Colorado family unhappy about changes to Elitch Gardens accessibility pass: "It's an inaccessibility pass"

A Castle Rock family is unhappy about a change to the accessibility pass policy at Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park in Denver.

Officials at the Colorado amusement park say the change was made to reduce congestion and cut down on unnecessary back-and-forth travel. They say the new policy provides fair and equitable access to attractions.

But the family says it doesn't meet the needs of their special needs daughter.

"The Mind Eraser is fun. It's a red roller coaster that goes super fast, and it does lots of loops. It's one of my top four favorite rides there," said Allie Brown. "There's the Tower of Doom, which you have a great view from the top. It pulls you up, and you get a good view from there, and then it gives you a big drop down."

Twenty-two-year-old Allie is a regular on the roller coasters at Elitch Gardens.

"Those are the fastest rides, which is why I like them. I like fast, scary rides," Allie said.

Allie has autism and epilepsy. For the last nine years, her mom, Joni Brown, has purchased an accessible season pass for her and a caregiver pass for her caregivers to ride the rides mom is too queasy to.

"My mom doesn't go, but my Allie sitters take me, my Allie sitters that don't get motion sick," Allie said.

Usually, Allie says the pass has granted immediate access to rides through the accessible entrance with no waiting in line, but this year something was different.

"We had to wait until like maybe about 1 o'clock before we could go on the first ride," Allie said. "What a suck, huh? Every 30 minutes."

Allie and her caregiver say they had to wait 30 minutes between rides, which was challenging given Allie's sensory issues and the fatigue she gets from her seizure medication.

"I don't like loud noises. It doesn't scare me, it just annoys me and hurts my ears," Allie said. "I was so upset, as in, like, this is so hard to wait."

Elitch Gardens shared the following statement:
"Elitch Gardens is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible environment for all guests. As part of that commitment, we continuously review and refine our operating procedures to enhance the guest experience and overall park operations.
This season, updates were made to our Accessibility Pass program to provide a smoother and more predictable process for participating guests, while improving traffic flow at ride exits and giving guests greater flexibility to enjoy other attractions and amenities throughout the park while they wait.
The program is designed to provide fair and equitable access to attractions, and the procedures currently in place are consistent with accessibility programs widely used throughout the theme park industry."

When pressed for details about the new policy, Elitch Gardens said:

"The pass will permit admittance through the accessible entrance using a reservation system that is based on the current wait time of the ride. Guests will first use the accessible entrance to receive the boarding time from the ride operator for the next ride based on the ride's current wait time. The guest will then board the ride and may use the accessible pass at the next ride on or after the time listed.
Example: The guest will enter the accessible entrance at Mind Eraser. The operator will have the guest ride the ride and will give the guest a time based on the current ride's wait time for their next ride. The guest may then use the accessible entrance at the next ride on or after the time listed on the accessibility pass."

The park's operations director told CBS Colorado the policy has never included instant ride access without waiting. He says perhaps guests had just visited on days with short waits. He says in past years, accessibility guests had to approach a ride first, get a return time, leave and then come back later to board. He says the new policy allows guests to board their first ride immediately, then receive a reservation time for their next attraction based on the current wait of the first ride, with a maximum of 30 minutes.

"It's an inaccessibility pass, in my opinion," said Allie's mom, Joni Brown.

The Browns maintain Allie never had to wait in the past and that this time she had to wait 30 minutes before boarding her first ride.

"She'll go 10 times in the season. It was always very quick," Joni said.

Joni says the policy change defeats the purpose of getting the pass. She wants the theme park to change the policy.

"It's not like we're taking advantage of a system here. It's for people with disabilities that need a little extra help, and I feel like they took that away, and it's just I want to change back to what it used to be," Joni said. "When you force a strict 30-minute timer on an adaptive pass, you're treating disabilities like a loophole that needs closing. We aren't trying to take advantage of anything, we just want an accessibility system that accommodates individuals with medical needs who genuinely cannot wait out a clock just to experience the rides."

If the policy doesn't change, Allie may have to find somewhere else to get her thrills.

"If they continue to do this 30-minute wait thing, I don't know if I want to go to Elitch Gardens anymore," Allie said.

"The past nine years of being a season pass holder, it was so great, and just this year is, it's shocking that they made such a drastic change for our community," Joni said. "I just hope that somebody sees that there is a need there, and we're not taking advantage of that accessibility pass."

The Elitch Gardens operations director encourages anyone with questions or concerns to reach out to info@elitchgardens.com.

Joni said she did reach out to Elitch Gardens and got a call back from someone who said they didn't know why the change was made.

Joni also says when Allie first started going to the theme park, they received free passes for her caregivers. She says that benefit was eventually discontinued. The operations director says he is not aware of a caregiver pass ever being free.