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Merlin Annual Pass

This is probably a response to the fact the parks themselves hate the VIP MAP product (so is rumored) as it lead to a lot of "enthusiasts" with more money than sense strutting around thinking they owned the place.

Merlin created a bit of a monster that required a huge resource to satisfy with these passes and i think the price increase has reflected that.
 
Maybe it should just be the platinum pass, as you get the equivalent of platinum fasttrack. Stops the people who think they are entitled to more just cause the pass says VIP on it.
 
Indeed, a big mistake has been the name of the pass. VIP - very important person. In reality these people are not very important at all, they just have more money then sense. The name of the pass just inflates their egos. Having the same pass with the same perks but calling it something like platinum pass would go some way to stopping the holders thinking they are gods gift walking through the parks demanding whatever they want.

:)
 
As a VIP pass holder I think the name is wrong and it should be the platinum pass, I don't show my pas off as I'm going around the park, I keep it hidden away and I don't want to be treated like a VIP anyway.
 
Rob said:
Indeed, a big mistake has been the name of the pass. VIP - very important person. In reality these people are not very important at all, they just have more money then sense. The name of the pass just inflates their egos. Having the same pass with the same perks but calling it something like platinum pass would go some way to stopping the holders thinking they are gods gift walking through the parks demanding whatever they want.

:)
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I think that is slightly harsh Rob, I am a VIP passholder and like spinba11 above I prefer to keep my pass hidden because I have no desire to be treated any differently to anyone else. Yes it has been nice to have fastrack for a year, although the product has been horrendously inconsistent for the majority of that period. The pass has not inflated my ego or made me think I am gods gift and I have never demanded anything off the park. Just because there are a few VIP's that might act like that there is no need to tarnish everyone with the same brush.

Just on a side note - I won't be renewing mine because I don't feel the price increase is justified or I will use my pass enough to justify the outlay.
 
Alex23 said:
I think that is slightly harsh Rob, I am a VIP passholder and like spinba11 above I prefer to keep my pass hidden because I have no desire to be treated any differently to anyone else. Yes it has been nice to have fastrack for a year, although the product has been horrendously inconsistent for the majority of that period. The pass has not inflated my ego or made me think I am gods gift and I have never demanded anything off the park. Just because there are a few VIP's that might act like that there is no need to tarnish everyone with the same brush.
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Apologies! I know that not all are like that, my rant was aimed at some that I know are though and I know that some VIP holders have caused staff at the parks problems that really should not exist.

I still think you had more money than sense for getting one initially, but good on you for not renewing it! :p
 
That's probably a fair point, although it was useful at Halloween/Fireworks when the queues were massive. In hindsight if I'd thought it through a bit more and considered the amount of times I have been able to use it then I probably wouldn't have bought one but I don't regret my decision.
 
Well today I received an email containing the following (I have removed the phone number in case it shouldn't be put here). I find it interesting that
1) while it states 'limited' it doesn't state what the limit is;
2) the phrase "swoosh past other people onto ride after ride after ride" is used despite the obvious problems this will cause, and;
3) I had joined a 'waiting list' partly to see what happened and partly because I had thought the price might be lower than it is - but as it is there seems to be no preference given to order of entry onto the list, I assume this is a mass email.

I won't be partaking, 700 quid (make it 1400 for me and missus) is money I could well use on better things, and with a full time job I highly doubt I would ever get a good return on the 'investment'. If anything I'll just go for an AT AP next year.

-------------------------

Our V.I.P. phone lines are now open
2015_05_Merlin_Annual_Pass_Sale_email_1_r13_c2.png

Cue trumpets: our free V.I.P. phone lines are NOW OPEN, so you can call 0800 xxx xxx0 before 31st July to buy family V.I.P. Merlin Annual Passes from £599pp or Individual V.I.P. Passes from £699pp and unleash a year of extraordinary magic. (Full details below.)

With a V.I.P. Merlin Annual Pass, you’ll join our elite Fellowship of V.I.P. Wizards; use your Golden Experiences to tiptoe backstage and watch magic being made; swoosh past other people onto ride after ride after ride; thrill at so many moments of unplanned, unexpected and undiluted delight; and squeeze simply astonishing amounts of fun into every single day. (N.B.: V.I.P. ice cream still melts in hot weather. We’re on it.)

