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Ride Access Pass Systems and Disabled Access (pre 2024)

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Skyscraper said:
Yes, but the question is does it really prevent someone from being able to queue? Not really.
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It’s a bit of a grey area, really; conditions affect everyone who has them differently. In that regard, the easiest route would probably be to provide for everyone who has that condition.
 
Instead of issuing return times post ride for RAP, they could issue them pre ride. Then capacity can be managed just like it is for fastrack i.e only a set number of RAPs can be issued per time slot, meaning the impact it has on the main queue is regulated and the RAP queue is manageable length for those that need it.

The current system means that 100 RAP cards could have been signed with the same return time across 20 other rides and then all those guests decide to converge on Wickerman at the same time and the staff have no way of controlling that.
 
Matt N said:
This was still the case in 2018; when I went on a school trip to Thorpe Park in 2018, I heard someone saying about how their dyslexia meant they could “skip all the queues”.

In fairness, dyslexia is technically a disability (well, a learning difficulty, but it could be considered a disability for this type of thing), and I think it’s good for Towers to be so inclusive. Not all disabilities are necessarily visible, and in the current era, it’s important for Towers to accommodate that, in my opinion.
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Dyslexia in no way stops somebody for queueing. The idea of this is absolutely absurd and goes to show the dire state we are in with RAP.
 
Matt N said:
This was still the case in 2018; when I went on a school trip to Thorpe Park in 2018, I heard someone saying about how their dyslexia meant they could “skip all the queues”.

In fairness, dyslexia is technically a disability (well, a learning difficulty, but it could be considered a disability for this type of thing), and I think it’s good for Towers to be so inclusive. Not all disabilities are necessarily visible, and in the current era, it’s important for Towers to accommodate that, in my opinion.
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RAP is not meant to (nor should it be) provide queue jumping for people with a disability across the board. It is meant to be there to allow people who cannot queue due to a disability to still access rides.

Dyslexia does not prevent queueing, I queue fine.
 
Matt N said:
It’s a bit of a grey area, really; conditions affect everyone who has them differently. In that regard, the easiest route would probably be to provide for everyone who has that condition.
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No, absolutely not. It’s not a grey area - dyslexia in no way prevents you from queuing.

Otherwise, I’m short sighted… if I were to loose my glasses, I might struggle to see who’s in front of me in a queue, so really I shouldn’t be queuing and I need RAP


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The only issue dyslexia would cause is not being able to read the safety signage correctly, but that can be helped by having someone read it to you. Definitely not a reason for skipping the queue though!
 
It’s very, very simple. RAP is to provide equivalent access to those who are unable to queue. It isn’t to provide fast track access to all those who are disabled in some way, things such as dyslexia does not prevent someone with it from having the ability to stand. The quicker this is hammered home the better.

Yes, it will cause issues if changes are brought in as a precedent has been set for so long. But, with the situation as it is at the moment, it won’t be long before those who are genuinely unable to queue complain because of the current state of the RAP setup. It’s a lose/lose situation, but the longer this is allowed to go on the more of a problem it’s going to cause in terms of guest satisfaction from both RAP users and guests in the usual queues.
 
Skyscraper said:
The only issue dyslexia would cause is not being able to read the safety signage correctly, but that can be helped by having someone read it to you. Definitely not a reason for skipping the queue though!
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The issue is most people using RAP don’t need it, you see so many of them queueing in the main queue. It’s getting to the point they need to issue wristbands for all guests indicating whether you are RAP or not RAP to prevent people double queueing.

If I had a genuine disability that prevented queueing I would see if a solicitor would take on a no win no fee case, as Merlins lack of control of the RAP system is causing discrimination to those who need to use it as their queues are becoming almost as long as the main queue.
 
Dave said:
The issue is most people using RAP don’t need it, you see so many of them queueing in the main queue. It’s getting to the point they need to issue wristbands for all guests indicating whether you are RAP or not RAP to prevent people double queueing.
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When I went back in May, wristbands weren't given out, and they checked the plastic card for the band colour instead. Don't know if that was just because of the Covid restrictions back then or permanent.
It was nice not having a wristband, but a pain having to get the card from my wallet (In my coat or rucksack) at every ride.
 
And around and around we go again.

It's far too easy to 'prove' you can't queue, and clamping down on that is fraught with PR danger. I'm sure they can improve on this, but it certainly won't fix it alone.

The change needs to come with how much of an advantage RAP gives you. It needs to be basically none, and there are a few ways to realistically achieve that. No advantage, no demand other from those who actually need it.
 
