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cflive at thorpe park

What do they mean 'special event'?

As in a park buyout like what O2 or ITV do? or Halloween events?
They haven't made it clear to anyone and right there, is a loophole in the contract.
 
If this brings queues down I'm more than happy. I went to Thorpe last Saturday with Erol & Manda, and it was my 3rd visit (the only other two being fright nights) and this was by far the best for rides... I felt like I was in a total different park, much more relaxed.
 
Will it keep it manageable though?

Maybe fewer AP people going, but what about guests who book online, if Thorpe advertise like they should from a company point of view, then they will still try and pull the same amount of numbers they have been getting the last few years...
 
Erol, sorry mate but it is VERY clearly in the terms and conditions...

Under point 5... The Annual Pass entitles the Authorised Holder to admission to the Attractions for a period of 12 months from the date of issue (“Validity Period”). Please check individual Attraction opening and closing dates before visit. The Merlin Entertainments Group, in its absolute discretion, reserves the right to vary the opening and closing dates of the Attractions. Please note that not all Attractions are open all year. The Merlin Entertainments Group reserves the right to close or remove the entire or any part of any of the Attractions, including (but not limited to) special events or private functions, technical, health and safety and/or operational reasons.

I think the key term here is - but not limited to - which covers anything outside of said reasons.

Under point 7... An Annual Pass is not valid for any Merlin Entertainments Group concerts or themed special events held at any Attraction. An additional charge will apply for these events.

Fright Nites is a themed special event. This point was actually added/developed into the terms and conditions for the exact reason of the Halloween events. It was also in last years terms and conditions but Thorpe themselves had decided to waiver this term. (MT do the same waiver with regards to no admission before 3pm throughout the whole of August)

I don't like being all "I worked for the company blah blah" BUT this is one area of the company I do know quite fluently as I've been explaining the terms and conditions to people every day that I've been at work. I made a point of explaining them because I know a lot of the attractions do not.

Besides... The exact same thing happens in the states at Disney and so on. They allow you in during the day but for the evening part of the event you need to have a seperate ticket. £7 is that much to ask especially considering the ones we did in the states cost us nearly £25 a piece.

You also need to bear in mind that they are really upping the game this year (or claim to be) and going even further with the event and tieing it with Saw and all that gumph. If the event does turn out to be more like the ones stateside (unlikely, but you never know) the small fee is quite reasonable.
 
Brad said:
I will pay the extra £7, I don't really care about riding anything at Thorpe as I have done it more than enough times, I just like to see everyone for longer and have fun :)

AMEN to that!
 
After paying 150 quid, or the renewal of 100, yer, it is.
I can get a Disney annual pass for cheaper and use it during these periods.

As much as you defend the terms Mark, they're wrong. Merlin are morally corrupt, especially in this economic downturn. When things pick up, ok, it may not hit so hard but right now, Merlin give us a break.
 
Screaming Coasters said:
After paying 150 quid, or the renewal of 100, yer, it is.
I can get a Disney annual pass for cheaper and use it during these periods.

As much as you defend the terms Mark, they're wrong. Merlin are morally corrupt, especially in this economic downturn. When things pick up, ok, it may not hit so hard but right now, Merlin give us a break.

Errr, the Halloween Party at Disney Orlando is not covered by the annual pass actually; you just get a discount. I don't know if it is in Paris, but it's irrelevent because the Halloween Party there was absolutely awful, as we found out last year! Paid £17 each to basically have rides in the Fantastyland area open. The rest of the park was closed. That was it. Very little food places open and the parade they were apparently putting on turned out to be the same float that went up and down main street every 30 minutes, all day!

I am not sure if the Universal Group, or Busch cover the Halloween stuff in their annual pass. I would be interested to know though...

As far as I am aware they had block out dates on the Universal Pass but they have lifted this rule this year (if you have a resident annual pass which is for the locals!).

EDIT: Marc has just looked it up for me and for Universal, you can buy a standard annual pass for $149 plus tax, but that does have blocked out dates and doesnt include free parking. To get the premier pass which has no block out dates and therefore can be used for Halloween events is $289 which is £180. But they themselves charge extra for the privelage, which is no different from charging an on the night fee.

Since it is Merlins Annual Pass Erol, they can stipulate the rules however they deem fit. The terms and conditions are quite clearly laid out and if you don't like them; Don't buy the pass. When push comes to shove, the pass is still good value considering the fact you only have to use it 5 times in a year and you've made your money back (and some extra if you've used it for discounts). This minimal charge is nothing compared to what other parks and attractions charge for their special events. People are just bitching because it is Merlin.

There is nothing Morally corrupt about it at all, when you place it in comparison with all the other companies that also do the exact same thing. Everyone knows my thoughts on Merlin and the way they do a lot of things, but I'm sorry Erol, on this one I disagree.

In this economic downturn it may be worth bearing in mind that these events are not cheap to put on, the bill for the actors is huge straight away. That is without considering anything else they put on. They are claiming this year will be bigger then ever and therefore this year some of the cost is being passed on. Even large companies have to be aware of the economic downturn and therefore as a business will look to cut costs or make a little extra wherever they can to ensure their survival. This applies to ALL businesses, not just Merlin!

