Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

[siralgenon]

With the EVE/EasyPass system there is no waiting for the majority of the rides, you just go straight to the front of every queue whenever you want. (apart from the nine rides mentioned - where the speedypass system is used for virtual queuing). This should be extended to all rides and not just those 9.

I also think it is perfectly fair to have just one other friend/family member for free and then up to 2 others for £5 each. (This is not £5 per ride, it is for a speedypass for the day - which is normally £15).

You have to draw the line somewhere and I think if you have 3 extra guests for free for each disabled person, then it just encourage abuse of the system. Which is already abused anyway.

I agree that the system should be used on all of the rides so the disabled party still has to wait the current queue time, however it should be free for the party to use, a disabled person should not be penalised for riding a ride with their family.

Don't get me wrong, I think Parks like Towers allowing upto 8 people per group is an excessive amount, which does lead to people taking the p!ss, but I think 4 people is an acceptable amount. BPB only allowing 1 person and making the rest pay isn't fair.

You need either an official letter or documentation to use these services so I don't see how people can abuse the system, other than someone pretending to like you to get on a ride quickly.

 

[Skyscraper]

The park ought to operate a system like Towers where the disabled person has to wait before they can ride again, and then I don't think it would be a problem how many people accompanied them.

I think the PB is too compact for a system like that actually. It works at Towers because the rides are so spread out- by the time you've walked to your next ride the time will've elapsed. With the PB you'd have to walk aimlessly around to fill the time.

 

[siralgenon]

The only way I can explain it is say you have a family of four (Mum, Dad, Kid 1, Kid 2), and one of the children is disabled, under this new system one of the parents (and the other child) would have to pay £5 extra each. The other parent should not have to be charged extra to ride with their child because he or she is disabled.

 

[rob666]

They have a choice not to and two can join the main queue.
Instead, they are getting two thirds off a product that makes it easier for the whole group.
Cant see an issue myself.

 

[Skyscraper]

They have a choice not to and two can join the main queue.
Instead, they are getting two thirds off a product that makes it easier for the whole group.
Cant see an issue myself.

What if the other child isn't old enough to understand why their sibling is getting to go straight on while they have to wait in a queue?

 

[siralgenon]

They have a choice not to and two can join the main queue.
Instead, they are getting two thirds off a product that makes it easier for the whole group.
Cant see an issue myself.

They shouldn't have to choose, it's descriminatory.

Genuine people aren't using this service to skip ride queues, they're using it because they can't physically wait in a line for one reason or another. Why should they have to pay extra to ride / spend the day apart from their group because they're missing a leg / have mental disabilities?

 

[Skyscraper]

They shouldn't have to choose, it's descriminatory.

Genuine people aren't using this service to skip ride queues, they're using it because they can't physically wait in a line for one reason or another. Why should they have to pay extra to ride / spend the day apart from their group because they're missing a leg / have mental disabilities?

Completely agree. It's not fair on the rest of the group and it's more fun going around in a group anyway.

 

[Rick]

I think the PB is too compact for a system like that actually. It works at Towers because the rides are so spread out- by the time you've walked to your next ride the time will've elapsed. With the PB you'd have to walk aimlessly around to fill the time.

... 'walk around aimlessly' to 'fill the time' because you would not be waiting in the queues like most other guests.

You've just encapsulated a core problem with RAP that causes lots of significant frustration. There is an expectation that there is no requirement to wait at all, it's become expected that you can turn up to a ride, wait a matter of minutes & ride before walking to another headline attraction to do the same.

Merlin are firmly to blame for that, they designed a virtual queue system (albeit where you queue after your ride, rather than before). They then implemented a completely CBA version of it whereby cards aren't marked, people don't queue and bounce around the park with what is essentially unlimited Fastrack.

It should have worked and it still could, but there seems to be some reticence to do so because the expectation has already been set.

