Overview

I am fond of Diggerland. Unlike some theme parks, it isn't strewn with pointless 'wheelchair entrance' stickers where you can go in but not actually go on the ride. At Diggerland, if you can get your wheelchair up to the ride and transfer across with a bit of help, you're in. There are things which people with disabilities may not be able to do, but it feels like you can use your common sense and make that decision yourself.

Transport & Parking

Decent blue badge spaces near the ramp up to the entrance. Might get a bit full on busy days.

Access

The point of Diggerland is for people to have a go at driving commercial diggers and operating their scoops. There are also rides where the scoops of very large diggers have been fitted with theme park-style seats and you get driven or whirled around. So the concept of the place isn't inherently disability friendly, yet somehow you can end up having a pretty good time there. The site is quite compact, with a mix of tarmac and gravel paths and no steep inclines, and there's enough variety in the attractions that you should be able to find something you can do. You may be able to lift up your disabled child into the cab of a static digger and operate its scoop together, or you yourself, as a wheelchair user, may be able to get onto the sky ride that lifts you high into the air on a viewing platform made of a large 'cherry-picker'.

Toilets

Not bad - big enough to get a small scooter inside, a reasonable selection of rails and clean when I used it. There's just the one, though, so it's going to be under pressure on busy days.

Staff

I found them friendly and helpful - and I think more a mature and experienced crew this time than the first time we visited (a couple of years ago). They did their job in checking that children were the right height for a ride and making sure seatbelts were fastened, and they were cool with giving wheelchair users extra time to get up to a ride and transfer onto it with the help of the people they were with (I wouldn't expect them to do any lifting themselves, but just allowing people a bit of time makes all the difference).

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I can't promise anything - I just think it's the sort of place where there are opportunities to have a go, and I've had a good impression of the place as a disabled visitor on two visits now. Children REALLY like it, so it was guaranteed that my young son would have a good time, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I got from it too.

Photos