Inclusive Design at Katapult: Top 5 Insights

A few weeks ago we held an inclusive design workshop to explore ideas around diversity, equality, inclusivity, accessibility and sustainability. What blew me away was how everyone in that room had at least one experience of how inclusive design had shaped their experience of an attraction, either positively or negatively.

Here are the five insights that impacted me the most:

Basic needs should come first

This one’s my bugbear. As a mum to two young children, baby change spaces are a pet peeve of mine (any parents or caregivers out there relate?). It’s a basic requirement that baby change spaces should have turning space for a pram, or an extra child. And queuelines for family rides shouldn’t be easily escapable by overeager toddlers, so parents can take their child on a ride without worrying that their child will disappear before they’ve even reached the ride. 

Guest-driven inclusive design

There is no such thing as fully accessible, but we can consider as far as possible what a diverse group of guests may need to be able to enjoy an attraction. For example an elderly guest with mobility issues visiting with their teenage grandchild is going to have different requirements to a young family, or a guest with a visual impairment.

Are there low-sensory spaces, are there ramps, are exhibits and interactives at a lower level? Is there a changing places facility?

Valuing your disabled guests might also mean an opportunity to attract those with the ‘purple pound’, (the spending power of disabled guests and their families is estimated to be £274 billion a year in the UK alone), so attractions will only increase their footfall if they put more consideration into inclusive design.

Staff training beyond the basics

While some attractions have come a long way in recent years, nearly everyone around the table had some horror story at the hands of operations staff. A disabled man was prevented from riding an attraction (against management’s instructions), a disabled woman was left stranded at park close, another was told to take their wheelchair on an escalator to avoid inconveniencing the staff, etc.

Instead of getting to enjoy the time with their friends and family, they were forced to spend their day trying to fight for their right to ride. Draining.

But, it’s not all bad! In the above examples, the staff interactions all but ruined the guest experience, but they can also rescue it.

Our Projects Director Cathrin (who has a condition called ME/CFS) was struggling at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (after a tiring IAAPA conference) when a staff member was able to recognise without prompt that Cathrin was purchasing a fast pass due to a disability. Instead of proceeding with the purchase, they offered a quick assessment so that she could get accommodation for free, rather than having to buy priority access. This meant she could sit (rather than stand) while waiting in a virtual queue, greatly reducing the physical pain of being in the park – a game-changer! 

Meet people where they are at

The experience can be on the guests’ terms. For example, scare experiences for those who don’t want to be jumped (the Deathly Afraid lanyard for the Universal Horror Nights is a great example of how this can be done), or air raid siren trigger warnings for ex-service personnel who may be visiting a historic/military exhibit. Mindful design and thoughtful methods to communicate potential triggers with guests is really important.

There are so many resources available

Log onto any social media platform or do a simple online search and you can find advocates for change and inclusivity, who actively review and give feedback on public spaces and attractions that can do better. 

We were lucky enough to be given a copy of Paul Ralph’s book, ‘Access all areas’ which has become a key reference point in our design process. We can engage more with experts like Paul, and even within our own team and community to make sure we are designing true, lived-in experiences. As Paul Ralph writes:

“One person’s perfect solution can be another person’s absolute nightmare", so it’s unlikely we’ll get it right every time when it comes to designing for inclusivity, but we will keep learning, and we can all do something. 

How do your team approach inclusive design?