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Ride Access Pass and Disabled Access - 2026 Discussion

Alphe86 said:
I mean. If the queues at towers were less of a cattle pen overstimulation hell hole then I would imagine more would cope better
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Smiler aside they aren't too bad. To be honest they are not really what I would consider a crowded situation. I can think of several instances in life that are more crowded such as the London underground, any gig where you are standing, a football match or sporting event and even christmas shopping.
 
Alphe86 said:
I mean. If the queues at towers were less of a cattle pen overstimulation hell hole then I would imagine more would cope better
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I would argue that the prevalence of RAP is a key part of why some of the queues at Towers are so unpleasant nowaday. Back before fastrack was a big thing and when RAP meant someone in a wheelchair getting on via the exit every 10 minutes or so, the queue moved twice as fast and that makes a big difference to the experience. Smiler would still be a misery though
 
The same people who are “unable to queue” also expect an ever increasing percentage of the population to have access a service to remove the necessity to queue without any consequence.

It’s completely nonsensical.
 
This has been a long time coming. It simply couldn't continue to be the case that such a huge number of people could qualify for RAP, it didn't to allow any level of access at all to those who truly need it. I'm sure the remaining eligibility will fall well within reasonable adjustment legally.

That being said, its an incredibly blunt cut off. I can see this being a jumping off point to get things under control, with future specific diagnosis being added back in, where the higher level autism diagnisis, for example, would be considered but level 1 and 2 not qualifying.
 
pluk said:
This has been a long time coming. It simply couldn't continue to be the case that such a huge number of people could qualify for RAP, it didn't to allow any level of access at all to those who truly need it. I'm sure the remaining eligibility will fall well within reasonable adjustment legally.

That being said, its an incredibly blunt cut off. I can see this being a jumping off point to get things under control, with future specific diagnosis being added back in, where the higher level autism diagnisis, for example, would be considered but level 1 and 2 not qualifying.
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I agree mostly with what you’re saying.

Though Autism isnt diagnosed by “levels” in the UK. On paper according to the NHS my son who is non-verbal, cannot read or write, can barely feed or dress himself, requires a one to one carer at all times etc has the same condition as say Chris Packham or Elon Musk.

Despite the symptoms I’ve listed (and there are many more) he may no longer qualify for RAP at Merlin parks.

The only equivalent of levels would be banding for funding on an EHCP but that only applies to children in education (and is likely changing soon) so wouldn’t be a universal metric to apply.

Alphe86 said:
I mean. If the queues at towers were less of a cattle pen overstimulation hell hole then I would imagine more would cope better
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I don’t think the design of the queues at Merlin parks are what result in the majority of RAP applications, it’s the length of them and lack of movement. Certainly for us if they were akin to Paultons then we likely wouldn’t need to use RAP.
 
Bowser said:
Though Autism isnt diagnosed by “levels” in the UK. On paper according to the NHS my son who is non-verbal, cannot read or write, can barely feed or dress himself, requires a one to one carer at all times etc has the same condition as say Chris Packham or Elon Musk.
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Do diagnosis not come with a support requirement grading, 1,2 or 3? I encounter people categorised in those terms at work frequently, but am fortunate enough to have had no personal experience of the system.
 
pluk said:
Do diagnosis not come with a support requirement grading, 1,2 or 3? I encounter people categorised in those terms at work frequently, but am fortunate enough to have had no personal experience of the system.
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I'm fairly certain with this. Mate of mine has twins at different levels. Those are the sort of people who will be heavily affected by these changes; since they're both very much of that 1-2-1 carer requirement.

Will need to check bout sister-in-law's kids as one has been diagnosed at level 2 if I recall. She copes but can be visibly uncomfortable since the differences in how autism is displayed between the sexes.



In terms of the busyness since the pre-books came in we've had little to no issues. But we are a red band wheelchair user and rarely bother with the burdenously long RAP queues like Thirteen.

I'm still surprised this route was chosen due to the backlash. But then again this can be hidden behind Nimbus rather than a Merlin decision.
 
Benzin said:
I'm fairly certain with this. Mate of mine has twins at different levels. Those are the sort of people who will be heavily affected by these changes; since they're both very much of that 1-2-1 carer requirement.

