Now this is timely.

Metlin and Nimbus have rejigged the qualifications for RAP as a result of all the various issues they've had over the years. This has, rather naturally, peeved people off, especially as this announcement was tucked away on Monday when they were releasing the first booking slots for RAP this year.

What has actually happened? Nimbus have split their "Difficulties With Queues" into two new categories. "Difficulties With Crowds" and "Difficulties Standing".

Going forwards at Merlin parks you will only qualify for RAP with a "Difficulties Standing", "Level Access" and "Toilet Needs" box. Naturally a lot of those with neurodivergency based disabilities have been given the Crowds box instead.

Here's the thing, RAP in its current guise could not continue. Prior to pre-booking requirements the queues were ridiculous and defeated the point. And of course there was a fair amount of "abuse" of the system through poor staffing (I.e. not writing down correct times) and terrible guests shouting until they got their way. Pre-booking meant a limitation on numbers which worked but being able to book for specific dates was a nightmare when no idea when they would go up. Plus still had a few people unaware they needed to pre-book specific dates in first place.

Sadly it's always felt inevitable given the whole "free Fastrack" perception on top of people gaming the system ruining it for those who need it.

Fortunately for my end the changes do not affect us. However it should be noted that other UK parks will still accept the Crowds box for their equivalent system. However, why is it such a problem at Merlin parks at all? I've seen it busy at Efteling which is understandable, but at Europa last year felt like we were the only ones really using their system (and they don't even time you out on stuff really).

Currently Merlin have termed it as a trial for Feb Half Term. Though it's probably just to let the PR storm settle before main season begins.

So thoughts? Who's affected by the change and will you renounce your MAP as a result if you have one? Have Nimbus just randomly allocated you the wrong box for your disability?

Ah so that’s what this is about. I’ve seen the topic come up a few times on social media but didn’t really know what the reason was.

Please forgive my ignorance - I mean no offence at all by any of this. I’m just interested and intrigued by it all. I also fully accept that not everyone’s needs are visible, and I’m privileged enough to never have needed to use a RAP.

RAP absolutely baffles me.

One thing that has always come to my mind is that there simply can not be that many people who find it impossible to wait in the normal queue because they can’t handle crowds. There just can’t be.

I know nothing of the subject, but I really struggle to accept the sheer number of RAP users are genuine.

1. The percentage of RAP users seems incredibly high compared to non RAP users.

2. People who have difficulty with crowds would still have to deal with the worst crowds throughout the day - entrance, security, food, pathways etc. queues often offer a break from the busy and chaotic crowds.

Of course there will be a good number of people who struggle with queueing etc, and I’m very pleased that arrangements are in place for them, but I’ve always been baffled at the sheer number of people who qualify for the pass.

I’m convinced that the system has been utterly abused by selfish people who claim to have priority over others. It just has to have been. And that isn’t fair on the other customers, especially those with a genuine need to use the RAP.

I have to say that, although I don’t fully understand the subject, I am pleased to see changes being made. I really hope it’s for the best, and it goes some way to fixing the system which is very clearly not working.

Enforcing something like this must be very difficult. I really hope whatever they have done has weeded out some of the abusers and doesn’t affect the genuine RAP users.

As Benin said - it can’t go on like it has been.

Yep, the system was unsustainable and reaching breaking point. Something has to be done.

I'm sure many of us on here remember the time when RAP was a very small system, which didn't have dedicated queues, where you could only have one RAP user on a ride at any one time, they could only sit in specific seats (in case of an emergency), etc. I think they system had to evolve as times changed and we as a society understood more about disabilities. But obviously now, it's treated like an extra queue in its own right. Hyperia's RAP queue is regularly huge (keeping in mind people will have virtually waited too). Vampire has multiple rows effectively dedicated to RAP now. etc

21 hours ago, Inferno said:

One thing that has always come to my mind is that there simply can not be that many people who find it impossible to wait in the normal queue because they can’t handle crowds. There just can’t be.

To give some, albeit tangential, anecdotal, evidence...

I work in a UK secondary school just outside London. The amount of students who have been diagnosed with some level of neurodiversity is a lot. That number grows more with students who we think could be neurodiverse, or who are waiting on assessments / diagnoses. Though I haven't been in the education sector long, it is a well-stated fact that the number has grown significantly.

A large chunk of that is down to better understanding of neurodiversity, as well as more resources in being able to actual diagnosis people (around London at least...the story would be very different up north).

At the same time, in my opinion, most people who I see in that environment who are neurodiverse would be able to get by without a RAP. However, I expect that many of them - under the previous system - would qualify for a RAP. Which is why we are where we are.

Simply put, Merlin cannot create a system whereby the neurodiverse who need a RAP can qualify for one whilst simultaneously the neurodiverse who do not need a RAP don't qualify for one.

To break that down, neurodiversity is a scale. Some people with ADHD might just not be able to focus on one thing and instead have 3 or 4 things going on in their mind all at once, and it makes sense to them. Others with ADHD might have to be constantly moving in a free space / not like being contained in a small environment. It's the same with any sort of neurodiversity, which is a huge umbrella word. And, obviously, not everyone who is neurodiverse needs a RAP.

I'm not familiar with the Nimbus card. But I expect that if you are neurodiverse, and perhaps find large crowds exhausting / daunting / overwhelming, it's a simple enough argument to say that you'd qualify for the "Difficulty with Crowds" mark (even if the reason for that isn't because of the neurodiversity you experience). If that isn't the case, do forgive me, but regardless, I can't imagine it's particularly strictly regulated?

So from that perspective, I see why Merlin don't accept that. Because under that, they cannot differentiate between who actually does need it and who doesn't.

Naturally, this is a very emotionally charged topic. There's plenty of people on social media in uproar because it means they wouldn't qualify. No doubt some of those people genuinely do require it otherwise it's impossible for them to go. Others might greatly benefit from it. Others - and I've seen some people say this - need it so they're not exhausted at the end of a day. Other people still visit and queue normally if they can't get RAP / queues are too long, but couldn't do that for a whole day.

Removing all emotion, there's again arguments that can be made for why these people might requires a RAP and why they shouldn't.

Any solution is going to have backlash. I don't have a solution. I do think that the system should have had a hard reset, whereby all RAP users have to have their eligibility re-checked under whatever new rules Merlin chose (which doesn't seem to be case from my understanding).

I expect this is something that Merlin have thought about for a long time, and have expected the backlash. Maybe not quite so much quite so quickly. But I do hope they don't backtrack / reverse the decision, as that will make things worse.

The biggest question about this though, which Benin touched on, is why is this such an issue for UK Merlin theme parks? Though there's parks around the world which aren't as accessible as others, I can't think of any other park which has issues with their disabled system quite as much as UK Merlin does?

Other UK parks - fine.

Non UK Merlin parks - fine.

Parks operated significantly worse than UK Merlin - fine.

Park significantly busier than UK Merlin - fine.

So it's not a simple answer of "Merlin parks are too popular" or "they run badly" or whatever. There is something that explains it, surely. Is it that UK Merlin are the most broadly accepting of disabilities in the first place? Is it a societal thing? Is it just that the UK has more (diagnosed) cases of disabilities than other countries? Just what is it?