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Ride Access Pass Systems and Disabled Access (pre 2024)

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ihaveaspergers said:
Remind me exactly how and why?

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I wanted to see if getting an RAP was as easy as people said. A small group of us went in last year, explained why one of us couldn't queue and we were handed the pass. No detailed questioning, the RAP collection queue was crazy so they were trying to get through it quickly I think.

We didn't use it, just had too much time on our hands as it wasn't a classic Merlin 4pm close :p
 
MakoMania said:
I wanted to see if getting an RAP was as easy as people said. A small group of us went in last year, explained why one of us couldn't queue and we were handed the pass. No detailed questioning, the RAP collection queue was crazy so they were trying to get through it quickly I think.

We didn't use it, just had too much time on our hands as it wasn't a classic Merlin 4pm close :p
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Figured you wouldn't have used it, you would have to be. Moron to admit it publicly.
Did they get you to sign the "rap given no proof form" or fill it in on the iPad?

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MakoMania said:
No, they were flying through people as fast as they could.
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There should be some way to share medical information in confidence. So you go to your Gp, he will write a letter and send it to some Alton Towers address. Alton Towers can then immediatly verify it and issue the pass straight away on arrival. They fact that they need to check anything on the day seems totally inefficient to me.

But then again, this is the same country where the NHS of all people weren't allowed to access my medical records so it doesnt surprise me
 
speedy said:
There should be some way to share medical information in confidence. So you go to your Gp, he will write a letter and send it to some Alton Towers address. Alton Towers can then immediatly verify it and issue the pass straight away on arrival.
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The law prevents that, I won't go into detail how on an open forum, but it does, the present system is the best of a bad situation, it's not perfect, but then when the system is operated correctly it doesn't impact on operations too much. The experience @MakoMania had just re-enforces the belief that it's easy to get, which is understandable considering, I wonder if @MakoMania would have got it so easily on a off-peak day? As others have said also, idiots running to Facebook and referring to RAP as fast track doesn't help either.
 
This is a very emotive subject but also something I feel strongly about. You only have to look at the RAP queue on the likes of Wicker Man or Smiler, or the fact that every other car on Rattlesnake the other week was being filled with RAP guests to know that there is a big problem with Merlin parks and RAP.

Here's the problem. I have a severe nut allergy. Do I need RAP? Absolutely not. Do I reckon that I could go to Towers and tell them that it is not safe for me to stand in a queue incase people are eating nuts around me in a confined space, and therefore blag an RAP pass? Probably yes. Towers seem to give RAP to anyone and their dog. And this of course is of no benefit to those who genuinely need RAP.

It is a problem unique to Merlin parks. I have never come across such issues at other parks in the UK, Europe or the US.
 
Rob said:
Here's the problem. I have a severe nut allergy. Do I need RAP? Absolutely not. Do I reckon that I could go to Towers and tell them that it is not safe for me to stand in a queue incase people are eating nuts around me in a confined space, and therefore blag an RAP pass? Probably yes. Towers seem to give RAP to anyone and their dog. And this of course is of no benefit to those who genuinely need RAP.
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You could quiet easily be standing next to a person in the RAP queue line eating nuts , this is where some of the justification I often hear for using RAP is flawed o_O
 
Part of the problem must also be doctors who are writing letters for people that don't need RAP.

Thing is I could go to my doctor and say I can't queue, by exeggerating my condition and he'd possibly write a letter for me. I don't see any way to stop this, since Alton Towers can't really decide on the day whether someone is "disabled enough" to use the RAP. How do you stop people, who may have been diagnosed with XYZ, from applying for RAP when they don't need it? One person may be able to use the normal queue while the other can't, even if they both have the same medical condition

As we keep saying, there is a problem. I just don't see what the solution is.
 
speedy said:
Part of the problem must also be doctors who are writing letters for people that don't need RAP.

Thing is I could go to my doctor and say I can't queue, by exeggerating my condition and he'd possibly write a letter for me. I don't see any way to stop this, since Alton Towers can't really decide on the day whether someone is "disabled enough" to use the RAP. How do you stop people, who may have been diagnosed with XYZ, from applying for RAP when they don't need it? One person may be able to use the normal queue while the other can't, even if they both have the same medical condition

As we keep saying, there is a problem. I just don't see what the solution is.
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Why bother bringing your doctor in at all?
Merlin don't have any way of checking a letter is real, if "it looks real it must be genuine"

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ihaveaspergers said:
Why bother bringing your doctor in at all?
Merlin don't have any way of checking a letter is real, if "it looks real it must be genuine"

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Well that's another problem and I don't know the answer to that, since it seems nobody is willing to implement a way to actually check if a person has a disability
 
I think the problem goes beyond Alton.

