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WTF Merlin?

Another classic gone, Sky Rider has permanently closed at Legoland and has already started coming down.

Always liked this one as it gave a nice view over the park.

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cookie said:
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I've been chatting to a few friends who were working at the London parks. At least 1/4 of management in operations have been let go at each of the parks. There was a hiring freeze from around about easter 2024. Rumours of Merlin looking to sell/modify properties that are home to wildlife due to the maintenance costs of keeping live animals. Sounds like the new CEO is introducing some pretty aggressive cost-saving exercises.
 
Not sure where to ask this, but we've brought gold passes this year, we've never had passes before. How late can you reserve, are on the day reservations allowed?
 
Tonkso said:
Not sure where to ask this, but we've brought gold passes this year, we've never had passes before. How late can you reserve, are on the day reservations allowed?
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Apart from Fireworks night, I've not reserved a visit to Alton Towers in advance since 2020. I've not been checked either. In fact, I've never had a reservation checked at any park, apart from a couple of times during Covid, soon after reopening.

I have reserved Towers on the day a few times, when I've made plans to meet others there. (But not always, I usually just go with no reservation.) I do have a platinum pass though, so that may make reserving on the day easier, as reservation numbers are limited for the lower tiers, whereas Platinum is supposed to be available, without restriction, any time tickets are available.

Also, I ALWAYS reserve the southern parks, because I wouldn't want to risk travelling all of the way down there, only to get turned away. (Still never been checked at any of them though!)

Long story short, you can definitely reserve all but the busiest days on the day, with a platinum pass. With a gold pass, I'm not sure, but I imagine that, if there's space, then you can reserve. There's no mechanism or rules specifically preventing it, just a tighter limit on the number of reservations available to the lower tiers. (And if you like living on the edge, and there's no reservations left, make the journey anyway, but don't blame me if your mileage varies, and you do get checked!)
 
Okay, awesome. Gold isn't supposed to be that far detached from platinum so it should be good.

I often get stuck in traffic near Thorpe Park so the option to duck into the park for a bit is very appealing.
 
Tonkso said:
Okay, awesome. Gold isn't supposed to be that far detached from platinum so it should be good.

I often get stuck in traffic near Thorpe Park so the option to duck into the park for a bit is very appealing.
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Yes, officially I think that, other than the blocked off days, and small things like discount levels, the main difference is gold has a limited number of reservations for the day, higher than silver, but still limited. Whereas Platinum has no limit beyond the park's operational capacity for that day. Or at least, that's what was said on the MAP facebook group a couple of years ago. 🤷‍♂️
 
JoshC. said:
*was

All of these are from the now-old CEO, Scott O'Neil. He officially left in the last couple of months, with an interim CEO, Fiona Eastwood, currently in charge.

But right now, she's just overseeing all the plans that were put in motion. Don't envy that right now.
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unfortunately that's not true, this is all after he left.
 
bla8989 said:
unfortunately that's not true, this is all after he left.
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I can't offer any evidence, but from what I'm aware, the big restructuring - including redundancies at multiple locations - has been planned for several months, way before Scott even announced he was moving on. Some staff were aware of it being a thing that was coming as early as the summer.

Of course, things may have changed and been tweaked. But even if it redundancies started after he left, it was the plan formed whilst he was in charge
 
toofpikk said:
Rumours of Merlin looking to sell/modify properties that are home to wildlife due to the maintenance costs of keeping live animals. Sounds like the new CEO is introducing some pretty aggressive cost-saving exercises.
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Sky News have reported that Merlin are looking to potentially sell a number of their Sea Life aquariums.

There are currently 50+ Sea lifes, some like Manchester, Birmingham and London are apparently not at risk.

Source
 
91095E3C-0719-4C4D-97B9-4B883475A0EE.jpegI wonder if Merlin will sell Cadbury world I would say this isn’t one of there biggest attractions if there selling sea life they may sell this.
 
It is very strange what is going on.

It was only last March they reported "record revenues" and celebrated purchasing the Orlando eye:

Merlin Entertainments Delivers Record Revenues In 2023 As Transformational Strategy Takes Hold

Merlin Reports Strong Growth and Strategic Expansion, Reinforcing Position as Global Leader of Branded Entertainment Destinations
www.merlinentertainments.biz www.merlinentertainments.biz

Fast forward 11 months and it's all doom and gloom. Lots of redundancies, Sea Life centres up for sale, entertainment across the theme parks cancelled, Merlin Magic making closed down, chief exec resigned.. WTF indeed!
 
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