This isn't really about the Merlin AP prices (and upsell, etc), though it does have some bearing...
Essentially, I'm suffering from Merlin fatigue. For the last maybe four or five years, my first parks of choice to visit (and other days out) have all been Merlin attractions.
The reason is very simple. Each year we invest in Merlin Annual Passes and to "get the most from them", we prioritise Merlin attractions to visit.
However, I'm getting sick and tired of them. I'm definitely getting value with the amount of visits I make, but I've had enough. I popped into Warwick Castle on the way down South on Monday and all I saw (as I do at Alton now) is "line Merlin's pockets with some more of your hard earned cash". I know they're a business and have to make money (and most of it up sell), but I've just fed up with going to places "because it's free" to find the day isn't.
It got me thinking. We wanted to do the "Merlin Tower", but it was almost a fiver each to do it (plus waiting time). Now, from the adverts, there's no sign it's an additional charge (that's a different discussion of course), but it led the way my thoughts went. That £5 each is a quarter of (or close to a quarter of) the cost of entry to Oakwood, Paultons Park or Twinlakes. It's half the cost of entry to The Milky Way.
I can't afford to go to these places because with petrol, it's too much to add the entry price on for the family. Yet we make pilgrimages to Merlin attractions maybe twice a month. We don't have bad days there (and the attractions are top quality), but I think we'd have a much better overall "attraction experience" to do one new (or at least different) park a month rather than two Merlin ones. If we ditched the annual pass and cut down, we could easily afford it.
So, we're probably looking at dropping our APs when they run out (annoyingly, they are staggered) and will replace the Merlin visits to a much broader range of places.
Anyone else suffering from this? Maybe as a PBB pass owner you find yourself at Blackpool all the time rather than LWV? Is it just Merlin fatigue though? With more and more attractions being added, it makes the value much higher, but the limitations to other attraction visitations much higher too (we all only have a finite amount of time and money).
What are your thoughts?
Essentially, I'm suffering from Merlin fatigue. For the last maybe four or five years, my first parks of choice to visit (and other days out) have all been Merlin attractions.
The reason is very simple. Each year we invest in Merlin Annual Passes and to "get the most from them", we prioritise Merlin attractions to visit.
However, I'm getting sick and tired of them. I'm definitely getting value with the amount of visits I make, but I've had enough. I popped into Warwick Castle on the way down South on Monday and all I saw (as I do at Alton now) is "line Merlin's pockets with some more of your hard earned cash". I know they're a business and have to make money (and most of it up sell), but I've just fed up with going to places "because it's free" to find the day isn't.
It got me thinking. We wanted to do the "Merlin Tower", but it was almost a fiver each to do it (plus waiting time). Now, from the adverts, there's no sign it's an additional charge (that's a different discussion of course), but it led the way my thoughts went. That £5 each is a quarter of (or close to a quarter of) the cost of entry to Oakwood, Paultons Park or Twinlakes. It's half the cost of entry to The Milky Way.
I can't afford to go to these places because with petrol, it's too much to add the entry price on for the family. Yet we make pilgrimages to Merlin attractions maybe twice a month. We don't have bad days there (and the attractions are top quality), but I think we'd have a much better overall "attraction experience" to do one new (or at least different) park a month rather than two Merlin ones. If we ditched the annual pass and cut down, we could easily afford it.
So, we're probably looking at dropping our APs when they run out (annoyingly, they are staggered) and will replace the Merlin visits to a much broader range of places.
Anyone else suffering from this? Maybe as a PBB pass owner you find yourself at Blackpool all the time rather than LWV? Is it just Merlin fatigue though? With more and more attractions being added, it makes the value much higher, but the limitations to other attraction visitations much higher too (we all only have a finite amount of time and money).
What are your thoughts?
