Accessibility Guide

Carers & Companions

Anyone accompanying a person with a disability, and holds a valid carer or companion card, is entitled to free General Admission to the attraction.

To book online, simply click here and scroll down in the webstore to select the free carer option.

You will need to use 'General Admission' to purchase admission tickets for anyone who is not a Carer.

When you arrive, present your tickets to our admissions team along with an official documented evidence of the disability or of registered carer status. Here are the accepted documentations:

• Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance for children under 16 or DLA/Personal Independent Payments (PIP) for those aged 16-64, either in the form of a letter stating that the benefit has been awarded, or the actual Allowance book.
• Attendance Allowance or Carer's Allowance letter of award
• Incapacity Benefit books, or a letter notifying the recipient that the benefit has been awarded Incapacity Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Disability Students’ Allowance (DSA), or DID card (UK Disabled ID card).
• A valid Blue Badge
• In the case of visual impairment, a registration card known as the BD8 or a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI)
• Credibility’s Access Card with the carer/companion symbol
• An International Equivalent of the Above

If you are a Merlin Annual Passholder and have additional needs/require assistance on your visits to our attractions, we issue one complimentary Merlin Annual Pass per Passholder with a disability to be used by any carer. Apply for a carer pass here.

Please note we are a cashless venue.

Sensory

Guests with sensory sensitivity are welcome in the attraction at any time, however we advise that our quietest periods are during the week (outside of school holidays), after 2pm. This will allow you plenty of time to enjoy the full benefits the attraction has to offer.

We also have noise cancelling head phones available upon entry. These are subject to availability.

For a more detailed sensory specific guide click here to see our Social Story which is child friendly and designed to aid our guests with neuro-diverse needs including Autism.

For your information, there will be varying levels of lighting and music throughout the attraction to enhance the visit - please be prepared if this is a concern.

The Gruffalo's Child Sensory Room is available upon request for guests who require some quieter time. Please contact a member of the team to access it.

Guests are required to wear socks at all times. If you wish to discuss this prior to your visit please contact our customer services team in advance  - Guestservices.thegruffaloclubhouse@merlinentertainments.biz 

Attraction Layout

To familiarise yourself with The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse before you visit see our step-by-step guide  below.

For a more detailed sensory specific guide click here to see our Social Story which is child friendly and designed to aid our guests with neuro-diverse needs including Autism.

Main Entrance & Reception

The reception area is located on the ground floor directly as you enter. The width of the entrance doors is 1.8m. The floor in the reception area benefits from level Altro safety flooring. The reception is lit by small spotlights and festoon lighting however the area does benefit from a lot of natural light.

The reception desk is 1.1m high however there is a lower area to the right of the reception desk which is 0.8m high and our team can easily reach across to offer assistance where required. Any wheelchair users are welcome to enter via the right-hand desk to be served and any guests who are unable to queue for any reason should make our team members aware and will be happy to serve you separately.

We offer complimentary tickets for carers.

Once visitors enter the attraction there is background music playing in each area with additional sounds triggered at certain points throughout, there is one small screen with video playing and a large interactive mirror. The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse entertainment occurs every hour and could seem somewhat loud if unexpected. There is various signage around the attraction at medium eye level, including toilet signs. A buggy park is located to the left along with a shoe store area.

The lighting throughout is a mixture of pin spots, theatrical lighting and festoon lighting, and there are audible noises and music throughout. Ear defenders are available upon request.

Our entrance photo opportunity is located to the right which can be bypassed if preferred, however you should expect a flash whilst photos are taken followed by a ‘beep’ noise. The lighting in this area is fairly low to suit the ‘Gruffalo’ theme.

The Woodland Cafe is located as you enter through the pages of the Gruffalo books ahead of you, will serve hot and cold drinks along with sandwiches, cakes and snacks. Allergen information will be available on the products, please notify a team member if any of your party would like to discuss their allergen requirements. Highchairs are available.

Room on the Broom Toddler Play is for younger visitors (under 0.9m) and is a gated and padded area with soft play elements. Whilst the area is accessible, there are different floor textures moving from Altro to a padded floor.                                                

Gruffalo's Child Sensory Room is for those visitors needing some quieter time. This room is accessible.

Deep, Dark Wood Adventure Play is an exciting exploration play located centrally in the attraction suitable for children from 0.9m to 1.48m tall. It has challenging rope walks and tunnels along with a smaller accessible playhouse located adjacent to the main play. The main climbing frame is not suitable for wheelchair users.

Deep, Dark Wood Soft Play is an exploration play activity suitable for children from 0.9m to 1.48m tall. It involves twists and turns through corridors and tunnels as the visitors discover The Gruffalo characters. The main climbing frame is not suitable for wheelchair users. There will be sounds of the characters in this area.

The Snail and the Whale Seaside Play is a ginormous ball bit for children to explore and the lighting changes gradually fades from day to night. Suitable for children from 0.9m to 1.48m tall. The ball pit is not suitable for wheelchair users.

Zog’s Dragon School Challenge is a castle-themed soft-play zone for children to explore and is suitable for children from 0.9m to 1.48m tall. Zog’s Dragon School is not suitable for wheelchair users.

Gift Shop

The lighting in the shop natural daylight and festooning with various product stands and displays. The desk height is 1.1m high with a lower section at 0.75m.

