Mysterio Ka Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Thanks for clearing that up Josh. I am not against your opinion James it's just your points are so repetitive and whiny it's really hard to resist snapping. My maths was based upon the 101 attractions merlin owns, and the average MAP/enthusiast would visit resorts up to 15 times a year. So no, my maths isn't wrong, it's just subject to opinion and the matter of the persons trips. It's just I find your conclusions to why you hate the VIP pass so far fetched it is silly. I myself encountered groups of VIPs several times on AP day and didn't actually have a problem with them 'queue jumping', even when we were at the gates they were in small pockets of groups and only took up a single line. The ops allowed us to change rows though seeing as it was the end of the day and the park was fairly empty. This is a great example of what I mean as even when they are in groups they won't effect more then 4 or 5 people, or a row or 2 at a time. coastercameron98 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I am not against your opinion James it's just your points are so repetitive and whiny it's really hard to resist snapping. It's just I find your conclusions to why you hate the VIP pass so far fetched it is silly. Think before you type please, your posts are so contradictory and it is clear that you are against me voicing my opinion.As for the maths, I am not going to oppose your figures as I don't have any correct ones to provide myself, however I highly doubt the average merlin annual pass holder will be visiting 100 attractions across the world, when only 31 of them are in the UK. Money is not endless and when purchasing a Merlin pass in the UK, it is particularly hard to reach the ones abroad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 The Ultimate Fastrack package at Alton Towers costs £95.00 per day - they sell very few of these. One of the main problem is that the VIP passholders are likely to visit on certain days - e.g. main season opening, peak summer Saturdays and bank holidays, Scarefest peak days and fireworks. On these days it can become a real problem because it effectively doubles (or triples) the quota of ultimate Fastrack for the day - making everyone elses lives more of a misery. The park also have no prior knowledge of the VIP pass holders coming, so can't adjust anyway. Not that they would, because they have Fastrack sales targets to meet. One of the improvements this year is at the "VIP express collection" desk at Alton is that they actually keep a tally of how many VIP passholder have collected wristbands, whether they'll then use that info to balance other fastrack sales I don't know but the info is now there for them unlike last year where they didn't seem to keep a record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 The idea of a Merlin park cutting sales on the top level Fastrack because of VIP pass holders is hilarious. The parks have very rigid sales targets for Fastrack and unless Merlin are directly compensating them for every VIP that enters the park then I can't really see it happening. Paul2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 I can't see it happening either but the amount of effort they went into on both Saturday & Sunday to actually make sure the chart was updated must be for a reason. Given the state of things at Alton you'd think they want as many fastrack sales as possible. On another note Dan, I see on TS us VIP holders are getting part of the blame for SRQ going! We haven't actually been updated about Nemesis fastrack, we were using the exit (which is procedure) because the chain was across stopping access to the (old?) fastrack entrance. Have you heard if the exit is the new fastrack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 I have no idea but last weekend Fastrack was using the exit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaelite Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Its made me smile reading some of these posts....A lot of them read "capitalism is evil" we should all be equal "socialism" rules People buying there way to first class, the best seats in the house, Ferraris, big houses is a fact of life, complaining about it wont change anything. There is and never will be equality in the world. Merlin is a business. Capitalism at its best, its not here for us. Its here for its shareholders and doesn't care if were happy sad or indifferent, as does every other listed company. It will use every method at its disposal to make £ more every time. As every business will. There are roughly 800 VIP pass holders. At any given point during a weekday they'll be about 10 per park. And weekend about 30 per park. I know as I ask every time, and were at a park every weekend. Thorpe has a maximum capacity of 15,000 people and an average capacity of 8000 people. On average they sell 1000 fast tracks per day (single shot or bundle) Meaning VIP people represent 0.003% of the entire people at the park on an average weekend day. Yes VIP re-riders are out of order and shouldn't be doing this as it clogs up the queues unnecessarily. But with only 30 people on average there and only a couple of them re-riding (as most the VIP people respect the system) You can do the math for yourself the over day the impact of the VIP pass against the total number of rides on a day is such a small number I cant even count the zeros. Merlin DO reduce