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The Merlin VIP Annual Pass

It’s stupid, in Florida I can go up in my chair, get out and get on rides on my own but at towers I “need” a helper with me to use the wheelchair entrance. I always use the FT even if the queue is short not because I’m one of showing off types of people it’s because it’s means the shortest distance for me to walk.
 
The requirement of a carer on the ride is to help support the RAP user in the event of a breakdown / evacuation is it not? Someone who struggles to queue may also struggle with extended waits to be evacuated and since ride hosts cannot be expected to be trained to deal with various behaviours it makes sense to have someone right next to the RAP user who can.
 
AT86 said:
The requirement of a carer on the ride is to help support the RAP user in the event of a breakdown / evacuation is it not? Someone who struggles to queue may also struggle with extended waits to be evacuated and since ride hosts cannot be expected to be trained to deal with various behaviours it makes sense to have someone right next to the RAP user who can.
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It all depends on why they can’t queue.
 
I have a special Young Scot card which gets me free train and bus transport in Scotland because I am registered partially sighted. I don't need a carer, nor am I entitled to a free travel companion unless I am registered blind. It is up to the train companies to ensure I get off ok, or to ensure there is a ramp present for a wheelchair user, etc etc. I actually think this is discrimination, it ought to be up to the individual whether they require a carer or not! Provision for disabled people should aim for as much independence as possible.

AT86 said:
The requirement of a carer on the ride is to help support the RAP user in the event of a breakdown / evacuation is it not? Someone who struggles to queue may also struggle with extended waits to be evacuated and since ride hosts cannot be expected to be trained to deal with various behaviours it makes sense to have someone right next to the RAP user who can.
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I'm sure the person using the RAP knows what situations they are comfortable with. Totally depends on the person.
 
The entire system was designed with wheelchair users in mind - it falls apart under the range of disabilities it's now being expected to deal with. Rides are now being built with 2 different disabled entrances or (in the case of Rita) 2nd RAP entrances being retrofitted. It's bonkers

None of the Merlin parks seem to know how to handle it as there's far more RAP users than the rides can cope with. Chessington in particular seems badly affected, with a Fury RAP queue almost completely blocking the exit and Vampire sending entire RAP trains, casting aside the official policy in an attempt to manage the queue length.
 
As @John said, the system and the associated infrastructure was designed for those who cannot queue - getting a wheelchair through the Nemesis or Th13teen queue line... for example.

However, it's now used in extremely high volumes catering for those who cannot queue and those who may struggle to queue.

In terms of the required carer, I guess Merlin have the final say on that. It makes sense to have one rule rather than try and determine on a case by case basis.
 
Having a carer is probably as well a "get-out-clause" in terms of H&S... Imagine if someone partially sighted being evacuated off something, then slips over and falls over the edge?

RAP holders having a designated carer/looker afterer means that the park(s) can at least be sure there's some assistance directly available to them rather than having to train staff to deal with about 50 million variants on autism...

There is an obscene difference between the amount of RAP users these days to 10 years ago; though again it might be because certain things are diagnosed more readily (or in some cases, too easily) now... Plus the belief that RAP is free Fastrack, I'm sure many parents try and get a GP note for little Timmy who can't queue because he can't stand still for 5 minutes due to 'reasons'...
 
What does RAP actually stand for? Like, I know it's for people who don't like queuing or can't queue but what do the letters RAP actually stand for?
 
Benzin said:
Having a carer is probably as well a "get-out-clause" in terms of H&S... Imagine if someone partially sighted being evacuated off something, then slips over and falls over the edge?

RAP holders having a designated carer/looker afterer means that the park(s) can at least be sure there's some assistance directly available to them rather than having to train staff to deal with about 50 million variants on autism...

There is an obscene difference between the amount of RAP users these days to 10 years ago; though again it might be because certain things are diagnosed more readily (or in some cases, too easily) now... Plus the belief that RAP is free Fastrack, I'm sure many parents try and get a GP note for little Timmy who can't queue because he can't stand still for 5 minutes due to 'reasons'...
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If someone was partially sighted enough to need a RAP they would probably need a carer to navigate the park and evacuate the rides safely. However it wouldn't be hard to train staff to help guests in this situation. There are also blind people that can navigate streets all by themselves and would probably be fine evacuating with a bit of help.

As for autism well no two people are the same, I bet many autistic roller coaster enthusiasts are totally comfortable on the ride, but struggle to handle a tightly packed queue line. It's not fair requiring people have a companion, as often there isn't one there who can go.

As for your last paragraph that's a different matter, I'm sure it's a combination of both. More people with a genuine disability getting to visit theme parks, more people taking advantage of the system.
 
Log Flume's Dennis said:
What does RAP actually stand for? Like, I know it's for people who don't like queuing or can't queue but what do the letters RAP actually stand for?
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Ride Access Pass

I forgot to add to the last post, if the main reason why folks are spending £700 on a VIP pass is because they're autistic and the RAP doesn't work for them, that sucks and Towers need to sort out the RAP. Personally unless I visited every Merlin park in one year I can't see the value in it
 
Benzin said:
Plus the belief that RAP is free Fastrack, I'm sure many parents try and get a GP note for little Timmy who can't queue because he can't stand still for 5 minutes due to 'reasons'...
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This attitude get me going. There are people that think plucking a label out of air for their child, without correct diagnostic mean they have it or makes life easier for the parents.

The worse part is, it devalues the condition in the general publics eyes. And eventually organisations.


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delta79 said:
This attitude get me going. There are people that think plucking a label out of air for their child, without correct diagnostic mean they have it or makes life easier for the parents.

The worse part is, it devalues the condition in the general publics eyes. And eventually organisations.


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I'm pretty sure you need a doctor's note, or a blue badge to get one?
 
Having a companion is the fairest option for the parks due to the way they operate, it's similar across parks in Europe too (unless you're Germany)...

You cannot train every member of seasonal staff to deal with the variety of potential disabilities that might come on your ride, it's not financially viable because of the level of detail and variation they would require... This is of course before we consider park insurance and liability pitfalls that this would lead to, as you might be trained for a certain aspect, but what if you misjudge the person? A staff member making a mistake in how to deal with someone with autism who has particular triggers would no doubt make the situation worse for everyone...

It's much simpler for parks to have a system in place that reduces the onus on themselves (not in a sort of "we don't care" fashion, because if they didn't care they wouldn't have RAP in place at all, regardless of government legislation) but allows them to operate a system which can ensure the safety of guests without needing to do an immense amount of training, especially with the variety...

For every one who can go about their day unaided, there are many who truly cannot without actual assistance... Adding various systems to the park will just confuse guests and staff...


In terms of getting a pass, you just need a doctor's note to say you cannot queue and the reasoning behind it... This could be for any reason and the staff can't really turn around and say no...
 
speedy said:
I'm pretty sure you need a doctor's note, or a blue badge to get one?
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ihaveaspergers said:
It's not hard to fake one.

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And that will get merlin even more paranoid over the letters than they already are.

I get a letter for my daughter that has been produced with a header template, as it cheaper for the nhs to print than buy more official pre printed stationery for this purpose.

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