Fright Nights Pre-Book only

[Ollie]

This is seriously making me doubt whether to go or not this year. Why should we pay for unlimited entry only to be charged to go in? It's just stupid. Yes I know the park gets busy but that's why people get there early. You can't complain if you turn up at 2pm and get send to Chessington because the park is full.
I just want to be able to make the decision on the day to go or not as well. They haven't broadcast this information very well either and they'll still be getting loads of people each day who haven't booked tickets.

 

[nealbie]

I shall see y'all at Chessington for GF then.

 

[Ian]

£2.

That's less than two litres of petrol. It's not even a pint.

GF is 65 days away...so that's just 3p a day from now to then!

It's **** all when you think about it.

Yes, I agree that this is a 100% money grabbing idea. They can easily limit numbers entering the park, but this will make them money.

But anyway, for the sake of £2 - the price of a Big Mac - it's no big deal.

And yes, Vadge, the 26th.

 

[nealbie]

Yes, I agree that this is a 100% money grabbing idea.

That's all that needs to be said. Chessie it is :wink:

 

[Screaming Coasters]

But then paying 150 quid is enough to let me into the park for nothing.
Bastards.

 

[marc]

So if you guys went to the USA and had to buy an extra ticket for the Halloween stuff you would not go?

Yet in Germany people were willing to pay £10 for ert on one coaster? yet not £2 for a whole day at Thorpe.

Who actually paid £150 for the pass? bet most used Clubcard points.

Just buy one less drink on the day and thats the £2 back.

 

[Mark]

It is very sad that some people are opting to not pay the extra two quid to spend the day in the company of CF for the annual GhosterForce... Very sad indeed
As Ian said, £2 is nothing at all. I'll bear it in mind when I'm paying £30 to get in......

Who actually paid £150 for the pass? bet most used Clubcard points.

...and their parents ClubCard points no less..... :roll:

 

[ciallkennett]

Who actually paid £150 for the pass?

I did :evil: !

It's an absolute outrage that they're charging AP holders! Think about it: I'd say that most days, around 1/4 of people who go are AP holders, Fright Nights, probably more.

I dunno what the capacity is a Thorpe, but I'd imagine they could easily fit about 5000 people. So that's 1,250 AP holders, or an additional £2,500 quid out of nothing.

It's a flipping outrage. I suggest AP revolt! Angry emails..

EDIT: As Mark said, the only thing that's still making me go is Ghosterforce, but if it was just for a random day, I probably wouldn't.

More Alton Scarefest for me anyway this year

 

[Mark]

Who actually paid £150 for the pass?

I did :evil: !

It's an absolute outrage that they're charging AP holders! Think about it: I'd say that most days, around 1/4 of people who go are AP holders, Fright Nights, probably more.

I dunno what the capacity is a Thorpe, but I'd imagine they could easily fit about 5000 people. So that's 1,250 AP holders, or an additional £2,500 quid out of nothing.

It's a flipping outrage. I suggest AP revolt! Angry emails..

You what? You are suggesting an AP revolt over £2..... For the love of flipping god I think people really need to get a reality and priority check.

As Marc said, the American parks have been doing the charge extra for years. It was only a matter of time before UK parks followed suit... (Funny, they also followed the exact same trends with the fast pass systems too.......)

On a side note... how many of you had Annual Passes on Saws open day and still went queuing up to get free entrance tickets to then sell them on eBay... totally flaunting the system!

Or how many of those complaining about this £2 but are quite willing to pay the £18 to buy the fast pass tickets.....

I just can't believe people are getting sooooo wound up over £2.

This IS an exercise in trying to control the numbers better for Fright Nights since soooo many people (include a large number from CF to boot) complained about the state of play and lack of ride counts at Fright Nights last year.

As I have said before, Fright Nights is a Special Themed Event and it quite clearly stipulates in the T&C's for the annual pass that they can charge extra for said events. By buying an annual pass you agree to adhere to those Terms and Conditions. Don't like it... tough!

People dont seem to consider the fact that these events do cost money and unfortunately, this year, part of that cost is being passed onto the consumer... Sounds like standard buisness practice to me... They could have passed on a higher fee...

I know Ian and others do it out of the kindest of their hearts. But bear in mind who paid for all the sweets and so on that people stand scoffing on in the queues... or people who lay out money for prizes and so on. Yes, they don't have to do it, but it has come out of their pocket and everyone else benefits for free. I'd daresay people eat way more then £2 worth.

I would like to stress that what I am getting at here and what upsets me sooo much is my complete dismay at the fact people are willing to abandon the final UK CFLive of the year, a testament to the strength of our community.... over £2!

