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Merlin Annual Pass Changes - November 2017

Yep when we had Tussauds and then Merlin passes the never felt bad value, £100-150 for a years worth of visits to attractions is not bad at all. But after 10 years or so it just felt like we had been too often and it was getting repetitive, I still haven't been to Thorpe Park in 3-4 years as I just got bored of their offering and neither Angry Birds, I'm a Celeb or DBGT have really made me want to go back. But if we were in the mood to visit often again (10+ total visits to parks and midways) then I would go for the pass again. Considering a Cineworld unlimited card is £18 a month I don't think a Merlin pass is hugely overpriced if you make enough use of it.
 
@matthewgcole Apologies if I misunderstood the spirit of your comments.

matthewgcole said:
But, going back to my original point slightly, if you have any evidence that this is is driven by MAP renewal LFL as opposed to new MAP LFL sales then I would love to see it!
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No evidence obviously, due to the way the financials are reported. Us shareholders get no further insight. You can infer that there must be a high renewal rate because of the perceived volumes of passholders vs. total customers. (in the same way that subscription services don't replace their customer base between earnings calls).

Having visited the attractions & observed customer habits and when speaking to people in the know, all these things suggest that MAP sales are buoyant. If a high percentage of passholders opted not to renew, it would require a similar number of new passholders to 'take their place' and given the volumes, I just don't see any suggestion that that is the case and if it is

- the trend would likely would have stopped/reversed by now
- attendance would be going through the roof, unless those non-renewing passholders opted never to return ever again
 
Judging by the massive increase in Merlin publicising/pushing the passes and the general histeria of the MAP Facebook group it’s no surprise that MAP sales have increased.
 
@Rick, owing to the way MAP is priced, marketed and how the parks are run, I think it's a product that attracts new business better than it retains existing trade.

There's also very little price difference between renewal and Sale prices.

I think any figures we get from this year could be clouded by the imminent opening of SW8 and the removing of the Alton Towers Pass from the website for some reason.

Considering this could be a strong sale and the prediction that AT are going to have a much stronger season next year, do you think the shares are significantly undervalued?
 
Maybe shares are slightly undervalued but a predicted strong year for one park won't boost shares massively due to their comprehensive portfolio but if AT can recover hugely due to SW8 and in 2019 that will boost shares attendance growth at Towers between 18 and 19 is critical for Towers and for investors to have confidence in long term benefits of investment.
 
If you had no other option and had to pay £229 each year for a Premium Pass, then I wouldn't bother.

Sale - family - renewal prices keep it at £129, which is more or less in line with the £80 I used to pay for a Tussuards pass.
 
I think the MAP could be improved by offering a theme parks pass, Midway pass and the full pass. This I believe would keep the pass more affordable for those not interested in the parks or midway attractions. I also think the MAP should give benefits internationally like one day of free entry into Gardaland and Heide Park.
 
matthewgcole said:
@Rick, owing to the way MAP is priced, marketed and how the parks are run, I think it's a product that attracts new business better than it retains existing trade.
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I think it does both.

At IPO - "Merlin has successfully launched Merlin Annual Passes in the UK and Germany, where there were 208,894 and 73,623 Annual Passes sold in the 2012 financial year, respectively. In the 2012 financial year, 10 per cent. of visitors to the Resort Theme Parks were Merlin Annual Pass holders."

Do you think it's less than 10% now?

matthewgcole said:
@RickConsidering this could be a strong sale and the prediction that AT are going to have a much stronger season next year, do you think the shares are significantly undervalued?
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I guess it depends how they think other areas of the business are going to perform and the percentage contribution of Alton Towers to the overall portfolio, I'm not sure it's going to get close to Gardaland. Good domestic performance in Midway is very important.

The way their capital expenditures are spread means that you should have this boost every year, it'll just happen in a different place/park but we never see the numbers to know if that's the case or not. Alton has a lot of catching up to do given its performance over the past couple of seasons, too.

Presumably a large installation at Alton has more fiscal benefit than one at Heide - but we don't know for sure and it'll likely depend on the attraction and a ton of other things.

With regards to the share price, I am not going to pretend to understand the response to the October trading update. It seemed irrational. If you look at a 5 year graph of the MERL price, it is quite literally a roller coaster with an Oblivion drop in October. I'm keeping hold of mine, for now.[/USER]
 
ASturge21 said:
I think the MAP could be improved by offering a theme parks pass, Midway pass and the full pass. This I believe would keep the pass more affordable for those not interested in the parks or midway attractions. I also think the MAP should give benefits internationally like one day of free entry into Gardaland and Heide Park.
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Please don't give them any ideas, I can see them launching a £180 midway annual pass, £180 theme park pass or £320 platinum annual pass for both parks and midway if they get wind of this...
 
IanSR said:
Please don't give them any ideas, I can see them launching a £180 midway annual pass, £180 theme park pass or £320 platinum annual pass for both parks and midway if they get wind of this...
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If theme parks were at around £120 max I think it would be fair. Unfortunately Merlin will always overprice especially with separate passes but if priced reasonably would probably be quite popular.
 
Yeah that was my point, instead of cutting the price to take account for the reduced content, they would just keep the price the same and introduce another tier for parks and others.

A mod better delete these posts though, I would want to be responsible for this ever coming to fruition should Merlin stumble across this.
 
Alton Towers have just announced their season pass for £55. Good value however does blackout Scarefest, Fireworks and select dates in August and Septemeber
 
The issue with an additional level of pass is that you infer the value of the stuff that is missing.

In terms of the European freebies, that's fine - but you have to be a long way off the beaten track to find the European RTP properties. If you want to go, chances are you'll pay - so why give them away for nothing.
 
I think the MAP are excellent value if you use them a lot and dependant where you live. I'm in the South so Alton Towers is my big away trip and I often stay 2-3 nights in resort hotels. I have Chessington, LEGOLAND and Thorpe Park 30-60 mins away and the London attractions are 30 mins. Theme parks are great to pop in on off peak days to do all the rides and also on busy days you don't feel frustrated if there are queues as other things worth seeing. I agree you're unlikely to do Shrek 5 times and once you've been on the London Eye once no rush to do it again but Tussards have new things all the time like the Alien attraction. Dungeons have themed sessions. Warwick Castle has summer entertainment.

the proof is in the pudding. If you use them they are good value. Have you seen how much it costs to do anything face value? I know there are vouchers but if a family of 4 decide off the cuff to go to LEGOLAND it's £200
 
Summer sale is now on, up £10 on the renwal price from last year but now includes a digi pass voucher. Will probably renew of family ones
 
Sale on as @Poopoohead noted. Still an absolute bargain.
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