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Ride Access Pass Systems and Disabled Access (pre 2024)

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Dave said:
Depends on the situation, if it’s a transient interaction like a pass being presented then you talk to the person presenting the pass. If you are talking about access issues regarding a persons disability then you talk to the person with the disability not their carer.

It’s human nature to direct your conversation to the person doing the talking but it’s respectful in talking to disabled persons and their carers to talk to the disabled person directly. It’s a hard habit to break though.
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The thing is I've had it happen when people default to asking me when I'm with a wheelchair user even when they start the interaction....
 
imanautie said:
The thing is I've had it happen when people default to asking me when I'm with a wheelchair user even when they start the interaction....
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Yeah it does happen, thing is it’s a hard instinct to break. I work in the NHS and work with disabled patients daily abs it’s still a constant thing to ensure you don’t slip into the habit. This is why Towers should get the disabled access points manned by a smaller cohort of staff who can have focused training. That’s not to say they shouldn’t do disability awareness training for everyone but the key points where difficult conversations may occur should have people with that enhanced training.

My main issue with Merlin making it so easy to abuse the disabled access system is people start forgetting it’s purpose as they are so used to people using it who do not need enhanced help, also the areas where disabled people need to access to go on rides (or get their pass in a morning) are becoming chaotic and stressful.
 
imanautie said:
The thing is I've had it happen when people default to asking me when I'm with a wheelchair user even when they start the interaction....
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Yeah thats not good.

But as I read the complaint in the petition, it just gave the mental image of a parent complaining that no-one is talking to the wheelchair user, but at the time I picture the parent doing all the talking anyway!
 
It sounds like there are some procedural issues, if the events described in the post are regular occurrences rather than a one off. Yelling at each other, having the guest board then deboard, and not knowing how to use the accessibility lift don't do themselves any favours.

Interestingly I overheard Guest Relations staff meeting a UK family requesting disability access at Universal Orlando. The family sounded like they were getting ready for a fight for their wheelchair bound child and were pulling out hospital paperwork. Guest Relations just calmly and friendly said, no need, we're just going to have a discussion and determine your needs and how we can make your day work. No idea how their day then went, but it certainly seemed to put them in a far happier starting point.
 
Swarm Chris said:
Interestingly I overheard Guest Relations staff meeting a UK family requesting disability access at Universal Orlando. The family sounded like they were getting ready for a fight for their wheelchair bound child and were pulling out hospital paperwork. Guest Relations just calmly and friendly said, no need, we're just going to have a discussion and determine your needs and how we can make your day work. No idea how their day then went, but it certainly seemed to put them in a far happier starting point.
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Under the ADA legislation in the USA they cannot ask for proof of a disability, only what accommodations are required.
 
Ended up having a discussion about this last night.

Main issue clearly was the lack of information provided and staff behaviour. Guest Services should really go through more detailed information (i.e. tell those who cannot walk unaided you will be unable to go on certain rides). Mentioning that at the front would reduce issues later in the day.

I've had no issues in regards to staff talking to the person in chair (it's not me after all and I tend to stand back during the questioning Towers do). The description in the original post is just. Basic stuff. The staff member shouting across Smiler station is the absolute worst thing.

There is a tricky thing though. Their original post (not the petition) mentioned a lack of staff informing them about the "no walk no ride" policy on the way to the ride. Even when asking for directions to the hidden Smiler lift (which as an aside, who doesn't know how to operate those? It's a lift!). My thing there would be that many staff (especially in another department) probably wouldn't know or wouldn't ask the right questions. Perhaps an improvement of awareness but not the most important thing.

One thing we argued over was the re-ride policy. Again in their original post they managed to get on Marauders Mayhem, but were not allowed to re-ride due to the blanket policy Towers had. Should those with severe disabilities be allowed to re-ride without getting out and faffing around (3 minutes was the stated loading time for her)? Towers are the only Merlin park with such a stance but I doubt it's been an issue before. My worry there is that it opens up the doors for people playing the "well why do THEY get to stay on" because people.

It isn't a good look for Towers though with the main part of the complaints. The behaviour and lack of information from staff is a terrible thing. And I remember having to explain RAP policy a decade ago at Chessie because GS rarely did it.
 
Benzin said:
Ended up having a discussion about this last night.

Main issue clearly was the lack of information provided and staff behaviour. Guest Services should really go through more detailed information (i.e. tell those who cannot walk unaided you will be unable to go on certain rides). Mentioning that at the front would reduce issues later in the day.

I've had no issues in regards to staff talking to the person in chair (it's not me after all and I tend to stand back during the questioning Towers do). The description in the original post is just. Basic stuff. The staff member shouting across Smiler station is the absolute worst thing.

There is a tricky thing though. Their original post (not the petition) mentioned a lack of staff informing them about the "no walk no ride" policy on the way to the ride. Even when asking for directions to the hidden Smiler lift (which as an aside, who doesn't know how to operate those? It's a lift!). My thing there would be that many staff (especially in another department) probably wouldn't know or wouldn't ask the right questions. Perhaps an improvement of awareness but not the most important thing.

