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Merlin Entertainments


RobF

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Well of course they are a success, simply because they've opened up 20 million Midway attractions in 5 years (might be slightly over-exaggerating)...

 

Thing is, being 'efficient' in a Merlin way results in the state of the current parks...

 

I tend to agree. The large growth they've enjoyed year on year is fairly likely to be unsustainable; when you've opened a Midway attraction in every viable city in the world, then what...?

 

Their "efficient" operating model may well have to change for the existing portfolio of attractions to continue to compete and pull in the crowds / cash.

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  • 1 month later...

There a company that operates theme parks and coasters featured for less than 4 seconds. Not making much sense to me, surley you advertise your best asset. Apart from that the advert seems pretty average.

 

It makes perfect sense. Best asset would be your opinion, I would argue something like the London Eye is a stronger asset considering it's position as a London icon attraction. If you're trying to advertise diversity why would you only focus on one thing? Not everyone is a fan of rollercoasters and they're trying to advertise to all members of the family who will all have completely different tastes, so focusing the advert on rollercoasters more so than anything else would be off-putting to a massive portion of the market. From the advert you can still clearly see rides are part of their make-up so that part of the market is already taken care of, there really isn't any need for more. 

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The advert was okay, but I think it could've been a lot better.

After a recent reflection I realised how much I'd been bashing merlin recently when compared to others, they may be doing an okay job, just not when you compare it to those it compares itself to.

 

So, what did I like in the video?

  • I think the fact they tried to incorporate poltergeists was a fun attempt. 
  • The advert is clearly targeted to a young family and kids, seeing as there were barely 2 shots of coasters, and the commentator was a child. It's good they made their target audience clear
  • They managed to fit a large range of their attractions in there, even if they aren't the most thrilling ones.
  • They clearly presented the objects they were trying to sell..
  • They managed to showcase some of the forgotten attractions to us as an audience and purchaser. Many teens and young adults buy MAPs for the theme parks, but there are smaller attractions like the eye attractions, Warwick and sea life attractions that can be looked over or forgotten, a prime example being the Christmas meet where we just looked over sea life.

 

So it ticks all the boxes? No.

 

 cons

  • The mix of pictures and videos didn't work in this video. It felt like a south park animation mixing in cinematic videos of 5 year olds and castles. I would have preferred consistency.
  • The event they were spinning off was rather far fetched. What's a 7 year old going to know about the general elections?! Why are theme parks associated with this? WHAT?!
  • some of the shots were from international parks which can only be accessed freely using the VIP pass, which is 5 times the price advertised. 
  • Whilst they did a good job for the much 'tamer' attractions being shown in this advert, they forgot almost completely the other end of their spectrum, with only one shot of a particularly thrilling coaster. Even a couple more shots from Thorpe park or Alton would have made a difference

 

Overall I have just made a film review for a 50 second advert. Clearly shows I didn't think it was that bad, and may have been good!

Thank you, thank you, good night!

 

Dan commented whilst I made this post, and I mostly agree with his statement even if I don't sound like it xD

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Well, in the past, this sale usually meant a new pass was cheaper than a renewal (indeed, that's what I had done for the past few years). Compared to previous year's sales, those prices really aren't that great.

A real shame to be honest; the 50% Sale is well and truly gone now. In fairness though, £149 for a Premium MAP is still good value really.

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Fair enough :P but the price increase on the pass when they are not on sale have really gone up badly, I wouldn't exactly say £169 only to have to pay for events such as fright nights and feb half term as well as having exclusions on the mid way attractions, and the fact the gap between the price of standard and premium looks to have gotten smaller, I'd rather get the Premium if it were not a sale event.

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Well, in the past, this sale usually meant a new pass was cheaper than a renewal (indeed, that's what I had done for the past few years). Compared to previous year's sales, those prices really aren't that great.

A real shame to be honest; the 50% Sale is well and truly gone now. In fairness though, £149 for a Premium MAP is still good value really.

 

 

This. The Merlin Premium annual pass has always been excellent value. Collectively it gets you into so many attractions and particularly if you live around London, you get the biggest value. I know its very easy to bash Merlin, left right and centre, however the Premium pass is severely underpriced for the amount you get on it.

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Yes the premium pass is good value, nobody can deny that, if there's one thing I like about Merlin it's the fact you can buy a pass that gets you into loads of attractions.  However, the fact remains than an annual pass is an annual pass and there shouldn't even be a "premium" pass - an annual pass should do what it says on the title.  Introducing a Thorpe Park "premium" annual pass with what should be on the pass anyway is just a joke.

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Do people ever get bored posting about stuff they hate or is it more a moral crusade type thing?

It's good to see Merlin being as generous as ever,

Typical Merlin being Merlin

How much did you choose to spend on Lego's event again?

Yes the premium pass is good value, nobody can deny that, if there's one thing I like about Merlin it's the fact you can buy a pass that gets you into loads of attractions.  However, the fact remains than an annual pass is an annual pass and there shouldn't even be a "premium" pass - an annual pass should do what it says on the title.  Introducing a Thorpe Park "premium" annual pass with what should be on the pass anyway is just a joke.

I can guess your posts before I read them.

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Do people ever get bored posting about stuff they hate or is it more a moral crusade type thing?

How much did you choose to spend on Lego's event again?

I can guess your posts before I read them.

If there is something that people don't agree with then why shouldn't they voice their opinion?  What's the point of having a forum where people can only have a positive view?  That's not really a forum at all then.

 

Why is the renewal price the same as the normal one?  Again this is taking perks away from the pass, as one of the advertised perks is reduced renewal rates however it is now the same price (and more than it was earlier in the year).  Not on at all, you don't seem to get anything for being a loyal customer any more.

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Do people ever get bored posting about stuff they hate or is it more a moral crusade type thing?

How much did you choose to spend on Lego's event again?

I can guess your posts before I read them.

£18.75 (it was part of a Christmas present fro. Family).

Later events cost around £23 (£29 non pass holders) as opposed to the £18.75 (£25 non passes) when I went. Considering I got a hot drink, an area with tonnes of lights, decorations & Christmas theming plus a good chunk of the park to myself, it wasn't bad value for money (3 rides at winter wonderland would've cost me more than a day here).

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Here's the issue, I and presumably many others got an email recently about renewals, being told prices from Premium will start from £93 odd...

This comes in and adds £50 to the price... The customer service on this? Absolutely terrible... That is where Merlin's problems come from, the treatment of their guests...

I won't be renewing, £150 can be spent on a holiday, train tickets or rent... More important than the odd visit to a Merlin park...

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