Merlin Entertainments plc Anmeldelser 

Merlin being Merlin, they don’t report or review reviews so I won’t even bother stating what happened, customer service is crap. Enough said.

I bought a Platinum pass for my daughter during the summer holidays.

The plan was to make 2 or 3 visits over the holidays with her and I was to use the free passes for family and friends that come with the Platinum pass.

I originally would have bought a pass for myself but as I’d only go with her 3-4 times a year thus seemed the best choice.

I didn’t check the small print that says it may take up to 30 days for the pack to arrive and you can only exchange paper vouchers on the day for the free access passes.

The main platinum pass is instantly delivered as a digital pass. The free passes must be paper.

Since then my daughter has asked me to go to Chessington and Thorpe Park. As the welcome pack hasn’t arrived yet I had to pay at Chessington for a day ticket. I then spoke to customer services as we are going to Thorpe tomorrow, 23 days after buying the platinum pass and the pack has still not arrived.

Contacted Merlin and they said they can’t do anything and I must wait for the paper tickets to arrive or pay the entry fee.

They sell you a package with 4 free entries but you can’t actually use them for the first month!

They clearly know what they’re doing but won’t bend to help in any way.

Zero customer service, no empathy whatsoever and clearly deceiving their customers.

Never again, avoid this mob at all costs!!!

**Very disappointing accessibility experience**

I’m extremely disappointed with Merlin’s Ride Access Pass system and the way my concerns were handled by the Accessibility Team, particularly Freya and Alex.

I spent weeks trying to obtain a Ride Access Pass reservation, repeatedly checking at the stated 10am, 48-hour cancellation release time. This happened both in begging of July and again in August, so this isn’t simply an issue caused by peak season. On one occasion I only managed to get a reservation for a different date by chance, and luckily my family could rearrange their plans.

I raised these concerns with Merlin, including why disabled access capacity appears so limited when paid queue-skipping options remain available. Rather than genuinely considering the feedback, my concerns were dismissed and Alex told me there was no further escalation available and the complaint was closed.

What is most frustrating is that Merlin repeatedly says the Ride Access Pass system is reviewed and improved based on feedback from disabled guests. Yet when I provided exactly that — real experience of repeatedly struggling to access the scheme — it was simply brushed aside.

An accessibility adjustment is meaningless if disabled guests cannot reliably obtain it in the first place.

Very disappointing from a company that claims to put accessibility and guest feedback at the heart of its policies.

Having been another victim of disability discrimination at Alton towers (the increasing difficulty in obtaining a ride access pass for my disabled daughter), I decided to try Thorpe park, as it is easier to book a rap there. The reason for this is that they totally ignore it when you get in there, so much more blatant and active discrimination again but different approach. Same end result. Merlin are struggling financially due to their own mismanagement and as per usual, disabled people are the first people they pick on as they disappear into financial oblivion. I can only hope and pray that their poor business sense catches up with them sooner rather than later and we can get two of our best theme parks back for the enjoyment of all in the uk. I am so done with them.

Vorsicht! ⚠️
Für uns war es das erste und gleichzeitig letzte Mal mit diesen sogenannten Eintrittsgutscheinen, die überall auf Lebensmitteln beworben werden.
Erstens: Online werden Tageskarten bereits für 40 € angeboten. Die beworbenen 25 %-Gutscheine beziehen sich jedoch ausschließlich auf Eintrittskarten, die vor Ort an der Kasse gekauft werden – was heutzutage kaum noch jemand macht. Beim Online-Kauf kosteten die Tickets direkt beim Anbieter lediglich 35 €, sodass der versprochene Rabatt von 25 % faktisch nicht vorhanden ist.
Und jetzt kommt der eigentliche Hammer: Man muss die von den Lebensmitteln abgezogenen, mit Fett verschmutzten Schutzfolien aufbewahren und an der Kasse vorzeigen. Das macht natürlich so gut wie niemand.
Dadurch mussten wir am Ende sogar noch zusätzlich 10 € pro Person bezahlen. Das Ergebnis: Statt 25 % Rabatt zu erhalten, haben wir letztlich mehr bezahlt, als wenn wir die Tickets direkt über die Website des Heide Parks gekauft hätten.
Ich verstehe nicht, warum sich der Heide Park auf solche unseriösen Aktionen einlässt. Der Gutscheinanbieter wird von mir ebenfalls eine entsprechende Bewertung erhalten.
Falls gewünscht, kann ich den Text auch noch schärfer und als überzeugende Google-Bewertung formulieren.

Merlin entertainment is the one that owns Legoland New York, and you all should be ashamed of yourselves of who you decide to hire as managers there. The managers don’t care about nothing, and never did. This was my first season working there and it was like hell because of one person working there as well as a manager her name is Kristen Huss. It was not right what she did. It’s like favoritism over there. You all should be ashamed of yourself again on how you hire your management team.

Advertise Merlin's Magic Wand, so applied for my daughter who has a progressive condition. I had to get a charity working with my daughter and providing support to her to complete the application, it was a very well known UK charity. They were hardly going to 'steal the code' . They rejected it because the charity also supports adults. There are no charities involved with her that exclusively support children for her condition.

So do not believe all their begs for money to support Merlin's magic wand as it is NOT going to the people who they claim to support.

I have spent a lot of money with Merlin over the years but I will not be visiting any of their attractions now.

You should not be asking families going through huge trauma to have to provide loads of info to a charity, to get them to spend time on the application supporting them only to turn it down on bizarre criteria.