----

As I understand it, with the Pleasure Beach example, they're giving a subset of guests a premium service for free - two guests in the party - the RAP user and one other. They are then seeking a nominal fee for other guests in that party to partake in said premium system (meanwhile they are selling it to other guests in the park with a hefty price tag). I don't have any strong views either way as to whether that is acceptable or not. With throughputs as they are, they're perhaps concluding that in the interests of the masses, that they should't allow big groups to attach themselves to it. If they allowed four, you'd end up with families of five crying foul.

The expectation with these schemes is now so high I really don't understand how they can continue in their current form. To meet the demand, they need a solution that doesn't scale which just feels unworkable. I can't think of any other service in hospitality whereby the product for the majority is so tarnished by the business trying to meet the needs of a minority.

I accept that there needs to be a solution in place to help a number of guests better enjoy their visit, by being inclusive and meeting their needs - but it increasingly feels that current implementations are not that solution.

 

[shakey]

Genuine people aren't using this service to skip ride queues, they're using it because they can't physically wait in a line for one reason or another.

That is correct, but unfortunately there are far too many Un-genuine people out there that take advantage of the system. It is far too easy to get disability access. For example, one of my friends has a son who has been diagnosed with mild autism. You wouldn't know unless someone told you and he is perfectly capable of standing in a queue. He is eligible for a disability pass, but in this case his Mother makes him queue with everyone else. (most people will just take what they can because they can)

They shouldn't have to choose, it's descriminatory.Why should they have to pay extra to ride / spend the day apart from their group because they're missing a leg / have mental disabilities?

So as it stands, a family of 4 with one disabled person would have to pay £10 (in total), for 4 EasyPasses (which by Robs report turn out to be the equivalent of VIP+ speedypasses), which they can use all day long on any ride they wish (including rides that don't actually support speedypass). No waiting of any kind.

Meanwhile another family of 4 would have to fork out an extra £200 in VIP+ speedypasses to get similar treatment.

Who is being discriminated against here ?

 

[siralgenon]

Disney Parks have the system down to a T. Where you walk to the entrance of your chosen attraction, and the cast member writes down the same time as the attraction wait time -10 minutes. (This is due to guests having to walk to the attraction twice). Once you've ridden you're then allowed to repeat the process. The service is only allowed for upto 4 guests including the access pass user.

I think this is a perfectly fair way of using the service.

The problem over here in the UK is that most attractions don't have a host at the ride entrance, meaning you would have to fight your way through a queue of people to get your card stamped to then walk back through them again.

 

[siralgenon]

So as it stands, a family of 4 with one disabled person would have to pay £10 (in total), for 4 EasyPasses (which by Robs report turn out to be the equivalent of VIP+ speedypasses), which they can use all day long on any ride they wish (including rides that don't actually support speedypass). No waiting of any kind.

Meanwhile another family of 4 would have to fork out an extra £200 in VIP+ speedypasses to get similar treatment.

Who is being discriminated against here ?

Why are you comparing it to a Fastpass service? I'm talking about genuine people here, they are not using the disability service to skip ride queues, they're using it because they can't physically stand in a queue for X amount of minutes / hours.

The price of a Fastpass has nothing to do with it what so ever.

Buying a Fastpass is your choice to ride an attraction quicker. Having a disability is not your choice, and you should not have to pay to have the same experience as everyone else.

 

[speedy]

Disney Parks have the system down to a T. Where you walk to the entrance of your chosen attraction, and the cast member writes down the same time as the attraction wait time -10 minutes. (This is due to guests having to walk to the attraction twice). Once you've ridden you're then allowed to repeat the process. The service is only allowed for upto 4 guests including the access pass user.

I think this is a perfectly fair way of using the service.

The problem over here in the UK is that most attractions don't have a host at the ride entrance, meaning you would have to fight your way through a queue of people to get your card stamped to then walk back through them again.

What about a digital system, where you request a ride. The system will then ask you to come to the exit when it's your turn to ride. With this system, I don't see a problem with allowing more than one person to accompany the disabled person.

 

[siralgenon]

What about a digital system, where you request a ride. The system will then ask you to come to the exit when it's your turn to ride. With this system, I don't see a problem with allowing more than one person to accompany the disabled person.