Will need to check bout sister-in-law's kids as one has been diagnosed at level 2 if I recall. She copes but can be visibly uncomfortable since the differences in how autism is displayed between the sexes.



In terms of the busyness since the pre-books came in we've had little to no issues. But we are a red band wheelchair user and rarely bother with the burdenously long RAP queues like Thirteen.

I'm still surprised this route was chosen due to the backlash. But then again this can be hidden behind Nimbus rather than a Merlin decision.
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Not any more. For the same reason that Asperger's is no longer given to people as a diagnosis, levels have been abandoned. The reason being that it's impossible to accurately diagnose how much someone is struggling based on what they're able or not able to do. There are people that mask heavily: get good jobs, have relationships, and then it all crashes and burns because they've been covering up for far too long. Those sort of people might be physically able to stand in a 2 hour queue for a ride, but when they get home they'll be exhausted, irritable and have meltdowns because of the effort involved in behaving "normally".

The RAP system only really works if people get detailed, 1:1 assessments to establish their level of need for a specific accommodation. You can't base it on the obvious stuff like whether or not someone is nonverbal, because that's not actually related to their ability to wait in a queue.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
The RAP system only really works if people get detailed, 1:1 assessments to establish their level of need for a specific accommodation. You can't base it on the obvious stuff like whether or not someone is nonverbal, because that's not actually related to their ability to wait in a queue.
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Which is exactly the system Disney have. Funnily enough though, their system is the exact opposite - non ambulant guests aren’t eligible for DAS (since all their queue lines are wheelchair accessible by default), and only those with issues queueing get it after a 1:1 assessment.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
Not any more. For the same reason that Asperger's is no longer given to people as a diagnosis, levels have been abandoned. The reason being that it's impossible to accurately diagnose how much someone is struggling based on what they're able or not able to do. There are people that mask heavily: get good jobs, have relationships, and then it all crashes and burns because they've been covering up for far too long. Those sort of people might be physically able to stand in a 2 hour queue for a ride, but when they get home they'll be exhausted, irritable and have meltdowns because of the effort involved in behaving "normally".
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That change must be really recent since mate's twins got diagnosed 2 years ago with the levels if I recall. Super young too.

Think everyone comes home tired and irritable after spending the day in 2 hour queues at Towers.
 
Benzin said:
That change must be really recent since mate's twins got diagnosed 2 years ago with the levels if I recall. Super young too.

Think everyone comes home tired and irritable after spending the day in 2 hour queues at Towers.
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There's a difference between being tired after a trip, and feeling a deep routed need to head bang to a brick wall to get rid of all the over peopling feels.
 
I completely understand that this is a sensitive topic and that those affected by the changes will be annoyed at them. That being said it has long been apparent that that level of demand for RAP was massively outstripping a reasonable level of supply meaning changes had to be made.
I think it is also worth remembering that the inability to use the main queues for the vast majority of those who continue to qualify is due to active decisions made by the parks* whereas the difficulties faced by those who no longer qualify are unrelated to any decision made by the parks.
At the same time I am not quite sure they have got the balance quite right especially in relation to the visually impaired who face physical barriers with queuing and a significantly increased injury risk from bumping into others and those with severe learning disabilities who will not be able to understand why they are no longer able to queue skip (whilst RAP is not a queue skip I suspect the carers of such individuals will have used distraction techniques and other strategies to make it appear as such to the individual).
* If the main queues were wheelchair accessible and had sufficient seating areas those who currently qualify would largely be more than happy to use the main queues as is seen at Disney
 
Benzin said:
That change must be really recent since mate's twins got diagnosed 2 years ago with the levels if I recall. Super young too.

Think everyone comes home tired and irritable after spending the day in 2 hour queues at Towers.
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Our diagnosis was approximately 9-10 years ago and we definitely don't have that, nor was it amended at any point. A close friend's child had their diagnosis about 7 years ago and doesn't have it either. It's possible it was briefly introduced or i suspect more likely that it's only been used in certain parts of the country and wasn't a nationally recognised system.

