New rides with accessible features
We have had some great new rides across the UK this year. I still can’t believe the amount of new roller coasters we have gotten this year. Although not all new investments in parks have been accessible some have certainly set the bar with some fantastic access features.
Hyperia
It is very clear to see that access has really been considered with Hyperia allowing all of us to find our feeless. Some access features include full step free access to the station via a lift as well as non ambulant guests being able to ride! Hyperia also did a great job with the signage in clearly showing the ride restriction for guests with limb differences and additional sensory rides right at the entrance to the ride. If you would like to see more about how I found Hyperia then please click here for my Hyperia at Thorpe Park Disabled Access Review.
Cadbury Chocolate Quest
Cadburys world also opened a new dark ride this year Cadbury Chocolate Quest. This ride is definitely making the ride up due to it having an adapted wheelchair accessible carriage allowing wheelchair users to stay in their chair on the ride. This ride also features other access features such as adapted ride vehicles with transfer boards and closed captions on the ride. If you would like to see more about how I found Cadbury Chocolate Quest then please click here Cadbury Chocolate Quest at Cadbury World Disabled Access Ride Review
Quiet Spaces and Sensory Rooms
We have seen theme parks creating quiet room facilities for a while now and they have proven to be great facilities for guests with additional sensory needs to re-regulate so they can cope with the theme park environment. Some parks with quiet rooms include: Light water Valley, ROARR Adventure Park, Digger land Durham, Thorpe Park and of course the sensory room at Legoland Windsor Resort.
Although Alton Towers have had a quiet room available to disabled guests for at least the last 5 years they really upped their game this season by creating a purpose built sensory space for guests with additional sensory needs. The sensory space is located in CBeebies Land and my favourite feature of the sensory space is the little pod at the back that can be closed off to allow guests privacy when overwhelmed or in meltdown.
Quiet Hours
Quiet hours have shown to be a great way to make attractions meet the needs of neurodivergent guests. We see Sandcastle Waterpark do a quiet hour for the first hour of every day and the majority Merlin gateway attractions run monthly quiet sessions as well as Babylon Park just to name a few. However, this has been a challenging modal to bring into the theme park environment. Despite this some parks have found some great ways to adapt the modal One fabulous example of this is West Midlands Safari Park quiet hour. Although we did not have a chance to check this out it seemed it was a real hit and was definitely on my list of places to try last year. West Midlands Safari Park quiet session was a great stepping stone in how quiet sessions can be done on a bigger scale and something I hope to see the Looping group expand across all their UK attractions in the coming years.
Some times, it is not possible to adapt the entire theme park for a quiet hour however, Alton Towers have managed to find scope to give one of their more sensory attractions Shark Bay by Seal Life a Quiet hour. This quiet hour runs every Saturday and Sunday 10 till 11 every weekend of the season and has been a great way to have a sensory break during the day. We have used this quiet hour many times and really enjoyed it. I wonder what other attractions we could see have quiet hours in the coming years.
Queue Assist Schemes
Many theme parks operate a queue assist scheme for guests that are unable to queue in a conventional queue line due to a disability. These schemes are a very important access requirement for many to access rides and attractions at a theme park. We have seen many various models of queue assist schemes most including a virtual queue time out system. However, Drayton Manor do not use a time out system allowing guests using their easy pass system unlimited access to all rides find out more by clicking here
As I’m sure most of you will be aware, we saw some big changes to the Merlin Entertainments ride access pass system and ride access pass users have been required to pre-book to use their ride access pass on the day of their visit. For a full step by step guide on how Merlin ride access pass works including pre booking please click here . Although this change has definitely not come without challenges it has proved in my experience to dramatically decrease the length of the physical ride access pass queue for rides and attractions giving those with more complex needs the opportunity to also experience ride and attraction. Although we have had difficulty with dates we wanted to visit, reaching capacity for the ride access pass system it has truly enabled me to access more rides and attractions then previous seasons due to their being a limit to the number of ride access pass users per day helping the physical queue for ride access pass users not to get long. This has resulted in a lot less anxiety for me and we have enjoyed many meltdown free days due to being able to tolerate the 5/10 minute physical wait time for rides and attractions. I’m very grateful that Merlin have taken steps this season to try and improve the on the day experience for disabled guests and recognised that the previous ride access pass system was not meeting the needs of their customer base.
Information For Disabled Guests
A really important aspect of making theme parks accessible is ensuring that guests with additional access requirements have the correct information available in an accessible format. This then allows us to decide if the theme park is accessible for our access requirements and bring the correct aids to help. We have seen some great examples of creating accessible information for disabled guests this season which has allowed me to visit lots of new places. Below are my top 5 information for disabled guests of 2024.
