the missies works for a travel company and there pre tax profit is huge. Meaning more and more people are going away this year. The whole staycation thing is dying out. So it will be hitting m£rlin that way. So a price increase is to be honest a normal part of business life, nobody likes it but it has to be done.
There are a lot of tears about BOGOF's but it gets people going to the park, and its a clever way of getting people to travel to AT rather then a more nearby attraction. (I live in Yorkshire and will never go to lightwater valley again, or the chav infested Flamingo land) After visiting these dirty horrible theme parks I don't mind paying that bit extra to go to AT as I know its actually kept better. (although FL zoo bit is nice, and the animals could teach one or two of people going some toilet manners, but look at the rides part oh dear) With just having a quick peep online, the online price if booked in advance is very decent to be honest. Ive just looked on line and its £65 for a two day pass, for both of us. Now you may not think that, but on the door i'll be paying well into £100's. So i'm happy with that. (plus she gets a discount on top of that.............. the perks of being with a travel sales type person)
But I think its more about control. With people booking online and with the any voucher scheme, they can keep a better eye on the amount of visitors they are arriving and can plan staffing and anything else a lot better. If you arrive on the day, im sure the extra amount is simply there to pay the person serving you. Plus, more and more people will be looking at the prices on line these days. Its a very small amount that will be there on the day being raped in the wallet as they didn't check.
However this is not m£rilns biggest rip-off. I shall now point you to the Dungeons. years ago they where all different and had more relevance for the local area. Now they are all the same, look how much it is to get in there for what is a larger scare maze.
i'm sure AT does make loss, but m£rlin will see that as a whole it makes a good profit each year, so to close AT would be a mistake.