We went to Blackpool yesterday. Following our success at Chessington with the special wristbands, I decided to try the same at Blackpool. Reading the terms and conditions of their website, I saw that they will only issue a special wristband if you take in proof of the child's condition from an official source, such as a doctor. The letter also has to state why the child would have trouble queueing. DLA letters are not classed as proof.
Luckily, I had a detailed assessment letter from an occupational therapist who had been dealing with my son, which explained that he has a short attention span and can get agitated and aggressive. I showed this at the ticket office and they issued him with an "E" wristband, which is an exit pass, meaning that he can access all the rides from the ride exit and get on straight away.
The band is limited in that they will only allow one carer on the ride with the child. As there are 5 of us in the family, we had to take it in turns to ride with him, so we all got a fair chance at the rides. It worked out well, though, and he got to ride pretty much everything!
I think it is a shame that information about these bands are so "hush-hush". Blackpool pleasure beach certainly do not advertise the fact that these bands are available and this means that many families with disabled kids will not even know that this provision exists.
Well they do now.....!
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