Just looked out of curiosity booking a 2 night stay 17th - 19th would cost over £800 and you only get 1 day park ticket. Crazy i had an email only a few weeks ago from merlin annual pass saying about pirates take over being available to book now it's all gone
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2025 General Discussion
- Thread starter Craig
- Start date
Bowser
TS Member
Tbf the Water Park has also been sold out that week for a while too. Or they're doing a similar set-up and only selling tickets to hotel guests, though with the Water Park they typically advertise it as "Hotel Guests Only" during such periods.
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
Legoland Florida have announced a list of over 200+ positions that they're cutting in their Entertainments departments, including Performers. I will be very surprised if we don't see a large reduction of entertainment massively cut in the upcoming season. I think it's entirely possible that we see Oktoberfest cut entirely, with potentially scaling back Scarefest and Fireworks. If we're seeing cuts across the whole of Ents, and similar departments have similar structures in line management, it wouldn't surprise me if Merlin come back for deeper cuts later on in other departments like Rides...
The_bup
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Professor Burp’s Bubbleworks
DiogoJ42
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Metropolitan Line
We don't. We call in the cement truck and start filling the hole.
Oh Merlin.. however shall we get you out of this one…
DistortAMG
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- POTC Disneyland Paris
They need to figure out a way to pay for the Skyride some how. It must be a complete foreign concept to Merlin, spending money on a ride you cannot market. This is why we are seeing workforces being culled.
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NuttySquirrel
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Batman: Gotham City Escape
Just thought it should be pointed out that there's been no suggestion off the back of these layoffs at Legoland Florida that any other Merlin parks are going a similar way. All parks are different and will have different decisions made about them depending on their individual profitability and the priorities of the group.
I do think Merlin UK will be looking closely at budgets this year, but no one has said anything about major culls anywhere yet. Furthermore the money for the Sky Ride won't be coming from the same place as the entertainment budget so there's no suggestion that the one is related to the other.
I do think Merlin UK will be looking closely at budgets this year, but no one has said anything about major culls anywhere yet. Furthermore the money for the Sky Ride won't be coming from the same place as the entertainment budget so there's no suggestion that the one is related to the other.
flyingguitar
TS Member
I could see this
tbh I wouldn't be surprised if LEGOLAND Florida wasn't doing too well it seems quite expensive (about £60 for just LEGOLAND tickets not including Peppa pig, that is the online price) it also isn't that close to other parks such as Disney or universal and there is very stiff competition from not just Disney and universal but also sea world
I don't think for locals it is too good of an option due to its high price (Disney is more, but you have sea world, and Busch gardens near)
I don't think it would stand out to many foreign visitors as there are plenty of LEGOLANDs around the world and it isn't really talked about much
it also wasn't origionally a LEGOLAND it was a bankrupt park that was taken over by merlin and turned into a LEGOLAND.
Yes I’ll be honest I didn’t even know there was a Legoland in Florida!
Without greater context into the business decisions it’s hard to read too much into it. We don’t know if Merlin are targeting their underperforming and more inefficient assets or may apply a more blanket approach (eg all attractions have to achieve a certain % reduction in costs) - we just don’t know.
Without greater context into the business decisions it’s hard to read too much into it. We don’t know if Merlin are targeting their underperforming and more inefficient assets or may apply a more blanket approach (eg all attractions have to achieve a certain % reduction in costs) - we just don’t know.
GooseOnTheLoose
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Ug Bugs
I thought that initially too, but it appears to be part of a global restructure.
In relation to the theory that this will have much of an impact on Scarefest and Fireworks. The latter is outsourced already and the former can be centralised across each region.You weren't wrong:
Alton Towers workers face axe in Merlin Entertainments jobs cull
The number of staff at risk has not been disclosedwww.stokesentinel.co.uk
Alton Towers workers face axe in Merlin Entertainments jobs cull
Alton Towers workers are facing an uncertain future ahead of the 2025 season - as boss Merlin Entertainments looks set to wield the axe. Merlin Entertainments is currently consulting a certain number of staff about possible redundancies.
