Merlin Entertainments plc Reviews 126

Jamica J. to save the day! We had an issue with a theme park concern and we felt really defeated and just frustrated. Jamica from operations stepped in and really saved the day. Most companies these days don't seem to care about individual customers that's where Merlin made the amazing business decision when they hired Jamica. She cared, she promised, she made sure those promises were fulfilled. Fromy myself and my whole family we thank her for excellent service

Shame I had to give them even 1 star.

Merlin entertainment have practically banned Austistic children from attending their theme parks.

Utter disgraceful putting a statement out making out that Mentally disabled children are a problem for the company.

They even class Autism and ADHD under the same bracket, showing their incompetence at decision making level in the company.

What a joke of a company! Ive had annual passes for all 5 of my family for 2 years now im going to have to cancel them as there is no way my daughters can stand in a line for over a hour for a ride! Wouldnt the the thing to do just sell last fast passes for the stupid amount of money you charge and still let dissabled people use there passes.

YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOUR SELFS.

After chances without notice to the ride access pass, this companies ethics are not in line with society’s views. An abhorrent company.

Merlin dont see mental health as a disability. Google the new changes to there system. Terrible.

My disabled son loves roller coasters and has just become tall enough to ride them.
He cannot safely access your parks without an access pass due to severe meltdowns caused by overstimulation and long queues.

Your new policy excludes his disability and effectively prevents him from participating. This is not inclusion. It is discrimination.

Accessibility is not a perk. Disabled children deserve equal access to experiences, not barriers dressed up as policy.

Merlin changed the Rapid Access Passes without informing customers. This has excluded thousands of disabled people, often children. Queues are no longer accessible so have requested refund of 2 gold annual passes. We can no longer have family days out at theme parks due to this change. The only place our son would go on holiday due to anxiety in trying anywhere new. It encouraged him to go outside. We can now look forward to a lot of time at home with him refusing to leave.

Thanks for your diagnosis on disabilities, I pray you never have to queue with Your autistic non-verbal child and have to communicate to them the best you can that they have to stand still when they don't understand why. I did this the first time without a fast pass, we will not return to any Merlin run establishment without apology or alternative. Disgusting behaviour on disability from a company, a huge step back for children with disabilities trying to be included.

Had to cancel 3 merlin passes because can no longer access RAP. Virtual queuing a must. Why can disney manage access requirements so well? Awful

We have visited Merlin attractions for over 10 years with our five disabled children, all diagnosed with autism and ADHD. The Ride Access Pass was the only reason these visits were possible.

Over the past few years, Merlin has made this system increasingly inaccessible by introducing limited pre-booked online slots that disappear immediately. This assumes families can plan weeks in advance. Families like ours cannot. Our children’s ability to cope is decided on the day, not weeks before.

Now, the criteria and process have changed to the point where children with autism and ADHD who cannot queue are effectively excluded altogether. Without the Ride Access Pass, our children cannot safely attend any Merlin attraction.

Merlin claims to be inclusive and supportive of disabled guests. Our experience is the complete opposite. A system that removes access for neurodivergent children and replaces it with rigid, inaccessible booking rules is not inclusive, it is discriminatory in practice.

After more than a decade of loyal visits, we are now forced to stop attending because Merlin’s policies no longer accommodate disabled children like ours.

We are utterly devastated and disappointed in merlin for what they have done regarding the new changes to the ride access pass symbol criteria,
My daughter is autistic and is a disabled person within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010. Due to her disability, she is unable to queue or tolerate crowded environments and has no understanding of waiting, which causes severe distress. She holds a Nimbus Access Card displaying the crowd/queue symbol, awarded only following assessment of extensive medical and professional evidence. This card clearly evidences that she cannot queue.
As a result of Merlin Entertainments’ revised Ride Access Pass criteria, my daughter is no longer eligible for a Ride Access Pass at any Merlin attractions, As all rides require queuing, this policy change makes it impossible for her to access rides at the attractions. No reasonable alternative adjustment has been offered that would remove or adequately mitigate this barrier.
This places my daughter at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled visitors and constitutes a failure to make reasonable adjustments, contrary to sections 20 and 21 of the Equality Act 2010. Merlin Entertainments has an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people and must ensure that policies do not operate in a blanket or inflexible manner which disproportionately disadvantages disabled visitors.
The reliance on generic measures referenced on Merlin websites, such as sensory rooms and fidget toys, is inadequate and legally insufficient. These measures do not enable access to the primary service provided by merlin attractions — namely, rides — and therefore do not constitute reasonable adjustments. Expecting a disabled child and her family to pay full admission price for an experience from which she is effectively excluded is unreasonable and discriminatory.
Further, the refusal to recognise independently verified evidence from Nimbus Access Card, without offering an equivalent adjustment, strongly suggests that the revised policy prioritises administrative convenience over legal compliance. Policies which have the effect of excluding disabled people from accessing core services are unlawful where reasonable adjustments could be made.
You have lost so many loyal customers over this.

