Entrance Price Increase.. AGAIN!!

[Danny]

Busch and Sea World have the common link in the fact they showcase animals, whereas the only animals Alton showcase are the trolls at Merlin that pull off stunts like this. I can't see them ever taking over.

Completely off topic I know, but, the showcasing of animals at Busch Gardens Williamsburg is minimal. They have a wolf show as well as a small number of other animals such as eagles but that is it. Alton have the farm so it's not too dissimilar. Also Water Country USA has no animals. Saying that I can't ever see SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment ever taking over Towers even if it is something I'd love to see.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are very much more focused on showcasing the animals from my past experiences [although I haven't been to Williamsburg to compare].

On the topic of in park zoos however, I certainly feel one is starting to be needed to compensate for this climbing price. The entrance fee really isn't starting to do justice in my eyes.

 

[AstroDan]

With exception to Disneyland Paris, Alton is as of today, the most expensive theme park in Europe.

It boasts:

- some of the shortest opening hours
- some of the fewest park events
- some of the most expensive fastrack
- some of the least live shows
- some of the least street theatre
- some of the most expensive ride photos
- some of the most expensive parking

Merlin Entertainments must be so proud of their achievements.

I'm actually considering a reduction in my visits in September and the first part of October by way of protest. The place is a joke at the moment.

I hope Merlin burn and are forced to sell.

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[DiogoJ42]

Wow. If you of all people will be making a stand Dan, (which I have been making all season ) then this really must be bad!

I have nothing new to say on the matter. I've ranted so much in the past that I would just be repeating myself, and be accused of being a "hater" again.

 

[AstroDan]

Thing is Diogo, I live close and removing Alton for me is like losing part of my life.

I will NOT be ceasing visits but am considering a cut in the off peak period between September and the start of Scarefest to maybe just one or two visits or so during that time when it may otherwise be four or five.

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[Rose Of Dawn]

This is a bit of a misnomer, since something like 90% of people use BOGOFs. So the real price for people who aren't morons has now risen to £22.50, which still isn't that bad. Europa for adults is €37.50 walk-up price, nearly £30.

Last time I went, there was originally a group of six of us. Unfortunately, someone had to drop out at the last minute, and because there was nobody nearby who would use the BOGOF with me, I ended up paying full price.

With the BOGOF the park is still great value for money. But if you are in an odd numbered group this causes serious problems.

 

[John]

The park desperate needs to address the "headline" price. BOGOFs and other offers are all very well, but as soon as people hear £45 you've lost them because it is a rip off.

A possible solution could be to scrap BOGOF in favour of £10 off vouchers and slash the advertised entry price to around £33 next season. They could then make a huge deal out of the price cut (mentioning it in all SW7 advertising), but the actual price most people pay to get in wouldn't actually change.

 

[Sam]

The only problem is, if they make a huge deal out of slashing the advertised price but keep the 'real' price (£22.50) exactly the same, they could be accused of misleading (but not false) advertising. They don't want to end up on Watchdog or something.

It's the park's own fault that they've got themselves into this ridiculous situation, there isn't an easy way out.

 

[John]

You could argue the current pricing structure is misleading, in that the gate price is artificially inflated for the purposes of continuous 'offers'.

If they were to scrap the offers entirely then it would be misleading as you'd end up paying significantly more even with the "price cut", which was why I suggest £10 off vouchers to bring the offer price under the new pricing structure in line with the BOGOF price (plus a little for the annual increase). Providing they're clear about exactly what prices are being cut then I don't see there being a problem with it being misleading,

 

[James]

From TowersStreet News this morning:

Alton Towers Ticket Prices Rise Again
Alton Towers theme park increases entry prices for a second time this season despite apparent poor attendance figures and other cost cutting measures across the park operations.

Second rise in 2012
Alton Towers have increased their adult single day ticket from £43.50 to £45 according to their website altontowers.com . This is the second increase in entry price this season - in March the ticket price stood at £42 for a single adult. The two in-season increases combined represent an increase of 6.6% over the season so far and exceed any increase previously seen in a single season

Above Inflation Madness?
The increase in ticket prices since Merlin Entertainments have taken over the operation of Alton Towers has long been a contentious issue. With ticket prices raising approx. 12% since the 2011 season, guests have seen a significant increase in the cost of their average day at the park. These increases in price have often baffled fans of the park considering the economic decline over the last few years.

This price increase makes Alton Towers the most expensive theme-park in the UK (Legoland, also operated by Merlin is a mere 80p cheaper). In contrast to European theme park offerings, Alton Towers is now £16* more expensive than Europa Park (a comparatively similar park to that of Alton Towers size) Germany and only £6* cheaper than a Disneyland Paris single park day ticket.

Some UK parks have even seemingly correctly responded to the lower than average visitors and ongoing recession hitting consumers by reducing park ticket prices and introducing deep discounting, rather more in favour of visitors and their wallets, such as Drayton Manor who are offering next day tickets online for £23.50 (including parking and fees) for adults, versus Alton Towers current online 'saver' rate of £36.

