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What everyone wonders; How many seasons does it take to change a lightbulb?

Unfortunately there really is abuse and it is not over exaggerated. Some of us here spend a lot of time in the park and both see and hear it. I have encountered many a group clearly talking about there fake medical letter and sadly have even had a group of my friends use a disability that doesn't in any way shape or form mean they cannot queue up to their advantage. We aren't just talking about faking of letters either. At TPM meets for example we have witnessed a lot of abuse. For example we witnessed 8 people go in with one RAP on Gruffalo last year. As well as people talking about how great it is to skip the queue because they cut there leg and had a bit of a limp. We are all for it being utilised be invisible disabilities if it warrants it, just not if it doesn't. Like Martin Doyle says he has ADHD and can qualilfy for it, but he doesn't need to utilise it as he can queue, just like many others with ADHD (obviously circumstances that mean they can't queue is acceptable, there are some cases). Another one of our members is diabetic and could qualify for it but again doesn't choose to as they can still queue perfectly fine. As has been said with the culture that exists in the UK it will never be easy to change, as so many people will no longer be granted it and will kick off threatening to take it to press etc.

Agreed that the staff really need to do their bit properly! I see so many posts in the FB group about staff not signing the card at all, and also not enforcing the plus 3 rule. The honest RAP holders are having to do their job for them. Some have also witnessed guest services issuing passes even when people haven’t had the correct evidence! This is the kind of crap needs to be sorted out. When I worked at Thorpe back in 2007 - 2008, I saw other staff members not bothering to fill out the cards and not sticking to the plus 3 rule. It’s been going on for far too long. EDIT: The 2 year thing actually came into place last year (so those who registered in 2019 are on the system for 2 years, whereas previously it was just 1 year). It is NOT new for 2020.

I honestly doubt that as much abuse really goes on as some here are suggesting. The issue is that the RAP rules are not being abided by. Those who do abuse it (like having more than 3 carers) should have action taken against them by the staff. Be that a removal of the RAP or having to reapply with different documentation. On the whole though, I'd say the problem here is the opposite of a "snowflake society". It is still this prevalent belief that if you don't *look* disabled, you can't be disabled. My disability can only been seen in my brain, so unless you're walking around with an MRI scanner in your back pocket, you can't see it. Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

I wonder what the ratio is of RAP users to Disabled ticket purchases (free carer so essentially a 2-4-1). Might make for some interesting reading. Honestly not sure what the parks can do short of ACTUALLY ENFORCING THEIR RULES. So often we've not had the RAP signed, so that in of itself opens it up to abuse and that's before we look at the actual hand out system. To say that the increase of RAP distributed is down to the "snowflake society" is utter nonsense. It'll be tied into an increased awareness (and detection/diagnosis) of mental health issues. I doubt many kids first thought when being diagnosed with ADHD or severe Autism is "omg I can jump the queues at Thorpe Park". I don't really think that the sort of people who would be termed as "snowflakes" would be the sort of people abusing this as a system. I'm intrigued as to how the systems will work in the States this year. But I think the amount of people using RAP here is a culture thing rather than any fault of the parks. And I'll imagine Disney is the worst for it, hence why their modern rides in the States make wheelchair/mobility scooter users go in the main queue.

I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. Given my way, it would be if you DO NOT have a blue badge (Which now covers mental health), you get your backside into the main queue. I'm sorry but when I saw them queuing in a massive cattle pen just to get the damn thing last season, the only thing going through my mind was "No way on this earth can you not wait 10 minutes for rapids when you are standing in this" Scarefest was a joke. RAP queues for Wicker man going out to the plaza, Oblivion going right back into the arcade,Nemesis going up to the photo booth and smiler also going right down the stairs. The system is a complete and utter farce and the people I really feel for are those who GENUINELY need the damn thing who are forced to then wait in massive lines because of those who exaggerate (for want of a better term) a condition so they get one or indeed those taking doctors letters. Legalised queue jumping is what it is and everybody visiting the parks are made to suffer for it. Honestly I half expect them to give them to guests with paper cuts at this point..... Sort out exactly WHO needs it Sort out actually enforcing the time card SORT IT OUT!!

