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2023: General Discussion

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MattyH said:
I'd wager those complaining wouldn't actually be paying it anyway. Since even the most basic annual passes include parking!
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Do they? I thought only the Premium MAP (or equivalent) and above got free parking, but I could admittedly be wrong there.
 
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I was looking back at pricing for car parks in Europe on my road trip last season and the majority are all more than we have in the UK:
Plopsa €12.50, Bobbejaanland €9, Efteling €12.50, Walibi Holland €9.50, Slagharen €10.
 
Matt N said:
Do they? I thought only the Premium MAP (or equivalent) and above got free parking, but I could admittedly be wrong there.
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Thought Most Merlin passes included parking nowadays? I know at least Alton Towers Passholders do
 
MattyH said:
Thought Most Merlin passes included parking nowadays? I know at least Alton Towers Passholders do
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I could be wrong... when I last had an MAP in 2021, it was certainly the case that Standard MAP holders did not get parking free.

That could have changed with the new MAPs, though.
 
Parking included with Gold and Platinum passes.

merlin-comparison-chart.png
 
Matt N said:
Given that it's £40 more expensive than the single theme park pass, I find it intriguing that the Silver MAP does not include parking while the single theme park pass does... I wonder why that is?
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Obviously because you're giving up the ability to enter different parks for free in exchange for having unlimited free parking at your 1 and only theme park of choice.
 
I have no issue with parking charges at Alton Towers (in part because I have never once had to pay, but that is besides the point). However they are a bit of a con as depending on where you get parked you don't actually need a ticket. If on busy days they park you in the gravel car park that borders Katanga Canyon then I am pretty sure that when you leave you will not encounter a barrier that requires a parking ticket.

Equally on every one of my visits in 2022, the barrier at the hotels exit was up!
 
Paulton’s Park has free parking, it’s a nice touch, but is also probably factored into the ticket price anyway.

One reason I went for a gold merlin pass rather than the lower tiers is because the parking is included, it really adds up over multiple visits. But there have been multiple visits where I’ve left towers and some of the other merlin parks and the barriers have been left open, so could have gotten away without paying anyway.
 
The gravel car park is not a reliable option as you can't guarantee you'll be able to park there - several times last year I arrived shortly before 10 and it was already full. It's been my preferred option for a while to cut off some of the inevitable long walk due to the lack of capacity on the monorail.
 
GaryH said:
For me it’s the principle of it.

It was brought in to fund a new relief road that never happened.

Alton is very remote with limited public transport options - charging people who have no other means of getting there is wrong. After all these people are paying to keep the business going many of whom have driven hundreds of miles to get there.

If there was a viable alternative to cars then fair enough and the charge would be valid.
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jon81uk said:
Was it ever actually confirmed it was “to fund the relief road”. I think the commitment by Alton Towers / Tussauds at the time was much more vague more like it’s to look into the prospect of potentially adding a new road.
They probably did look into it, found JCB won’t co-operate and that was the end of it.
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I was curious and trying to find any justification of the parking charge and found this old Towers Times post where AstroDan asked/complained and was told the park are using the money to invest in better parking but obviously the response was a bit poor.
But a £4 charge in 2006 increasing to £7 in 2023 isn’t too huge an increase i guess.

Alton Towers on why there's a parking fee... - Attraction Source Forum

www.attractionsource.com www.attractionsource.com
 
I wrote to them as well a while back which confirmed the money was to find a relief road. It was a long time ago but I’ll see if I can find it anywhere.
 
Wasn’t sure where to post this because I couldn’t find a specific social media thread, so please move my post accordingly if needed.

Thorpe’s Facebook is currently full of behind the scenes footage of their attractions and their winter maintenance programme. Does anyone else think it would be great if Alton did the same? All we seem to be getting from Alton’s channels is call to action posts to book a visit or a long stay. Some more engaging content wouldn’t go amiss…
 
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