As of the October 2007 the Tussauds Annual Pass(TAP) has been replaced by the Merlin Annual Pass.
The Tussauds Group was bought out by the Merlin Entertainments Group - this group includes the Sea-Life Centres, the Dungeons and other parks such as LegoLand. The Tussauds Group has ceased ... Read review
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Superb value, all Tussauds attractions included, great discounts, Now Unlimited Entry!!! Disadvantages: Up-front expense
...of the October 2007 the Tussauds Annual Pass(TAP) has been replaced by the Merlin Annual Pass.
The Tussauds Group was bought out by the Merlin Entertainments Group - this group includes the Sea-Life Centres, the Dungeons and other parks such as LegoLand. The Tussauds Group has ceased to exist and along with it so has some of the advantages of the TAP. Due to some very poor Customer Service I will not be renewing my Annual Pass. .../>
GREAT VALUE
The Tussauds Group Annual Pass is essentially 52 entrance tickets all stored on one 'credit' card. Unless you can get it at a discount then it's £85 for an individual or £255 for a family of four (a maximum of 2 people over the age of 12) I say at a discount because Tussauds group are touring the country at the moment promoting the fact that Madame Tussauds wax works has had a makeover and that the London Eye will become 2/3rds ... more
As of the October 2007 the Tussauds Annual Pass(TAP) has been replaced by the Merlin Annual Pass.
The Tussauds Group was bought out by the Merlin Entertainments Group - this group includes the Sea-Life Centres, the Dungeons and other parks such as LegoLand. The Tussauds Group has ceased to exist and along with it so has some of the advantages of the TAP. Due to some very poor Customer Service I will not be renewing my Annual Pass.
Thank you to all the people that reviewed this little blog-like review!!
"Why are you reviewing an entrance ticket??" You might ask, well quite simply it's the best value ticket around - and thats what this site is all about - isn't it?
GREAT VALUE The Tussauds Group Annual Pass is essentially 52 entrance tickets all stored on one 'credit' card. Unless you can get it at a discount then it's £85 for an individual or £255 for a family of four (a maximum of 2 people over the age of 12) I say at a discount because Tussauds group are touring the country at the moment promoting the fact that Madame Tussauds wax works has had a makeover and that the London Eye will become 2/3rds owned by the Tussauds Group; offering Annual Passes at £64!!! The T&C's of the pass make this clearer but basically you are paying up front for one entrance fee per week; based on the individual price that means you are paying only £1.63 for entrance!! EDIT (April 2007) The Pass has now been made 'Unlimited' but I've never managed to get anywhere close to using up the 52 entrance tickets that you formerly bought. As I mentioned above the London Eye has been included but the price of the Pass has also increased - £95 for an individual or £285 for a family pass. I believe this has been mentioned elsewhere on another review so I apologise if I have stolen thunder from somewhere but you can also buy your pass using Tesco Clubcard points, currently if you exchange £21 of points (Clubcard Vouchers) via the Clubcard hotline or online via Tesco.com then you receicve a voucher for an annual pass!BARGAIN!!!
WHAT DO I GET? Well after purchasing the Pass you get unlimited entrance to any Tussauds attraction - these are Alton Towers, Staffordshire; Chessington World of Adventures, Surrey; Thorpe Park, Surrey; Warwick Castle, Warwickshire; Madame Tussauds, London:Las Vegas:New York:Hong Kong:Amsterdam; AND as of 1st June 2006 - The London Eye
You also get reductions such as 20% off Eating and Shopping at the attractions but only at site run outlets not franchise outlets like Burger King and KFC but this does includes souvenir photo's, 20% off Alton Towers Hotels and Free parking at Alton Towers and Warwick Castle (Parking is free for everyone at Thorpe Park and Chessington)
EDIT - Heide Park, Germany and Port Aventura, Spain have also been added to the Tussauds Annual Pass.
Heide Park is the biggest amusement park in North Germany, it has over 40 rides and attractions, including the worlds tallest 'drop' tower and and massive wooden rollercoaster. It also has a whopping 8 water rides and a bobsled ride.
Port Aventura is 40% owned by Tussauds, it is more of a themed park than a amusement park. There are a couple of rollercoasters, including an 8-looper and a couple of water rides. It is aimed more at families and also has a Carribean-style water park with flumes and rides etc.
IS THAT ALL?? No, you also get invited to exclusive Annual Pass holders events, like the opening of the Parks - so you can get on the new rides before the general public! You also get to jump the queue at Madame Tussauds - no more queueing for an entrance ticket!
CAN I RENEW IT? Absolutely, the Annual Pass can be renewed up to one month after expiry for £70. EDIT (April 2007) Along with the basic price increase the renewal has also increased; £75 for an individual renewal or £245 for a family renewal.