It comes as Merlin Entertainments - which operates a host of attractions including LEGOLAND, Madame Tussauds, and The London Eye - is looking to consolidate its attractions 'into one united business'. But some staff risk losing their jobs as a result of the proposed shake-up.
One source has told StokeonTrentLive that Alton Towers staff working in marketing, finance, human resources, and entertainment face being caught up in the proposed changes.
It comes as 30 workers within the Alton Towers Merlin Magic Making team were last year placed at risk of redundancy following a review. The under-threat team was based at Alton Towers.
Asked about the latest redundancy consultation, a Merlin spokesperson said: “To continue to grow at scale and deliver a sustainable and thriving future, Merlin needs to adapt, innovate and evolve. Therefore, we have set in motion a transformational strategy, targeting significant growth and expansion. In support of this, we are bringing our attractions around the world together, into one united business.
“To ensure we have the right level of resource and capability in the right areas, we are currently consulting on proposed changes to roles and responsibilities. In the UK, there will be nationally-led teams, which will include employees who would continue to be based locally at our sites. It is proposed that some new roles will be created, alongside reductions elsewhere. Our priority is to keep our teams informed, ensuring their voices are heard and their feedback is carefully considered throughout this process.”
flyingguitar
TS Member
The only reason I knew about it was this video where he criticizes mostly the price of the tickets (is currently $74 per person (£60))
From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8zO01d7AGo&t=352s
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
Any word on who they might be outsourcing to? I know Drayton always outsourced their Ents to Rose Events, but they really won't have the scale to pull off such a large expansion. Maybe they've visited Blackpool and struck a deal with Big Mandy herself?
Danny
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
RWS Global supposedly.
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
That makes a lot of sense, seems like they’re in charge of the stunt show at Legoland Windsor, as well as the Ents operations for a few Middle Eastern and North American parks, as well as Europa Park.
I mean, if they’re able to provide a bigger scope of entertainment than Merlin previously could, then maybe I could see this being more successful than their deal with Aramark. However since they’ve already laid off a lot of their Ents staff before the new company takes over, I expect a lot of disruption behind the scenes, until this new company achieves smooth operation. It’s a shame that they couldn’t transfer their Ents staff to new contracts as opposed to laying them off.
EDIT: Looking into their portfolio further on their website, it seems they’re also involved with attraction development, which also overlaps with Merlin Magic Making, is it possible that Merlin that Merlin are basically outsourcing part of MMM and their Ents operations to the same company?
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I suppose we'll have to see where things are when the dust settles. I think a certain amount of live entertainment was already outsourced. I have a feeling that included the water skiing show at Legoland Florida. I can't remember who did it. A quick Google comes up with a company called Stars of Florida, although their website isn't very up to date, so they might not have been doing it at the end, and it's possible it had been taken in house.
starsofflorida.com
Legoland Florida Waterski Show - Stars of Florida Water Ski Show Water Show Water Entertainment
Stars of Florida is a water show, ski and entertainment production company that specializes in the promotion and production of water shows, water ski shows and on water entertainment worldwide.Water ski show florida water show florida water entertainment florida ski show florida water ski...
starsofflorida.com
Islander
TS Member
The stunt show at Legoland Windsor was in house, or a number of years ago outsourced to a company called SGA. Definitely don’t believe RWS were ever involved
Very sad, if that’s the case. I remember when Alton Towers had the ice show, Camelot had the jousting show, American Adventure had the Silver Dollar City stunt show, Thorpe Park had the Spiderman stunt show, Drayton Manor had the Popeye Show, Blackpool Pleasure Beach had three big production shows… not everyone’s into shows, and they cost a lot to put on, but Legoland’s show was one of the last big ones in the UK. If they do get rid of it, is Hot Ice the last major ‘theme park’ show in the UK?