Our phone lines are open now (hint) until Friday 31st July, but don’t dare dilly-dally: because this magic makes life lip-smackingly splendiferous, demand is high – but numbers are limited. So why wait? Get yours now and prepare for a year of unparalleled fun!

How to become a V.I.P. Wizard:

• To join the Fellowship of V.I.P. Wizards, please call our free V.I.P. phone line on 0800 xxx xxx0 before Friday 31st July 2015.

• Lines are open between 9am and 5pm (our wizards need time to practice their potions).

• In case you were curious, V.I.P. Merlin Annual Passes can’t be bought online (in case the e-Gremlins team up with the e-Goblins).
 
Quite.. the whole thing reads as if it's aimed at a *very* young audience, which is the audience least likely to have that sort of money.. (although I suppose some may have rich Mummies and Daddies).
Personally I'd prefer a more in-depth analysis as to why I should send several days pay in Merlin's direction... because splendiferously swooshing into scrumptiously super parks isn't really much of a description.. lol :D
 
NickN said:
Quite.. the whole thing reads as if it's aimed at a *very* young audience, which is the audience least likely to have that sort of money.. (although I suppose some may have rich Mummies and Daddies).
Personally I'd prefer a more in-depth analysis as to why I should send several days pay in Merlin's direction... because splendiferously swooshing into scrumptiously super parks isn't really much of a description.. lol :D
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Oh I dont know,... a little swooshing never hurt anyone :p
 
Pretty good offer for an Annual Digi Photo pass has surfaced today.

12 months unlimited digital photos from rides, green screens and walk about photos at Legoland, Chessington, Thorpe & Alton Towers for £50.

If you buy one at Thorpe or Chessington pass holder preview days you can get it for £40.
 
Hi, just wondering how much the map are for a family of 4 (kids?? Aged 14&11) in the Boxing Day sales usually?
 
This year, it looks like it was reduced to £396 for a standard MAP for a family of 4 (£99 pp).

Merlin considers anyone aged 12 or over to be an adult for the purposes of annual passes, but they do currently allow a "Family of 4" to include up to 3 adults. So you may be looking at individual passes (£129 ish in the sale?) once your 11 year old has their next birthday.

I don't know how they check ages of children when getting the pass nor whether a pass becomes invalid mid-cycle due to an 11 year old becoming 12 (I suspect not).
 
They don't check ages. If a child can pass as under 12, they just accept it (take it from the person who had a kids pass until they were 15). This year we renewed a family pass though. We have always bought a family pass, and upgrading one to a premium for free parking. This year, we renewed and towers said that I can have an adult merlin and still renew it as a family pass (so three adult passes and one child renewed for the standard family map renewal)

That's probably confusing, so I apologise, but basically it really doesn't matter what ages people are, and if you visit enough it might be worth going for upgrading one to a premium (£50 extra) for free parking :)
 
https://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/coronavirus

Updated 28th May 2020 @ 12:00

We want to thank our passholders for their continued support and loyalty. A Merlin Pass offers exceptional value for money and we have been working hard to ensure our passholders can continue to experience the magic once the lockdown is lifted.

For Merlin Annual Pass holders, we will be adding free months to account for the duration that our attractions are closed. If pass extension falls during the winter period when our parks are closed, we will further extend these passes.
For Merlin Monthly Membership, we will continue to suspend monthly payments until our attractions reopen.

Pass extensions and monthly suspensions will happen automatically, and you don’t have to do anything about it.

For those passholders who still wish to receive a prorated refund in lieu of a pass extension for the missed months, we will honour these when we announce attractions reopen dates, so we can properly calculate the number of months missed.

We will publish all the details on our website prior to the attractions reopening.
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Updates on passes today, ALL passes will be extended by 5 months, regardless of when they ran/run out. Which is a change to previous messages.

If your pass then runs out in closed season, a further extension will be given into the 2021 season.

Also the £1 booking fee will remain for all merlin attractions for the moment when they re open to limit numbers, with bookings opening a week in advance.
 
I wonder how many AP holders they will let in each day? Part of me suspects they are extending the pass for longer and will significantly limit the number of pass holders per day to maximise revenue short term from day tickets.
 
How many people buying day tickets are left though they spent the past 2 years getting people who didn't have Maps to buy a resort season pass instead (for the price of a day ticket).
 
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