A day out at a theme park already costs a pretty penny, especially if you’re only able to go at peak times (ie during the school holidays). But as summer slowly approaches, your trip to Legoland or Alton Towers could soon get even spennier.
Merlin Entertainments, which owns the theme parks alongside attractions like Chessington World of Adventures, Thorpe Park and Madame Tussauds, has announced that it’s introducing a surge pricing system.
What does that mean, exactly? Well, the parks will be able to charge visitors more money when demand is higher – such as on a sunny day in August, as opposed to a wet day in March. The ‘dynamic pricing’ scheme follows in the footsteps of the likes of Uber, budget airlines and the company behind Slug and Lettuce and Be At One bars and pubs.
Merlin attractions already have peak and off-peak pricing but with the new system, prices will be calculated with the help of AI, which will determine what demand is like on specific weekends. It’s somewhat similar to what was being considered for transport in London.
Apparently, the tech will make flexible ticket pricing faster and more detailed, and reduce queues on the most in-demand days. Surge pricing is a controversial topic, though. Critics argue that there’s not enough transparency about why prices are so high some of the time.
In a statement, Merlin said that the new system ‘brings us in line with competitors and the broader holiday industry that have similar pricing structures, which benefit guests who choose to book off-peak’ and that it will ‘enable greater flexibility for guests booking online to choose discounted prices for select dates and times’.
The new ticket system should come into place before the end of the year.
Catch a ride with Time Out
If you consider yourself a bit of a thrill-seeker, the new prices could well be worth it. Not least because the world’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster is about to open in Thorpe Park and one of the UK’s most legendary rollercoasters at Alton Towers has just had a massive makeover.
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