I don't have an annual pass and therefore I will have to buy both a ticket and the extra fee or I don't go... simple as! If people don't want to pay the extra fee then don't go, no one is holding up a gun to the head and forcing anyone to go...

Also, consider the fact that a very large majority of people who are pass holders get them from Tesco points which effectively means the pass is free anyway. Either way you have to get food shopping and therefore Tesco reward you for choosing them to shop with.

Above all, introducing a charge may go a little way to easing off visitor numbers a little bit, as the last two years have just been simply ridiculous! At least this way it may discourage a few people from going and make the park just a little bit better for the rest of us.
 
I meant Disneyland Paris... Shoulda said that before you went through the trouble.

I'm not causing an argument, and I don't know why you're rearing up on me over my opinion? I just feel a little hard done by as already its a lot of money to dish out and its not going to make a slightest difference in numbers. People will still go, it just means they have to pre-book which 80% do during those events anyway.

I remember at Chessington, on our 12 thousand day back in 2006, 9 thousand of them were pre-booked. It wont make a difference.
 
Your still better off than people like me that could not afford a pass, one day at Thorpe is going to cost me over £40. But maybe they wont charge us extra as we are paying to a ticket.

But as Brad said I go to these events to see people, if I want to ride I will go another time like I have done.

I dont do a single maze.

People paid last year and the year before to queue jump the mazes, and did not think twice.
 
I'm not rearing up in any way. Im simply stating the exact reasons why I don't have an issue with the extra fee. I guess I've noticed a trend (not necessarily with you I must add) where people just attack Merlin no matter what they do. Normally i'm on the same bus and in total agreement but on this one I honestly don't see an issue.

Seriously though dude, having the privelage of being able to visit all the DLP special events is not worth much if the Halloween Party was anything to go by. :p
 
I've always wanted to go to the Disney halloween events, don't tell me this haha :lol:

See now I've attacked Merlin the day they stepped in. Working for them was horrible, especially when they changed the management system. Too much responsibility for too little return and I guess I will always hold that against them.

We'll see how it works, but I bet it's not going to do a thing and I hope they'll put the money they make in to good use and not to line the bosses pockets which happened at Chessington.
 
Agreed, that is a company wide thing dude, hence me having now left too! I've also disliked them since the day they stepped in. Apart from trivialities like this one.

Heres hoping that they put the money to good use and so on and make this Halloween a great event!
 
IT IS BOOK IN ADVANCE ONLY!

£2 for AP holders.

Anybody planning on GF this year should book. It'll be Monday 26th October.

I've followed the booking link: http://www.thorpepark.com/fright-nights.php but can't work out how to book for Fright Nights.
 
You also have to book for the mazes by looks of it? Unless thats a link to the Fright Night ticket.

It does not look like the Fright Night tickets are on there yet.

The website says nothing about normal entry tickets so I assume its all included with the normal day ticket.
 
Funky Monk said:
Ian said:
I've followed the booking link: http://www.thorpepark.com/fright-nights.php but can't work out how to book for Fright Nights.

If you go onto the ticket booking page, then click on the Annual Pass section, there's an option for "Annual Pass Guaranteed Entry". As far as I can see that's what you'll need :--D .

Great, thanks very much!

Although the site does say:
Fright Nights at THORPE PARK can get extremely busy, and as such entry may be refused should the Park reach capacity.

If you are an Annual Pass holder looking to visit during this period, guarantee your entry by booking in advance!
Which says to me "Get there early enough and there wont be a problem getting in."
 
For people needing tickets for the day, they will not be taking vouchers or 2 for 1.

You have to buy the ticket and its £30 if you book online.

Now all I can say is if the park hits capacity then what is the point in this £2 thing, it does not sound like they are limiting the numbers? Or are they lowering the capacity that day? I suppose we will find out on the day lol.

We normally get there early anyway so it should not be a problem.
 
I may have missed something, but if you are just attending for the day (Not the night stuff), will you have to pre-book. I'm thinking about coming along, but only for the day.
 
None AP holders have to pay £30, thats for the day and night. There is no extra option so I am assuming I am right.

You probably can get your ticket on the day but I would not risk it, it does say pre book.

The £2 extra AP holders are having to pay is also for the whole day, if they dont have the ticket they wont be allowed in.

I can see there being a lot of people turning up and getting turned away, they should really be sending information out to AP holders and not expect them to view the website.
 
Due to the extreme popularity of this event, Fright Nights is STRICTLY ADVANCE BOOK ONLY. There will be no admittance to the Park without a valid pre-booked ticket. Make sure you buy your tickets early online to avoid disappointment!

If you are an Annual Pass holder, guarantee your entry by booking in advance from just £2 per person!

To me that suggests that they will not be running on the day sales for this event. OR, they are simply trying to get everyone to prebook to see what the numbers are going to be like to decide whether or not they will open the open the day sales booths.
 
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