Drayton Manor now charging for car parking

[Lofty]

Oh well, £2, it's not the end of the world. If they're doing this to actually boost up their revenue and possibly to add a few new attractions in the future, which I'm guessing is their reasoning (not so much the attraction bit, just the revenue). Then good on them, it's not going to stop people from going.

 

[Martyn B]

Furie's hit it on the head, it is arrogance. The smaller parks need to do everything they can to get people in, but the big boys know damn well that people will visit in their thousands on a daily basis, so they can affectively do what they want and get away with it.

 

[Thekingin64]

Charging for parking here is just going to cause queues. And big ones at that. The queues getting in and out are already horrendous on a busy day and this is just gonna make it worse. At least the parking charge will make use of the pointless gates at the entrance/exit and bring in extra money for hopeful new attractions/better Staffing.

 

[MouseAT]

Oh here we go... all the other parks starting to jump on the Merlin band wagon.

Charging a small fortune to get in to the parks isn't enough for some, so they've decided to rip their customers off and line their pockets just a bit more.

Don't give me that crap about "every other country does it". That's got nothing to do with it. They're not doing it to bring the UK in line with the rest of the world. They've taken the usual MBA approach of seeing an opportunity to milk their target market even more, and jumped at the opportunity, bad press be damned.

As for the "what if people park there whilst they visit other nearby attractions", that doesn't hold up either. They could just check park tickets if that was the reason.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Six Flags charge SEVENTY DOLLARS a year for a parking pass, or $20 each time you visit. I'm NEVER going to complain about parking charges anywhere EVER again.

THE PARKING PASS IS MORE THAN THE SEASON PASS. ****.

 

[Screaming Coasters]

I've been paying for privilege car parking at Alton Towers for the past 7/8 years, £2 will hardly break the balance. Its a good idea, however they need to show what they're doing with it in terms of car park upkeep unlike Merlin.

 

[Nic]

Whilst obviously nobody enjoys paying for something they used to get free, I think £2 per car is low enough that, apart from the odd grumble, people will just suck it up and pay. Lets face it, in most cases that equates to £2 per family so is hardly going to break the bank. If it was closer to a fiver, I'd expect them to get a lot of complaints, and if it was any more than that, I'd expect it to start putting people off.

 

[nadroJ]

The way I think about it is what the hell else can £2 get you in a theme park? Not even a cup of coffee in where most parks are concerned! I think it's good value, as I've already said, £2 to park your car all day is extremely low priced.

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

The way I think about it is what the hell else can £2 get you in a theme park? Not even a cup of coffee in where most parks are concerned! I think it's good value, as I've already said, £2 to park your car all day is extremely low priced.

£2 isn't very much at all. People will happily give Merlin £6 so they can park their car, yet DMP try to make a little more revenue and they're slated.

 

[MouseAT]

Its a good idea, however they need to show what they're doing with it in terms of car park upkeep unlike Merlin.

Heh, I love how people expect to see some actual investment as a result of this.

If the people making the decisions are arrogant enough to be charging £32 for entry and billing people for car parking on top of that, you can pretty much bet that the money isn't getting re-invested in the sort of stuff we're interested in. It'll be lining the pockets of one or more of the big decision makers.

 

[Uncle Arly]

I can see both points, but in my opinion, it isn't a problem. £2 isn't a lot, BUT, you just know that's going to increase year on year.

 

[furie]

£2 isn't very much at all. People will happily give Merlin £6 so they can park their car, yet DMP try to make a little more revenue and they're slated.

Not at all, I think it's disgusting that Merlin charge too.

 

[Ollie]

£2 isn't very much at all. People will happily give Merlin £6 so they can park their car, yet DMP try to make a little more revenue and they're slated.

Not really. The majority of people here have said they don't mind it and £2 isn't that bad.

 

[DDF14]

I agree with furie and others that any charge disgusting but maybe for slightly different reasons.
I can understand Drayton needing a cash boost but why not instead put another £1 on all tickets on the start of the year therefore:

1. You dont feel like your being bombarded with expensive charges for so many different things i.e. photos, drinks, and food. (Some how it doesnt feel so bad when its all under 1 price 1 ticket)

2. There is no queueing problem at the exits created. I think we do enough of that during the day.

3. You make £1 more money on every guest that comes through the gate including those that use public transport. ( Plus most people have more than 1 person in the car therefore it more than meets the £2-£6 charge and is fair to everyone.)

4. Multi visiting guests should be rewarded for their loyalty to a park or brand not made to feel like every penny is being squeezed out for every visit. (Pass holders normally are likey to spend 2-3 times more on merchandise and other items than a single visit member of the public.)

