Make Some Noise!

ROARR! is the number one dinosaur adventure attraction in the UK, and in recent years has seen some major developments and accessibility improvements.We speak to the Park Manager, Ben Francis, who tells us what makes ROARR! such a great day out for the family.

ROARR! was recognised for its accessibility in the coveted 2023-2024 East of England Tourism Awards, a finalist in Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Business category, and has been nominated for the Community Organisation Award for Disability in the National Diversity Awards. Most recently it bagged a Silver in VisitEngland's Awards for Excellence 2024 Accessible and Inclusive category.

In the past two years alone, ROARR! has introduced one new wheelchair-accessible mechanical ride and one ride that is accessible for those who can transfer from their chair, installed wheelchair-friendly picnic tables, opened a Changing Places facility (one of only three in the county) and resurfaced the Valley of the Dinosaurs Trail to make it more accessible.

It has also added BSL (British Sign Language) signage to the Secret Animal Garden exhibits and introduced free admission for Essential Companions. Staff at the park are trained in BSL and there's also a spacious Quiet Room that features sensory items such as a bubble tube and it also has a sofa and bean bags.

ROARR! is situated within 85 acres of a beautiful and natural woodland setting and endeavours, and includes both indoor and outdoor attractions.

But working with a woodland environment is always challenging!

"The ground will be uneven, a pathway must have many twists and turns to manoeuvre around the trees and, we live in Britain, so the weather impacts our environment and nature still grows," explained Ben.

"When we formed our accessibility discussion group, it was because I felt the need for it to be become part of our conversations – not just an agenda point, but something that is considered in the wider conversation. This started with reaching out to local and national groups for advice and to understand what barriers are in place for those with additional needs that might stop them from enjoying the park."

The team soon learned about small things they could do quickly, and bigger ideas for the longer term.

"We also discovered that the entire park was sensory due to the sounds, planting, and environment so there was a need for somewhere quiet for our guests," said Ben. "So we set out our accessibility plan. Short-term, the aims of this were to create a quiet room, to make headphones available, to introduce a hearing loop throughout the park, as well as wheelchair benches. We also needed to widen the pathways, and offer additional needs groups the opportunity to visit the park and use the facilities after hours.

"In the medium term, our aims were to add a Changing Places facility, resurface pathways with tarmac and introduce BSL signage, relaxed theatre performances, subtitles on the movies, and more interactive hands-on Meet & Greets with our park characters.

"Long term our plan was to install rides which are accessible, making 80% of our attractions accessible. I am pleased to say we have achieved all these objectives, and we are one of the few theme parks in the UK today with accessible rides."

Valley of the Dinosaurs is an immersive and interactive 1207 metre trail with a hard surface path that combines educational adventure with thrills and surprises. The Valley is home to eleven animatronic dinosaurs for all adventurers to meet, and visitors are greeted by a statue of the Park's imaginary Norfolk-born explorer Cornelius Weston-Smythe, the owner of this sanctuary for rescued dinosaurs.

X-Tinction Fossil Dig is a covered outdoor area, with sandpits and hidden fossils for children to excavate using the brushes provided. The area is accessible by a hard flat path.There are three sandpit areas; one with raised sandpits (two are 670mm high, and one is larger 910mm high made in a table style) and two sections where the sand is at floor level.

One of the rides is wheelchair accessible.

The Swing-O-Saurus is a twist on the traditional Victorian swing boat, and seats 12 passengers at a time, back-to-back. It moves back and forth at a gentle pace that's perfect for younger visitors, and incorporates a transfer seat.

The RaptorContraptor can accommodate guests who wish to remain in their wheelchair whilst on the ride. Itis a carousel of seats in eight pairs giving passengers the thrill of flying like a pterodactyl: thanks to the interactive experience, riders are in full control as they swoop and fly their way through the sky. There is a wheelchair accessible seat (manual wheelchair only), and a seat at low level so you don't have to step up to access.The wheelchair accessible seat is accessed by a small ramp. The low level seat has easier access for people with restricted mobility – the step is 140mm high onto a flat plate with the seat. These two seats have hand pedals (with adjustable height) to operate the up and down movement of thecarousel seats. The ROARR! crew can control this is instead if required.

Other attractions include Jurassic Putt Crazy Golf, Dippy's Splash Zone, and Tiny Terrosaurs, an under 7s outdoor play area which have varying accessibility features. For indoor fun, visit Dippy's Theatre with daily screenings of dino-tastic animations and mascot Meet and Greets.

Hungry? There are several accessible cafes in the park, some of which are quiet, and with high colour contrast tables and chairs, and a number of outside picnic areas, which have flat or ramped access, plus tables for wheelchair users.

So what difficulties did they come up against when implementing these accessible elements?

"When we evaluated all our current activities and attractions, not everything was able to be changed to make it accessible," Ben said. "As an example, the indoor play equipment has some lower-level accessible elements, but the structure isn't accessible in its entirety.If we were putting the equipment in as new now, we would of course ensure that it was.

"We have learned to accept that not all existing elements can be adapted, but we are committed to ensuring that any new or replacement parts are adapted for inclusivity and accessibility. That's the promise that we give to our guests."

If you're in need of some furry (or scaly) company, the Walled Victorian Garden has a barn where visitors canmeet a variety of animals including pigs, goats, ducks, iguanas, and bearded dragons to pet, and ask the keepers any questions. It has a hard, flat-surfaced unobstructed wide pathway, and signs with contact non-verbal signage and Makaton signs for the animal names.

Asked about what it was that inspired Ben's desire for improving inclusivity, he said that in his previous career he worked with children with learning difficulties and for a local charity supporting young people in theatre.

"Both had the ethos that anything was possible to get an accessible resolution," he said. "At ROARR! accessibility has always been an agenda point for discussion; the difference now is that it is automatically and naturally part of the conversation.We still have close links with local accessibility groups who are very happy to point things out to us or to make us rethink something.

"We have attended seminars held by national groups and we are always willing to listen, to learn, and to adapt for our guests to do what is reasonably possible."

Ben doesn't think that it's a case of 'improving the experience' for their disabled guests, or providing an alternative, it's about offering disabled guests the same experience as anyone else on a day out at ROARR!.

"The changes that we have implemented and new developments mean that our disabled guests can come to ROARR! with the knowledge that we have what they need," he said.

The Raptor Contraptor, a ride in Discovery Land which allows guests to fly as it can accommodate wheelchair guests with a flush platform and hand pedals instead foot pedals, is one of Ben's favourite parts of the park.

"I also love our completely accessible Father Christmas Experience," he said. "We offer time slots so the grotto can be a bespoke experience for all family requirements. If guests need the music off or quieter, that's no problem, twinkly lights on static, no problem, a Father Christmas who can do Makaton or British sign Language again, no problem.We have had so many families thank us for allowing them to experience the magic of Christmas because everything has been adjusted for their needs."

Ben and the team have worked really hard over the past few years to listen and learn, to implement an accessibility guide, and to reach out to groups for their advice.

"Accessibility is now part of the conversation, everything that we do in the future will have an accessible feature," he said. "I am proud that we won Silver in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism, Visit England Awards for Excellence 2024 and hope that in the future we can win Gold."

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