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A Fond Farewell to our Merlin Passes

Today is the day our Merlin Annual Premium Passes expire and at the moment we don't have the money to renew. We'd like to but as our last holiday abroad was our honeymoon nearly 6 years ago, Matt is desperate to spend some time somewhere a bit more exotic than the British coast and so we're going to do our best to save up and go away next year. Our passes over the last year have been more of a blessing than I could have imagined. We have been to so many parks and attractions that we would never have visited without the pass - multiple trips to Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland, Warwick Castle, The London Eye and Alton Towers. We've had family days and friend days, treat days and spontaneous afternoons - just because we could. I've never had a bad experience at a Merlin Attraction. The staff are always friendly, the rides are fun, the facilities are clean. The children have experienced the magic on offer in many forms - shows, characters, ice cream, animals, sharks and rides. They've learnt to 'Panda Bow', help a Princess rescue a Prince, watched Pirates zoom around the bay. We've been on horses, boats, trains, trucks, sky high wheels, submarines and even flying jumbos.

And we've saved an awful lot of money. We bought our passes in the Merlin Summer Sale which is on again now. You may still think that the price is expensive - and it is a lot of money to pay out in one go. However, I am so grateful that we did because we would never have even thought to visit half these places if it weren't for our passes. Paying one large amount up front meant that even in months when the budget was tight we could still take a picnic along to have a fabulous day.

We bought Premium Passes which also meant that we saved on parking and were able to use our 'Share the Fun' vouchers and our family and friends only paid £10 entry to come along with us. We even saved on souvenirs and food with a 20% discount using the passes - and early or fast track entry to most attractions.

We didn't even use our passes as much as we could've done. We live relatively near Legoland, Thorpe Park and Warwick Castle but didn't want our kids to think that they could go to a theme park every weekend. They're kids and enjoy a simple day at the local park as much as big days out - we kept our passes for extra special days and occasions, for magical days to get excited about.

If you're currently considering whether or not buy a pass - go for it! I am glad we did!




