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UK parks under the spotlight
British amusement parks have been criticised for offering poor value by the Consumer’s Association in the latest issue of its Holiday Which? Magazine.
“The whole family will have a great day out at a theme park, but if you’ve got teenagers, a family of four could end up spending almost £130 – and that’s just to get in!” notes the publication’s editor, Lorna Cowan.
Queue times also come under the spotlight, with waits of over an hour witnessed for major attractions like Nemesis at Alton Towers or The Vampire at Chessington World of Adventures. These two parks, both operated by Tussauds/Merlin, offer a Fast Track ticket, but at a cost of around £7 per person.
Although UK parks compare favourably in price to many of their US counterparts, prices in the rest of Europe are often lower. Guests can sometimes pay about the same figure in euros as they would in pounds to enter a British park. This can be explained in part by much higher taxes payable by attractions in the UK.
Colin Dawson, chief executive of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (BALPPA), has defended the industry, comparing the cost of admission to that at major sporting events, which offer only a few hours’ entertainment, compared to a full day at a park.
For its part, Holiday Which? does offer its readers some useful tips on to get best value out of their park visit. This includes booking ahead booking ahead online, arriving early to avoid queues on popular rides and bringing a picnic for a healthy, low-cost lunch.
