Merlin announce no more free parking for Annual Pass holders
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Nic
Strata Poster
I believe that's the case anyway. You have to go to Bobbiejobbie to collect though. Funny, as it appears to be the same deal with the Tusenfryd one... but that looks like it costs more. Meh, still seems like a good deal if you ask me.
Erm, but yeah, anyway.... Gonna 'lose' my MAP in feb and see if they can pull the usual trick of sticking a year back on it. Seems to work for everyone else, although knowing my luck, it'll be a waste of a tenner.
Erm, but yeah, anyway.... Gonna 'lose' my MAP in feb and see if they can pull the usual trick of sticking a year back on it. Seems to work for everyone else, although knowing my luck, it'll be a waste of a tenner.
MouseAT
Hyper Poster
So, once again Merlin show themselves to be money grabbing bastards, taking every penny they can get from customers, hard times be damned. So much for "you've probably all got annual passes, so what's the problem" that some people were spouting when they introduced car parking charges at Thorpe.
Even though I'm almost always travelling to the parks on public transport, this is really taking the piss. Ever since Merlin took over, prices have gone up, more and more restrictions have been added, international parks have been dropped and the deal has just got worse and worse. That's before you factor in that last year I hardly used my pass, as I took one look at Thorpe Park's piss-poor reliability record at the start of the season and went "**** that!".
I'll have to make a final decision in April, which will probably come down to "am I attending Ghosterforce next season", but perhaps this would be a good excuse to say "screw the price gouging bastards", stop whoring Alton because it's convenient, and start visiting some of the other UK and European parks that I've yet to visit.
Even though I'm almost always travelling to the parks on public transport, this is really taking the piss. Ever since Merlin took over, prices have gone up, more and more restrictions have been added, international parks have been dropped and the deal has just got worse and worse. That's before you factor in that last year I hardly used my pass, as I took one look at Thorpe Park's piss-poor reliability record at the start of the season and went "**** that!".
I'll have to make a final decision in April, which will probably come down to "am I attending Ghosterforce next season", but perhaps this would be a good excuse to say "screw the price gouging bastards", stop whoring Alton because it's convenient, and start visiting some of the other UK and European parks that I've yet to visit.
Coaster_Phil
Roller Poster
Hmm, thinking that we will not renew our families 3 passes at that money! There are so many BOGOF deals each year, I will just visit Thorpe once and perhaps Alton once.
Every year the price goes up, sometimes more than once a year. And, as everyone says we get less and less for our money. I really would like the option to visit the international parks back!
It is a shame though, we have enjoyed making the most of them, but this will be to the benifit of other parks. If we have to pay for so much, I would rather put that towards visiting somewhere different!
We need a thread with good ideas how to spend the money we have saved on the AP. I fancy Oakwood and Drayton as I have never done either. Any other good places??
Every year the price goes up, sometimes more than once a year. And, as everyone says we get less and less for our money. I really would like the option to visit the international parks back!
It is a shame though, we have enjoyed making the most of them, but this will be to the benifit of other parks. If we have to pay for so much, I would rather put that towards visiting somewhere different!
We need a thread with good ideas how to spend the money we have saved on the AP. I fancy Oakwood and Drayton as I have never done either. Any other good places??
slappy mcguire
Mega Poster
Out of curiosity, would people rather pay more for the MAP to maintain the illusion of free parking?
Nic
Strata Poster
slappy mcguire said:
In previous years, I've done about 30 trips on my MAP. At £5 a go, that would be £150 just on parking charges. By that reckoning, they'd have to double the price of the standard pass to "maintain the illusion". I see what you're getting at, but to a lot of people who use the MAP, the parking charges will very quickly add up, and become prohibitively large.
What they should have done was increased the cost of the MAP and introduced an official "paupers pass".
This way, they make current MAP owners have the equivalent of next year's cheapskate version.
As for why?
I read on TTF that Merlin made 180 million€ operational profit. So the company is in good shape as far as "charge per customer" goes.
However, after loans and interest repayments, they showed a final accounting loss of 55 million€
So the investment they put in (yes, 13 was shocking) isn't being paid off by day to day running.
Now, I agree Merlin have handled this badly, they needed to "market" the changes better, but a few things:
1. If it hadn't been "leaked" that everyone from today would be paying for parking with their MAP, would there be quite such an uproar? The shock of thinking that your perk was being removed right now I think makes people knee-jerk.
2. While the MAP isn't great value to everyone, the number of attractions added compared to the price increase over the old Tussauds Pass is still good value.
3. Shocked nobody has mentioned that the MAP (scum-bag edition) is still cheaper than a PBB pass (1 park) and you still have to pay to park in Blackpool.
4. Do MAP owners actually make Merlin any money. Most people get them cheap (£75 renewal deals or Tesco). There will be a "cost per head" calculation Merlin do. I'd assume it's something like half entry price to cover overheads for guest in park, profit off customer spending.
Merlin will be able to see how many times a MAP holder enters their parks. On a £75 MAP, if they visit 5 times, it's probably costing Merlin money (based on their calculations). Merlin will then see how often the 20% discount is used to give some idea of the amount of spend each MAP holder puts into the park.
They'll feed all their data into a spreadsheet, and out of the bottom will come a simple "Money from MAP holders = X; Cost to park to entertain MAP holders = Y" summary.
If Y is larger than X, then they have to change their pricing structure. If Y is say, £5 per visit more than X, then charging for the car parking suddenly makes sense.
