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Drayton Manor now charging for car parking

FaceYourNemesis

FaceYourNemesis

Hyper Poster
It looks like DMP will start charging a £2.00 car parking fee from Drayton's Magical Christmas onwards. If little charges like this will help fund the installation of any new future attractions, then I'm all for it.

Thoughts?
 
Re: Drayton Manor now chargnig for car parking

Yeah, parks in every other country do, and it's going that way here, so, eh.
 
Re: Drayton Manor now chargnig for car parking

It was only a matter of time really. Every other park I have been to has charged parking, apart from LWV and FL. (I cant remember if I had to pay at Chessie?) But its only £2 so I think that`s reasonable, bring some extra money into the park. No problem.
 
Re: Drayton Manor now chargnig for car parking

£2 is acceptable really.

£7 at BPB is a piss take. Especially as chances are you'll have a smashed window.
 
^ Try parking your car at Fantasy Island then, you`ll be lucky if its even there when you get back.
 
^Only on the Super Dooper Premium Linecutter £2,000 I'm-Better-Than-You-Poverty-Stricken-Skanks Pass.

Meh. £2.

Pretty sure they used to charge for parking years ago anyway, when they used the old wristband system.
 
As people have said every other country I have been to charges so yeah not a problem. I hope they use the money to improve the traffic getting in and out the place though as it can be a nightmare.
 
I used to hate parks charging to park your car but after going to the parks in Orlando where it's $14-16 to park your car miles away from the park entrance I'd rather pay £2. :P
 
Inevitable really, wasn't it? I don't have a problem paying £2 for parking, especially all day. As a driver I'm used to having to pay for parking everywhere I go, and £2 to park my car ALL DAY is actually really good value.
 
I can't help but feel though that if people are travelling miles to visit your attraction, free parking is the least you can do - guests are already paying a lot of money to get in after all, so it's nice to offer that little something in return as a way of saying thanks, and shows that you really do care for guest satisfaction more than anything. It's the gesture that counts.

I can hardly blame them for the introduction though, if they're to keep up with the competition then a car parking charge was inevitable. I am however surprised considering they were one of the parks who joined Lightwater Valley earlier this year in advertising via their Facebook page (and a small graphic in the footer of their website) that car parking would remain free following Merlin's PR disaster of removing free parking from the standard annual pass. It's a bit hypocritical of them to ride on the bandwagon of hate only to then go against their own word months later.



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£2 isn't too bad, but when you think about it, the entrance fee for Drayton shot up by about £7 to £32 last year... that seems a bit of a piss take to me.
 
Martyn B said:
£2 isn't too bad, but when you think about it, the entrance fee for Drayton shot up by about £7 to £32 last year... that seems a bit of a piss take to me.
Click to expand...

£32.00 is OTT , especially when you consider the size of the park and the attractions available. Charges like that are not justifiable. At least there's the Season Pass, which is very good value for money.
 
I'm with Mackem Lad... I can see why they're doing it, but I don't agree with it. It seems to be the way things are going though. Also with him on the hypocrisy front.

I don't think that the parks realise quite what a bitter taste it leaves though. We've had free parking forever, so the sudden charge (on what a lot of people think of as a an already costly day out) does upset people.

As for Blackpool, I think it's completely reasonable. They have a prime car parking space for a very busy town. Last time I paid to park at the council run car parks it cost me about £5, but PBB was open late, so I had to go back and put an extra £2 on. At least at Blackpool you have the option of taking your business elsewhere and walking - you can't do that at Drayton.

Anyway, can't stop, I'm off to finalise my plans for two new large car-parks. One in Tamworth, the other near Uttoxeter... ;)
 
The one thing I wish uk parks would do is take the fee when you enter the car park, like they do in other countries.

When I finish at a theme park I just want to get out not sit in a queue at a barrier.
 
^That would make a lot more sense, but some of our car parks aren't well designed in the first place for free parking, let alone organising barriers for going in as well...

Drayton's is however, it has barriers at the entrance/exit... They should try it...

And of course now we can await the numerous GP complaints about it... Look at what happened with Merlin, and now Drayton (90% of people's only other example of a non-Merlin theme park) is doing the same... Probs will see Mingoland maybe next? No idea...
 
I can Mingo following suit, but I cant see the smaller parks getting involved, ie Lightwater, Pleasure Island and Pleasurewood.
 
I think the thing that gets me is the attitude, and Martyn B has just kind of nudged it in my head.

If you think about the way the Merlin parks are presented, they're a kind of "must do" day out. The UK theme park equivalents of a summer blockbuster. Going on a single theme park trip this year? It's likely to be at a Merlin park.

As such, you resign yourself to the fact the day is going to be full of hidden expense.

Are Drayton (and Flamingoland, et al ) really that comfortable in their ability to draw in customers for their parks that they can afford to add these hidden expenses? I honestly don't know, but I think there's a degree of arrogance in adding these charges and I don't know if the smaller parks have the back end to support that.

On the "pay on entry" thing Marc, Drayton is a nightmare to get into at the best of times. I remember they did pay in your car one year (at the entrance booths), and the queue was backed up right to A5. Took over an hour to get from the roundabout up to pay. Dreadful start to your day and they just can't cope with it.

I do agree with the idea, but the infrastructure just isn't there for it.
 
I remember the live about 4 years ago it took us 90 mins to get out the car park, in the end Tanya went out the back way lol.

Yes that place is a nitemare to get into but having barriers on exit is going to just be nasty.

Let's hope they sort all that out.

I suppose what we need to remember is that parks in Europe were built with the charge in mind so everything was in place.
 
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