Accessible Family Evenings at Sandcastle Waterpark

Saturday 9th November 2019 saw Sandcastle Waterpark host it’s final Family Accessible Evening of the year. Introduced around 5 years ago, and essentially catering for local disabled children and their families, our Accessible Evenings are now attended by guests from across the country who value the opportunity to experience our Waterpark and it’s 18 slides and attractions, something many of them wouldn’t usually consider (they tell us this!)

Image: Sandcastle Waterpark's Changing Places room.

A busy Waterpark is a challenging environment for guests with disability and additional needs. Levels of noise, volumes of guests and uncertainty over the facilities and support available, would probably be too much for most families with disabled children. Water, however, can be very stimulating and throughly enjoyable when consideration is given to holding an event like our Accessible Evenings, and this is exactly what we set out to achieve. At these events, we remove as much of the background noise as is possible – no music and no announcements are made. Numbers are limited - this ensures almost non existent queues throughout the Waterpark for the slides and attractions. We also have a team of up to 16 Water Ambassadors who are there to assist guests – with whatever assistance they require, from riding the slides with some of our guests (where parents/carers can’t ride) to splashing and playing games in our pools. We have 4 poolside wet rooms including our Changing Place facility that make changing and accessing the pools and slides much easier – particularly for guests with mobility impairment – and our poolside wet rooms are supported by our water accessible wheelchairs which allow guests the opportunity to experience the thrills in our wave pool and action river, amongst other things. 

Image: The Autism Friendly Room.

We are very proud of the facilities that we have to offer here at Sandcastle Waterpark. In addition to those already mentioned, we have a quiet/sensory room situated within the Waterpark which is a small have of calm when the hustle and bustle of the Waterpark can get a little too much. Lowered counters, audio loops, large print menus and a wide range of planning tools available on our website and Youtube channels are also available. Our Accessibility Hotline is there for guests to call and discuss and any specific requirements that they might have in advance of their visit and this extends to any requirements they may have on arrival – our team are there every step of the way to assist if required.

What started as a 2/3 evenings a year for local children with disabilities and their families to attend, has now evolved into a year round programme of monthly events and we welcome more than 5000 guests to these events. Guests from as far north as Carlisle and as far south as Brighton have visited in recent months, many combining a visit to one of our Accessible Evenings with an overnight stay in Blackpool and enjoying some of the many other activities and events that the Resort has to offer.

Everyone likes a day out, disability doesn’t change that. What is important is the need for many to be confident in planning, attention to detail and know that if required, support is available for them – we aim to provide this as much as we possibly can. Families with disabled children and additional needs can enjoy quality leisure time together at these evenings and most importantly, create memories.

Keep your eyes peeled for announcements of next year's accessible evenings.