-
ℹ️ Heads up...
This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.
Ride Access Pass and Disabled Access - 2024 Discussion
- Thread starter Leigh
- Start date
Bowser
TS Member
That's not what it says on their website currently. As i say, i've never been but looks like their partnership with Nimbus may be new for 2024 and they're acknowledging both the queue icon and Carer +1/2 icons (unlike Merlin) as per below:
The easy access service will allow the disabled guest who is unable to use the conventional queue line enter the ride via the exit gate. In addition, one carer of the guest’s party will be entitled to accompany the wearer of the access band.
Please note you will only receive a free essential companion ticket when accompanying a paying guest 4 years + and your access card displays the +1/+2 symbol.
The Easy access service allows the service user named on the Access card and either 1 or 2 additional guests (This will be dependant on the card status for an additional carer) to have unlimited access to exits throughout the day. This excludes the 4D Cinema and The Haunting. Restrictions will apply, please click here to view full information on the easy access service.
Plan Your Visit | Accessibility
We welcome visits by guests with additional needs. We will do everything possible to ensure our guests have a safe and pleasurable day out with us.
I realise that. But having clocked up over 58 visits last year with a SEN child, it’s not how they implement it at all. That been on their website all last year to.
Guest services were told to do whatever they can to prevent guests being split and use their own judgment when they can use +3.
We had 6 trips where we were asked to stick to +1 on stormforce, shockwave and accelerator but could use +3 everywhere else
Guest services were told to do whatever they can to prevent guests being split and use their own judgment when they can use +3.
We had 6 trips where we were asked to stick to +1 on stormforce, shockwave and accelerator but could use +3 everywhere else
Bowser
TS Member
Good to know thanks! Looking forward to our first visit this year when all the rides are open.
Benzin
TS Member
It screws us over as our group would usually be 2 adults & a baby. With the additional factor of not being allowed to combine RAP and Parent Swap for reasons it makes it slightly complicated for us at the moment. At Chessie we ended up being 4 adults, including 2 RAP users and the baby. Felt abusive to the system but since they won't let us leave the baby unattended didn’t have much choice. Though for things like Gruffalo we didn't have both passes going at the same time.
Most European parks have a max 1 carer limit. Even family parks, and given the challenges the Merlin parks seem to have they need to be far stricter than currently. Even if they reverted back after a while.
No changes would be publicly palatable because many have gotten used to being able to abuse the system. When Legoland bought in the Q-Bot the Facebook pages were full of rage over it.
ScottishChris
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Legend
If I go to a park with 10 mates and we want to ride together we can. In an ideal world this should be no different for a person needing support.
If you were designing a ride access scheme from the start, every ride would have an accessible waiting room with suitable facilities near the platform. A person needing support would wait in there for the same length of time as the queue length with a companion. And if said person has a dozen mates in the queue, they should be able to wait until those people reach the front of the queue and ride with them. I know this may be seen to be 'utopia' to some, but it is something a place like towers could implement both in terms of space and finances.
GooseOnTheLoose
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Ug Bugs
Am I misunderstanding, or did you want to leave the baby on the platform whilst you rode a coaster?
Two adults and a baby can't use rap and swap?
Are we to presume after all these years that a parent with a child will not have rap needs then?
I love the Towers black and white decisions against all shades of grey.
Bring in the qbots or smartphone access systems, the technology is out there.
Dave
TS Founding Member
Pretty sure this is a Merlin wide rule.
John
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Is is though? There are conflicting but perfectly reasonable safety rules here:
- wheelchair users must be accompanied on rides (in case of breakdown/evac)
- anyone under the height limit cannot ride
- young children cannot be left unsupervised
As an operator, I would not be inclined to allow any of the above to be waived. Am I missing something?
- wheelchair users must be accompanied on rides (in case of breakdown/evac)
- anyone under the height limit cannot ride
- young children cannot be left unsupervised
As an operator, I would not be inclined to allow any of the above to be waived. Am I missing something?
Bowser
TS Member
I don't see how this could realistically be implemented even in a park built from scratch. This waiting area would need a bathroom with the range of facilities to cover all disabilities, a sensory area, large enough to comfortably house dozens of people with additional needs and so on. And you'd need this constructed at every ride.
The obvious solution is strict timed access slots, so people can make use of those existing facilities elsewhere then approach the ride with no queue at their designated slot. This works incredibly well for Mandrill Mayhem, other than the fight to procure a slot. It works less well for SkyLion because the RAP slots and queue is shared with FastPass. The only modification would be the ability to book and organise multiple ride slots simultaneously (i.e. plan out your day of rides but with the option to cancel/move bookings without penalty), which would be essential for a park the size of AT.
Benzin
TS Member
Misunderstanding. But it does limit groups in a slightly different way. Unsurprisingly most of the people we know would also want to go on the rides so had to take turns with our other RAP user friend.
Do it in a group of 3 to 4 adults. That way none of those rules are broken.
This worked perfectly using the BPB quebot system some years ago...using speedypass, but the principle and pacing was the same as could be done for rap...
We queued for exactly two hours (For the grand prix, lord help us), and slotted into the space exactly where we would have been in the real queue...all done while expertly queuewatching like our Matt from the Crevettes balcony.
The people who entered the real queue just before our booking were in the car before us two hours later...poor sods.
You don't need a waiting room with facilities when those facilities are already there, you just need a real time, fair waiting qbot/smartphone system.
The 2 utilising rap could meet their 8 mates as they all feed into the station...in Chris's case above.
Bowser
TS Member
Tbf this is what is in place at Chessington and Legoland. It's just not properly implemented, as often on top of your "virtual" queueing time you'll have an additional wait that on some rides can be 30 minutes or more, not only defeating the point of the system but meaning cumulatively you've waited longer than the regular queue.
If they are supposedly increasing the number of RAP users as opposed to tightening eligibility then it seems like modifying the functionality of the apps (and introducing it full stop at AT/TP) might be the way to go rather than introducing vague capacity limits.
We took him to Pirate takeover for his first trip to towers and used RAP - interestingly we were told theyre experimenting with adding a shorter wait then the main queue (as a policy decision) by 50% to counter any additional waiting in the RAP queue.
Since we encourage him to queue when he can (20 mins or less) we only used it twice but was interesting to see the main octonaughts queue at 65 mins but the lock out on his RAP at 25.
Might be old news but was a bit odd for us anyway
Since we encourage him to queue when he can (20 mins or less) we only used it twice but was interesting to see the main octonaughts queue at 65 mins but the lock out on his RAP at 25.
Might be old news but was a bit odd for us anyway
Bowser
TS Member
Yeah they’ve been doing that for a while across all the parks although it often seems quite random as to how it’s implemented in my experience.
Benzin
TS Member
Not the solution to combat the "Free Fastrack" image RAP has.
pluk
TS Member
This is maddening, one step forward, two steps back.
I've said it so many times, but just about every person I've ever spoken to who actually needs RAP does not want an advantage, just equal access.