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Merlin Annual Pass

WillPS said:
They need to update their website then: https://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/...attraction-perks/up-to-20-off-shopping-dining
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that states a valid "Merlin Annual Pass" is needed to get the discount, this is the "Merlin Discovery Pass" and as per the website
Do I receive any discounts with the Merlin Discovery Pass?


No. To enable us to sell the Merlin Discovery Pass for the very best price, discounts on food and beverages, merchandise, hotels and other experiences are not available on the Merlin Discovery Pass.
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Is it just me or is the "180 days of fun" misleading? An even larger proportion of those days will be closed days at the RTPs than on a regular MAP.
 
jon81uk said:
that states a valid "Merlin Annual Pass" is needed to get the discount, this is the "Merlin Discovery Pass" and as per the website
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Misleading then, given those passes are not even available to purchase. Might report this to the ASA and see what they think.
 
The website is a mess with potential to mislead given it refers to “pass” for discounts but it’s very clear in the FAQ & T&C’s what is or isn’t included in the Discovery Pass.

They should have removed all info for standard / premium passes and put it behind a “existing passholder” link and then no potential confusion.
 
WillPS said:
Misleading then, given those passes are not even available to purchase. Might report this to the ASA and see what they think.
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ringo said:
The website is a mess with potential to mislead given it refers to “pass” for discounts but it’s very clear in the FAQ & T&C’s what is or isn’t included in the Discovery Pass.

They should have removed all info for standard / premium passes and put it behind a “existing passholder” link and then no potential confusion.
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Yes they should have wiped the website now and started from scratch with just a "coming soon" for the full passes.

I think it is fairly clear what the new pass includes, but I agree the rest of the site showing the benefits for the regular passes that aren't available right now and may or may not have different extras when they return isn't good.
Although anyone renewing will retain those benefits, so the terms and conditions still stand.
 
It seems that Merlin could well be taking an approach similar to Disneyland Paris with the new range of annual passes.

In terms of the names - DLP have four levels of passes called Discovery, Magic Flex, Magic Plus and Infinity. Much better in my opinion that Standard, Premium and VIP. So with Merlin naming this lowest tier pass as ‘Discovery’ it could a least be better branding.

With DLP the different tiers have different levels of blockout days and discounts.

So for example Merlin could introduce the replacement for the Standard passes, but only offer 10% discounts, no ERT and more blockout dates than previous with the Premium replacement still offering no blockout dates and higher discounts etc.
 
AT86 said:
So for example Merlin could introduce the replacement for the Standard passes, but only offer 10% discounts, no ERT and more blockout dates than previous with the Premium replacement still offering no blockout dates and higher discounts etc.
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I don't think there will be a significant amount of further blockouts for standard passes, I expect it will continue to block out summer weekends and might add scarefest and fireworks similar to how firght nights at thorpe is blocked out (maybe allowing an extra fee for those). Maybe there will be slightly more blockout days in the summer too for the standard pass, but it already covers Fri/Sat/Sun in the main holiday.
The discount will probably remain at 20%, I expect without it many passholders wouldn't purchase at all so spend would go down. But by offering no discount on the new discovery pass it means those who only go on quiet weekdays and avoid spending too much don't get discount.

Its how they decide the price that will be interesting. The old standard pass is already £100 more than the new discovery weekday pass and I think it needs to stay at that sort of level. Premium pass equivalent is likely to go significantly over £200 I think, but for what it covers it will still be a reasonably deal, 8-10 visits to attractions covers most of the costs if you think about the parking charge too.
 
They've got their marketing messages on point with this release.

Responses to will it be over subscribed? No, we're going to limit sales of all pass types.

Response to will I possibly be unable to renew if all passes will be limited? No, all renewals can occur.
 
Limiting sales is interesting, if they really do limit then isn’t there potential to lose a customer? If someone is refused a purchase of a pass they probably won’t buy a day only ticket as they will already be aware of value vs cost.

Only known Merlin to refuse money once and that was with the VIP waiting list and people were literally begging them to sell it on social media.
 
I'd guess the standard solution to being oversubscribed for such a product, would be to set a price point that isn't as popular.

But it's Merlin, so chances are it'll be a similar price with a limit of +10% on 2020 sales, then have the same oversubscribed issue but reply to everyone saying they limited capacity.
 
Fairly sure the limit is going to be a 'finger in the air' if not total rubbish. What would you limit demand at for these passes? There's no precedent for such a pass so how would you model likely use?
 
WillPS said:
Fairly sure the limit is going to be a 'finger in the air' if not total rubbish. What would you limit demand at for these passes? There's no precedent for such a pass so how would you model likely use?
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Look at previous sales and/or scans at turnstiles to work out how many full annual passes to sell.

For the discovery pass they can compare to single park season passes or just guess based on all the other numbers. But there is less need to limit these as off-peak demand will be lower anyway. Its the regular passes valid at weekends that will be the issue.
 
After this sale, it seems that the Discovery Pass will be going up to £89.
 
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Its really bugging me how there is definitely more than a passing resemblance in more than just name and the fact its the lowest level of pass. This cannot be an accident.
 
evilcod said:
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Its really bugging me how there is definitely more than a passing resemblance in more than just name and the fact its the lowest level of pass. This cannot be an accident.
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Wouldn't be the first time Merlin decided to just copy another operator's marketing and pass it off as their own.
 
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