One thing we argued over was the re-ride policy. Again in their original post they managed to get on Marauders Mayhem, but were not allowed to re-ride due to the blanket policy Towers had. Should those with severe disabilities be allowed to re-ride without getting out and faffing around (3 minutes was the stated loading time for her)? Towers are the only Merlin park with such a stance but I doubt it's been an issue before. My worry there is that it opens up the doors for people playing the "well why do THEY get to stay on" because people.

It isn't a good look for Towers though with the main part of the complaints. The behaviour and lack of information from staff is a terrible thing. And I remember having to explain RAP policy a decade ago at Chessie because GS rarely did it.
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Another annoyance is the fact RAP is operated out of guest services. Again there should be a dedicated RAP services area (it’s not like they don’t have enough space on Towers Street), were the staff in there are focused on that one thing and not also dealing with other guest issues.
 
Dave said:
Another annoyance is the fact RAP is operated out of guest services. Again there should be a dedicated RAP services area (it’s not like they don’t have enough space on Towers Street), were the staff in there are focused on that one thing and not also dealing with other guest issues.
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In theory normally rap is orange queue only so a more limited number of staff.
 
Dave said:
Another annoyance is the fact RAP is operated out of guest services. Again there should be a dedicated RAP services area (it’s not like they don’t have enough space on Towers Street), were the staff in there are focused on that one thing and not also dealing with other guest issues.
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Or they should bring back guest services as a separate thing from "box office" in the old location? So guest issues can be sorted out separate to sales and similar.
 
Towers do have the right to refuse access to anyone if they feel there is a risk to them or anyone else, as do all theme parks. However they have to do it in a dignified manner and maybe point the guest to rides they can go on, which obviously wasn't the case here.

I was wondering what would happen with Duel due to the fact it only has two walkways, entrance and exit, with an access door halfway up the (narrow) exit ramp leading to the load platform. If they really can't find a way around it they really should inform guests upon collection of the wristband. Common sense I think.
 
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skyscraper said:
Towers do have the right to refuse access to anyone if they feel there is a risk to them or anyone else, as do all theme parks. However they have to do it in a dignified manner and maybe point the guest to rides they can go on, which obviously wasn't the case here.

I was wondering what would happen with Duel due to the fact it only has two walkways, entrance and exit, with an access door halfway up the (narrow) exit ramp leading to the load platform. If they really can't find a way around it they really should inform guests upon collection of the wristband. Common sense I think.
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Doing what THORPE does when freestyle is broken somewhere (sign at tills stating as such) whilst not perfect would at least improve on the situation. I'm sure RBO could spare a page on the screens to mention accessibility information.
 
skyscraper said:
They've done a youtube video talking about the experience;

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Putting the reluctance to make rides accessible, across merlin there's a clear lack of training on interactions with disabled guests, I've literally lost count of the number of cases I'm aware off where the communication with the disabled guest or about access is severely lacking.

Is it a front line staff issue? No!* It's something that needs sorting out amongst merlin not just any one attraction, yes there are some rockstar staff who handle stuff perfectly but not all staff know how to.

*It's generally not front line staff at fault but is occasionally.
 
It's probably not helped by a lack of staff continuity meaning that properly experienced staff are few and far between. This is of course contributed to by low wages and short contracts meaning that turnover of staff is high and that the staff that they do hire maybe don't actually care as much as they may if they saw it as a long-term job. Like someone mentioned above, you probably do get some staff who are naturally just really good at dealing with people of all different needs but unfortunately some of the younger more inexperienced staff probably fall a bit short through no particular fault of their own.
 
I notice that this story has been trolling on Alton's facebook page,

As far as I'm aware, if you can't walk, you are not allowed on the rides for evacuation/H&S reasons, this has been the case for many years with some of the big rides and has always been the case with the Smiler from day one that it opened (I have mention on here many times about rides that have a disable lift but is pointless as you can't ride unless you can walk). So I'm a bit dubious about their claim that they have been to Alton towers many times over the years with no problem.

I agree, more needs to be done with regards to making attractions exclusive and to ensure that staff have disability awareness training, but this is not just a problem exclusive to Alton Towers.
 
Is RAP still available on every ride? When i tweeted them a few weeks ago they said yes but fast track has since re-emerged and I'm just thinking some of the new RAP routes because of COVID used the fast track queues did they not? If anyone knows up to date and can be of help I'd really appreciate it :D
EDIT: Does Duel not have its wheelchair access anymore then? Could have sworn up was up that ramp leading into Spooks R Us
 
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Danscott22 said:
Is RAP still available on every ride? When i tweeted them a few weeks ago they said yes but fast track has since re-emerged and I'm just thinking some of the new RAP routes because of COVID used the fast track queues did they not? If anyone knows up to date and can be of help I'd really appreciate it :D
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Duel is a big nope!
 
Every comment on the Alton Towers Facebook page seems to be either the disability problems, a nudity event in November (!), The MAP problems or difficulty getting through to customer service. No one seems to be happy with Alton Towers currently.
 
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