Quick Questions

[Secret Weapon]

There is a side entrance to Forbidden Valley, for hotel guests only. It's not big enough to be used as a general second entrance though.

As Merlin is always looking for opportunities to upsell, maybe they could allow regular (non-hotel) guests to use this side entrance for an additional fee? (e.g. £30). There probably wouldn't be that many takers, and so the number of guests might be manageable - although this may possibly be offset by the staffing costs of manning the entrance.

Then again: as they already allow people to park in front of the main entrance for £20, perhaps there would be no point, and maybe it would cost Merlin money anyway due to the lack of shops et cetera in Forbidden Valley (thus potentially fewer impulse purchases) - plus I'm not sure if there are potential issues regarding the lack of toilets near the entrance, et cetera.

 

[John]

Whilst it's not particularly well publicised, they already allow anyone to exit via FV. Given that people are probably far more likely to buy something on the way out of the park than on the way in I don't think potential loss of revenue is a particular consideration.

The FV entrance can struggle to cope with demand from hotel guests at peak times already. Many years ago pass holders were allowed to use the old woodland walk (entering the park behind Blade) but that was before the days of security checks so there'd just be one staff member with a handheld ticket scanner at the entrance and it wasn't an issue. This was also during the days of ERT for both hotel guests and pass holders, which probably helped to spread out arrival times.

This is all going to become a bigger problem when the monorail eventually dies completely.

 

[BarryZola]

I can also remember showing my annual pass to the person on the desk in the hotel and telling them I was on the way down to the gate to the Woodland Walk, then them buzzing me through when they saw me at the turnstile on camera. Also remember being down there in a group with the 1 staff member and scanner too. Different times.

 

[Secret Weapon]

I can also remember showing my annual pass to the person on the desk in the hotel and telling them I was on the way down to the gate to the Woodland Walk, then them buzzing me through when they saw me at the turnstile on camera. Also remember being down there in a group with the 1 staff member and scanner too. Different times.

Can you remember roughly what year this was?