the number of "ultimate fast-track" for sale on the day based on the number of VIP's there expecting as most book using the online form before they attend and turn up. Back to my rant about class anyway. Merlin is business. Trains have first class, Planes have first class (with no airport queuing), Ships have first class, Cinemas have premier seats, at events you have crap seats and really expensive seats, you can take a cab or a limo, mcdonalds or a mitchelin star restaurant, there are private doctors and hospitals if you don't want to wait, even banks have "premier customer" queue which is always empty despite there always being a massive queue for the normal tills . Every business has to make money, we don't live in an equal world and most business breed inequality to charge the wealthy few to have premium products, as quite often those wealthy few make up a large % of there bottom line EBITDA. This is not new, capitalism has been around for since the 14th century and is here to stay. So don't blame merlin and don't blame the VIP pass holders. Blame society, and accept it. Paul2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Its made me smile reading some of these posts....A lot of them read "capitalism is evil" we should all be equal "socialism" rules Back to my rant about class anyway. Merlin is business. Trains have first class, Planes have first class (with no airport queuing), Ships have first class, Cinemas have premier seats, at events you have crap seats and really expensive seats, you can take a cab or a limo, mcdonalds or a mitchelin star restaurant, there are private doctors and hospitals if you don't want to wait, even banks have "premier customer" queue which is always empty despite there always being a massive queue for the normal tills . Every business has to make money, we don't live in an equal world and most business breed inequality to charge the wealthy few to have premium products, as quite often those wealthy few make up a large % of there bottom line EBITDA. This is not new, capitalism has been around for since the 14th century and is here to stay. So don't blame merlin and don't blame the VIP pass holders. Blame society, and accept it. This has come up a few times believe it or not and although I accept the comparison could be there, I never really think its valid. What we're really talking about is how detrimental the VIP service is to the normal service. If you take a first class seat on a train or a plane, you don't get to your destination faster, the first class part of a train doesn't arrive in Manchester 45 minutes before the rest of the train does. At the cinema, paying for a deluxe seat gets you a larger seat and legroom, but it doesn't stop the normal seats from watching the same film at the same time. Taking a cab or limo, you pay a lot for the service but you're still going to get stuck in the same traffic that a bus or a car will. As you rightfully point out, the odds of getting screwed over by a VIP pass holder are low so I have no complaint with them. It's when merlin decide they can sell 2000 VIP passes a year, or 5000 that the whole thing will get out of hand. Paul2014 and pluk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 As you rightfully point out, the odds of getting screwed over by a VIP pass holder are low so I have no complaint with them. It's when merlin decide they can sell 2000 VIP passes a year, or 5000 that the whole thing will get out of hand. All indications from the VIP team so far suggest at least this year it will still be 1000, which if true is good news but your right as soon as that number changes it'll be a different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 There is excess demand for them as there is a waiting list. So a load of people willing to pay £500 and people honestly believe that merlin are not just going to creep up the numbers of them. They slowly made all the other passes worse while slowly upping the price, same will happen with VIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 There is excess demand for them as there is a waiting list. So a load of people willing to pay £500 and people honestly believe that merlin are not just going to creep up the numbers of them. They slowly made all the other passes worse while slowly upping the price, same will happen with VIP. I don't expect it this year though, they've even been replying on Twitter / Facebook that it's still strictly limited to 1000 - this year I expect they will sell all 1000 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 I don't care what anyone pays, VIP should not be able to turn up at the exit and take the front row. There were a few at Alton today and not only did the queue hate them the staff seem to strongly dislike the procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 I don't care what antone pays, VIP should not be able to turn up at the exit and take the front row. There were a few at Alton today and not only did the queue hate them the staff seem to strongly dislike the procedure. Nemesis by chance? The only way a VIP passholder can use the exit is if the fastrack queue is closed, staff instruction or there is no dedicated fastrack entrance. The pass doesn't offer a choice of seating apart from when the park have fastrack for front row (Stealth) Some staff will offer you seating without you asking for it, whether that's an instruction from higher up or one that the individual member of