Toilets

The attraction offers male and female toilets as well as an accessible unisex bathroom with changing facilities. Baby changing facilities are located in all toilets.

The entry door to the toilets is 0.84m wide and lighting in all toilet areas is good with Altro safety flooring on a smooth level surface.

The door width to the accessible toilet is 0.92m wide, with a latch lock system on the inside. When facing the WC there is a folding support rail to the left which can be easily lowered in order to assist with space to position a wheelchair and a red pull cord to the right of the toilet to be activated in case of an emergency. The toilet itself is 0.48cm high, the hand dryer is 1.1m high and the sink is 0.73m high with push button taps. The toilet cubicle is 2.54m x 1.61m. There is an electric adjustable changing table and an electric hoist.

Additional Information

There is an element of tactile signage within the attraction.

We have qualified first aid staff on-site at all times. You should contact any staff member if you require any first aid assistance.

We have completed in-house training to assist our staff in aiding disabled visitors to the best of their ability and in the future will have completed the Disabled Go training.

We welcome assistance dogs and can provide water bowls upon request.

We have 2 refuge points in the attraction in the event of a fire evacuation, with an evacuation chair in each location. These are located at the rear of the attraction as a clearly marked fire exit route. In the event of an evacuation, our team members will advise you of the nearest fire exit and refuge point and our trained team members will meet you and assemble the evacuation chairs in order to safely assist you from the building. The chairs have a safe working load of 120kg.

Future Plans

We plan to review our signage and introduce tactile signage where appropriate. We will also be printing our leaflets and evacuation process in larger print and will be providing magnifying glasses and pens/paper at our admissions desk for guests to use where required. We will continually review our accessibility statement and if you do have any suggestions, we would welcome any feedback. Our contact details are below.

Pre-visit Planning

The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse is located on the central promenade in between the North and Central piers, and only 200m south of the iconic Blackpool Tower. Located directly opposite the seafront the centre can be seen on approach from both north and southbound travel along the promenade. The centre is accessible directly from the public footpath on the promenade.

Train
The nearest train station to the centre is Blackpool North located on Talbot Road, approximately 0.8 miles away. Taxis are readily available from the train station and all should have accessible vehicles. On the occasion that there aren’t any taxis available, Premier Taxis have a large fleet of accessible vehicles and can be contacted on 01253 401000.

Buses
Buses operate frequently from the train station but don’t run directly to The Grufflo & Friends Clubhouse. If you are travelling from a nearby location, the 68 stagecoach bus runs from Preston to Blackpool town centre which is just 400m from the Sea Life. There are also bus stops roughly 50m either side of the centre if travelling from other nearby locations. All Blackpool Transport buses are accessible for wheelchair users; however, mobility scooters require a permit to be obtained prior to travel. There are no audible or visual announcements made regarding the different stops when travelling on the bus.

Trams
Trams operate from Starr Gate all the way through to Fleetwood along Blackpool Promenade. Operating roughly every 10 – 15 minutes, there is a tram stop almost directly opposite The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse. All trams (excluding Heritage Trams) have level boarding and step-free interiors, with designated pushchair/wheelchair areas to ensure accessibility for all. All except the Heritage trams have both visual & audible announcers to inform passengers of the next stops.

Local Area
Being situated just 250m from the town centre, the surrounding areas are usually quite busy, particularly during school holiday periods. There is a traffic light point roughly 30m from the centre allowing you to safely cross from the promenade and access the centre, along with dropped pavements either side of the centre with tactile paving roughly 100m apart.

Local Services
There are 16 radar accessible toilets operated by Blackpool Council. A map detailing the location of each can be found here. https://www.toiletmap.org.uk/
Hotels with accessible facilities can be found here: Accessible hotels. There is also a Bond Hotel located in Blackpool which can be found Here.
Blackpool wheelchair & scooter hire can offer both equipment hire and repair and can be contacted on 01253 408453 or at http://www.blackpoolwheelchairs.co.uk/.

Car Parking & Arrival
Unfortunately, we don’t have onsite parking due to the location of the centre. The street at the rear of the centre (Bonny Street) can, however, be used as parking for blue badge holders, and there are 2 council operated car parks located less than 100m away from the main entrance. Both car parks have street lamp lighting in the car park areas as well as on the adjacent streets. The streets surrounding the centre are all fairly even, with tactile paving at drop curbs along the promenade with colours to highlight the dropped area as well. The pavement on approach to the main entrance is on a very slight incline and a coloured paved area indicates the entrance section to the centre. There is a loading area outside the main entrance for coaches or taxis however there isn’t a dropped curb. The nearest dropped curb is roughly 20m from the centre.

Buggy Policy
You are more than welcome to bring a buggy into the attraction; a buggy park is located by the shoe storage area and space is offered on a first come, first serve basis. Unattended personal items are left at owners' risk, The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse does not accept responsibility for any lost or stolen items.

Eating & Drinking
There is a comfortable seating area next to the Woodland Cafe where you can get drinks (hot and cold) and snacks. 

Guests are required to wear socks at all times. If you wish to discuss this prior to your visit please contact our customer services team in advance  - Guestservices.thegruffaloclubhouse@merlinentertainments.biz