The hand out of PIP, DLA and Blue Badges are also questionable.

To get the above, you are supposed to meet a certain criteria, but I often come across people that don't meet the require criteria and a lot of this is by their own admission.

However it's not for me to judge on individual medical cases
 
RoyJess said:
I think the problem goes beyond Alton.

The hand out of PIP, DLA and Blue Badges are also questionable.

To get the above, you are supposed to meet a certain criteria, but I often come across people that don't meet the require criteria and a lot of this is by their own admission.

However it's not for me to judge on individual medical cases
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Woah you're opening a whole new can of worms there!

All too often I hear stories of people denied benefits when they really need them. I guess it goes both ways. Like you say I'm in no position to judge
 
We have a neighbour that lives down the road from us, they have a son that is on DLA and Blue badge on the basis of that he is blind and can't see or do anything and needs help with day to day care as he can't see....

...but yet he visits his parents by cycling a bike on the main roads.

We often come across people justify using a blue badge on the bases that they claim that they are wheelchair bound, but by their own admission don't use it because it is easier to walk, but only dust down and get out their wheelchair for assessments

Here are just a couple of samples that we regularly come across, but again I can't tarnish everyone with a disability with the same brush. There are also genuine people out there with hidden disabilities.
 
RoyJess said:
We have a neighbour that lives down the road from us, they have a son that is on DLA and Blue badge on the basis of that he is blind and can't see or do anything and needs help with day to day care as he can't see....

...but yet he visits his parents by cycling a bike on the main roads.

We often come across people justify using a blue badge on the bases that they claim that they are wheelchair bound, but by their own admission don't use it because it is easier to walk, but only dust down and get out their wheelchair for assessments

Here are just a couple of samples that we regularly come across, but again I can't tarnish everyone with a disability with the same brush. There are also genuine people out there with hidden disabilities.
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Hmm as you probably know by now I'm partially sighted, no way am I ever riding a bike on the road, far too dangerous. Sounds like he's taking the piss IMO

I do have free train and bus travel within Scotland, which some people maybe think is unfair but then I will never drive so I think it's justified.

I'm not actually sure what a blue badge gets, to tell you the truth, except parking in disabled bays
 
speedy said:
Hmm as you probably know by now I'm partially sighted, no way am I ever riding a bike on the road, far too dangerous. Sounds like he's taking the **** IMO

I do have free train and bus travel within Scotland, which some people maybe think is unfair but then I will never drive so I think it's justified.

I'm not actually sure what a blue badge gets, to tell you the truth, except parking in disabled bays
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In a fair few places blue badges not only get disabled bays but free parking.

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..and on the flip side my wheelchair bound cousin was refused PIP and ruled fit for work by ATOS, she can't even go to the toilet without help, let alone walk, just for a bit of balance, not pointing fingers st anybody.
 
I noticed some people refer to our European counterparts?

The majority of which use a similar system to the UK parks? Hell Efteling don't even sign a bit of paper to give a timeframe, and Walibi just make you wait the queue time equivalent (which isn't a good option when there's nowhere for the person with the problem to sit)... Liseberg are the same, and even allowed multiple goes on some rides...

I think the issues are far more cultural than can be solved by a simple theme park access pass system... When kids are being designated as autistic (read, they don't behave but he's a sweet angel honest) it pretty much means a whole host of families use/abuse the system...

Rebranding would be my suggestion, and giving detailed guidelines and ensuring that the maximum carer number is followed to the letter (he says hypocritically, but 10 years ago this wasn't as big a problem)...
 
Rob said:
It is a problem unique to Merlin parks. I have never come across such issues at other parks in the UK, Europe or the US.
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Disney had a huge problem with guest access passes behind used frauduantly, even with some people selling themselves as disabled tour guides to get other people through the queues quicker with them. It was a big issue for Disney.
They basically removed the ability for wheelchair users to get straight onto rides and added a system of waiting the queue time for those who can't wait in line and making some queue lines wheelchair accessible. But they in general still don't have separate accessible queues, if you have a pass you enter on the fastpass line and most queuelines don't have steps.
Alton Towers really should have given Wickerman and many others a flat fast-track queue and just combined RAP and fast-track. But they added steps to the queues instead.
 
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