WHAT CAN I SAVE?? Well thats a bit like asking 'How long is a piece of string?' but based on 2 visits to each of the six attractions and a small saving of about £2 on food/souvenirs at each visit - you could save a massive £220!!! OK most people won't want to visit Theme Parks/Attractions 12 times throughout the year BUT you only have to visit Thorpe Park (the cheapest of the three theme parks) 3 times to start saving money.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? Well I guess it depends on how many times you are likely to use the card through a year. Personally I think I will use it enough to warrant the up-front expenditure. I live in the South East so it is easy for me to get to Thorpe Park, Chessington, Madame Tussauds and the London Eye. Alton Towers is a bit of a trek but believe me it's worth the drive!!! And who knows, if I ever get to Las Vegas - i'll check out Madame Tussauds after all my money has gone!
Three weeks since I purchased it, I've used my discounted card twice and I've already saved money.
=========== UPDATE =========== It is now five weeks since I bought the Annual Pass, I've been to Chessington once and Thorpe Park twice. Based on the full entry price, the souvenirs and food that I've bought, I would've spent - £120 but buying the pass at £64 and getting 20% off souvenirs and food I've actually only spent £102!! So five weeks in and I'm already £18 up!!! I'll keep a record over the year and update this review regularly.
=========== 2nd UPDATE =========== OK three months in and what have I saved? Well including the Pass and all the souvenirs, food & drink etc. by my reckoning I have personally saved around £50!! I'm still keeping a tally and I'll edit after a year with my final savings but I'd say it's pretty good so far. One word of caution though is that the London Eye hasn't been officially included on the card yet but as I have found out from previous retail encounters - a well-versed complaint aimed at the manager in a non-confrontational manner works wonders! I've blagged 2 pairs of tickets for the Eye so far.
========== 3rd UPDATE ========== School holidays almost over and I've made sure that I've used my Pass to fhe full - I've taken my niece and nephew out twice with a promise of a visit to the London Eye soon aswell. For the coming Bank Holiday I'm off to Alton Towers with some friends, as a birthday treat for one of them we are staying in one of the AT hotels, as I booked the rooms I managed to get a 20% discount for all the rooms just by giving my pass number!! Free parking at AT saves me £4 and reduced entry to their water park should save another few pounds. The London Eye is officially recognised as a Pass benefit now so i'll be popping up to the city a few more times this year!! All totalled I think my savings are well over the £100 mark.
========== 4th UPDATE ========== Well I thought it was well past time for another update to this review. After my Alton Towers Hotel experience and a few more trips to the London Eye I have well and truly saved a packet! Without saying too much as I'll probably add a review for it/them, the AT hotels are well worth a visit if you have a pass AND children - it's a kids paradise! Drop into Cariba Creek too. My total savings are well past the £250 mark - which stopped me in my tracks when I added it all up - not least the thought of "What else could I have spent that money on?" But that aside I think the investment has been worthwhile - I'm interested in the final savings, especially after a trip to warwick castle early next year. So I'll be back with one final update!
========== 5th UPDATE ========== Hmmm where do I start my final update? Savings? Experiences? Top tips? I guess I'll start with the amount I've saved - well it's kind of subjective, as I don't think I would've visited the parks and attractions nearly as much as if I didn't have the pass. But it has provided a means of enjoying a relatively cheap day out. My total personal saving has been well over £300, £347.58 to be exact, but as I say that is a subjective figure. I probably wouldn't've stayed at the AT hotel had I not had the pass, 20% is a pretty decent saving on a weekend stay. I certainly wouldn't've visited the Eye five times but when you are in London it seems silly not to go on if it's free!! I whole-heartedly recommend visiting the Eye in the evening - London is a different city when viewed from 440ft up, especially when all the lights go on across the city!! But all in all I think the pass is a great way of saving money and giving you an opportunity to visit the attractions more often than would normally be financially viable.
If you'd like to find out more, visit the annual pass website (shown below) or go to one of the many stands at the parks. Incidentally if you do go to a park or attraction and decide that you want to buy an annual pass you'll get the entrance fee refunded.
