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Ride Access Pass and Disabled Access - 2024 Discussion

Bowser said:
My son wears ear defenders for all queues and rides. The only one he’s ever been asked to take them off is Mandrill Mayhem, he’s so small he only just fits in the vest and it overlaps the ears so assume it would be the same on Swarm but guessing that won’t be an issue for anyone here as it’s a 1.4m ride anyway.

Sometimes staff ask if he’s going to be ok wearing them with over the shoulder restraints but again he’s so small his head is underneath. For an adult you’d probably be bashing into the sides a lot so might not be much fun.
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Oh I didn't know you could wear them on overhead restraints! I alwaya hit my ears on the restraints anyway, so the ear defenders would probably be even more useful there haha.
 
Bowser said:
And to play devils advocate to your point (and not having seen said queue area), if one can’t tolerate that then potentially the ride itself may not be suitable?
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My wife hates horror films. (Spoiler alert - she doesn't watch horror films). I do agree - the queue/pre-show is generally fitting with the ride experience (e.g. Saw queue and loading/first part). I want rides to be inclusive as possible, but not all rides are suitable for all people.

Not sure I want to ride Space Mountain with the lights on in case someone is afraid of the dark 😉 (I've seen it, it's crap!)
 
Booked for the 12th. Also got the 21st September booked, so those 2 dates will close out my season as I do NOT do fireworks (see earlier posts around noise sensitivity).
 
Some notes from our trip to Chessington today:

- A few of the RAP queues were spilling out the entrance, notable Mandrill Mayhem and Tiger Rock, though should be noted these were both running as combined RAP and FastTrack queues.

- At one point 6 major attractions were coming up as "fully booked" which is pretty poor. One of these was Vampire which i noticed had nobody queueing for it and even by the time we got off there was still nobody yet it continued to be listed as fully booked. Now this could technically be possible that lots of people has reservations and weren't there yet but still seemed a little suspicious, especially when One Shots were available to purchase for all rides.


Vicki said:
Booked for the 12th. Also got the 21st September booked, so those 2 dates will close out my season as I do NOT do fireworks (see earlier posts around noise sensitivity).
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In regards to my previous message about ear defenders, someone's fell off on Mandrill Mayhem! That was the one ride i mentioned we always take them off so with good reason!
 
I went to Towers yesterday, and Smiler's RAP is still one of the worst in the park. Main queue was advertised at 45 mins, and I'm pretty sure I waited similar. On the other hand, Thirteen's was very short and the new route works much better in my opinion. And personally, Smiler's strobes are much, much worse than Thirteen's Tesla coil sound effect.
 
Skyscraper said:
I went to Towers yesterday, and Smiler's RAP is still one of the worst in the park. Main queue was advertised at 45 mins, and I'm pretty sure I waited similar. On the other hand, Thirteen's was very short and the new route works much better in my opinion. And personally, Smiler's strobes are much, much worse than Thirteen's Tesla coil sound effect.
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Did you get given a 45 minute time out on top of that?
 
Oh i just remembered, the nightmare finally came true as i took my son to the disabled toilet, which is the only time i can go to the toilet too. My son is not capable of guarding the door so despite my vocal protestations as i heard the key, i had the pleasure of someone opening the door and showing the park whilst i adorned the proverbial throne.

At least he didn't run out. I wish they'd sort those toilets out.
 
Bowser said:
Oh i just remembered, the nightmare finally came true as i took my son to the disabled toilet, which is the only time i can go to the toilet too. My son is not capable of guarding the door so despite my vocal protestations as i heard the key, i had the pleasure of someone opening the door and showing the park whilst i adorned the proverbial throne.

At least he didn't run out. I wish they'd sort those toilets out.
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Don't they have a lock on the door? I thought most toilets, including disabled ones, locked from the inside?
 
Matt N said:
Don't they have a lock on the door? I thought most toilets, including disabled ones, locked from the inside?
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The disabled toilets at Chessington are opened by a Radar toilet key. You can lock it from inside but it's overridden by someone opening from the outside. The toilet itself is too far from the door for you to block it (and they open outwards anyway).

Common courtesy is to knock and inquire if it's in use but not everyone adheres to this and also it's difficult to hear a response in that environment.

They really need updating to an electronic system if they're going to retain that model (where a button can be placed by the toilet itself too) but can't imagine it's at the top of the list of Merlin expenditures.

Preferably they'd imitate the family toilets at Legoland which are wonderful, what with them being a family park.
 
Bowser said:
The disabled toilets at Chessington are opened by a Radar toilet key. You can lock it from inside but it's overridden by someone opening from the outside. The toilet itself is too far from the door for you to block it (and they open outwards anyway).
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So, hang on, all Radar toilet locks, if you lock from the inside, are still open-able with a radar key from the outside? So, given that all users of the toilets will have radar keys (have to)... essentially they're never locked??? That's mad!
 
Islander said:
So, hang on, all Radar toilet locks, if you lock from the inside, are still open-able with a radar key from the outside? So, given that all users of the toilets will have radar keys (have to)... essentially they're never locked??? That's mad!
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I don't know if they're all like that but the ones at Chessington are. Presumably the rationale is that if someone pulls the emergency cord which is present in these toilets, they are unable to open the door themselves so it acts as a fail safe. Presumably most others do use the same system (i know service stations at motorways tend to be the same).

Normally we go in as a threesome, one helps my son with the toilet and the other guards the door (or stands outside guarding if small) and obviously in those scenarios we're able to go off separately to use the toilet. But equally if you're using it on your own then you are just as exposed (pun probably intended) to the risk.

In fairness before learning how the system worked i walked in on someone else so it's somewhat of a pay it forward. All in not a dignified set-up and easily resolved if the desire is there.
 
By the way, when I was in the queue to collect my RAP timecard a staff member was talking to a guest who only had a prebook for one of the days they were at the park.

Basically, if you haven't been able to get a prebook you can be added to a waiting list, and every day at midday they go through the list of cancelled and unused pre-books, then you'll get a text if one is available for you.
 
Skyscraper said:
By the way, when I was in the queue to collect my RAP timecard a staff member was talking to a guest who only had a prebook for one of the days they were at the park.

Basically, if you haven't been able to get a prebook you can be added to a waiting list, and every day at midday they go through the list of cancelled and unused pre-books, then you'll get a text if one is available for you.
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Midday seems early for an unused slot to be given away. We often don’t arrive till after then when driving from the south.

Presumably they’d still honour the booking.
 
Just saw this, and it is horrific, how did they get so many?
part of the description:
Originally designed for those with accessibility needs, this pass is now available to everyone. No Ride Access ID? Simply message me, and I'll provide you with a special red wristband that lets the ride staff know your all set to skip the lines.
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From: https://x.com/glittabones/status/1824548348843508120
 
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