A father who was accused of racism after stopping a family of alleged queue jumpers at Chessington World of Adventures has spoken out, claiming their excuse of returning from a toilet trip was a fabrication. Luke Tickner, from Whiteley in Hampshire, was waiting with his son for Zuma's Hovercraft Adventure at the newly-opened World of Paw Patrol when he blocked another father and his children from cutting ahead.
The Incident
The confrontation, filmed by content creators Ben and Jacob from Eastbourne, shows Mr Tickner refusing to let the family pass, accusing them of playing the race card. A woman at the front argued with a ride attendant, insisting her family had only left for the toilet. However, Mr Tickner claims the family had never been in the queue at all, only the mother. He told the Daily Mail: 'They never even went to the loo. The mum queued whilst they had been on other rides and they decided they wanted to push through.'
Previous Day's Incident
Mr Tickner added that the family had attempted the same trick the previous day, but left when security was called. He said: 'The staff were happy to review the footage to see if they had queued but because they had not been in the queue, the lady walked off. The mum even pushed my son when he went to show her the rules.' He vehemently denies being racist, stating: 'Not once was this anything to do with queue jumping. The rules in the park are very clear about queue jumping.'
Video Footage
The clip shows the ride attendant explaining that guests must inform staff if leaving the queue. The woman replied they did not know. Mr Tickner is heard telling the alleged queue jumper: 'You're calling me a racist, you're wrong.' The alleged queue jumper retorts, 'You're wrong,' to which Mr Tickner responds: 'You're going to be on YouTube tonight.' The video concludes with applause for Mr Tickner, with one brother saying: 'Fair play to this guy, he's stopped the queue jumper. What a legend.'
Chessington's Queue Policy
According to Chessington's website, queue jumping is defined as 'cutting in front of other guests already in the queue, leaving the queue and then attempting to re-enter at the same place, or saving a place for someone not in the queue.' The World of Paw Patrol, a 1.4-acre immersive experience, features four new rides, play areas, and themed catering. Zuma's Hovercraft Adventure is Britain's first 'drifter' ride, simulating the sensation of drifting a high-performance vehicle.
The park, owned by Merlin Entertainments, hosted a preview day attended by celebrities including Joe Marler, Nick Mohammed, Alex Jones, and Greg Rutherford. The Daily Mail has contacted Chessington for comment.
