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2021: General Discussion

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There's currently a dinosaur race on the lawns between Galacticasaurus and Wickermanasaurus :laughing:

dino.jpg
 
...Might actually turn out for the best that I couldn't renew my Merlin pass now. As long as you can get a version with no lock-out dates and includes free parking I'd rather just get an Alton pass. Nice one AT86
 
Alton Towers season passes have been mentioned by a few people in the social media posts about Merlin passes back on sale.
I think it’s almost certain they aren’t coming back for £55. Thorpe offered one for £119 this year but only £99 renewals currently available. What do people think Alton Towers will do next season? Season pass or annual pass? I expect it will be at least £100 though, that’s only three visits to the park.

edit to add, I forgot to actually post this and @AT86 already found the post from Leek signs showing the annual pass is coming!
 
I wouldn't get too excited, as there's some old promo material hiding in the background from Mardi Gras, so the Season Pass stuff may be old too. The wrapped stuff at the front is related to Christmas and may be what's going out.
 
To be fair, some of those new looking rolls do have 'buy here today' in the non-christmas colour and it does say it's a 'big order'. Maybe the Mardi Gras stuff was just left in the background or will be used at a later date? On the balance of probability I'd guess the Alton pass will be back quite soon. I'd say about £150 would be around the sweet spot for the Alton pass. Not too expensive as to put everyone off but not so cheap to the point where the park is rammed all the time with people who have hardly paid to be there.
 
BarryZola said:
On the balance of probability I'd guess the Alton pass will be back quite soon. I'd say about £150 would be around the sweet spot for the Alton pass. Not too expensive as to put everyone off but not so cheap to the point where the park is rammed all the time with people who have hardly paid to be there.
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and if people want a cheap pass there is still the Merlin discovery off-peak weekday pass, if you can regularly visit on those quiet weekdays the £89 is a bargain.
I thought £150 might be a bit too high, but then that’s only four peak visits (£39 online price).
 
jon81uk said:
and if people want a cheap pass there is still the Merlin discovery off-peak weekday pass, if you can regularly visit on those quiet weekdays the £89 is a bargain.
I thought £150 might be a bit too high, but then that’s only four peak visits (£39 online price).
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I shall be getting this pass as it seems like very good value to me
 
I do hope Alton Towers are careful with any season pass they release. They need to make sure that they sell less but at a higher price but they must also make sure they don't make it too expensive as then it wouldn't be worth buying it. They have to make sure it's balanced between price and how many they sell as season pass customers tend to spend less in the park.
 
rob666 said:
Please god, no more silly cheap passes, I hate the off peak queues!
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Please don't campaign for expensive season passes! Everything is going up in price at the moment. Fuel, food, travel, talk about sucking away any avenues of joy in an already depressing world.
 
rob666 said:
Cheap passes benefit nobody.
Why accept queueing for two hours for a thirty second ride off peak...that sucks the joy out of the experience.
Scrap cheap passes, they ruin the fun for the majority.
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Given that Merlin has stopped pushing “pay for a day, come back free all year” in their adverts and notably increased the price of MAPs, I think you may have been granted your wish!
 
Cheap season passes were further sucking away any avenues of joy from an increasingly depressing Alton Towers. I'd take 2 visits this season with decent operating hours, events, entertainment, atmosphere and more rides than 6 visits in the preceding 2 seasons. The season passes were already gone, this is more a debate about whether they should be brought back.
 
rob666 said:
Cheap passes benefit nobody.
Why accept queueing for two hours for a thirty second ride off peak...that sucks the joy out of the experience.
Scrap cheap passes, they ruin the fun for the majority.
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They benefited me when i was going through an "episode" and lost my job, was very good for my general mental health.How is that not a benefit to me?

I had many joyful days there on quiet days.

Everything costs more these days, even joy it seems, which sucks the joy out of it if you can't escape as much as you used to be able to.
 
Mikw said:
They benefited me when i was going through an "episode", was very good for my general mental health.

I had many joyful days there on quiet days.

Everything costs more these days, even joy it seems, which sucks the joy out of it if you can't escape as much as you used to be able to.
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I'm glad the season pass was helpful for you, and I can definitely see the appeal of just popping by for a few hours on a quieter day to recharge the batteries! I've often wanted to do so myself, though for me it would mean a 250-mile round trip!

Unfortunately though I have to agree that selling season passes for the same price as the on-the-day entry fee just wasn't sustainable. It doesn't make the park any money and, unless pass numbers are properly controlled, means that full-paying guests are competing with SP holders on busy days and not getting the experience they paid for. The scramble for grabbing the extremely limited passholder pre-book slots last year just showed up how flawed the old system really was.

It should be the case that you'd need to go a good few times a year to make a saving on it really; if you plan to use it enough then it ought to feel like money well spent.
 
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