Jamica J. to save the day! We had an issue with a theme park concern and we felt really defeated and just frustrated. Jamica from operations stepped in and really saved the day. Most companies these days don't seem to care about individual customers that's where Merlin made the amazing business decision when they hired Jamica. She cared, she promised, she made sure those promises were fulfilled. Fromy myself and my whole family we thank her for excellent service

Shame I had to give them even 1 star.

Merlin entertainment have practically banned Austistic children from attending their theme parks.

Utter disgraceful putting a statement out making out that Mentally disabled children are a problem for the company.

They even class Autism and ADHD under the same bracket, showing their incompetence at decision making level in the company.

What a joke of a company! Ive had annual passes for all 5 of my family for 2 years now im going to have to cancel them as there is no way my daughters can stand in a line for over a hour for a ride! Wouldnt the the thing to do just sell last fast passes for the stupid amount of money you charge and still let dissabled people use there passes.

YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOUR SELFS.

After chances without notice to the ride access pass, this companies ethics are not in line with society’s views. An abhorrent company.

Merlin dont see mental health as a disability. Google the new changes to there system. Terrible.

My disabled son loves roller coasters and has just become tall enough to ride them.
He cannot safely access your parks without an access pass due to severe meltdowns caused by overstimulation and long queues.

Your new policy excludes his disability and effectively prevents him from participating. This is not inclusion. It is discrimination.

Accessibility is not a perk. Disabled children deserve equal access to experiences, not barriers dressed up as policy.

Merlin changed the Rapid Access Passes without informing customers. This has excluded thousands of disabled people, often children. Queues are no longer accessible so have requested refund of 2 gold annual passes. We can no longer have family days out at theme parks due to this change. The only place our son would go on holiday due to anxiety in trying anywhere new. It encouraged him to go outside. We can now look forward to a lot of time at home with him refusing to leave.

Thanks for your diagnosis on disabilities, I pray you never have to queue with Your autistic non-verbal child and have to communicate to them the best you can that they have to stand still when they don't understand why. I did this the first time without a fast pass, we will not return to any Merlin run establishment without apology or alternative. Disgusting behaviour on disability from a company, a huge step back for children with disabilities trying to be included.

Had to cancel 3 merlin passes because can no longer access RAP. Virtual queuing a must. Why can disney manage access requirements so well? Awful

We have visited Merlin attractions for over 10 years with our five disabled children, all diagnosed with autism and ADHD. The Ride Access Pass was the only reason these visits were possible.

Over the past few years, Merlin has made this system increasingly inaccessible by introducing limited pre-booked online slots that disappear immediately. This assumes families can plan weeks in advance. Families like ours cannot. Our children’s ability to cope is decided on the day, not weeks before.

Now, the criteria and process have changed to the point where children with autism and ADHD who cannot queue are effectively excluded altogether. Without the Ride Access Pass, our children cannot safely attend any Merlin attraction.

Merlin claims to be inclusive and supportive of disabled guests. Our experience is the complete opposite. A system that removes access for neurodivergent children and replaces it with rigid, inaccessible booking rules is not inclusive, it is discriminatory in practice.

After more than a decade of loyal visits, we are now forced to stop attending because Merlin’s policies no longer accommodate disabled children like ours.

We are utterly devastated and disappointed in merlin for what they have done regarding the new changes to the ride access pass symbol criteria,
My daughter is autistic and is a disabled person within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010. Due to her disability, she is unable to queue or tolerate crowded environments and has no understanding of waiting, which causes severe distress. She holds a Nimbus Access Card displaying the crowd/queue symbol, awarded only following assessment of extensive medical and professional evidence. This card clearly evidences that she cannot queue.
As a result of Merlin Entertainments’ revised Ride Access Pass criteria, my daughter is no longer eligible for a Ride Access Pass at any Merlin attractions, As all rides require queuing, this policy change makes it impossible for her to access rides at the attractions. No reasonable alternative adjustment has been offered that would remove or adequately mitigate this barrier.
This places my daughter at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled visitors and constitutes a failure to make reasonable adjustments, contrary to sections 20 and 21 of the Equality Act 2010. Merlin Entertainments has an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people and must ensure that policies do not operate in a blanket or inflexible manner which disproportionately disadvantages disabled visitors.
The reliance on generic measures referenced on Merlin websites, such as sensory rooms and fidget toys, is inadequate and legally insufficient. These measures do not enable access to the primary service provided by merlin attractions — namely, rides — and therefore do not constitute reasonable adjustments. Expecting a disabled child and her family to pay full admission price for an experience from which she is effectively excluded is unreasonable and discriminatory.
Further, the refusal to recognise independently verified evidence from Nimbus Access Card, without offering an equivalent adjustment, strongly suggests that the revised policy prioritises administrative convenience over legal compliance. Policies which have the effect of excluding disabled people from accessing core services are unlawful where reasonable adjustments could be made.
You have lost so many loyal customers over this.

I wish I could give it zero. Cancelled 3 gold memberships today after changes made to the RAP pass. I will not support a business that excludes neurodivergent people from the very support they need to access days out. My child has ASD, attends a specialist school, gets high rate care DLA, EHCP and has a blue badge is no longer eligible for RAP under the new rules rolled out by Merlin. Excluding one type of disability from support is discriminatory!! Shame on you Merlin!!

Why have you deemed it acceptable to exclude my autistic daughter from your park by removing the ride access pass for her? Have you checked with lawyers and they’ve told you it is now allowable to discriminate against neurodivergent disabilities but not ok to discriminate against physical disabilities?