem was its comms in this instance its been terrible. They need a new comms team

 

[Smiley]

I hope it doesn't turn out this way, but according to https://adhduk.co.uk/adhd-incidence/ there are 3.25m people with ADHD alone. Add 2-3 accompanying guests and that's 10m people. And that's just ADHD.

And I fear the worse it gets, the more ineligible people will just on the bandwagon. It will be the straw that breaks it completely.

 

[BarryZola]

This is precisely the problem, and why the camel's back is being broken already. People have seen others dodging queues and have found out how to do it themselves. Then those people, aided by internet groups, have helped others to game the system. It was all ok before the internet.

 

[imanautie]

Email I have sent to Alton towers sick of the system being completely abused

Dear Alton Towers Guest Relations Team,
I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction and frustration regarding the decision to revert back from the changes you were going to implement to the RAP (Ride Access Pass) system.

I completely recognise the importance of accessibility arrangements; however, reverting back from the proposed changes to the RAP system appears to create an uneven experience.
General admission guests are required to physically queue for extended periods, while RAP pass holders are able to wait virtually and still access rides in a way that seems to reduce their overall queuing burden. When RAP queues themselves can sometimes exceed an hour, it feels contradictory that the system exists on the basis that these guests cannot queue, yet they are still able to wait in a dedicated line for a significant length of time — just not in the general queue.
This creates a perception of inconsistency and unfairness in how waiting time is applied across different guests.

Meanwhile, general queue guests are required to physically stand and shuffle forward for the full published wait time, unable to leave for food, rest, or other attractions. No one enjoys queuing, but it is generally accepted as part and parcel of visiting a theme park.
If this system is to remain in place, I strongly believe changes are needed to ensure fairness for all guests.
For example:
One member of a RAP guest’s party could be required to wait in the standard queue.

Wristband or digital tracking could be implemented so guests cannot queue (physically or virtually) for multiple rides at the same time.

A restriction period (for example, 30 minutes) could be introduced preventing RAP holders from joining another ride queue while already virtually waiting for one.

At present, the system feels open to abuse and disproportionately disadvantages those in the general queue, who are often waiting longer than the stated ride times.
I am completely in favour of equality and accessibility, but not when it appears to come at the expense of fairness for other paying guests. There must be a balanced solution that supports accessibility needs without creating resentment or inequality within the park experience.
I would appreciate clarification on the reasoning behind reverting this decision and what steps, if any, are being considered to ensure fairness for all visitors.

Dont forget disabled people often visit solo, and sometimes even in groups with other disabled people with similar accessiblity needs!

 

[rob666]

Merlins biggest problem was its comms in this instance its been terrible. They need a new comms team

That is a bit like blaming the spade for the hole that is being dug.
The communications team communicate what they are told to communicate.
Management tell them what needs communicating.
Management to blame for the fiasco 100%...not the poor "message team", whatever they get called this week.

 

[Hid]

That is a bit like blaming the spade for the hole that is being dug.
The communications team communicate what they are told to communicate.
Management tell them what needs communicating.
Management to blame for the fiasco 100%...not the poor "message team", whatever they get called this week.

With a good comms team they would of told them this would be a bad PR disaster.

Managment and Comms are both to blame

 

[rob666]

How exactly do you know what they have done...you have zero information on internal management of the park...Comms have no control of the issue!
Comms have zero power, they are instructed what to say by management.
Blame management trying to resolve an obvious problem, not the poor communicators.

 

[Bowser]

This is imprecise. A group of four, by virtue of having two eligible members, doesn't magically occupy eight physical spaces in the park, or eight pre-book spaces. They're using two legitimate entitlements serially

I suspect you have never used the RAP system? At the point of booking you have to declare your group size. Thus in the example given, each RAP user will book 4 slots and they will have taken 8 available slots despite only being 4 people. No magic involved.

It also sounds like many people haven’t used the digital system. There won’t be hour long RAP queues because the capacity and virtual queue wont allow it. There will of course be 60+ minute time outs but those people will not be in the queue line.

 

[Benzin]

I don't want to see a single comment complaining about RAP queue lengths. You didn't like the system they changed it to and is now back to the system you did not like in the first place.

