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Extra Costs To Passholders


planenut

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Any extra payment is annoying but if one only pops into TP for a few hours, which I know quite a few people do, they have to now pay the extra for FN days. TP/Merlin have increased the "event" days and reduced the open days in between this year and especially in the last month. This is really annoying as if one only wants to ride, it costs £15 a day extra.

 

I doubt I am the only one who is annoyed by this. I do know one person who went there every day, but never rode anything.

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I’m assuming you mean with a standard pass? Premium has fright night included and I believe the only extra charges at Thorpe are for the ministry of sound nights. 

 

I can understand event charging - fright nights cost more due to the number of actors and they are a business which needs to be sustainable. That is why premium passes cost more - as you get more included. If you don’t want to do fright nights then the standard pass costs you less. If you want to go all the time then the premium covers you

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  • 3 weeks later...
28 minutes ago, Coaster said:

I remember when an annual pass meant an "annual" pass, there was no standard or premium, simply that an annual pass got you into the parks... annually! 

 

2003 is nearly 15 years ago now, thats the last time the annual pass was a proper annual pass without tiers or visit limits.

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3 minutes ago, Mark9 said:

 

2003 is nearly 15 years ago now, thats the last time the annual pass was a proper annual pass without tiers or visit limits.

I could visit Fright Nights in 2008 without paying £5, and the standard/premium thing was brought in around 2010/11 if I recall correctly?

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Though not to excuse Thorpe / Merlin, plenty of theme parks across the world that offer Annual Passes have exclusion dates / charge extra for special events, and have a tiered system.  It's fast becoming common in the industry.  

 

These things are more noticeable within Merlin though, because:

1)  There's a lot AP holders out there, creating a need for upcharging in some cases. 

2)  They have more explicit special events days (firework shows are a big deal for example, whereas other parks have fireworks more as standard).

3)  The low cost of a Standard MAP.  They ARE cheap, when you take into the fact you can access 30 something attractions for free, you get excellent value for money if you use it correctly.  The upcharges help make the money to keep the price low.

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People also forget that companies like Disney and Universal also have different pass tier levels with blackout dates and events not included or requiring a small fee. The American parks may have as many as five pass tiers. 

 

The other thing about upcharges is it limits the amount of people visiting too as otherwise Thorpe would reach capacity every night, which is somewhere around 17K (based on a full lineup). 

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Merlin offer a way better deal than the Disney annual passes.  We're very lucky to get the 20% discount on everything (alcohol, food, gifts) and everyone in the party can gain from it if only one person in the group has the pass.  Over at Disney only the pass holder is allowed to make use of the 10% (or sometimes 5%) discount. 

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Having considered the replies I should add now, that yes, I do have the TP pass , which allows access to TP and no other location or event, I understand that. There are conditions which basically, as with all passes, means that the issuing company can move the goal posts when they like, TP have done that as I stated at the start of this. Obviously there is no set date of limited access when one purchases the pass, and for those who state the obvious, yes I could have got another type of pass. I paid a low sum for what is described as an Annual Pass but once purchesed became a limited pass and an extra day was not the £15 as I stated but £20. In it's original form, the TP pass suited me, I don't purchase food or drink when I'm there, it's very different when one is not with other people.

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