Alton Towers has announced that its Ride Access Pass (RAP) system is to be delivered via virtual queuing from later this year.
The changes will be rolled out at operator Merlin Entertainments’ other UK theme parks in 2027.
Those parks, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, and Legoland Windsor have seen long queues for RAP users for a number of years.
The original system, simply made up of separate queues where people joined and waited, attracted considerable controversy for its effect on the main queue lines.
It was tweaked over the years, but wholesale change was never implemented.
In February this year, Merlin was forced to rapidly reverse changes made to the RAP system, when it announced that those with autism, ADHD and anxiety conditions could no longer use the RAP queue lines.
The new system will see no change to the eligibility criteria, and is akin to the system used by all guests at Disney‘s US parks for years.
RAP holders will wait for the same amount of time as those in physical queues and be notified on the app when they are near the front, telling them to head to the ride.
Disability professionals, charities and partners such as Disability Rights UK, Scope, ADHD UK, and the National Autistic Society helped design the new system, and have welcomed the changes.