special disabled day out rates.

hemc

We use the carers bands for my Daughter who has Aspergers and gets anxious and agitated by crowds hence we only use them if the ride is very crowded.
We all have one myself husband and son (who is only six so not able to "care" for his sister) this is purley so we can all go on together as a family.
The behaviour that can be caused by Aspergers causes alot of disrutption around family days out with one of us having to focus attention purly on my daughter and I feel its totally justifiable to use the bands so we can all go on the rides as a family and not be split up yet again. Indeed the lady at Alton Towers told me this is the reason for having three.

I have found Disneyland Paris to be brill for this too allowing up to five "companions" as they term it on the ride.

It annoys me the iggnorence of people who huff and puff at us because my DD is acting and looking "normal" as they do not understand how distressing queing can be for her

Dioritt

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

Whether you meant to be a party pooper or not, rest assured that you are most certainly being one;)

Usually it is at the discretion of individual premises whether a disabled discount is offered or not. Many disabled people have to pay a carer to accompany them to places, and it could be viewed as simply attempting to offset some of that cost.

Also, many (though by no means all) disabled people are in a low income bracket through no fault of their own, and surely anything which makes outings,services etc. more accessible to them is to be welcomed?There is no way to do an on the spot means test on everyone, so a blanket concession is the easiest thing to do.

Besides, what's wrong with some simple social conscience? Surely the mark of a decent society is to show some care and consideration for those less fortunate, particularly if the predicament is entirely beyond their control?

Ever heard of noblesse oblige? I prefer to think of it as simple human decency....

Believe me, I do know about the difficulties surrounding disability being as I'm disabled myself and have a son who has profound learning difficulties. I'm not an able bodied person who's envious of disability concessions.

As I said, I can fully understand why carers should be allowed in free of charge (this should be the case everywhere) because it wouldn't be fair for a disabled person to have to pay twice in order to enjoy a day out but I still don't understand the thinking behind disability concessions.

One the one hand most disabled people say they don't want to be treated differently and yet most are perfectly happy to be treated differently when it comes to saving a few pounds.

I'm also for social consciousness and if I thought somebody was worse off than myself I would go out of my way to help them (have done a hell of lot for people in a worse situation than me) but while some disabled people are worse off than the average person financially it certainly doesn't apply to all and I can't see how they're financially worse off than those who, for example, have lost their jobs through not fault of their own, lost their homes through no fault of their own, etc etc.

If the concessions were for EVERYBODY on a low income (proof of IS, HB etc) then I could understand it, but I really don't think it should be based on disability alone.

However, there should be wheelchairs available and easy access for disabled etc. That I agree with.

shaliz_2

I think the reason that there is a concession for the disabled person is because usually they are not able to make full use of the attraction. For instance, at Alton Towers there are various rides I'm unable to use because I have epilepsy. I think it's only fair that if I can't use all the facilities that I shouldn't have to pay the same as someone who can.

RAGSTORICHES

Last week-end I went with my family to Birminghams Thinktank.I was allowed to use my mobility scooter and I was given a concession price of just over £14 for a combination ticket to visit Thinktank,The Planetarium and IMAX Cinema which are all in same building.My Husband (carer) was allowed in free.I showed my Disabled bus pass as i.d. as we had put blue badge in car.We had a lovely day and my Grandchildren loved it and so did my son and daughter in law.It is very disabled friendly and has an indoor picnic area which is handy for special diets.We were there all day and still didn't see it all.
There is plenty of parking but it is expensive £4.50 and there is no concession for disabled parking.

angecull31

blue_cow_wonders wrote: »

does anyone know if the carers concessions to get into alton towers i.e 2 carers(i am in receipt of top rate disability)still count if i use my tesco clubcard points to buy my yearly pass? and just to let you know that most theatres in london allow your carer in free if you phone beforehand.this is my firsr post!!:-)

Not 100% sure about Alton Towers but this is certainly the case at Flamingo Land.

You pay full price for the disabled person and the carer gets in for free and yes you can pay for the outstanding balance with Clubcard Vouchers.

CHeap day out that everyone can enjoy one way or another.

justlikethat_2

Although this does not really count as a day out there is a national card from the cinema exhibitors association. It costs £5.50 in an admin charge and lasts for three years allowing the carer free admission; http://www.ceacard.co.uk/

Some local councils may also run similar schemes our council, the Highland Council in Scotland, has the plus one card which is free for all disabled people over 8 years old. It allows free carer tickets to lots of council and privately run entertainments in the area; http://www.highland.gov.uk/socialwork/carersupport/ and follow the link to a pdf on the right.

windmillbubs

andrea138 wrote: »

Was recently in Paris with my two daughters. We went along to the louvre to see the Mona Lisa and it free for disabled people plus a carer. Also under 18s are also free. A really cheap day out it cost me the price of a guide book. Also free was the Palace of Versailles and some other museums. The louvre excellent for disabled people. Disabled lift, plenty of seats and also found French people are much more helpful than the average Brit.

Hi everyone
My husband (as he will be then-on our honeymoon!) and i want to go to Paris and I do not have a blue badge, just a letter from the tribunal services stating my medium care and low mobility. Could i just show this letter? and indeed in this country too?

daska

Dioritt wrote: »

As I said, I can fully understand why carers should be allowed in free of charge (this should be the case everywhere) because it wouldn't be fair for a disabled person to have to pay twice in order to enjoy a day out but I still don't understand the thinking behind disability concessions.

I understand where you're coming from but I think there are wider issues.

Firstly, it's generally more difficult for disabled people to organise a day out, to the point that I often encourage my family to go without me. If I can get a carer in for free (e.g my husband), get help with parking (yay, the British museum) I'm more likely to go.

There are also additional costs e.g. travel for the carer. Yes, DLA is supposed to cover these extra costs but a lot of disabled people end up living on their DLA, there isn't anything left, and if you can't work because you're disabled then you aren't able to up your income by doing overtime, retraining for a better skill set etc, as an able bodied person would.

If you have a disabled person in your family and you know you'll get a discount at x place and they're really helpful then you're more likely to revisit that attraction so they benefit from repeat footfall.

Finally, the extra admin costs that would be generated by the companies offering these discounts tyring to differentiate between different levels of ability/income would be massive so if they had to do this it would probably cost them more than the discounts they provide to the relatively few disabled visitors.

Zanne

I'm new here, so first of all... hello ^_^
Since people keep mentioning blue badges and I know they only apply to people receiving certain rates of DLA, I'm just wondering if anyone knows what would be considered disabled by most of these places? For example, my brother is dyspraxic and on low rate mobility, middle rate care, and I'm not sure if it applies to him.
Any help is appreciated =]
And no, sorry, I didn't read the entire thread, so my bad if someone already asked).

daska

Zanne wrote: »

I'm new here, so first of all... hello ^_^
Since people keep mentioning blue badges and I know they only apply to people receiving certain rates of DLA, I'm just wondering if anyone knows what would be considered disabled by most of these places? For example, my brother is dyspraxic and on low rate mobility, middle rate care, and I'm not sure if it applies to him.
Any help is appreciated =]
And no, sorry, I didn't read the entire thread, so my bad if someone already asked).

Blue badges are not only available to people on DLA - you can't even claim DLA if you develop mobility problems after retirement age :rolleyes:. You can get a blue badge automatically if you get DLA mobility at the higher rate OR you can apply with the support of a health professional such as your GP, OT, Physio etc. Blue badges are useful because people tend to accept them as proof that you are disabled (they have your photo on the back). However, your brother should have a DLA award letter which he could use to avail himself of some of these offers.