I wish I could give it zero. Cancelled 3 gold memberships today after changes made to the RAP pass. I will not support a business that excludes neurodivergent people from the very support they need to access days out. My child has ASD, attends a specialist school, gets high rate care DLA, EHCP and has a blue badge is no longer eligible for RAP under the new rules rolled out by Merlin. Excluding one type of disability from support is discriminatory!! Shame on you Merlin!!

Why have you deemed it acceptable to exclude my autistic daughter from your park by removing the ride access pass for her? Have you checked with lawyers and they’ve told you it is now allowable to discriminate against neurodivergent disabilities but not ok to discriminate against physical disabilities?

The recent changes Merlin have made to their Ride Access Pass (RAP) system are deeply disappointing and, frankly, feel discriminatory towards neurodivergent guests and those with non-visible disabilities.

With no meaningful warning, Merlin has introduced changes that fully and unapologetically exclude neurodivergent individuals from accessing their parks. The message now being communicated is that if you do not have a physical disability, you no longer qualify for assistance. Neurodiversity and other non-visible disabilities have been dismissed entirely.

This does not reflect the real needs of many disabled guests and families, and it disproportionately affects neurodivergent children and their carers.

Merlin’s proposed “solutions” — such as sensory rooms or purchasable ear defenders — completely miss the point. These do not address the core issue, which is the inability to tolerate long queues. A sensory room does not magically make queueing accessible. Ear defenders do not make waiting for extended periods manageable. These are superficial measures being offered in place of meaningful access support.

As a parent of a neurodivergent child, and being neurodiverse myself, we are now unable to access Merlin parks in the way we previously could — and we are far from alone. Thousands of families are being impacted by these changes, many of whom have relied on RAP for years to access attractions safely and fairly.

What makes this particularly upsetting is the stark contrast between Merlin’s public messaging about inclusivity and accessibility, and the reality of these changes. Inclusivity cannot be claimed while entire groups of disabled people are effectively excluded. Equality is not achieved by recognising only visible disabilities.

This approach feels insensitive, regressive, and completely out of step with modern understanding of disability. Neurodivergent people are disabled by environments — and Merlin has chosen to make that environment less accessible, not more.

Until these changes are reviewed and neurodiverse guests are meaningfully recognised again, Merlin’s parks can no longer be considered accessible or inclusive and myself and many others are all cancelling our passes.

I have been a loyal visitor for years and sadly now I’ve been excluded from your park and no longer able to attend due to my needs that are no longer met so simply can’t return devastated

Absolutely disgraceful how this company who have won awards for being neurodivergent friendly have now take away ride access for everyone of those children and adults.
My daughter is heartbroken that we can’t no longer go to LEGOLAND as they will not accommodate her needs anymore even though they have been for the last 4 years. It actually make me feel physically sick

We have been to legoland many times but sadly due to the changes we now can’t access the ride access pass which will make visiting theme parks impossible for us. My son has a severe mental disability, is non verbal and has little sense of safety, he doesn’t understand the queue system and can barely wait a few minutes let alone an hour and due to his disability even if we try to explain he won’t understand why he has to wait, which will make it an unpleasant experience for him, us and other guests. Very sad not to be able to return and it’s even sadder for him who loves legoland and the rides. It’s awful that in 2026 a big company like this can exclude a group from attending all because they clearly want to try make money by trying to make people buy the fast track pass instead. They have said they will make reasonable adjustments but I can’t see how a sensory room, ride evacuation video and a sensory bag (we have to purchase) will help him in a queue.

Shocking how a company of this size can get away with disability discrimination, I’ve just canceled platinum passes after having the over 10 years

Shame it is only one star I could give once a very great company and to visit their parks but that is now gone Food Quality has dipped since Aramark has come in, Rides Keep Breaking Down (Maintenance cuts obvious), Removed Entertainments and kept prebooking even many years after Covid Pandemic and the tip of the iceberg they have now changed their Ride Access Pass which don't include people with Autism/ADHD I luckily still get mine but won't be visiting them anymore.

I have been a loyal Merlin customer for almost 10 years now. I genuinely went to Alton Towers about once a month and raved night and day about this place and the other Merlin theme parks. However, despite having a great 2024 season with actors, Bianca at the helm and great new attractions, things really went downhill in 2025. We lost yearly events, staff redundancies for SO MANY creative roles happened while AI has been implemented in advertisements and the food prices continued to soar despite the park serving literal prison food. The latest nail in the coffin is now the removal of most Merlin ride access pass users, specifically those with neurodiversity (autism, ADHD, etc). We are now very suddenly no longer eligible for the ride access past service, which is genuinely the only reason I've been able to go to Alton Towers at all for the past few years, because their ride capacity, crowds and queus are handled so incredibly poorly. I canceled my Merlin annual pass at the end of last year after a lot of the initially mentioned disappointments, and I'm now completely confident that I will never be returning to a Merlin attraction. Not only myself, but also lots of young guests with neurodiversity and other disabilities are now being shown exactly what Merlin thinks of us. They will never get another penny out of me.