Everyone loves going to the cinema, the anticipation of a new film, being over charged for drinks and popcorn, having a family day out, it is great fun. Like most people I love going to the cinema, last week one of the biggest films of the year was released, Marvels Infinity War. I treated my young nephews and nieces to the film, being young teenagers, they love Marvel.
Showcase cinema, Vue cinema and Odeon cinema are very good at providing services for their disabled customers, they have audio description, autism screenings and most of them are wheelchair friendly.
All the cinemas welcome the CEA Card. A CEA card allows carers to get into the cinema screening free of charge for people with disabilities who need to take a carer with them. https://abilityaccess.blog/?s=CEA
However, there is a failure in the system, which needs to be addressed. If a family of four go to Showcase Cinema, it can cost up to £4 more than none disabled customers.
This is due to not being able to book disabled tickets online in advance. To book disabled tickets with Showcase cinema, you need to call the premium customer service number at 13p a minute and then you are charged an extra 60p per ticket booked over the phone.
Showcase cinema have advised customers to book tickets online and they will refund the difference at the cinema. But to find this information out you still need to call their 13p a minute number. There is no statement on the website that tells disabled customers this information.
Having been in contact with Showcase cinema this week they do take disability services very seriously and are working on adding the CEA card so that disabled customers can book tickets online.
Showcase have stressed you can call your local cinema direct to book tickets using a local number found in the Showcase FAQs section on their website. However, Ability Access found it easier to go to the website, saynoto0870.com and get the number. You search for your local Showcase cinema and it provides you with every Showcase local rate number in the UK.
A spokesperson for Showcase Cinemas said: “We constantly review and update our accessibility policies and procedures to ensure the very best cinema experience for all our guests. We accept CEA cards at all of our cinemas – customers can either present these at the box office or call their local Showcase Cinema directly to make a booking, details of which are on the FAQ section of our website. Furthermore, we are working to add the functionality to the website to allow guests to have their CEA card validated online and book tickets this way.
Odeon Cinema have a disability assistance customer service line Tel: 0800 138 3315 operating all week. There is a standard 75p charge for tickets, but this is per transaction, not per ticket, you can also book using your CEA card over the phone. Odeon also allows you to set up an account called My Odeon, this account allows you to add your CEA card, so when you book tickets using My Odeon account, you can book online and get a 10% discount.
Vue Cinema also have a booking charge of 75p per transaction not per ticket, however if you book using the CEA card the 75p is refunded. Vue Cinema also have the option of booking disabled tickets online.
To apply for a CEA card, follow link – https://www.ceacard.co.uk/
Odeon Accessibility can be found at – http://www.odeon.co.uk/accessibility/
My Odeon – http://www.odeon.co.uk/odeon-premiere-club/
Vue Cinema – https://www.myvue.com/legal/accessibility
Showcase – https://www.showcasecinemas.
Ability Access 
Hi, Simon, you can book online with a Vue though I do it often by inputting my CEA Number in and it gives me a free seat. This is to Vue’s credit in a sense that they have a better business model and therefore I will always support them. As for Showcase, I do what i call reverse discrimination, so Showcase will never see my purple pound or the money of my buddies I go with until they sort their act out.
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