 

[ciallkennett]

Ok, I agree with most of that, Mark. Maybe it's slightly extreme, however, there are a few things I must correct:

how many of those complaining about this £2 but are quite willing to pay the £18 to buy the fast pass tickets.....

I would never EVER buy a Fast Track. Another complete waste of money and money grabbing by parks.

This IS an exercise in trying to control the numbers better for Fright Nights since soooo many people (include a large number from CF to boot) complained about the state of play and lack of ride counts at Fright Nights last year.

So telling people we're going to charge you for probably the same experience is going to make people happier? Each year they do turn people away when they reach capacity, this time they're chargng people, probably until they reach that capacity again. If they were to reduce the amount of people in the park by doing this, it is a very bad business plan as they're going to lose a bit of money, and we all know Thorpe doesn't give much of a **** about most of customer issues.

As I have said before, Fright Nights is a Special Themed Event

A skeleton on Inferno's lift hill and chalk on the floor do not count towards special themeing But they're even booking mazes this year...money, money money...

and it quite clearly stipulates in the T&C's for the annual pass that they can charge extra for said events. By buying an annual pass you agree to adhere to those Terms and Conditions. Don't like it... tough

Ok, I agree with that...

 

[marc]

It's £2 just £2 that a lot of people are willing to pay to go on an Apple coaster at a fun fair

If it means less queues and less chavs I have no problem with it.

The day will cost me £30 anyway.

 

[Mark]

and we all know Thorpe doesn't give much of a <img src='http://www.coasterforce.com/forums/images/smiles/icon_censored.gif' /> about most of customer issues.

I find that highly contradictory. Clearly they do, otherwise they wouldn't have been dishing out quite so many FREE entry tickets after the Saw opening day...

Seriously, if you honestly believe that any company doesn't give much of a **** about customer issues then you are truly naive. If anything, in this economic climate companies are far more concerned about Customer Service as they need to ensure repeat business. If they really didn't care then as a business they would not last. Simples.

A skeleton on Inferno's lift hill and chalk on the floor do not count towards special themeing But they're even booking mazes this year...money, money money...

Erm the extra actors they hire in, the mazes, lighting, smoke machines, the advertising, extra fencing for queuing, extra signage, etc etc etc. I don't think you realise just how quickly these costs add up. It is still a Special Themed Event under the T&C's.

If I did have to pay £2 as an AP holder, I would. I would actually pay a lot more. Not because it is Fright Nights... but for meeting all the CF members that I am not going to see until next season! £2 is a very reasonable price for that privilege! If it weren't for CF I wouldn't be touching Fright Nights with a barge pole... Annual Pass holder or not!

 

[nealbie]

Ciall, calm down. Seriously!

I totally disagree with it in principle. But it wont stop me going to Thorpe for Fright Nights, especially as a tonne of my mates will be there. £2 afterall, is like 1 drink. So if anything's going to happen to me, it's more likely to be dehydration than bankruptcy. :wink:

However, I do believe people are being a bit naive in thinking it will reduce numbers. Thorpe know their capacity, this means they know how many tickets they can sell. But, many people may not be aware of this, perhaps meaning lower numbers anyways as they wont be able to get in on the gate.

Furthermore, this is a bad move as far as customer satisfaction is concerned. I personally feel that they have done this as a way of improving guests experiences and ride counts, etc. But making the mazes pre-book only as well is only going to result in more people in normal ride queues as they can't go in the maze without a ticket.

So the idea, whilst meritable, is a mistake. I am not happy with it all, but I'm not going to be an uber thicko and start a boycott over it :lol:

 

[Rach]

I for one think that some people are getting their knickers in a twist over a measly £2 (or £5 before the end of September) and it isn't just on this forum either.
And therefore 100% agree with what Mark said.

Yes this is Thorpe Park, and people don't like Thorpe and are bound to make a fuss over a couple of quid. Though I'm not a huge fan of Thorpe, I do think this is a fantastic idea.

I've been to two Fright Nights events and my response to it as always been that it is far too busy. I and many others don't want to queue for 3 hours for Inferno (although it was mighty fun) and 2 hours for Colossus. And quite frankly I don't want to queue those length of times do the mazes.

I like the fact that Thorpe are actually trying to do something to curb the numbers of people in the park making it far more enjoyable for the people that are actually in the park. And I also like it that they are listening to people and care about the way that customers see the park. I think after the amount of people that wrote to them after opening day and from previous Fright Nights it has made them aware of ways they need to improve their service and I'm all for it.

By not selling tickets on the gate and making AP holders pay extra it should in theory reduce the numbers.
(Whether it actually works remains to be seen)

On the subject of opening day, when I learnt that people were cheating the Annual Pass system to get some free tickets to flog on eBay I was quite disgusted. And likewise with people that kept diving back into the queue to get more passes and more tickets. Stupid and unfair on the park that are trying to do something to compensate the guests and make it work for everyone.

