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Ride Access Pass and Disabled Access - 2024 Discussion

I wonder why they are asking for pre books if not to apply a cap? Potentially to manage the rap throughout per ride to ensure it matches the proportion of people with RAPs on park? So if the sold tickets are 10 percent RAP the RAP que takes roughly 10 percent of the seats?
 
That Guy said:
I wonder why they are asking for pre books if not to apply a cap? Potentially to manage the rap throughout per ride to ensure it matches the proportion of people with RAPs on park? So if the sold tickets are 10 percent RAP the RAP que takes roughly 10 percent of the seats?
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Not sure that works when rides have massively different levels of popularity and accessibility (eg height restrictions).

If there’s no cap then you can book whilst at the park in theory? So are they just trying to reduce queues at customer services?

I genuinely can’t make much sense of these proposals as they’re being presented thus far but a fair amount is second hand unconfirmed information.
 
I think the key thing here is they are willing to close RAP queues, so effectively they are capping the number of RAP users per hour as if they maintain a similar ratio of RAP plus other queues onto the ride and the RAP queue gets bigger than a certain point they close it.

It’s an effective cap, unlike currently when the queue can get as big as it likes.

I imagine the pre-books are for staffing, if they know they only have 100 RAP users on park they don’t need to staff the entrance as they will never need to close a RAP queue. If they have 3,000 on park then they staff the entrance.
 
John said:
What are they trying to achieve by closing RAP queues though? Instead of some people complaining about waiting too long, lots of people will be complaining about not being allowed to ride.
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And unlike the main queue where the app would state "queue at capacity", you wouldn't know a RAP queue was at capacity until you got to it.
 
Skyscraper said:
And unlike the main queue where the app would state "queue at capacity", you wouldn't know a RAP queue was at capacity until you got to it.
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This is only at AT. The existing Chessington and LEGOLAND apps won’t let you book a slot if a ride queue is too long (which you have to do for all rides). As I say, this system is already in place so further suggests the anecdote only applies to AT if correct.

Obviously with the size of AT compared to those parks it’s even more problematic. Perhaps they’ll add a note to the app?
 
John said:
What are they trying to achieve by closing RAP queues though? Instead of some people complaining about waiting too long, lots of people will be complaining about not being allowed to ride.
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I think a major issue with RAP is that some people are simply unable to queue for one reason or another. We are in a ridiculous situation where people are routinely joining long physical queues to get a RAP time. Because of the massive influx of people now using RAP's (a system introduces to make the park accessible and inclusive) we are effectively excluding the people that [arguably] need it the most.

Who knows the true purpose regarding the need to register in advance. It may simply be a data gathering exercise, or perhaps a way to 'warn' people about how busy RAP slots will be.

It is such a challenging subject. I don't know what the answer is for Towers right now, but I would like to see a longer-term plan put in place. I don't know how it could be accomplished, but a standardised system for all UK attractions would make sense as it would simplify things for those who need to use it.
 
But but but, apparently it was confirmed by a passholder group that RAP numbers per day were being capped (a couple of weeks ago). Why are we getting different information? This is pretty pathetic. Like I said recently, all that could be taken from the recent official announcement was that they've put an extra layer of booking in for people to get their RAP pass for the day, which doesn't actually achieve anything, apart from inconvenience.
 
Depends who is being inconvenienced.

If its putting off the ones who openly abuse it then in long run will help the ones who need it.

Wouldn't trust half the information coming from these MAP pages anyway. They were the ones to blame for the whole "free fastrack" debacle in the first place.
 
The thing is though, if you've already gone through the trouble of going through Nimbus to get your RAP pass and use it regularly (even if you don't really need it), you've already got to go online to book your entrance ticket for the day anyway, so doing one extra booking for your RAP is not going to put enough people off really. People will still do it, but it's just an extra level of annoyance for people. I would love someone who actually knows what's going on from Merlin/Towers to directly send a message to someone at TowersStreet to let us know exactly what they're trying to achieve and exactly how they're doing it. The last official announcement continues to not make any sense (apart from an extra apparently nonsensical layer of booking).
 
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Did everyone even receive the original "official announcement"? I know i haven't yet and there's nothing i can see listed on any of the park websites despite the new system allegedly being implemented in 2 weeks time. As it stands outside of this forum i would have no knowledge that i need to pre-book a RAP slot if i was visiting Legoland land then (which is the only Merlin park open from the date it supposedly starts).
 
Here's a question for genuine RAP users: would you welcome a cap?

I mean, I get the annoyance if the allocation is full, however, knowing that you are going to receive the support you require efficiently has got to be a massive plus?
 
It's alright, until it's not. What if you want to go to an opening day of a new ride and you're not allowed to go and ride because the RAP allowance is already booked up? Or it's your birthday and you want to go with a few other family members who can all only get a certain day off together, but that particular day is fully booked up for RAP? You can see how the complaints would start flooding in to the likes of Watchdog etc.
 
ScottishChris said:
Here's a question for genuine RAP users: would you welcome a cap?

I mean, I get the annoyance if the allocation is full, however, knowing that you are going to receive the support you require efficiently has got to be a massive plus?
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Yes and no for me.

Yes because it would make the on the day system far more effective.

No because it would make attending in the first place more challenging either due to lack of availability or inability to plan trips in advance.

Ultimately it's not a solution because it changes the problem rather than fixes it.
 
BarryZola said:
But but but, apparently it was confirmed by a passholder group that RAP numbers per day were being capped (a couple of weeks ago). Why are we getting different information? This is pretty pathetic. Like I said recently, all that could be taken from the recent official announcement was that they've put an extra layer of booking in for people to get their RAP pass for the day, which doesn't actually achieve anything, apart from inconvenience.
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I suspect the poor person who was confronted by a barrage of questions over a desk simply gave the answers the person wanted to hear, save them any grief
 
tayspru said:
I suspect the poor person who was confronted by a barrage of questions over a desk simply gave the answers the person wanted to hear, save them any grief
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Totally agree. Taking the word one of person in a Facebook group who was informed by one member of staff seems a little hasty.

Best to wait for an official announcement or see how things are actually operated when the new season starts.
 
Never know why people ask questions like "what will the cap be?" when parks are notoriously (and deliberately) vague with such information.

I'd welcome a cap. It would assist both RAP and non-RAP users on the whole. Alternative solutions in my mind also include a max 1 carer limit instead of 3 and tough potatoes if your group exceeds that.

But since the staff end up being shouted at for following the rules more often than not end up with the current situation.
 
Benzin said:
Alternative solutions in my mind also include a max 1 carer limit instead of 3
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Whilst this would likely halve the number of RAP users i don't think it would be publicly palatable. Beyond the reasonable exemption list (eg. 1 parent with 2 children) you'd basically be forcing people to spend what is supposed to be a family day out for many separated into two groups.

That being said i do know that Drayton use the 1 carer system so evidently it is viable.
 
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