Merlin Ride Access Pass

I was a bit skeptical about this having read the reviews and had really positive experiences at legoland and Disneyland where it seems less complicated. However we got approved and then by being in the queue at 10am 48hrs before visit i got a pass for a Sunday of a bank holiday weekend. I didn’t like that as a family of 5 we couldn’t all use it (limited to 3 extras) but if you have a fast track you can all ride together. We got on rides quickly with it and over a day used it to help manage the queues. And having had a great day at chessington we would use it again and come back. Top tip be tactical about the queue length you use it for!

I have two children with additional needs that have access cards with +1s. We used to frequently visit theme parks as the sensory input they received from the rides would really help with regulation. Unfortunately, Merlin have made what should be a fun day into a really stressful day. We feel really excluded and unwanted by the restrictions in place around the limited places available. You need to know 3 months in advance to stand a chance of getting a pass. Having two Sen children also doesn’t work well with the app. I was told that really I needed the two children on separate accounts and devices. The queues today at legoland were about 30 mins mainly due to the amount of people buying fast tracks. I bet Merlin don’t limit those! This system has made the Merlin theme parks inaccessible to my family and will stick to Drayton Manor and hope Universal are more inclusive.

I visited the park today and all day it said I was not connected to the network I tried resetting app, turning phone off, switching from WiFi to network. We left and went to the hotel early. Very disappointing considering the last 2 releases of RAP wasn’t able to secure a visit to Alton towers for September or October despite us visiting 1-2 scarefest every year one for a birthday start of October and once for Halloween, it’s not accessible we can not book in advance despite others being able to book multiple and then like today I attend check in and it doesn’t work we arrived at 1pm due to parent working in the morning and left at 3:30 giving up, we entered by Galactica and was advised to go customer services at the entrance taking more time out of our day. Very disappointed with the RAP lately can’t book slots then today couldn’t use it once despite having booked and due to the terrible lottery of ticket release likely last visit of the year.