I’ve got a suggestion; could they possibly add RAP to the app in some form? Maybe they could do a QR code-type thing, so that when an RAP user wants to do an attraction, they and their allocated number of carers could each scan a unique QR code at a scanner at the ride entrance and be given a time slot dependant on the queue length. The app could then notify the relevant guests when the time slot is approaching so that they can make their way to the ride entrance and go onto the ride.

They could only have one time slot at a time in order to make things equal; you can’t be in two queues at once in the main queue.

This would be quite similar to now, but possibly more rigid and enforced.
 
pluk said:
And around and around we go again.
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Indeed, this conversation goes full Enterprise every time ... round and round.

The worst thing about the whole situation is that Alton have a solution to this, which is to implement the system that they devised. It's not perfect, but it solves a number of the issues that are becoming more prevalent. If you block out the RAP card for the appropriate time the system is fairer, it becomes less attractive to those who wish to abuse it which will help with the volume issues. If it's an August Saturday and folks are getting on four major rides, that should be the case for all visitors, RAP or not.

There are some things that you can't scale effectively, this is absolutely one of them.

RAP is knackered. Like Enterprise.
 
One of the issues is the size of groups using the RAP. Most disabled guests need a maximum of two carers but usually one, but obviousy if they are part of a bigger group, everyone will want to skip the queue with them if the main queue is big.
 
Matt N said:
It’s a bit of a grey area, really; conditions affect everyone who has them differently. In that regard, the easiest route would probably be to provide for everyone who has that condition.
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Not a grey area at all. The access adjustment should be based on what is needed to give the same access to the ride as everyone else gets, that’s it. No attractions rely on reading.

Matt N said:
I’ve got a suggestion; could they possibly add RAP to the app in some form? Maybe they could do a QR code-type thing, so that when an RAP user wants to do an attraction, they and their allocated number of carers could each scan a unique QR code at a scanner at the ride entrance and be given a time slot dependant on the queue length. The app could then notify the relevant guests when the time slot is approaching so that they can make their way to the ride entrance and go onto the ride.

They could only have one time slot at a time in order to make things equal; you can’t be in two queues at once in the main queue.

This would be quite similar to now, but possibly more rigid and enforced.
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this has already been suggested on the previous page, Legoland already does this.
 
Ive said quite a few times on forums. that the legoland system is best ( my partner uses RAP, however its not liked by the wider RAP community as it actually does what its meant to do… ) you select a ride it shows the queue time and your forced to wait the queue time for the attraction before you board the next… no card to fill out just a QR code on the phone …..
 
Rob F said:
Ive said quite a few times on forums. that the legoland system is best ( my partner uses RAP, however its not liked by the wider RAP community as it actually does what its meant to do… ) you select a ride it shows the queue time and your forced to wait the queue time for the attraction before you board the next… no card to fill out just a QR code on the phone …..
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That sounds like a great system. Hope AT take it up.

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Rob F said:
Ive said quite a few times on forums. that the legoland system is best ( my partner uses RAP, however its not liked by the wider RAP community as it actually does what its meant to do… ) you select a ride it shows the queue time and your forced to wait the queue time for the attraction before you board the next… no card to fill out just a QR code on the phone …..
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Do all the Legoland parks use that system, or just Windsor?
 
Rob F said:
Ive said quite a few times on forums. that the legoland system is best ( my partner uses RAP, however its not liked by the wider RAP community as it actually does what its meant to do… ) you select a ride it shows the queue time and your forced to wait the queue time for the attraction before you board the next… no card to fill out just a QR code on the phone …..
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This is undoubtedly a huge improvement on AT but, and it is a big but, if you were able could you not also queue up in the regular queue while you wait for your slot? So be in 2 queues at once and get pretty much twice as much done in a day over someone using regular queues?

I suspect so, and that is surely still enough of an enticement to encourage plenty of abuse?
 
To me, after visiting the clear problem is not RAP. I love that towers are inclusive to everyone especially with the disabilities they accept.

The problem, is when each person seems to have almost 5-6 others with them. Now, I appreciate they should absolutely have a carer or maybe two depending on the severity of the disability but when there's a whole family, and a second family of I assume further relatives or friends also standing in the queue (Something I saw at least 5-6 occurences of in my two rides) it becomes a little bit of a joke.

It's difficult to address the issue without being insensative, and I understand you don't want to not queue with your entire party and split up. However Towers needs to consider ALL guests, and yes that includes the fast track queue and the normal queue. RAP should provide equity, not advantage.
 
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