That's kind of what Paulton's have, they send you to first aid and a nurse checks your proof... Anyone with a legitimate need for RAP will probably have multiple things stating that (I have a card that states I have MS, I have a treatment card, I have a doctors letter and I have a blue badge) so even invisible disabilities should have enough proof. Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

I just feel sorry for those who genuinely need it and have a crap day as a result, of waiting around to get on rides. Personally I'd have a doctor on park to give the yes/ no. But that would just give me invisibility abuse.

Just to clarify my "snowflake society" comment as I do fear I may not have made myself clear. I am in no way shape or form trying to say that mental health/disorders should not be eligible for a RAP. No way would I say that especially as a guy who lives with ADHD. What I'm simply trying to voice is my agreement on what JoshC said in relation to how they have backed themself into a corner with how they have distributed it. I feel that people just rock up and the parks will literally give them the pass for fear of offending people and not wanting the backlash. That is what I meant in my comment. I am somebody who very much supports the steps society is taking to support mental health given how close to the heart I hold the issue. I am simply saying that it now feels that there is a huge amount of people faking doctors letters getting away with cheating the system purely because the park does not want to risk coming across as offensive. That in my honest opinion is down to this culture of "everything is offensive" and that's where I was coming from with my snowflake society comment. In regards to "not being able to wait in a long line", again I refer to my point regarding the massive cattle pen queue just to get the pass or indeed the sizeable queues the RAP queue gets during busier times at the parks for that matter. I do hope I've worded that OK and am in no way trying to call those genuinely disabled who need RAP snowflakes if that is what my previous comment has come across as.

I passed my PhD Upgrade today! It now means I'm well on track to finish my PhD in the next two years (and be able to put Dr in front on my name!!)

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Black Mirror actually sounds pretty cool. I wonder if some of the mirrors were taken from Hocus Pocus 😛 As long as there's no safety exit line on the floor, it should be decent!

Having a medically trained person checking the documentation is all well and good in theory, but any half-decent GP in the country will write a strong enough letter to convince someone else that they're in need of a Ride Access Pass. There's obviously the other issue of having enough medically trained staff to check the documentation at a busier park, whilst also being available to tend to any medical emergencies. Presumably at Paultons it is just a member of the First Aid team who only needs a basic First Aid course to work there (though likely has an interest in First Aid and is studying other medical courses), rather than a qualified 'nurse'? Nurses don't get paid enough as it is, I can't imagine how little a theme park nurse would be paid!

Coaster Count ran a poll to find out users' favourite rides: https://coaster-count.com/page/poll Steel Top 10: 1. Steel Vengeance (Cedar Point) 2. Fury 325 (Carowinds) 3. Taron (Phantasialand) 4. Taiga (Linnanmaki) 5. Zadra (Energylandia) 6. Hakugei (Nagashima Spa Land) 7. Helix (Liseberg) 8. Shambhala (Port Aventura) 9. Maverick (Cedar Point) 10. Untamed (Walibi Holland) Wood Top 10: 1. Wildfire (Kolmarden) 2. El Toro (Six Flags Great Adventure) 3. Lightning Rod (Dollywood) 4. Voyage (Holiday World) 5. Wood Coaster (Knight Valley) 6. Troy (Toverland) 7. Boulder Dash (Lake Compounce) 8. T Express (Everland) 9. Phoenix (Knoebels) 10. Wodan (Europa Park) Pretty fair and reasonable results in my opinion. Some nice stats breakdowns available on the site too, being able to break it down by country and so forth!

Is it only a doctors note that's required? I would have thought that asking people to present a blue badge/PIP letter would be safer and weed out people who just want to milk the system. For example I go to tons of concerts every year and most venues grant early access for people like myself with disabilities, most of them just requiring you to email them a copy of your PIP letter and you're on the list. That picture above of the queue to get the ride access pass is genuinely worrying, I'm on the fence wether or not I want to go back to Thorpe this year after already having not been since 2015 and the whole system just seems like it's being abused to the point where it would impact my day.

