Ride Access Pass Systems and Disabled Access (pre 2024)

[imanautie]

Entitlement is a big part of it but more so the fact you have a reasonable system implemented horribly.

I've been in a position where friends of mine who use RAP have ridden Oblivion and Smiler in the time it's taken for me to get a drink from the kiosk above Rehydrator. At that point, the system is utterly broken (RAP, not F&B ...).

I am hopeful this has been addressed for 2021, but pretty certain it won't have been. Merlin might suggest it's almost impossible to reset the expectation at this point and they're right, it's very difficult ... but they made it so!

Considering merlin had disabled guests spending hundred's on VIP passes directly due to failings of the RAP system it's clear it's been broken for a while.
If the rumors about bandless RAP are true then that could go some way towards reducing some of the issues, but only if staff are given the backup needed to safely so no.

 

[Rob]

Meanwhile, at Europa-Park.....!

 

[Benzin]

Europa Park do operate a disabled entry system, just not as... Open? Advertised? As the Merlin ones.

Plus it's only 1 carer much like how Blackpool operate it. I think you could have multiple carers a limited number of times. I'll dig out the email response from them last year when I was enquiring about it.

Germany is very weird though when it comes to disabled policies. More restrictive certainly but that isn't necessarily a positive. I think culturally the European parks certainly deal with it better than the UK in my experiences, with few people actually ever seemingly using it.

Getting staff to write down accurate queue times would be a start to improving the system, especially as any complaints of them doing that would be just ridiculous entitlement from any doing so. Perhaps if they really wanted to crack down on things they could limit the number of carers as well. Though that raises further questions with disabled adults with children, but I'm not sure how any park deals with that situation.

 

[Rob]

To be fair, I have no idea what the system is at Europa-Park. But you certainly do not see any form of secondary queue lines developing for any attractions because of alternative access. I have seen people using the exit of CanCan Coaster a few times but that is it.

I also know that if you want to go on Silver Star but are unable to walk up steps, well then you can't (unless there is a hidden lift somewhere). But I suppose if you cannot walk up steps then any form of lift hill evac would be a challenge, so that might be why.

 

[Benzin]

Policy is (as per customer service email I received last year):

Guests with special needs who are able to walk unassisted, but can’t queue a long time, are allowed to access the rides through the exit in order to avoid long waiting times. The identification document (disabled person's identity card, autistic passport,…) must be shown to the operator staff of the attraction and one accompanying person is permitted.

Furthermore the regulation has been extended in such a way that it is now possible for guests with disabilities to do six attractions with max. four companions. Please contact the “Information am See” near the lake in Adventure Land for more information. There you will receive a green card upon presentation of your disability card. Upon presentation of this card in conjunction with the disabled pass, you can use six attractions of your choice (in compliance with the safety regulations!). Please understand that family and friends may only travel together with the disabled person.

Please note that this ticket doesn’t mean that people have carte blanche for every ride. Safety regulations by the German TÜV are very stringent and people who are not able to walk unassisted or blind persons are not allowed on the following rides:

• Abenteuer Atlantis
• Alpenexpress
• Arthur
• Arena of Football
• Atlantica Supersplash
• Blue Fire Megacoaster
• Schweizer Bobbahn
• Euromir
• Eurosat CanCanCoaster
• Fjord Rafting
• Fluch der Kassandra
• Geisterbahn
• Wildwasserbahn
• Matterhornblitz
• Mül-Mül
• Pegasus
• Piraten in Batavia
• Poppy Tower
• Poseidon
• Silver Star
• Volo da Vinci
• Wodan

In addition the requirements for our roller coasters "Arthur", "Blue Fire" and "Silver Star" are very strict. These attractions may not be ridden with a leg prosthesis, as the safety bar no longer provides support.

For all other roller coasters applies:

If the disabled person is able to master short distances with partly narrow and steep staircases without outside help and without walking aid, nothing should stand in the way of a ride. The reason for this is that our guests must be able to leave the ride independently in the event of a malfunction (e.g. power failure during a thunderstorm). It is also important that the safety bars can be closed correctly.

In case of doubt, our staff can deny access. We kindly ask you to understand and accept the decisions made in the interest of your safety.

UK blue badge is an acceptable form of identification so it's all standard really.

I just think that the Merlin parks in particular have allowed it to be open house for too long. I wonder how those who abuse would react to Paultons one shot policy or only one carer at Blackpool.

DLP might be the closest contestant to busy times but they seem to run fairly efficiently on most things bar BTM.

 

[Skyscraper]

I've just noticed that Towers are selling all the FastTrack bundles now, which is odd as the exits are still one way. Does anyone know if Thirteen's RAP entrace has changed again to reflect this? I'd be suprised if it has given that the usual one merges with the narrow ride exit path.

 

[John]

Fastrack was available last year at £10 per ride, how do the packages change things? Most rides have dedicated FT entrances and they installed screens where FT and main queues run parallel. I'd expect all arrangements for both FT and RAP will be the same as last year.

 

[Skyscraper]

Fastrack was available last year at £10 per ride, how do the packages change things? Most rides have dedicated FT entrances and they installed screens where FT and main queues run parallel. I'd expect all arrangements for both FT and RAP will be the same as last year.