staff has decided on I don't know but it's been said before if the staff follow the booklet and stick to it just like pass holders then there are no issues. If the booklet has been followed by both then it's tough luck for any VIP who makes a scene, and the staff member shouldn't be worried about a complaint as they've done nothing wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Who's antone? Paul2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 It was nemesis and air and I also saw them do it on oblivion. Staff were instructing all fastrack to use the exits. They are simply an annoyance to other guests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Fastrack users will be using the exit if (like on most off-peak days) there's no staff member on merge... Thorpe have been doing that for years, as have Chessie... Paul2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 It was nemesis and air and I also saw them do it on oblivion. Staff were instructing all fastrack to use the exits. They are simply an annoyance to other guests. So as I thought it's not VIP pass holders fault or any other fastrack user then. If they've been telling people to use the exit then actually it's fair enough to offer seating / accommodate a guests request if it's possible (something that the other parks do in that situation) after all you've paid for fastrack and it's not your fault you can't use the fastrack entrance and queue for front row etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 I never claimed it was their fault. I just don't think they should be able to come along and make people who have waited extra for the front wait longer. Especially on 1 train operation. They had the back row cut off so they can go there, rather than stop people going on the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 I never claimed it was their fault. I just don't think they should be able to come along and make people who have waited extra for the front wait longer. Especially on 1 train operation. They had the back row cut off so they can go there, rather than stop people going on the front.Sorry it was the way in your first post you singled out VIP users, not explaining that it was anyone who purchased fastrack that was instructed to use the exit. Unfortunately if the park decide to close the fastrack entrance then they have to make allowances for people asking / offering seating as those guests are simply following the instructions and those instructions in turn remove the guests option of choosing where to sit. Ian-S 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Yesterday we were in the front row queue for Nemesis Inferno and three groups decided to board from the exit straight onto front row. The back row was closed off for disabled rides so it just really annoyed me that we could have been on in 3 rides quicker if it wasn't for VIP pass holders demanding or being offered to sit at the front and skip the whole of the front row queue. The fastrack queue was also in operation as queue times reached 80-120mins for nemesis inferno yesterday so it was unecessary for VIP pass holders to be boarding from the exit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Yesterday we were in the front row queue for Nemesis Inferno and three groups decided to board from the exit straight onto front row. The back row was closed off for disabled rides so it just really annoyed me that we could have been on in 3 rides quicker if it wasn't for VIP pass holders demanding or being offered to sit at the front and skip the whole of the front row queue. The fastrack queue was also in operation as queue times reached 80-120mins for nemesis inferno yesterday so it was unecessary for VIP pass holders to be boarding from the exit. Nemesis Inferno is one of the few rides that at least last year operated differently for VIP holders, the Thorpe team decided we could use the exit even though the booklet says fastrack. Also worth mentioning the staff who manage fastrack merge points are also able to instruct us to use the exit and it's something I've experienced on Nemesis Inferno. I don't think it's fair to use the word "demanding" unless your 100% certain that's what happened and if it was what happened I'm sure the staff would have called for security. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 VIP's, the new inconsiderate arseholes of Thorpe Park. Disclaimer, you need to have a sense of humour and have seen The Inbetweeners Thorpe Park episode to understand this, if not, it's a joke... no need to get your panties in a twist. Cal, JamminGamer, Matt 236 and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted April 4, 2015 Report Share Posted April 4, 2015 Yesterday we were in the front row queue for Nemesis Inferno and three groups decided to board from the exit straight onto front row. Joking aside, I'm in total agreement with TPJames, that is wholly unacceptable. It's not the users fault, they should be directed to fastrack. Thorpe, what are you thinking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2014 Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Current VIP members will soon be getting a renewal email offer, then after they've accepted / declined it'll go on general sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDan Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 I hope it's £2000. Celia Mae and paige 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.