Another point that I really think needs echoing again is that you comply to the Terms and Conditions of owning an Annual Pass, and I quote from the website:

7: An Annual Pass is not valid for any Merlin Entertainments Group concerts or themed special events held at any Attraction. An additional charge will apply for these events

I recall seeing that exact T&C since I've had it and have always considered that the parks may charge for such events and therefore glad they have finally done something about it.

One last point I wish to make is all those that are considering boycotting GF because of £2!

Like Mark said, lots of people buy sweets for this Live and will happily stuff their faces with them. I'd like to echo what he said about them and that I'm sure people eat more than £2 worth of them or use more than £2 worth of them in case of glowsticks and stuff like that from last year.

Those that are considering 'boycotting' GF for the sake of £2 need to think several things over.
I'll admit now that I don't like GF and this has nothing to do with the organisation of it (which I think is amazing considering the sheer size of it) the only reason I don't like it is because of the busyness of the parks and again echos my point of agreeing with the additional charge for AP holders that it should help to make the GF day at Thorpe better for everyone.

While there is a chance of me not being able to go to GF this year, it as absolutely nothing to do with the additional charge. And everything to do with college.
With the chance I have of making it, I said way before they introduced the compulsory charge, that I would buy a guaranteed entrance ticket to make sure I could get in as if I do go, I may not make it there till the early afternoon.

[/end rant]

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Wow...

Tbh I wouldn't want to pay money to go to Thorpe based on previous years, and I'm not going anyway, but it could work out, certainly wouldn't be 5k as Ciall said on the previous page, at least double that possible treble it imo...

Merlin like all companies want to make as much money as possible, some companies are able to do it more subtley than others (Disney and their balloon handles are a good example imo)...

£2 isn't a lot though, seriously, if people are reacting like this to £2, imagine if it were a fiver, like the Saw preview day... Would you go then?

 

[ciallkennett]

Ok, upon reflection, I think that I posted was slightly OTT, but it was how I felt at the time.

Mark, Neal, Rach and others have made good points, and I do agree with them.

I'm not put off going to GF because of this whatsoever. If I had to pay full price just to go for GF I would.

What made me most angry was the fact that without people on CF posting the email, I would have had no idea about it. I never received the email, and I would have ended up travelling 3 hours just to be turned away at the gates. (EDIT: I have registered on the AP site now, so SHOULD receive emails etc. But I suspect more than half of AP holders haven't...)

I just need to find a way to book my ticket now as the Thorpe website doesn't accept my mum's debit card...

 

[Screaming Coasters]

It is very sad that some people are opting to not pay the extra two quid to spend the day in the company of CF for the annual GhosterForce... Very sad indeed

Didn't say I wasn't going, I'm just saying it's a damn cheek on Merlins part. What a **** company.

Let me just throw this one at everyone then -

If it was just to keep numbers down, why don't Merlin just give the upgrade tickets away and fill the park up that way, rather than selling them. If getting numbers is all they want, then this is what they should do.

 

[marc]

Cause people would order loads and not use them and stop people going, by putting a small charge on people will go on that day.

 

[Screaming Coasters]

People will still skip it if they want, its only 2 quid.
Anyway, things can be setup online to stop multiple orders so I don't know why people are sticking up for Merlin?

 

[Ollie]

I don't think it's the fact that it's only £2 that people are complaining about and more the fact that there is a charge. People buy the annual passes (for quite alot of money) to visit the park throughout the year. And then to go and make people pay for each visit just seems like an excuse to get more money.
Yes the event was stupidly busy last year but I bet Thorpe had a field day with all the money coming in. And now this year with Saw they're probably going to get even more. The charge for the tickets isn't going to make the park less busy. They'll still sell tickets till they reach capacity so it'll be as busy and horrible as last year and you'd have paid for it which makes it even worse.

And then once inside you'll only get about 4 rides done before the park closes so if you want to get on most things you have to buy fastrack which then is them getting even more money from you.
Can't they be looking into better ways of controlling crowds or even get a couple of Halloween shows (I've heard that Circus of Horrors won't be returning this year) as these help relax the queues a bit and makes the day slightly more enjoyable.

Also what about all those people that don't have access to the internet? There are still loads of people without a computer out there who may decide to visit the park only to be turned away at the gate. And even if you do have internet Thorpe aren't letting people know about it unless they find out themselves. I bet there's going to be hundreds of people each day who can't get into the park because they didn't know about this. The park is still bearable later on in the event anyway. It gets busier the closer to Halloween it is but if you got to the park for opening you still got in easily.

So at the moment I think it's a silly idea as I don't think it's going to change anything apart from getting more complaints.