Attraction Source Forum

Aidan Lowe wrote:I think I already know the answer to this but my car was broken into & wallet stolen which had my Premium Annual Pass in it, there isn't anything Merlin can do is there? Am I going to have to purchase a new one now?

I believe lost passes can be reprinted for £10 but your best bet would be to check out the FAQ on the MAP website.

Dan wrote:

Aidan Lowe wrote:I think I already know the answer to this but my car was broken into & wallet stolen which had my Premium Annual Pass in it, there isn't anything Merlin can do is there? Am I going to have to purchase a new one now?

I believe lost passes can be reprinted for £10 but your best bet would be to check out the FAQ on the MAP website.

Ah yes it does say that is possible but doesn't really state how one goes about it other than I'm guessing turn up at Alton Towers.

You can have your Merlin Annual Pass reissued at your chosen Home Attraction, please note that there is an administration charge of £10.

25. In the event of a lost, stolen and/or damaged Annual Pass, Merlin will re-issue a replacement Annual Pass subject to a maximum of four replacement Annual Passes per Annual Pass holder per year. Replacement Annual Passes will only be issued at the original issuing Attraction to the individual whose details have been provided in accordance with Term 4. An administration fee of up to £10 will be charged for the re-issue of each lost or damaged Annual Pass. The re-issue of stolen Annual Passes will also be subject to the £10 re-issue fee unless the holder can provide Merlin with a relevant crime reference number when requesting that the Annual Pass is re-issued.

MAP T's and C's. Also, remember to bring ID.

Go to your home attraction and you can get it replaced for £10 I think it is.

If you get a crime number it will be replaced for free.

jackf1tz wrote:If you get a crime number it will be replaced for free.

If you mean the crime reference number the Greater Manchester Police gave me then yes I have that.
Anyone been through this process before? When I go to a kiosk what do I say, ask to speak to a manager/team leader or what? 

Aidan Lowe wrote:

jackf1tz wrote:If you get a crime number it will be replaced for free.

If you mean the crime reference number the Greater Manchester Police gave me then yes I have that.
Anyone been through this process before? When I go to a kiosk what do I say, ask to speak to a manager/team leader or what? 

If your Merlin Annual Pass has been stolen and you have a Crime Reference Number, we will be able to waive the £10 administration fee. This can be done at your chosen Home Attraction.

This is all it says under the "Stolen Passes" section. I'd imagine that it just means that you go to wherever you would normally recive your pass at your home attraction and just explain to them that it was stolen and that you have the Crime Reference Number and they would probably be able to take from there. 
If I was in your situation I'd probably phone Merlin to ask more specifically what I would have to do but I hope I have been able to help in some way

Changes to Merlin Annual Pass

2017/18 Merlin Annual Pass packages

We wanted to let you know that on the 28th November 2017, we will be introducing our 2017/18 Merlin Annual Pass packages for Standard and Premium Passholders.* 

Our Merlin Annual Pass packages continue to offer amazing value when visiting some of the UK’s favourite attractions and 2017 continues to be an exciting year! So far we have launched the UK’s first Gruffalo River Ride Adventure at Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Ocean Invaders at SEA LIFE London Aquarium, LEGO® NINJAGO® City Adventure at LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre Manchester and much, much more.

As we head into 2018 we are so thrilled to announce new and exciting experiences in our attractions, which we can’t wait to share with you and we know you will enjoy! 

*Any Merlin Annual Passes purchased prior to 28th November are not affected by these changes. For more information, please click the link below.

https://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/2018packages

In summary...

• Standard Merlin Annual Pass - No price increase.
• Standard Merlin Annual Passes cannot be used on Friday, Saturday or Sunday in August or the first week in September at THORPE PARK Resort, Alton Towers Resort, Warwick Castle and LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. This is in addition to other restrictions.
• Premium Merlin Annual Pass will increase in cost by £10 for renewals and new passes.
• Premium Merlin Annual Pass 'Share the Fun' restrictions will apply.
• Premium Merlin Annual Pass may occur special event fee.
• Revised T&Cs will be published in due course for 2017/18 passes.

Bloody ridiculous!

Lewis made a valid point earlier - an odd move to tell people they can’t come to your parks, after seeing a decline in visitation this year..

It's not like the parks are ALL opening huge attractions where visitor numbers are forecast to be huge.

With closures on quiet days and now these restrictions on top, the offer is getting very poor to guests.

Despite the pass offering good value, the changes to the standard pass are ridiculous, and I feel far too restrictive for some families. Standard pass holders cannot visit any weekend in August? Absolutely stupid - great for the general public because now I imagine it will be much quieter on park... But is that what the company really want?

Another possible reason behind the move may be to ‘force’ families to all purchase premium passes, as I am aware some would just purchase one premium MAP for the free parking and then everyone else would get a standard MAP.

In general though, I think it’s pretty clear that Merlin’s intention is to get more people choosing premium over standard, however the question is whether the number of passes they manage to convert will generate more revenue than is lost as a result of people choosing not to renew at all on standard.

It is very likely an attempt to convert more Standard pass holders to Premium. It could also be an conscious effort to spread the number of visitors over the summer months.

Personally, I'm fine with the £10 increase. With regards to special events then this is nothing new. Merlin are obviously just covering their backs more with the £1 reservation fee for Fright Nights and £5 reservation fee for Fireworks.

lewis97 wrote:

In general though, I think it’s pretty clear that Merlin’s intention is to get more people choosing premium over standard, however the question is whether the number of passes they manage to convert will generate more revenue than is lost as a result of people choosing not to renew at all on standard.

This point is exactly what I was thinking but failing to articulate :lol

"An event fee applies to Special events, including Fright Nights, Concerts and Mazes." 

This doesn't sound optional to me.  I can understand it for concerts and mazes, but park entry shouldn't come with a compulsory fee

I doubt it will be much more than what we have now. Time will tell, but it does sound like there will be no choice from that statement.

The timing of this move is a little bizarre, however it is a T&C change I have anticipated for a while now. I do appreciate peoples reservations and criticism, but I have always firmly believed that the MAP terms have been some of the most relaxed in the leisure industry on a comparative level.

Both Disney and Universal Annual Passes have some excruciating blackout dates, which dependant upon your required experience determines the level of pass that you purchase. If you want the flexibility of an unlimited and unhindered pass, then sadly you will be required to be pay for that. I can see a new tier being added in that bridges the gap between Premium and VIP; likely called the freedom/flexible pass with its focus very much on no blackout dates and guaranteed access to park events. If Merlin wish to peruse this, the VIP pass has ironically caused an issue for them with the maximum numbers. Unless of course they eventually intend to extend this passed the 1000 passes.

As others have already said, it does seem that Merlin are trying to push more people to go for the Premium pass over Standard.

As a Premium passholder I don’t have an issue with a £10 price increase. With the amount of use that I get out of my pass over the course of the season it represents fantastic value for money and I’m not surprised that they appear to be adding some form of special event ”fee” to the Premium Pass. While I understand that the £5 MAP pre-booking fee for Fireworks at Towers caused an amount of uproar amongst some passholders, it allowed them to have a better control of guest numbers and it turned out to be a very well organised event. A lot of passholders seem to forget that owning a pass doesn’t guarantee you entry to an attraction so if I have to pay a small amount to be guaranteed a space then that’s fine by me.

Fireworks worked really well, so hopefully the same tactics can be applied to other events with this change.