Merlin Midway Blackpool Cluster

[Rick]

Made the most of a rare midweek day off this week decided to do some of the Merlin attractions in Blackpool (skipped Tussauds, my significant other would like to go back when the Marvel stuff opens at Easter - but we're both fairly indifferent with regards to the core attraction). Therefore we did Sea Life, lots of time in the Ballroom, Tower Top & Dungeon).

The Good

• All solid & enjoyable attractions - felt pretty well looked after & well run (bar one thing that irked me, which I'll come back to).
• (For us, not Merlin) - We didn't spend a penny as we're both passholders - didn't fancy Harry Ramsden's in the Tower so opted for Pizza Hut Buffet around the corner.

The Bad

• It's been a while since I did any of those attractions, despite living fairly close and it felt like very little was new or different - I guess those two things go hand in hand. I know Midway is different to RTP in that regard, but I wonder if there is a better model to help drive repeat visitation.
• Photos - We usually just politely pass on the set piece photos as we did the other day but it felt somewhat relentless doing it over and over, with plenty of 'Oh go on, it's just a bit of fun' from the poor folk running it. The two before the 4D Cinema in the Eye are particularly offensive.

The Ugly

• Ticketing - they need to sort this out. As a passholder, you arrive at each individual attraction entrance and are presented with a clipboard and a pen. You then have to write your name, last four digits of your pass number & sign - at some attractions, we both had to sign our name and at others only one of us had to do this and write a number in a 'How many people?' column*. You do all this whilst brandishing a Merlin pass with a barcode on it.

This troubled me on two fronts. As a passholder, I don't want to be writing stuff down all day - nor do I want my signature on a list in a cupboard in a dungeon for eternity. As a shareholder, Merlin seemingly have no understanding of the behaviour of their MAP guests, so figures in terms of their utilisation and pricing must be very inaccurate.

At the attraction where only my partner 'signed us in', Merlin have a (paper based) record that she visited, but have no idea that I did). Not that I would condone it, but you could easily use an expired pass, or someone else's pass without any trouble.

We'll be back for the Marvel stuff and the Circus (that & the Ballroom still the best parts of the Tower for me).

 

[Rick]

As a follow up to this, we found ourselves at Scarborough SeaLife last weekend. Cool attraction!

Their system was even less effective. The till operator looked at our passes, pressed something on the till and we went in. Whilst I was pleased there was no clipboard, Merlin have no idea that we visited.

 

[Rick]

My good lady got a swish new job this week, so I said I would treat her to afternoon tea at the weekend. I opted for a trip to the coast and an afternoon in the Ballroom, which prompted a response along the lines of "Merlin serving us afternoon tea? On your head be it, Richard"...

That said, it was actually really good and the MAP discount seemed mathematical nonsense. I can't remember the exact amount, but it was very reasonable and the food was great and of course, the surroundings utterly exquisite.

We also checked out the new Marvel thing in Tussauds which was cool, but a little brief. I still don't understand this attraction, I'm onboard with all of Merlin's stuff on the whole, but Tussauds is just beyond me. I am so completely uninterested in celebrity culture. If you like that sort of thing, I'm sure it's great - but, I can't wait to leave from the second I walk in.

What summed up our experience today was a chap in his late 20s, holding his toddler(!), kneeling under Ariana Grande (apparently) to look up her skirt whilst his girlfriend took a photo. Swallow. Me. Up. World.

To end the day we went to the circus (the 4pm show), still phenomenal - I know Merlin's hand is not really (at all?) involved with the circus but it's such a special attraction, full of fun and tradition - it's no doubt the headline attraction for me.

Good times. Never going to Tussauds again, not even to assist the share price.

 

[rob666]

Did likewise 2 years ago on my pass, very similar views, but add in sea life...never again!

 

[Dipper_Dave]

We also checked out the new Marvel thing in Tussauds which was cool, but a little brief. I still don't understand this attraction, I'm onboard with all of Merlin's stuff on the whole, but Tussauds is just beyond me. I am so completely uninterested in celebrity culture. If you like that sort of thing, I'm sure it's great - but, I can't wait to leave from the second I walk in.

What summed up our experience today was a chap in his late 20s, holding his toddler(!), kneeling under Ariana Grande (apparently) to look up her skirt whilst his girlfriend took a photo. Swallow. Me. Up. World.

Good times. Never going to Tussauds again, not even to assist the share price.

100% with you on this. Perhaps if it was actual real celebs, like Geoffrey Thompson, Charles Paige, John Miller or Joseph Emberton, or the staff who built the Wild Mouse, then I would visit. But to quote a @rob666 classic, "I would rather have my knob nailed to Noah's Ark" than to go and walk round a building and look at rubber faced effigies of people I couldn't give a flying fudge about in real life anyway. You'd have to pay me a 3-figure sum to waste my time in that place. Actually if someone led me blindfolded through there I'd do it for £50 as long as I could stop and karate kick some of those nobodies to the ground en route. As for the Ariana Grande thing, words fail me.