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2022: General Discussion

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Tommy85 said:
Absolutely. But it’s a fine line for them to tread. With the cost of living soaring, you can’t make it so expensive that people can’t afford to come. Going to Alton is a luxury at the end of the day, so putting prices up may actually backfire? Better to sell 1000 tickets at £25 than 500 at £35 after all. We shall see.
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Been arguing this one over on the BPB topic.
Price elasticity of supply and demand is complex, and varies for lots of reasons.
Merlin can't offer a full experience at the Towers on extra low peak days anymore, the headline costs are just too great, they lose enough money on such days as it is. So 4pm when it is quiet.
The Beach have taken a zero exception response, forty quid or go elsewhere...and the park has been dead or steady on days when it used to be packed early in the season.
The bean counters know what they are doing...they do not want the low budget crowd, they want the better off, who can afford to eat a full meal and don't squirm at the thought of a hot dog for a tenner.
 
AT86 said:
Historically during times of economic hardship UK theme parks have done well, because as @Matt.GC suggests people cut back on the big ticket stuff like trips abroad and settle for UK trips instead.
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Building upon your point; correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Alton’s perceived “golden age” of the early to mid 90s, where guest figures were really high, during a recession? And during the last recession in the late 2000s following the financial crisis, Towers’ guest figures were pretty healthy; they started at over 2.5 million in 2008, and kept on growing until hitting a high of 2.75 million (or 3 million, depending on source) in 2010.
 
In recent recessions, it was the less well off...specifically those on benefits or income support, that were hit hard...those that rarely attended theme parks anyway.
Cost cutting this time is going to be more across the board I think...rampant inflation and increased energy/fuel costs are going to hit the middle earner families a lot more this year.
Many families are ending up with zero disposable income with the new energy payments coming through.
 
Tommy85 said:
Absolutely. But it’s a fine line for them to tread. With the cost of living soaring, you can’t make it so expensive that people can’t afford to come. Going to Alton is a luxury at the end of the day, so putting prices up may actually backfire? Better to sell 1000 tickets at £25 than 500 at £35 after all. We shall see.
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But 1000 tickets at £45 are better than 2000 at £25, in some ways as the smaller number of guests will have shorter waits and a better day out making them more likely to return.
 
The most affordable way for my family and I to do towers was by getting passes, so that’s what we’ve done. Now the entry price seems truly extortionate even with a ‘2 for 1’. My monthly payment for 4 gold passes is less than one on the gate entry ticket to towers. We plan on going at least once a month to towers, let alone all the other merlin attractions so will definitely be getting our moneys worth.
 
BigShadowtinytree said:
The most affordable way for my family and I to do towers was by getting passes, so that’s what we’ve done. Now the entry price seems truly extortionate even with a ‘2 for 1’. My monthly payment for 4 gold passes is less than one on the gate entry ticket to towers. We plan on going at least once a month to towers, let alone all the other merlin attractions so will definitely be getting our moneys worth.
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Yeah I agree. I got a pass in the sale too. When you factor in free parking and the food discounts, you only really need to go to one park every 3 months to break even. The monthly membership is a really good price tbf to Merlin.
 
BigShadowtinytree said:
The most affordable way for my family and I to do towers was by getting passes, so that’s what we’ve done. Now the entry price seems truly extortionate even with a ‘2 for 1’. My monthly payment for 4 gold passes is less than one on the gate entry ticket to towers. We plan on going at least once a month to towers, let alone all the other merlin attractions so will definitely be getting our moneys worth.
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I don't think £32.50 with a 2for1 is that extortionate for a 7-8 hour day of entertainment. Its comparable to all other major theme parks and to many other forms of entertainment. Theatre is £25-£100 for a 2-3 hour show, cinema £5-15 for 2 hours, Mini Golf, £6-12 for an hour or so, Go Ape £35 for 2-3 hours. Paultons Park is £39.50, Blackpool Pleasure Beach is also in the £32-42 range same as AT.

In terms of passes, I personally haven't had one for 10 years now, but it wasn't feeling as good value as it used to when I got rid. I would normally only go to each park twice a year, so six or seven theme park visits maybe, plus the midways. That sort of use nowadays on a gold pass would just break even, six £35 is £210.
 
jon81uk said:
I don't think £32.50 with a 2for1 is that extortionate for a 7-8 hour day of entertainment. Its comparable to all other major theme parks and to many other forms of entertainment. Theatre is £25-£100 for a 2-3 hour show, cinema £5-15 for 2 hours, Mini Golf, £6-12 for an hour or so, Go Ape £35 for 2-3 hours. Paultons Park is £39.50, Blackpool Pleasure Beach is also in the £32-42 range same as AT.
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I do agree the price itself isn’t too bad on an individual level, it’s more that it seems extortionate from my personal position. It would cost £130 a time to take the 4 of us to towers on a 2for1 plus the parking, or we pay £59 a month which includes free parking and can go as many times as we want.
 
BigShadowtinytree said:
I do agree the price itself isn’t too bad on an individual level, it’s more that it seems extortionate from my personal position. It would cost £130 a time to take the 4 of us to towers on a 2for1 plus the parking, or we pay £59 a month which includes free parking and can go as many times as we want.
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and the "as many times as we want" is the thing. If you only want to go twice a year, thats £272 including parking. The pass is costing £708 a year so you have to want to go to theme parks about five to six times a year.
 
jon81uk said:
and the "as many times as we want" is the thing. If you only want to go twice a year, thats £272 including parking. The pass is costing £708 a year so you have to want to go to theme parks about five to six times a year.
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Well this is the thing, we do want to go to theme parks at least 5/6 times this year but it was difficult to afford it without passes.
 
People will expect top notch but what they'll get is fairground rides, exceptional downtime and ride closures, and an abandoned ride that's been closed for 7 years which looks an absolute state. Pure quality for their money.
 
Ethan said:
Boy did I get my value for money with the discovery merlin pass. £89 and 16 trips so far. I bought that pass in September so still have time to get more trips in
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We've got discovery passes this year...bought them from planet offers for £69 in december

We've had platinum for the past 5 years and couldn't really justify the new renewal prices for our family so these seemed perfect

The silver passes they released later would've been far better for us at renewal price but it was too late...but better than nothing as merlin say

Tbf the discovery passes are great value really we only visit sundays anyway
 
yoursilentface said:
We've got discovery passes this year...bought them from planet offers for £69 in december

We've had platinum for the past 5 years and couldn't really justify the new renewal prices for our family so these seemed perfect

The silver passes they released later would've been far better for us at renewal price but it was too late...but better than nothing as merlin say

Tbf the discovery passes are great value really we only visit sundays anyway
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I thought the Discovery passes could only be used on weekdays?


Edit: just checked, and yes the discovery pass is only valid on off-peak days (so term-time weekdays).
 
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