The biggest issue of course is we don't know what that calculation is, but I don't think any business has a meeting where the main point on the agenda is "how do we piss off thousands of our customers today then?" There will be a reason, but we just don't know what it actually is.
However, running in the red is probably something of a concern to Merlin, so they're back to "money grabbing".
This way, they make current MAP owners have the equivalent of next year's cheapskate version.
As for why?
I read on TTF that Merlin made 180 million€ operational profit. So the company is in good shape as far as "charge per customer" goes.
However, after loans and interest repayments, they showed a final accounting loss of 55 million€
So the investment they put in (yes, 13 was shocking) isn't being paid off by day to day running.
Now, I agree Merlin have handled this badly, they needed to "market" the changes better, but a few things:
1. If it hadn't been "leaked" that everyone from today would be paying for parking with their MAP, would there be quite such an uproar? The shock of thinking that your perk was being removed right now I think makes people knee-jerk.
2. While the MAP isn't great value to everyone, the number of attractions added compared to the price increase over the old Tussauds Pass is still good value.
3. Shocked nobody has mentioned that the MAP (scum-bag edition) is still cheaper than a PBB pass (1 park) and you still have to pay to park in Blackpool.
4. Do MAP owners actually make Merlin any money. Most people get them cheap (£75 renewal deals or Tesco). There will be a "cost per head" calculation Merlin do. I'd assume it's something like half entry price to cover overheads for guest in park, profit off customer spending.
Merlin will be able to see how many times a MAP holder enters their parks. On a £75 MAP, if they visit 5 times, it's probably costing Merlin money (based on their calculations). Merlin will then see how often the 20% discount is used to give some idea of the amount of spend each MAP holder puts into the park.
They'll feed all their data into a spreadsheet, and out of the bottom will come a simple "Money from MAP holders = X; Cost to park to entertain MAP holders = Y" summary.
If Y is larger than X, then they have to change their pricing structure. If Y is say, £5 per visit more than X, then charging for the car parking suddenly makes sense.
The biggest issue of course is we don't know what that calculation is, but I don't think any business has a meeting where the main point on the agenda is "how do we piss off thousands of our customers today then?" There will be a reason, but we just don't know what it actually is.
However, running in the red is probably something of a concern to Merlin, so they're back to "money grabbing".
Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
'We value your business and think that parking your car should always be free of charge, don't you? If you drive all that way to see us it's the least we can do ...'
Hahaha LWV is amazing!!
Nic, I lost my pass (not on purpose) last month and I didn't get an extension. Instead I got warned 'you can only loose your pass a limited number of times you know' by a rather aggressive staff member, as if I was trying to pull a fast one. Guess they are cracking down on it
Personally I drive everywhere, and probably clocked up 20-30 Merlin visits last season. This would very quickly add up to a large sum if parking wasn't free, and would certainly put me off from short afternoon visits - especially those just to Chessie Zoo. This would be a shame for Merlin as I currently spend a lot on food in the parks. If I had to pay for car parking, I would certainly make sure I always brought a packed lunch.
I agree with Ian, charging for parking with no improvement to the parking area is ridiculous, I wouldn't mind so much if that money were ploughed back into the parks instead of lining someone's pockets.
I would gladly pay it if they promised to re-paint Colossus
Hahaha LWV is amazing!!
Nic, I lost my pass (not on purpose) last month and I didn't get an extension. Instead I got warned 'you can only loose your pass a limited number of times you know' by a rather aggressive staff member, as if I was trying to pull a fast one. Guess they are cracking down on it
Personally I drive everywhere, and probably clocked up 20-30 Merlin visits last season. This would very quickly add up to a large sum if parking wasn't free, and would certainly put me off from short afternoon visits - especially those just to Chessie Zoo. This would be a shame for Merlin as I currently spend a lot on food in the parks. If I had to pay for car parking, I would certainly make sure I always brought a packed lunch.
I agree with Ian, charging for parking with no improvement to the parking area is ridiculous, I wouldn't mind so much if that money were ploughed back into the parks instead of lining someone's pockets.
I would gladly pay it if they promised to re-paint Colossus
spicy
Giga Poster
Furie's just stated the car parking charge isn't lining anyones pockets. Merlin made a 55Million euro loss last year.
I think you hit the nail on the head there Furie and thats exactly why they have decided to go ahead with this. They probably did it through gritted teeth themselves knowing it will piss alot of MAP holders off.
I think you hit the nail on the head there Furie and thats exactly why they have decided to go ahead with this. They probably did it through gritted teeth themselves knowing it will piss alot of MAP holders off.
Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
Apologies, I didn't read all of Furie's post (it was HUGE).
It seems to me that if they are loosing money, they should stop the Tesco Vouchers - as much as we would all hate it, at least it wouldn't be underhand.
I think you can park in Chessie North or South station car parks for about £3 a day if people are desperate.
It seems to me that if they are loosing money, they should stop the Tesco Vouchers - as much as we would all hate it, at least it wouldn't be underhand.
I think you can park in Chessie North or South station car parks for about £3 a day if people are desperate.
Nic
Strata Poster
Further clarification has been released. New T&Cs take effect from 4th Jan. So if you renew/buy your pass on 3rd Jan you will still benefit from the current T&Cs.
Renewal prices announced...
So, the premium pass is only £21.60 more than a normal one? For that, is anyone actually going to stick with a standard pass?
Renewal prices announced...
So, the premium pass is only £21.60 more than a normal one? For that, is anyone actually going to stick with a standard pass?
