Merlin Passes | Mumsnet

BecauseICan22 · 2022-10-02T06:28:23+00:00

Yay or nay? Please share your views and experiences. They're a major outlay but happy to get them if they're worth it. Our DC do love theme parks. We are quite an outdoorsy family and we have strong links to London too meaning we do visit often.

Leakingroofagain · 02/10/2022 07:33

We used them in 2021 which was great, we actually got out of the house after covid. It was when lots of people were still too scared so queues were low in the theme parks. I'd say worth it for us, we've stopped them for this year as we went on a big holiday abroad but might start them up again as staying in the UK next year and it forces us to book a lot of mini breaks across the year.

TakeMeToYourLiar · 02/10/2022 07:34

we have them and like them but we’re 15 mins from Chessington so easy to get to

id say consider how often you will go, check pass exclusion dates and fo the maths

Darbs76 · 02/10/2022 07:37

My kids are older now but we had these when they were little. No negatives. We are only 30 mins away from Chessington, 45 from Thorpe park and half hour into London, so we could just pop to a park mid afternoon on a weekend after kids activities. If you’re going to use it and get value then they are good. We had enough after 1yr though

Shirty48 · 02/10/2022 07:38

Ours run out in a few days, but we’ve had an amazing year with so many trips out / weekends away around the passes. The only issue for us is that most of the theme parks are so far away - so if you are local it’s a no brainer. I’m a bit of a geek so I’ve recorded all of our trips and we’ve literally saved about £3000 if we’d paid full price every time we went. We are not renewing the passes as we’ve been so many times we need a break but it has been a great year!

84wood · 02/10/2022 07:39

Definitely

my DD loves it and bee use it a lot.

wonderingwhatsnext · 02/10/2022 07:40

Teen dd and I have really enjoyed them this year. We've had some brilliant, fun, quality time together. We pay for them monthly, so that's £30 a month for two gold passes.

Sleepyteach · 02/10/2022 07:44

We have the discovery passes which are only valid weekdays and most Sundays in term time (DD is preschool age) and we’ve used them loads, I worked out each of our visits has cost us £4.50 each this year. Our passes were £69 each in the Black Friday sale. We’ve done two trips to London, Warwick castle, legoland, sealife centres, multiple Alton towers trips and we are hoping to go to Blackpool next month.

PaperPalace · 02/10/2022 07:46

My friend has one as she lives close to Chessington - it can definitely be cost effective if you use it a lot.

RandomMess · 02/10/2022 07:51

How old are your DC?

If young enough for Legoland & Chessington then yes worth it. Consider getting one pass that gives you free car parking.

If you love local it is worth it because you can go for half a day whereas if it's going to be a special trip it can be disappointing if it's really busy or the best rides aren't working.

We knew the parks inside out and back in the days of free parking went to Chessington for the soft play as it was cheaper than taking 3DC elsewhere!

Legoland is usually heaving.

CreepyDibillo · 02/10/2022 09:01

Where do you live? We live within an hour of 3 of Merlin's theme parks so it's worth it for us, we have Gold passes and have used them loads. Factor in the rising costs of travel these days to see how likely you are to actually use them.
Also depends on how old your DC are, I wouldn't bother if the oldest is under 6 or 7.
In general though, they're great, and totally worth it.

Original poster

BecauseICan22 · 02/10/2022 09:27

Shirty48 · 02/10/2022 07:38

Ours run out in a few days, but we’ve had an amazing year with so many trips out / weekends away around the passes. The only issue for us is that most of the theme parks are so far away - so if you are local it’s a no brainer. I’m a bit of a geek so I’ve recorded all of our trips and we’ve literally saved about £3000 if we’d paid full price every time we went. We are not renewing the passes as we’ve been so many times we need a break but it has been a great year!

Wow! That's quite the saving. Well done =) I'm guessing you didn't do any overnight stays etc?

Thank you for your insight.

OP posts:

Original poster

BecauseICan22 · 02/10/2022 09:28

CreepyDibillo · 02/10/2022 09:01

Where do you live? We live within an hour of 3 of Merlin's theme parks so it's worth it for us, we have Gold passes and have used them loads. Factor in the rising costs of travel these days to see how likely you are to actually use them.
Also depends on how old your DC are, I wouldn't bother if the oldest is under 6 or 7.
In general though, they're great, and totally worth it.

We're in the Midlands but also spend a lot of time in London.

Kids are all good ages, youngest is 9.

Thank you for your response.

OP posts:

Original poster

BecauseICan22 · 02/10/2022 09:28

CreepyDibillo · 02/10/2022 09:01

Where do you live? We live within an hour of 3 of Merlin's theme parks so it's worth it for us, we have Gold passes and have used them loads. Factor in the rising costs of travel these days to see how likely you are to actually use them.
Also depends on how old your DC are, I wouldn't bother if the oldest is under 6 or 7.
In general though, they're great, and totally worth it.

I also read your username as CreepyDildo!!

OP posts:

Original poster

BecauseICan22 · 02/10/2022 09:30

RandomMess · 02/10/2022 07:51

How old are your DC?

If young enough for Legoland & Chessington then yes worth it. Consider getting one pass that gives you free car parking.

If you love local it is worth it because you can go for half a day whereas if it's going to be a special trip it can be disappointing if it's really busy or the best rides aren't working.

We knew the parks inside out and back in the days of free parking went to Chessington for the soft play as it was cheaper than taking 3DC elsewhere!

Legoland is usually heaving.

Younger 2 are definitely still young enough and they still have that excitement of theme parks and fun things.

OP posts:

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 02/10/2022 09:32

I am in an area where it’s 2+ hours to Merlin attractions. 2 of my friends have annual passes for their families and have made the most of them this year.

Original poster

BecauseICan22 · 02/10/2022 09:34

Sleepyteach · 02/10/2022 07:44

We have the discovery passes which are only valid weekdays and most Sundays in term time (DD is preschool age) and we’ve used them loads, I worked out each of our visits has cost us £4.50 each this year. Our passes were £69 each in the Black Friday sale. We’ve done two trips to London, Warwick castle, legoland, sealife centres, multiple Alton towers trips and we are hoping to go to Blackpool next month.

We're looking at the Gold Passes as all our kids are in full time school.

Thank you for responding =)

OP posts:

RandomMess · 02/10/2022 09:34

Legoland and Chessington are a bit rubbish once they get to 13 ish.

Have one for a year make the most of it.

Original poster

BecauseICan22 · 02/10/2022 09:35

RandomMess · 02/10/2022 09:34

Legoland and Chessington are a bit rubbish once they get to 13 ish.

Have one for a year make the most of it.

Younger 2 are 10 and 9 so hopefully they'll enjoy it.

We will absolutely try to make the most of it. Thank you 😊

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Motherofacertainage · 02/10/2022 09:46

We had passes for Christmas 2019 and because of Covid lockdowns they ended up being extended for nearly 18 months. My kids are slightly older than yours but we definitely had money's worth. London Eye with queue jump numerous times, Tussards before lockdown , sealife and then numerous trips to Alton Towers and. a day at Thorpe Park. Also as we live close to Warwick Castle could just drop in there and they opened the gardens before most other attractions opened after lockdown. Definitely get the ones with free parking and also worth noting you get discount on food and drink in the parks.

CreepyDibillo · 02/10/2022 10:43

BecauseICan22 · 02/10/2022 09:28

I also read your username as CreepyDildo!!

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🤣🙈 Hadn't considered that one!
Enjoy your passes, sounds like you would get good use out of them.