Exactly this. Too often when I visited the park last year and in 2018, the first sight I am greeted with every morning when leaving the dome into the park is this definition of pure irony: How the bobs at Thorpe Park/Merlin can look at that, nod their heads and smile saying “Yep, nothing at all wrong with this!” I don’t understand one bit. How the park are going to fix this broken system I cannot answer, but something has to be done soon.

I know that at one point over the past couple of years, Thorpe considered linking the scanners they use for Fastrack in with the RAP system. The idea being that you would have a card, staff would scan it, and it would let them know when the card could next be used. The system itself couldn't be linked together properly, so didn't work out. Another major issue is that the park's queue times are rarely accurate. So even if they had that system correct, the incorrect queue times would mess with the system. AND even then, most staff checking RAP won't have access to the displayed queue time, which is why they don't bother signing it / give wildly incorrect estimates. Better training needs to be given to the staff there really. As well as greater accountability for making it work.

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A few reasons. Firstly, because more than half the people using it don't have a disability that prevents them from queuing. Its a farce! Also, Some people have got injured, got a doctors note to get one of these for two years (or three) and the injury disappeared 3 weeks later. Finally as Martin says anyway, many also fake a doctors note. So the long term aspect of it does come with BIG issues.

Double post but if this happened to me I would be straight to GUEST SERVICES. Now that's what I call a Living Nightmare.

Think the idea here is to add more of a thrill and an idea of suspense to the rides, for example sending Colossus around for a second go every 6th ride say, or a more intense Samurai cycle, well before it breaks anyway. Good idea but perhaps an operation nightmare.

Top five parks that people love but I don't really enjoy as much as others and I won't use the word over-rated because that implies that I think the place is rubbish when it actually isn't apart from the Number 1 park which really is awful. 5. Blackpool Pleasure Beach. I don't mind the pleasure beach as such. I like Icon and I like the Wallace and Gromit ride. Big Dipper is okay as well. But everything else is just a bit bad. It doesn't help that Blackpool as a place really needs to sink into the sea and never return. 4. Islands of Adventure. I know why people love this place but I've never felt any love for it. Sheds. Thorpe Park on steroids. The first park to destroy not one but two B&M's. Thats a cardinal sin. It also has that really bad log flume where you just travel past cardboard scenery but nobody talks about it because the final drops look pretty on instagram. 3. Disneyland (CA). The grand-daddy of the Western themed area, Disneyland holds an amazing amount of nostalgia for so many people. It was Walt's park, he walked those streets, came up with the groundbreaking hub and spoke, the man was a genius. But this was a park for a different generation and these days, Disneyland is a struggle. It's tiny, full of low throughput attractions and is frustrating when all queues spill out into walkways all over the place. Nah. 2. Liseberg. I like Liseberg. But its a park that gets ridiculously busy all the time and is a real hassle to get around. I've been twice and I like Helix a lot, Lisebergbananananananana is wonderful, I liked Kanonen and I don't so much mind Balder. Valraven is boring. I find this park such a pain to get around because it was clearly designed with a smaller amount of people in mind. During my last trip when it was open 6pm-12am, the park was empty and it was lovely to be around. We could appreciate the rides and layout and how beautiful parts of it are. But on a busier day, forget it. I don't like the escalator up to Helix and the drop tower and I find the park annoying to get around. 1. PortAventura. The typical love for this place comes down to two things; It's hot and has good opening hours. For me it has two rides worth doing in Shambhala and Dragon Khan, a pretty good show and then you have 10 hours of wasting time because there's nothing else that I enjoy to ride or see. And worse is the queue-jumping. This isn't exclusive to PortAventura (The Madrid parks have exactly the same problem). But PA is far busier and full of queue skipping children. The only park where I recommend buying Fast-lane because if everyone queue jumps anyway you may as well do it within the park rules.