Leigh said:
Which is exactly the system Disney have. Funnily enough though, their system is the exact opposite - non ambulant guests aren’t eligible for DAS (since all their queue lines are wheelchair accessible by default), and only those with issues queueing get it after a 1:1 assessment.
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I gather the 1:1 assessment has been unpopular. Why has it been unpopular? Likely a variety of reasons, from those who find it invasive to those bitter they no longer qualify.

The Nimbus system isn't a million miles away from this tbf. Your application is individually assessed rather than qualification purely by diagnosis. The level of proof remains a difficult burden. There's only so much can be reasonably achieved from both parties. Anyone who has applied for a non physical disability blue badge will know the misery of that process all too well so i expect Nimbus are reluctant to take it to that level.

Interestingly i note that rather than the previous application time of one week Nimbus are now recommending applying THREE MONTHS before a theme park visit, which to me suggests either a massive increase in requests or a more thorough analysis is now taking place.
 
Bowser said:
Our diagnosis was approximately 9-10 years ago and we definitely don't have that, nor was it amended at any point. A close friend's child had their diagnosis about 7 years ago and doesn't have it either. It's possible it was briefly introduced or i suspect more likely that it's only been used in certain parts of the country and wasn't a nationally recognised system.



I gather the 1:1 assessment has been unpopular. Why has it been unpopular? Likely a variety of reasons, from those who find it invasive to those bitter they no longer qualify.

The Nimbus system isn't a million miles away from this tbf. Your application is individually assessed rather than qualification purely by diagnosis. The level of proof remains a difficult burden. There's only so much can be reasonably achieved from both parties. Anyone who has applied for a non physical disability blue badge will know the misery of that process all too well so i expect Nimbus are reluctant to take it to that level.

Interestingly i note that rather than the previous application time of one week Nimbus are now recommending applying THREE MONTHS before a theme park visit, which to me suggests either a massive increase in requests or a more thorough analysis is now taking place.
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The reason I was told when I asked merlin about that change (they updated it first) was simply to account for prebooking windows

Bowser said:
Our diagnosis was approximately 9-10 years ago and we definitely don't have that, nor was it amended at any point. A close friend's child had their diagnosis about 7 years ago and doesn't have it either. It's possible it was briefly introduced or i suspect more likely that it's only been used in certain parts of the country and wasn't a nationally recognised system.



I gather the 1:1 assessment has been unpopular. Why has it been unpopular? Likely a variety of reasons, from those who find it invasive to those bitter they no longer qualify.

The Nimbus system isn't a million miles away from this tbf. Your application is individually assessed rather than qualification purely by diagnosis. The level of proof remains a difficult burden. There's only so much can be reasonably achieved from both parties. Anyone who has applied for a non physical disability blue badge will know the misery of that process all too well so i expect Nimbus are reluctant to take it to that level.

Interestingly i note that rather than the previous application time of one week Nimbus are now recommending applying THREE MONTHS before a theme park visit, which to me suggests either a massive increase in requests or a more thorough analysis is now taking place.
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Re Disney: the main reason I'm hearing it's not popular is the criteria isn't clear, yes Disney state a criteria but it doesn't actually appear that's what they follow, and it's tied in with tickets so it's a bit tricky booking before you know.
 
This implies the new requirements come into affect immediately, which doesn't seem to have happened for those who booked the first tranche of RAP slots?

I had assumed they would only apply it at renewal. I'd say there was a need for change, but doing the transition this way almost seems designed to cause complaints.

Edit, apologies I didn't want to cause confusion (and had at least included a link). The section that surprised me and implies a immediate change to eligibility was:


My RAP was valid for three years will you honour the remaining time?

No, as we have moved away from Ride Access Pass ID Cards, we are using Nimbus Access Cards and the new symbols of difficulty standing, level access and urgent toilet access only as eligibility for RAP.
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There’s obviously a lot of information floating around regarding these changes at the moment, and it’s understandable that this is causing concernfor some forum members who are using this topic to try and get a handle on things.

If you’re referring to information that you’ve found, please can you summarise or quote it in your post and link to the source. Please check to ensure that it’s from an official channel, as things labelled as fact which is just speculation does nothing to help people in an already potentially difficult situation. Thanks in advance.
 
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