Hyperia access video
Ahead of the launch of the UK fastest and tallest roller coaster Hyper Thorpe Park created a fabulous video explaining in detail all the disabled access information. This was a great touch to make the disabled community feel included in the launch of Hyperia but more importantly, clearly communicating all the access information required even having QR codes linking to written documents to meet as many people access needs as possible.
Social Stories
Although not a new modal we have seen an increase in social stories being used within the theme park environment. Social stories are a great way to explain to guests what is going to happen in an easy to understand year.
This season we have seen Alton Towers joining the social story club by creating a social story all about arriving and entering the theme park. I love this idea of splitting social stories into smaller transitions. For example, arriving and entering the park, collecting ride access passes and going on a ride. You can take a look at Alton Towers social story by clicking here Alton Towers Visual Guide.
As I begin my trip planning for next season social stories have played a big part in allowing me to begin to explore new places. For example, thanks to their social story, lessening my anxiety and allowing me to know what to expect, we are planning on going to Emerald Park in Dublin Ireland during the Easter holidays. You can take a look at Emerald park social story by clicking here Social Story Emerald Park. Trip planning for the next season is so exciting!! I will be sure to create a trip report with all the disabled access information to share with you all.
Symbol Friendly Organisations
Widgit Online is a visual symbol program that I use in my everyday life so I was very excited to see that Widgit have now started doing symbol friendly organisation. Although no theme parks are currently involved, Woburn Safari Park has this year become the first symbol friendly safari park in the UK as seen in the video below. To find out more about symbol friendly organisations please click here becoming a symbol friendly organisation.
Sensory Information
We have seen a massive roll out in sensory level boards across the Alton Towers Resort this year with every single ride and attraction now featuring a sensory level board. Sensory level boards as seen in the images bellow are a great way for guests with additional sensory needs to quickly check and see if a ride or attraction is accessible for their individual sensory needs. We have also seen Thorpe Park create a sensory guide for all their rides and attractions with very detailed information so you know exactly what to expect sensory wise on all rides and attractions. You can find Thorpe Park’s sensory guide by clicking here Thorpe Park Sensory Guide
Sign Live
One of the most ground breaking information for disabled guests we have seen this year is Merlin partnership with Sign Live. Sign Live is an app that connects British sign language users with a BSL interpreter via video chat. This is a fabulous solution and allows BSL users instant access to highly skilled BSL interpreters at the touch of a button. This is very useful in the theme park environment as there is a lot of information to be communicated to guests like safety information, which row of the ride you’re on as well as being able to fully communicate with all theme park staff thanks to the sign live interpreter. You can find out more about the partnership between Merlin and Sign Live by clicking here We’ve partnered with SignLive
Seasonal Events
One of the hardest things to adapt to is seasonal events so much planning goes into these events and as they are often on for a short period of time accessibility can be forgotten about. However, this year we have seen some great disabled access in seasonal events.
Alton Towers Fireworks quiet area
Alton Towers have done a great job with adding accessibility into their events this year, a great example of this is the quiet space for guests with additional sensory needs at fireworks. Although not new for this season it definitely deserves a mention as just like last year enabled me to be able to access a very busy event and be able to watch the fireworks where it wasn’t to loud and have an indoor space in the teacher lounge to re-regulate those sensory needs as well as the patio outside the teachers lounge despite a slightly restricted view this is a fantastic facility and something I hope we saw more of across other parks. There is also a separate viewing platform for wheelchair users.
Scare Attractions
Making scare events accessible is certainly a big task due to the nature of spaces not being wheelchair accessible and obviously they are very overstimulating and sensory overloading experiences. We have again seen an increase this year with most theme parks featuring at least one wheelchair accessible scare maze. Of course the whole part of a scare maze is to be scared. It often involves lots of sensory effects that for me are too much although I haven’t done a scare maze and don’t plan on Alton Towers and Thorpe Park using the sensory leaves so guests with additional sensory needs know what to expect as well as both parks offering no scare lanyards available from guest services. These were a great help during our visit to Alton Towers Scarefest and allowed me the opportunity to access the family ‘scare mazes.’
Drayton Manor Accessible grotto
My favourite accessible addition to a seasonal event was the accessible grotto at Drayton manor allowing guests with special educational needs and disabilities the opportunity to meet Santa in a calm, relaxed and sensory friendly environment. I could sit and explain how great this experience was; however, I think the video below of me going to the accessible grotto speaks for itself. I highly recommend this experience.
Merry Christmas
Speaking of Christmas I am very aware that Christmas can be a challenging time for some due to all the access Barrers of change in route, families houses not being accessible and all the social expectation just to name a few reasons. However, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas in a way that is accessible for you whatever that looks like with your needs . To celebrate Christmas I got members of the theme park community together to say merry Christmas in an accessible way by signing ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas In Makaton’ the video is below I hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas and thank you for supporting the access coaster. There is plenty more to come in the new year.