The Merlin Annual Pass

General theme park and attraction industry chat, along with the world of theme park gaming.
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newrider
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Location: London... TOO FAR from the Towers!

Just to say I got a really positive response back to my emal about the pass not being recognised... Promising to remind brands to re-train staff. So it sounds liken they're taking it seriously, and should hopefully result in a smoother visit for others in the future.
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Paul_richard
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newrider wrote:Just to say I got a really positive response back to my emal about the pass not being recognised... Promising to remind brands to re-train staff. So it sounds liken they're taking it seriously, and should hopefully result in a smoother visit for others in the future.
That's good to hear. They do appear to care about this pass, so any feedback good or bad helps us all in the long run.

Thanks
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chrish
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LAST DAY TO BUY VIP PASSES.

I am at Alton Towers and have been told by the box office that today is the last day to buy a VIP pass.
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thedman31
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Do they mean a vip pass for the day at Alton or vip annual membership? Spoke to someone other day who said there was still a couple of hundred left?
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stageshoot
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Interesting to see that Alton Towers has increased the discount on all its VIP packages (even the cheapo £55 package) from 20% off to 50% off on purchases in all retail stores at Alton Towers


http://www.altontowers.com/VIP-Experiences/

Will be interesting to see if this discount is also reflected on the VIP Annual Pass at Alton Towers now for retail store purchases...

UPDATE. Ok scrub that they just replied on Facebook and said no still 20% for VIP Annual passes
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Mayfly_
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So I finally purchased mine and my friends VIP Pass today.

Took about 15 minutes to get through and I called dead on 9AM, i'm very happy though.

Some interesting things the Merlin Rep was telling me, obvs I don't know if true:
*Apparently there were roughly under 30 passes left when I called this morning.
*The price is going to be crazy for the pass next year.
*The VIP pass hotline to buy passes is going to close soon (within the next few days soon) and apparently i'm lucky I bought them today.

Nevertheless i'm happy i've got the passes secured, off to Thorpe Park on Saturday to try them out but got to run to Tussuads tomorrow after work from the Midlands with a friend to collect them as they had no passes at Sealife Birmingham/Thorpe Park *welp*.

Life is good, thanks to all of those that gave information and I hope to meet some of you guys around the various resorts/attractions. :)
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Paul_richard
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I'd take any details of numbers of passes left with a pinch of salt but good to hear you've got one!

I notice on ebay people are claiming to be able to sell the VIP pass for £350 each, getting cheaper the more you buy.
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Mayfly_
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Paul_richard wrote:I'd take any details of numbers of passes left with a pinch of salt but good to hear you've got one!

I notice on ebay people are claiming to be able to sell the VIP pass for £350 each, getting cheaper the more you buy.
Yeah I totally agree re the first line and thanks :)
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thedman31
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Hello All!

Thank goodness for chrish: when I decided just to check out what he had been told at Alton with the VIP line the response I received was : "yep, that's correct. It's the last day today. Come 5 O'Clock it's over". My wife and I just looked at each other and thought "okay we need to do this!". My wallet is still silently weeping at the cost, but hopefully it will be worth it.

Firstly it took absolutely AGES to get through, around 20 - 25 minutes (I checked on my iPhone). I too received some useful info from the Merlin rep:

1. At the time of my call there were no passes left at Alton. There were only a couple left at Madame Tussaud's which we grabbed.
2. The pass WILL apply to scare attractions, we specifically asked this. They put us on hold to check then confirmed it, so brilliant as that was really important to our decision to go ahead (we love the mazes!).
3. Again, as of 5 today there will be no more VIP passes offered, that's it. So to anyone who got theirs today (including me) I think we can all breathe a sigh of collective relief.
4. Fast track applies to all uk attractions but you do get free admission to any international park.

I am a little taken aback by the mention of these selling on ebay for £350. I have a couple of reactions to that:

1. Why would anyone sell something worth £500 for £150 less (unless of course it is simply an unwanted gift?) The laws of commerce would suggest that if something is in limited demand the price should go up, not down (e.g. tickets for a London show I wanted to see that sold for £45 are now going for £580!). Unless its just one person wanting to get rid, it seems a pretty crazy business plan : )

2. It was highlighted a couple of times on the call that all VIP passes are non-transferable. Its therefore not possible to sell them to anyone: it would be a breach of contract to do so, and, if someone was to change the photo etc. possibly fraudulent. Again, I don't really get why someone would attempt this: at law you can't transfer rights to someone that you don't have yourself.

But anyway: WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!! We are really happy to be joining the ranks of others on here, and may see you about.

Thanks for all the guidance on here.