There was no Fast Track available for Thirteen at all last year, because RAP used that entrance instead.
It changes things because the Fast Track offering is back to pre-padademic size this season, after being substantially reduced last seaon due to social distancing.

 

[jon81uk]

There was no Fast Track available for Thirteen at all last year, because RAP used that entrance instead.
It changes things because the Fast Track offering is back to pre-padademic size this season, after being substantially reduced last seaon due to social distancing.

Disney and many other parks mix all guests not in the main queue in one entrance, FastPass, Access Pass, VIP they all go in one lane. No reason that couldn't be done for ambulant guests on Thirteen too.

 

[Skyscraper]

Disney and many other parks mix all guests not in the main queue in one entrance, FastPass, Access Pass, VIP they all go in one lane. No reason that couldn't be done for ambulant guests on Thirteen too.

Yeah I agree. Wish they they did that on Thirteen.

 

[AstroDan]

The RAP system remains totally flawed at Alton Towers in 2021. The bulging queues for RAP guests on many attractions causing misery for not only those that cannot queue but also those in the main queues.

A wretched joke that is discriminatory against the very people it is designed to serve. The self-entitlement of a section of society citing false-disabilities or exaggerating their own needs has got to end.

I think Alton Towers and Merlin are running scared of the media - hence the ongoing problem that is this system.

 

[BarryZola]

It's the kind of pandering that has developed in many areas in society in general especially since the advent of social media. Probably too late to put the genie back in the bottle now unfortunately. Our society is too softly softly to do what's actually needed for fear of someone getting offended and starting a storm on the internet.

 

[tayspru]

I do wonder if management actually realise how bad it has got ?

When it gets to the point where the RAP has queueline barriers and hour long waits (Wickerman especially I noticed had a lot of RAP guests waiting in an enclosed queue they would not be able to easily exit) there’s a problem . RAP is meant to be for those who cannot queue , so why is it always full of guests waiting long periods of time ?

The system needs to be tightened up, and operate so that you wait the queue time elsewhere and then ride , rather than instant access with a timeout after the fact . As long as there is a time benefit compared to the regular queue it will be abused . In the days of social media and Facebook groups it’s very easy to find out what wording needs to be on a doctors letter to get a pass.

 

[Skyscraper]

I think one of the issues is that as well as DLA/PIP forms, they also accept doctors letters. The problem with doctors letters is they can easilly be forged/copied. There was an article in the news recently about people presenting false doctors lerts in order to avoid taking or paying for Covid tests. Luckilly staff do verify the letters by calling the specified phone numbers, and now no one can do it as it's a well known thing. It got me thinking: Do Towers do the same?

 

[tayspru]

I think one of the issues is that as well as DLA/PIP forms, they also accept doctors letters. T There was an article

I think that’s part of the issue , but in the reverse of what you describe . DLA and PIP don’t automatically preclude people from being able to queue.

Universal and Disney for example don’t even ask to see letters at all (it’s illegal), instead you need to describe to the guest relations team precisely why your party member would be unable to queue. It’s not an invasive questioning, but pretty much eradicates anyone who is perhaps exaggerating any conditions they may have.

 

[imanautie]

I think one of the issues is that as well as DLA/PIP forms, they also accept doctors letters. The problem with doctors letters is they can easilly be forged/copied. There was an article in the news recently about people presenting false doctors lerts in order to avoid taking or paying for Covid tests. Luckilly staff do verify the letters by calling the specified phone numbers, and now no one can do it as it's a well known thing. It got me thinking: Do Towers do the same?

Nope, last time I was chatting with RBO about that (a few years ago) they said "merlin aren't allowed to"

 

[Rick]

Is having a Blue Badge still a criteria ?

 

[Alsty]

The system needs to be tightened up, and operate so that you wait the queue time elsewhere and then ride , rather than instant access with a timeout after the fact .

Agreed that would certainly help, but what's to then stop said person from joining the normal queue for a different ride while they wait? Being in two queues at the same time is something that's possible with RAP. I'm not sure how you can avoid that problem.

 

[imanautie]

Is having a Blue Badge still a criteria ?

Yep

 

[Rick]

Yep

That's an awful lot of people (plus their friends) entitled to use RAP, before anything else is taken into account. Appreciate the demographic of a high proportion of blue badge holders aren't your typical Nemesis fan, but still.

This has been a problem for so long, I think it is difficult to fix on some levels, but in others, they just need to implement the system they devised, which is a double win as it levels things up but also over time, it will deter the abuse.

Hell, they could start now - over the next three seasons gradually inflate the time written on the cards so that by the end of 2023 it aligns with the standby line.

This whole thing reminds me of things at work where my team spend longer complaining about the status quo than they do fixing it.

Agreed that would certainly help, but what's to then stop said person from joining the normal queue for a different ride while they wait? Being in two queues at the same time is something that's possible with RAP. I'm not sure how you can avoid that problem.

Agree it's not ideal, but that is the system. I think anything that removes the instant nature of things is a step up.