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Merlin Annual Pass Changes - November 2017

More fool the people who purchase them. I've not had one for around 10 years and my family haven't missed out. We've just gone to other parks who don't treat there customers with contempt.

£218 seems like an absurd price. You'd have to visit 8 times to even equate to the bogof offers.

I wouldn't know where to start faced with the restrictions on the normal pass. No Fizzy drinks purchases allowed on Monday mornings. Skip the queue of the Gloomy Wood bogs every second Tuesday of every third month. Ketchup and Onions on Hot Dogs purchased by Premium pass holders only.

It would be easier to just ditch the standard pass and reduce the premium by a little?
 
The changes don't affect me. I usually avoid the busy days. For me, for the past decade, I've been purchasing my MAP for £50 by exchanging my Tesco club card points. It's a no brainer and great value for money :)
 
^ there's no reducing when it comes to Merlin!

Apart from operating hours. And ride line ups. And days of operation.

I also think BPB annual pass is too much, just because of how little the entry prices are! You can book a day in advance from £18-22, so you've got to visit like 6 times to start getting your monies worth. And remembe not so long ago their pass used to be £189!!

I actually visited BPB 6 times this year so I am tempted to get a pass, so long as I can get it for under a ton though.
 
Croftybaby said:
It would be easier to just ditch the standard pass and reduce the premium by a little?
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The standard pass provides a good comparison for someone thinking of purchasing a Premium pass. It aids the thought process something along the lines of "Wow, for £40 extra I can get a premium pass so we can visit the parks in the Summer on the weekends and parking will be free" etc.

No one is going to buy both, so give them reasons to buy the more expensive one.
 
I'm not adverse to this change at face value. I'm very much of the mindset that value is a personal perception. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and Merlin don't have a problem selling passes!

So by that supply and demand logic, the passes are too cheap.

In fact. I would be perfectly happy for Merlin to Jack the price up further if it meant they were going to give me a vastly improved experience in return. I've always been a critic of their "pile 'em high, knock 'em out cheap" business strategy as I think it's seriously damaged the parks.

The Theme parks are being run as large Midways rather than the high investment = high return reality of the market in which they operate. Their strategy is now clearly starting to bite them in the ass, hence why they can't even explain to their investors why their RTP'S are declining so badly.

The problem isn't the fact that the premium passes have increased in price or that the standard passes have been watered down. It's the reasons behind that change.

Those reasons are to financially offset the damage that is being caused by self inflicted decline, not to invest in the product for long term sustainability. That's a very slippery slope for any business to tread. They may be steering the ship away from the storm, but are steering it into the rocks instead.
 
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Croftybaby said:
£218 seems like an absurd price. You'd have to visit 8 times to even equate to the bogof offers.
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Factor in the bounce back offers with open dates plus an original ticket and it's around 15 -/+ times. I had a pass from 2007-2010 and this is one of the main reasons why I didn't renew. The annual pass is designed to make customers feel like they're saving, but there's only ever one winner and the reality speaks for itself.
 
stigzy said:
Factor in the bounce back offers with open dates plus an original ticket and it's around 15 -/+ times. I had a pass from 2007-2010 and this is one of the main reasons why I didn't renew. The annual pass is designed to make customers feel like they're saving, but there's only ever one winner and the reality speaks for itself.
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Well if you but an AT annual pass for £99 like I did last year and you factor in free parking (£6 a visit), 20% off food and 20% off waterpark, you don't have to visit an insane amount of times to save compared to buying bouncebacks.
 
rob666 said:
...but when you start off with two free Sun tickets, then get a dodgy Bounceback...
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Still works out cheaper with an AP, obviously if you're only going to visit a few times then it won't.

£27+6+15+6+15+6+15+6+15+6=£117, annual pass was £99, so you only had to visit 5 times to make it back and this is excluding F&B discounts etc.
 
MakoMania said:
Still works out cheaper with an AP, obviously if you're only going to visit a few times then it won't.

£27+6+15+6+15+6+15+6+15+6=£117, annual pass was £99, so you only had to visit 5 times to make it back and this is excluding F&B discounts etc.
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I think also the flexibility of having a pass is worth the money. To buy £15 bounce back tickets you have to be very organised and know what dates you will be visiting.
 
I know this is probably fickle, but day tickets don't have the ERT, and for me that made a massive difference being able to enter at 9am. Could get a good few rides on Nemesis and then onto Oblivion before joining the Smiler queue just before it opened. Then onto the Dark Forest.

Obviously that's all up in the air now, I'm case they change the ERT line up for next year.

Like I said, it may be considered nothing to some people, but that extra hour made all the difference to me, especially with the crap closing times.
 
I can't remember the last time I was in the park for ERT, but it's a good perk, for sure.
 
Well well, this interesting vid just popped up on my poochoob subs. It explains why Disney parks are so expensive. The TL,DW version is simple: as long as people keep coughing up whatever extortionate ripoff rate they demand for tickets, they will keep on increasing the price.

Sound familiar?

 
MakoMania said:
Well if you but an AT annual pass for £99 like I did last year and you factor in free parking (£6 a visit), 20% off food and 20% off waterpark, you don't have to visit an insane amount of times to save compared to buying bouncebacks.
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But the downside is that you're restricted to just one theme park. For me personally 3 visits to Alton Towers this year was more than enough. Each visit was cool, I enjoyed it, but I guess I'm now at an age where it's sometimes difficult to schedule in a visit against other things I prefer to be doing with my free time. Social & other activities aside, honestly a dust and hoover day is more important to me these days than Oblivion.

I visited Thorpe twice and whilst I can't recall the total cost of all my Merlin visits this year; financially and contentment wise it works out better for me to not have a specific AP or a MAP.

I had a MAP from 2007 - 2010 and other than the value of money aspect of not renewing, my other main reason was because it was becoming a chore to visit. I visited far too many times to the point of overkill and it sucked out the fun/purpose of visiting. It quickly became sour, I started noticing the flaws and had that mist of negativity wash over that concurrently and visibly resonates within the Merlin fan-sphere. As Joe public, I simply don't get the time to notice a new Nemesis pin badge in the shop or the bin lid not functioning correctly for 2 weeks in Mutiny Bay, or a small patch of paint peeling off the medical centre door frame. I simply visit and enjoy the day as anticipated.
 
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