Cheers
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Mayfly_
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thedman31 wrote:x
Hey congrats! :-)

and same situation re Tussauds over here!
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stageshoot
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Glad you managed to get some. Bit strange for an unannounced deadline but end of month would make sense.

Wonder why they insist on a particular location for pickup it would cost them a pittance to send passes blank to your local attraction to pick up

Also the attractions must have a supply of blanks in case they need to reprint s lost pass.

Glad to AT scare fest mazes are included. Did they confirm if this include the paid for mazes and fastrack at the mazes?

Planning my Halloween week now to hit AT and Thorpe a couple of times as well as Warwick Castle and London Dungeon!!!
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Paul_richard
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No idea how they are getting passes cheaper unless it's staff selling their discounted ones but I'm sure I saw on a Thorpe thread that they couldn't discount VIP passes.

Seems the listing has been pulled, they had many for sale but you had to message them for VIP prices. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... TQ:GB:1123
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thedman31
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Thanks guys. Yes, my wife and I thought that it was a bit odd too but then again as you say, month end may well tie up with the financials. And it may also be the case that (being hopeful here of course) that they have great plans for the VIP pass and want to know the exact amount they are dealing with in order to ensure overall quality, I know that other places do this with VIP experiences to ensure that they remain that.

I basically just asked would all of the attractions specifically for October / Scare attractions would be covered under the fast track / VIP and the answer that they gave us was yes. I knew that this was something that people on here were very interested in, and it was also the basis upon which I finally decided to go for it so decided to clarify it for others as well as myself, hope it helps.

I too am getting pumped for Halloween now, really excited. Also, a Blackpool weekend may be on the cards. Has anyone been there yet?!

: )
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stageshoot
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It looks very much like a scam / hijacked account the seller has never sold anything similar beforr
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thedman31
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Thanks Paul. Maybe Merlin quietly had a word about the terms and conditions.

: )

Incidentally did anyone else have a minor heart attack when they said "this is your last chance to buy the VIP pass"? : ) It definitely motivated me as a customer to buy lol
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stageshoot
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thedman31 wrote:Incidentally did anyone else have a minor heart attack when they said "this is your last chance to buy the VIP pass"? : ) It definitely motivated me as a customer to buy lol
Part of me wonders if they have been taking lessons from the DFS school of limited time offers.

Haven't they had a last chance sale on for the past 35 years!!!
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Mark-Cal
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Well, I haven't regretted buying mine yet, was at the Towers again today with my grown up kids and enjoying not having to rush everywhere just to try and get a few rides in.
We can take our time, knowing that we've got a whole year before we need to worry about tackling those endless queues again !
Has anyone cashed in their golden tickets yet or are we all holding out to see what other offers come up ?
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Aidan Lowe
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Has anyone cashed in their golden tickets yet or are we all holding out to see what other offers come up ?
Well the 3 experiences currently on offer mainly benefit people in the southern area of the country. I personally don't see why people would want a behind the scenes tour of Sea Life. Discovery Channel is all people need in regards to that.

With a whole year to go it would be silly to cash in on those experiences just yet, there could be some truly amazing experiences up for grabs.
*The price is going to be crazy for the pass next year.
I'm probably gonna guess 800 for family (discounted) and 900 for individual, anymore than that and its a bit ludicrous.
Also, a Blackpool weekend may be on the cards. Has anyone been there yet?!
Going a week on Saturday, got 3 adults and 2 children (me free ofc) into Sea Life Blackpool, Tower Circus & Madame Tussauds for £102 which is pretty damn good.
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Momoffour
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thedman31 wrote:
Incidentally did anyone else have a minor heart attack when they said "this is your last chance to buy the VIP pass"? : ) It definitely motivated me as a customer to buy lol


Part of me wonders if they have been taking lessons from the DFS school of limited time offers.

Haven't they had a last chance sale on for the past 35 years!!!



Ha ha. Sale ends Sunday 5pm. Never specifies which Sunday or which year ;)

Glad they have closed it actually and that's us lot in

What they should do is give us full ride exit access at all rides and I will pay them the 800 each for us all too ;) VIP means that to me so if they offering an amazing deal I will pay for it

As for that guy on eBay? Seriously. Someone would give him £350 for what is probably a fake pass. What a fool someone would rock up to alton towers or wherever with the paper slip and they would laugh them out of the park.

I mailed sea life in Manchester and tried to ask if I could use my golden ticket for a dive walk and they said no :(
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Momoffour
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I would like the VIP pass friends tickets to include fast pass. Even the one FP ride on each ride, not unlimited. But this would be a help as my son wants to bring his mate perhaps but will cost me the FP ticket !!!! I would prefer 1 free entry ticket but included FP
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