*Based upon current exchange rates on 1st Aug 2012 at time of writing

The Year of Cut-Backs
These price increases come in a year of rumoured low guest turn-outs to a number of Merlin parks and throughout the year we have seen a number of attempts at cost-cutting throughout Merlin attractions. At Alton Towers in particular there have been moves and then backtracking on attempts to close rides, reduce opening hours across the season, stagger ride opening times to reduce operational costs and even attempts to close the Skyride during off-peak periods.

With cuts to aspects of the theme park experience that usually enhance the enjoyment of the day, more aggressive 'up-selling' techniques like Fastrack tickets for rides and the seemingly neglected state of the parks' general upkeep it remains to be seen how guests will respond to the park increasing prices when most families are continuing to struggle in the current economic climate.

 

[Fredward]

What about slash price to £33.75 and replace the BOGOF's with BOGOHP and 50% off vouchers.

Alton would probably make more money because

A) people will be enticed by the lower entry fee.

B) because you save less with the vouchers (even though spending the same money!) People may overlook them a little more and just pay full price without feeling hard done by.



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[Harv]

Guys, as expensive as £45 is, let's not forget that other parks are expensive (especially within the UK). Yes, it respresents bad value for money, yet £28 for Flamingo Land (with no BOGOFs) is comparable.

 

[Sam]

Well done for shoehorning a positive mention of Europa Park into an irrelevant article, good job all around.

 

[Tom]

For people scarcthing their heads over this: The accountants have simply calculated that an X% increase in the gate price will generate more revenue than the current gate price - IE) it will not put so many people off as to have a counterproductive effect on turnover.

If it's reversed - which I don't think it will be based on past evidence - that means they guessed wrong.

 

[funkyurtle]

Didn't know where to put this so i'll just stick it in here .Posed just now by Alton towers on twitter

]

40 Hour MEGA Sale - The Countdown begins.... http://bit.ly/QuTW0x

 

[Ollie]

^ They've already done a 40% off sale several times this year, and hotel stays are easy to book at 50% off, so another rather pointless sale by the looks. :

 

[James]

Well done for shoehorning a positive mention of Europa Park into an irrelevant article, good job all around.

To be fair Europa is of similar size to Towers so it's relevant to the article. We have also compared to DLP which while a bigger park, only costs £6 more than Alton. So it just puts into perspective of how much Alton Towers prices are now.

Alton Towers is not the only park to have increased prices though, other Merlin parks have had minor price hikes too as well as other non-Merlin parks.

Given that Alton have done not-so-well with attendance figures this year it begs the question as to why they are hiking prices up when overall it will put guests off more rather than entice them. Even if they do use BOGOFFs.

How much further will Alton go? Will we be at £47 by Scarefest? £50 by the 2013 season? A few years ago we were saying that Alton will never go over the £40 mark, now here we are - its only a matter of time before Alton Towers meets Disney prices.

 

[Jordan]

Guys, as expensive as £45 is, let's not forget that other parks are expensive (especially within the UK). Yes, it respresents bad value for money, yet £28 for Flamingo Land (with no BOGOFs) is comparable.

You could also say that Camelot's laughable £28 entrance fee is comparable, but you have to remember that these parks are just following the trend of the Merlin parks because, quite frankly during a recession, they have no idea what else to do.

I like Blackpool Pleasure Beach's approach to pricing. Their tickets are £25 online, and £35 on-the-day. I rarely see any offers elsewhere for them. And I think they've had a good couple of years. I'd say they have a comparable line-up to Towers, really.

 

[Dave]

The primary issue i have with all of this is that we know the park has been very quiet this year, the only variable that can account for this is the reduced levels of disposable income people have, yet Merlin want to out-price themselves it seems.

The kicker is now that all of Merlins parks are one concern the likes of Towers not only have to deal with their own short-falls, but also compensate for its sister parks issues (its no secret Thorpe are struggling badly this season). I agree with Dans sentiment... i could quite happily watch Merlin fall now. They have taken the UK's number 1 park and turned it to mud.

 

[GaryH]

I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E !!!

The audacity of Merlin is simply astonishing given the current climate. This can only encourage even less visitors to the park. I know many of us comment about BOGOF vouchers - but if you go through some of the reviews on TripAdvisor it becomes apparent that many people dont use these vouchers - they either buy their tickets on the day, or they buy them as part of their hotel package.

I just cant see the logic behind this at all, it just seems like Business suicide by Merlin.

I bet that car parking will raise to £7 by the end of the year, definately by March next year, and when the entrance fee hits the £50 mark, I will guarantee parking will be around the £10 mark.

Has TowersStreet asked Merlin/Alton for comment on this? I know The Sentinel usually picks up on these stories and gets management to comment but nothing on their site yet.

I'm just astonished to be honest!!!

 

[JaykeAT]

Might be off topic,but does anyone know the E-mail address for Merlin if you wanted to ask question about stuff like this?