Also U Turn is always taken in negative context when in reality its actually a sign of strength admitting to your fault and changing course when needed.

In my opinion there should be only 2 queues main queue and single rider. Scrap RAP and Fastrack and have the queues accessible to all by ensuring theres benches around the queue. Toilets in the queue line and lots of accomidations

Can the lack of complaints include those not using RAP?

U-Turns are usually a sign of weak leadership when they've had no actual opportunity to test if the new policy is working. Fear of bad press trumps attempts at solving the problem.

Perfect world dreams that is. Parks aren't scrapping a big revenue stream; and they're not spending money on retrofitting queues like Nemesis to be fully accessible and adding toilets. Europa didn't even add queue toilets to Voltron after Wodan so must've been a reason not to continue that process.

 

[Slackjawedyokel]

If the problem is that Merlin thinks there are too many customers with RAP passes who would be able to wait in the standard queue lines, and who probably use their ‘time outs’ not to attend to their needs but to go on short-queue rides using the standard queue, would a solution be to bar RAP users (and their party) from any ride (except maybe the ones that move you around the park such as the Skyline etc) for the duration of their time out?
This would obviously mean that everyone would have to scan their ticket to gain access to every ride.

I also think that Merlin could do a better job of educating the average theme park punter as to how RAP operates because I see a bit of animosity towards RAP users by people queuing in the standard long line that see this short, quick-moving RAP queue and assume it’s the same as fastrack but don’t know about the timeouts.

At Efteling last year, my casual observation is that there weren’t many people using their RAP equivalent (although that may be largely because their facility card queues tend to be completely separate to the main queue lines. And no fastrack!).

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

I suspect you have never used the RAP system? At the point of booking you have to declare your group size. Thus in the example given, each RAP user will book 4 slots and they will have taken 8 available slots despite only being 4 people. No magic involved.

It also sounds like many people haven’t used the digital system. There won’t be hour long RAP queues because the capacity and virtual queue wont allow it. There will of course be 60+ minute time outs but those people will not be in the queue line.

I don't want to keep going back and forth on a particular point, lest we face the wrath of the mods, but I'm afraid that your incorrect in your assumption.

The system's capacity is managed by the number of RAP holders it can accommodate per day, not the total number of individuals (holders + companions). When an eligible guest pre-books a RAP slot, they consume one slot from the park's daily RAP allocation. The companions they declare are a benefit attached to that single slot; they do not consume additional RAP slots themselves. This is why each RAP holder needs to have their own reservation on their own device. The system doesn't count associated guests as RAP holders, it doesn't consider them for RAP capacity.

Declaring a group size for a RAP slot is no different from declaring a group size for a restaurant reservation. The reservation is for one table (the slot). Whether you bring 2 people or 4, you are still only occupying one table in the system's layout. The restaurant asks how many are coming so they know which table to give you, not because they are charging you for four separate reservations. The system counts the number of RAP instances, not the total number of heads.

If there are 500 RAP reservations available for Saturday:

• Scenario A: I book for myself (1 goose). The remaining count drops to 499.
• Scenario B: I book for myself + 3 companions (4 bodies). The remaining count also drops to 499.

My three companions don't consume three additional units from the daily allocation. They don't speed up the "Sold Out" status for other disabled guests. Whether I come alone or with a full group, I remove exactly one opportunity for another RAP holder to book.

Why declare the group size then? Strictly for Health & Safety and ride loading. It's a data point for the ops team on the day, not a consumption unit for the booking system in advance.

Your claim that a group of four "takes 8 slots" (or even four) is simply incorrect. They take one.

 

[Bowser]

Your claim that a group of four "takes 8 slots" (or even four) is simply incorrect. They take one.

This is categorically wrong and i have tested it because availability will show if i attempt to book RAP+2 but not RAP+3, indicating guests are allocated a slot in capacity.

 

[John]

I don't have access to the inner workings of the system but my understanding of it (based on a post in here that I can't think how to meaningfully search for) was that if a group of 4 makes two separate reservations for 4 people then they count as 8 people towards the daily cap. This would be the logical way to do it as the whole point of the cap was to limit the total number of people using RAP rather than the number of groups