The price of UK parks on the whole I find ridiculous after spending the last 4 years travelling with work to many other countries that do it better and cheaper. How long before a single ticket costs £50 ? probably in most of our lifetimes it will get to £75. I cant knock a park like drayton who for the most part have a reasonable ticket price after discounts charging 1-2 pound more on a ticket.

The thing that most annoys me though is that there is no real reason for the car owner to be targeted by parks. Do they use the money to offset the carbon foot print of those that have used a car to get to their precious park therefore encouraging the use of public transport or green methods ?? I cant find any evidence to suggest any actual environmental work is carried out for the cost of all car park tickets.

If it was for environmental causes and people were rewarded for being green in their travel I could just about stomach that ( as long as evidence of offset or effeciency could be given). But for the most part its just down to greed. "Ok Dusty what about repairs to roads and park access eh?" Again show me some evidence. I am all for that especially at Alton but show me you have improved the roads and the access and once you have done so and it is paid for why should we have to keep on paying ?? We all pay our car tax which increases more and more for use of roads.. By visiting parks we are creating jobs and boosting the economy arent we? The government should be doing its best to encourage growth.

Last point to have a think about from my rant is has the cost to buy a ride increased as much as ticket prices and car parking charge increases have year on year ? I still see most installs being around the £12 million mark given a few exceptions of world firsts.. What is the average ride cost? I understand there are plenty of behind the scenes costs that we dont know about that increase (I know I used to work in the business) But are parks being as effecient as they can ? (My experience its a big NO)

:

That is all ... Sorry to seem so negative guys... I do love our parks I just wish they showed us some back now and then.

 

[Martyn B]

I can understand Drayton needing a cash boost but why not instead put another £1 on all tickets on the start of the year therefore:

I've know what you're saying, and I have thought that too, but Drayton only recently hiked their tickets by £7, its now £32 (well, was for 2011) to get in there!

 

[Ian]

Sorry Martyn B, but I don't take the "it's £32 to get in" argument for one second.

Earlier this year I privately asked several theme parks (family owned, independent and Merlin) what percentage of visitors paid full price. The average is 7 (yes, SEVEN) percent....even less than 5% when it comes to Merlin parks!

Heck, Drayton Manor have even had a 2-4-1 (or a link to) offer on their website since May! http://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/page.php? ... or-1-offer

Only a fool pays full price!

A parking charge is nothing but a stealth tax. I agree that it's exploitation, but it's the norm nowadays. I think we have to bend over and accept it.

What cheeses me off is that for DECADES Drayton have managed to sensible, creatively and confidently invest year in, year out without making extra revenue from car parking. Yes, car parking charges stink of exploitation, but I hope it's for something worthwhile... We'll know in the next year or two.

Whatever Drayton have planed better be worth it, otherwise they'll enter the "money grabbing bastards" circle.

 

[Martyn B]

Heck, Drayton Manor have even had a 2-4-1 (or a link to) offer on their website since May!

Well I see that as back tracking after increasing the price so much. I looked to visit at the start of the year and there wasn't any vouchers like that available. Sorry, I honestly didn't know about that. Suppose it actually makes them cheaper this year, as when it was £25 there weren't too many vouchers about, especially 2 for 1's!

 

[TP Rich]

I think anybody that hasn't paid full price has got a blind cheek to complain about paying an extra £2 to park their car. If it still doesn't add up to full price, they're still privileged, and therefore have no reason to kick up a fuss over something that leaves them better than they would have been if they'd paid the amount that'd actually be ideal for the park. I'm not saying that 90% of theme parks owners aren't greedy as the day is short during an English Winter, but I am saying that nobody can complain when they're getting better than than they were asked for.

 

[Jake]

I don't see why so much discussion is needed?

They're doing it... because they can.

It's a business, not a charity. Heck, it's a THEME PARK, they're famous for being a rip.

Plus, it's not even much.

I'd do exactly the same thing If I had creds <3.

 

[Gavin]

I think anybody that hasn't paid full price has got a blind cheek to complain about paying an extra £2 to park their car. If it still doesn't add up to full price, they're still privileged

What an absolutely RIDICULOUS thing to say!

They are privileged that we go to their parks, not the other way around.

Make no mistake about it, NO theme park gives discounts/2-4-1 offers to anyone as a favour, or charitable gesture. They do it because even at the "reduced" rate, they still make a profit. Anyone with half a brain can see that; the other 90% of the population think they've got a bargain or are "cheating the system" in some way.

The parks "win". EVERY SINGLE TIME. And why shouldn't they; it's a business!