That's the system Legoland and Walt Disney World use (my previous post was based on Disneyland Paris), and it does work well.

I fully agree with they shouldn't be allowed to rock up to each ride without waiting at all. But they should be allowed to reserve their space in the line and come back at the designated time with upto 4 people free of charge. Yes parks use the same systems as Fastpass to accommodate Disabled guests but that does not mean the guests are using it for that reason.

 

[speedy]

That's the system Legoland and Walt Disney World use (my previous post was based on Disneyland Paris), and it does work well.

I fully agree with they shouldn't be allowed to rock up to each ride without waiting at all. But they should be allowed to reserve their space in the line and come back at the designated time with upto 4 people free of charge. Yes parks use the same systems as Fastpass to accommodate Disabled guests but that does not mean the guests are using it for that reason.

Yes, agreed. I haven't used any sort of RAP system but from reading this threads it sounds like Blackpool's system does not work well for disabled people (having to pay to take more than one person with you on the ride) nor everyone else (pass holders don't have to wait to access most rides).

 

[Rick]

Yes parks use the same systems as Fastpass to accommodate Disabled guests but that does not mean the guests are using it for that reason.

Is that your experience or your ideal world scenario?

 

[shakey]

Why are you comparing it to a Fastpass service? I'm talking about genuine people here, they are not using the disability service to skip ride queues, they're using it because they can't physically stand in a queue for X amount of minutes / hours.

The price of a Fastpass has nothing to do with it what so ever.

Buying a Fastpass is your choice to ride an attraction quicker. Having a disability is not your choice, and you should not have to pay to have the same experience as everyone else.

But they aren't getting the same experience as everyone else. They are getting a much, much better experience for themselves and one other guest.

Asking for a nominal fee if they want to add further guests in a park that struggles with capacity at busy times is hardly discriminatory and is still a very good deal indeed.

 

[siralgenon]

Is that your experience or your ideal world scenario?

You don't saw off your leg to get cheaper Fastpass tickets. They have genuine disabilities that prevent them from waiting in these queues. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware that some people will abuse the system, but if the parks are following what they should be doing then this wouldn't be able to happen.

Most parks have a system in place that works well, others (Towers / BPB) don't, but that isn't the fault of the guest.

 

[siralgenon]

But they aren't getting the same experience as everyone else. They are getting a much, much better experience for themselves and one other guest.

Asking for a nominal fee if they want to add further guests in a park that struggles with capacity at busy times is hardly discriminatory and is still a very good deal indeed.

It's not a disabled persons fault that the park doesn't want to add another train to a circuit. If a park was doing as it should then they wouldn't be getting a better service, they'd be getting the same, because they'd be waiting the same time as any other person in the queue, they'd just be waiting in a different place.

 

[Mr Pearse]

due to capacity of the rides I think it’s completely fair. I’m entitled to a rap but I never choose to take one up obviously that’s my choice but the system is fine for BPB. Speaking as a disabled person who can’t queue it don’t personally bother me that you can only have 1 extra person. The capacity of the rides wouldn’t handle the influx of speedy pass and RAP wouldn't make normal queues manageable.

 

[shakey]

It's not a disabled persons fault that the park doesn't want to add another train to a circuit. If a park was doing as it should then they wouldn't be getting a better service, they'd be getting the same, because they'd be waiting the same time as any other person in the queue, they'd just be waiting in a different place.

Yes, the park should be giving out a standard speedypass to the disabled person (and another guest) - We will have to disagree on how many other guests should get a free speedypass

The trouble is that at Blackpool this is not what happens. Anyone with an EvE wristband, and their guest can simply jump the queue on any ride at any time without waiting. And it looks as though the new system also gives them a VIP+ pass for 9 of the busiest rides on the park. Meaning no waiting, virtual or otherwise.

I don't have a problem with disabled guests not standing in queue lines. My partner has severe osteoarthritis and is eligible for a disabled pass for very good reason (unfortunately her condition also means she is unable to ride most of the coasters). What I do have a problem with is disabled guests not being made to wait in a virtual queue when they have a system in place that can do that.