ADDITIONAL INFO Visit www.annual-pass.com or www.annualpass.co.uk for more info
Entrance to Attractions Alton Towers - www.alton-towers.co.uk On the day Non-Event Event Online† Adult £32.00 £34.00 £24.00 Child £22.00 £23.0 0 £16.00 Senior £16.00 £17.00 £12.00 Disabled £16.00 £17.00 £12.00 Famil y £89.00 £95.00 £78.00 (2 adults, 2 Kids) Family £99.00 £105.00 £88.00 (2 adults, 3 Kids) Under 4 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00
Chessington World of Adventures - www.chessington.co.uk On the Day Online Adult £29.00 £22.00 Child £19.00 £15.00 Senior £22.00 £18.00 Disabled £22.00 £18.00 Family £58.00 £45.00 (2 adults, 1 Chlid) Family £74.00 £59.00 (2 adults, 2 Chlidren) Family £96.00 £73.00 (2 adults, 3 Chlidren)
Thrope Park - www.thorpepark.co.uk On the Day Online Adult £32.00 £24.00 Child £20.00 £16.00 Senior £20.00 £16.00 Disabled £16.00 £14.50 Family £88.00 £67.00 (2 adults, 2 Chlidren) Family £105.00 £82.00 (2 adults, 3 Chlidren)
Madame Tussauds, London - www.madame-tussauds.co.uk Arrival Time Walk Up Price Walk Up Price (Inc Chamber Live) (Not Incl Chamber Live) 9.00am - 5.00pm Adult - £25.00 Adult - £23.00 Child - £21.00 Child - £19.00 Senior - £25.00 Senior - £23.00 Family - £78.00 Family - £72.00 5.00pm Adult - £16.00 Adult - £14.00 Onwards Child - £11.00 Child - £9.00 Senior - £16.00 Senior - £14.00
London Eye - www.londoneye.com Standard flight adult (16 plus) £14.50 Standard flight child (5-15 years) £7.25 Standard flight under five FREE Standard flight senior (60 plus)* £11.00 Standard flight disabled** £11.00
Advantages: 52 entries to Tussauds attractions per year Disadvantages: Could do with Tussauds buying more attractions
...Thorpe Park, Warwick Castle,
Madame Tussauds and several theme Parks in Europe. More recently with The Tussauds Group back in control of the London Eye the pass can now be used once a day for a trip on the Eye.
When used at theme Parks the pass will give 20% discount on food and merchandise owned by the particular park and it allows a 20% discount when booking stays at either the Alton Towers Hotel and Splashlandings Hotel.
The pass allows 52 ...
altontowers97 19.03.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tussauds Group Annual Pass
Advantages: great value for money Disadvantages: better if you live in the s.w london area
...short train journey and madame tussauds and the aquarium nearby too. all this to do, as many times as you like, all year round for one payment. i say one payment because he saves up his tesco points rewards and changes them for a points deal to pay for one of them too! being separated from his partner, he sees his daughter every weekend and at least once they pack their tent and accessories and head off to a site near alton towers; again free entry ...
canariesnorwich 14.05.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Tussauds Group Annual Pass
Prices
Transport links
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Tussauds Group Annual Pass"
Advantages: PARK CLOSES AT 12 MIDNIGHT ;BABY FRIENDLY Disadvantages: NO BABY RIDES, LONG QUEUES AT GUEST SERVICES.
Port aventura is the equivalent of disneyland to paris. I visited the park in August 07
I visited the park for 5 consevutive days. There is a theme park and Caribe Aquatic water park next to it. Tickets must be bought individually, however Port aventura tickets get 20% on the aquatic park tickets entry. Also the TussaudsGroupannualpass in the UK gets free unlimed access to port aventura which is excellent.
I visited the park in August and I was thrilled that the park closes at 12 midnight (parks in the UK close at 8!!!) The aquatic park closes at 7pm. The rides are mostly for children 1.40m and above, (unless acompanied by adults) There are some rides for smaller children in a few places, however disappointingly babies/young todlers do not have any rides. However, like disneyland, there are Shows (Aloha Taihiti is a must see ...
Advantages: history, voted most popular castle in the UK Disadvantages: cold in the winter, steep steps, expensive
of the car park.
If you don't want to walk the 10 minutes to the entrance you can park closer to the admission area but it will cost you £5.00.
There is extra parking when it's really busy.
The Castle
On top of the hill we reached the forecourt of the castle with group waiting area, souvenir shop, restaurant and ticket office. With TussaudsGroupannualpasses (or now the new Merlin ones) you slip the card into the reader, take it out and walk through the turnstile and into the landscaped grounds surrounding the actual castle.
So there it was, after bombing up the M40 for almost 2 hours we had arrived. Neither my friends nor I had been before and, strangely, we all had the same thought. "Is this it? I thought it was bigger."
Undeterred we walked along the path towards the entrance, the Gatehouse & Barbican.
I ...
Tempus_Fugit 25.03.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Warwick Castle
Advantages: 'meet & touch' celebrities Disadvantages: expensive, small, crowded, not enough to see
I first encountered Madame Tussauds Waxwork in London when I was working as a tourist guide many moons ago and had the good fortune (or rather misfortune) to take groups of tourists to this attraction. It's fun the first couple of times but then you start to resent the place with a passion. Luckily the job only lasted a few years but it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth regarding this particular London attraction and no desire to ever set foot into the building again.
In Spring this year when I got another TussaudsGroupannualpass (6 months too late for cheaper renewal) - allowing entry into all Tussauds properties in the UK and abroad - Thorpe Park, Chessington Worlds of Adventure, Alton Towers, Warwick Castle and the London Eye to name but a few - I decided to pick it up in town at Madame Tussauds Waxwork, mainly because ...
