Surely if you're on your own then the rides is all you go for. Are you telling me you'd spend £58 to watch some shows and entertainment at Disney by yourself?
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2021: Opening date & Tickets Onsale
- Thread starter AT86
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Orange Ribena
Are you telling me that I can't?
Swarm Chris
TS Member
I've done that several times, and I was far from being the only person doing it each of those times.
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Orange Ribena
I've meet characters at Disney parks on my own. It's a bit silly when you think about it but even if you are an actual adult they will still happily talk to you as if they are that character. Is anyone really going to pass up the chance to see Mickey and Magician again. Never mind Disney often have a new shows depending on the season. Not now because of covid but still its always worth the money.
jon81uk
TS Member
Thats why full-priced variable pricing is needed, or small discounts online, instead of the 2for1s. So it could be £30 on a weekday, £35 quiet weekend and school holiday weekday and £38 on a busy weekend. Maybe if it is very quiet they could do an "extra £5 off this weekend only" or similar.
Given a 2for1 gets you in for about £27, a £30 sort of price is not unreasonable. If they really need the marketing on cereal boxes then switch to £5 off vouchers maybe.
But it is worth the current online advance price of around £35, which is inline with many other similar parks.
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Orange Ribena
I've been to Towers many times and I suppose if you are just going once a year its worth it but going more than once in the year its not worth £35 to me. Poor food offering, no entertainment and long queues.
jon81uk
TS Member
I do wonder with the current annual/season pass issue, what was the split on an average day in 2019 between passes and tickets.
If normally 60% of guests had a pass, so when they set the pre-booking up they allocated 60% to passholders it would be sensible to expect similar crowds to 2019. But then if too many booked and didn't use or similar it will have caused issues.
The major issue I think was the booking process for passholders, not allowing cancellations, allowing double/triple/quad bookings etc.
If normally 60% of guests had a pass, so when they set the pre-booking up they allocated 60% to passholders it would be sensible to expect similar crowds to 2019. But then if too many booked and didn't use or similar it will have caused issues.
The major issue I think was the booking process for passholders, not allowing cancellations, allowing double/triple/quad bookings etc.
jon81uk
TS Member
But Oakwood is £35, Drayton £25, Blackpool £32/35/37, Paulton, £35. A price of £35 is very much standard for a UK theme park.
I think the £55 season passes are too cheap, so lets remove that option for a moment. A Merlin pass is about £150/£180 I think? so you need five visits to start saving money. That seems about right, but they could push the price up to £200 I think.
I stopped using an annual pass about nine years ago after having them for 12 years (originally had a Tussauds pass for about £90 in 2001), we got bored of visiting the same places so much. I'm happy now spending £35ish on single trips for AT fireworks.
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Orange Ribena
I wouldn't pay that to go to Oakwood or Drayton. I'd pay that for Blackpool and probably Paulton's.
I think in theory the Merlin passes are good value but given the current restrictions they are mostly an annoyance.
Right, they just used people not turning up as an excuse and didn't take responsibility for not creating a system as you suggested above. I was booked to go to Disneyland Paris with my annual pass and it was super easy to cancel when the travel restriction regarding France came into effect. I wouldn't get an annual pass for DLP at the moment but I have no issues with one their system operated.
jon81uk
TS Member
Assuming all rides are operating, Drayton is just worth £25 but probably not a huge amount more. If Shockwave is not working that affects the value in my opinion.
I've not been to Paulton but it looks worth £30+, same as Alton.
Blackpool PB doesn't feel worth more than £30 despite the large ride count, its the feel of the park being at the seaside.
I think the perception of the cost of the parks is a bit off, most people don't seem to value a full day out high enough.
But there is another thread for discussing this really https://towersstreet.com/talk/threads/whats-the-right-price-for-a-theme-park-admission.5591/
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Orange Ribena
Will have to agree to disagree because I think what you value isn't what other people value or should value. Best wishes.
jon81uk
TS Member
Not sure what you mean in terms of what people should value? How much do you think a full day out should cost? Or other activities that last a few hours? Cinema tickets, mini golf, Go Ape, theatre shows, concerts, stately homes, castles, safari parks etc?
From what you've said I expect most of these all cost more than you are willing to pay?
Rob
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I personally feel that £35 is pretty decent value for Alton Towers these days, despite the parks flaws.
But as @jon81uk says, discussion around what the right price for a theme park more generally is and how it compares to other leisure offerings can be continued in the 'What's the right price for a theme park admission?' thread.
But as @jon81uk says, discussion around what the right price for a theme park more generally is and how it compares to other leisure offerings can be continued in the 'What's the right price for a theme park admission?' thread.
Matt.GC
TS Member
I wonder what the logic is behind opening on a Saturday? Because it's opening weekend, it'll be a busy day. Wouldn't it be a good idea to open on the Friday? Would imagine it would still be busy with MAP holders and enthusiasts on the Friday but still busy because it's the first Saturday to following day.
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jon81uk
TS Member
A weekday in November with no fireworks or scarefest will be empty, there is no point opening. Even with the fireworks the Friday was often very quiet in the morning and early afternoon.
D4n
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Zadra
But... this will be in March?
jon81uk
TS Member
So for a regular visiter you feel that £55 - £180 pound jump in prices is acceptable?
If we assume on quiet, off peak days, that the majority of visiters are season pass holders then a jump to that price would be a kick in the teeth for them, they might not renew, and then you've got an empty park - and no reason for opening on those quiet days.
I reckong the cheapo multi-visiters keep the place going on quiet days.
Forgive me, but you're making a lot of assumptions here. After the Smiler incident they couldn't fill a park on quiet days, and understandably so. The season pass makes it more attractive for weekly visitors on quiet days, i don't think the market is there for higher prices on quiet days, people just don't have that much leisure time.
I'm a regular quiet day visitor, and often people there on those days are single visitors who have a day off work that doesn't happen to fall at the weekend. No kids because they're at school, the odd more mature couples. Not many people stay all day, they just seem to pop in for 3 or 4 hours, they'll eat their dinner there, they'll buy merch presents for other family members who aren't there that day.
Do you really think that people who go ten times a year on quiet days would go even half of that amount if it cost £35 to go in each time?
I don't feel "ripped off" at all, but i would if the price was hiked. Closed attractions have largely been reopened, entertianment has returned more this year, opening hours are longer this year too, and the upcharge attraction is free if you have a season pass.
So i don't think it's anywhere near as bad as you make out. Until Covid the park was recovering nicely after the Smiler incident and that's WITH the model they adopted. The last thing we should do is to be campaigning for a big price hike.
Again, under the current model, we have had new attractions opening up, Wicker Man and the Walliams area, the park is getting better since the bleak time just after the crash, now there's Covid doing damage - pricing regular visitors out of going would not help, and that in turn would lead to more closed days, more ride closures and less investment.
As for the "passholder ticket scandal" - i still managed 11 visits this year. Of course not everyone could do that, and i would be peed off by this, but they have extended season passes into midway through next season.
jon81uk
TS Member
Drop the weekday day tickets to £20/25 (so only £2 less than the current price with a. 2for1) and put the single park annual/season pass back up to around £100 as it was 3-4 years ago.
£25 a visit is more than reasonable price, so a £100 season pass would be fine.