Merlin Annual Pass Reviews 

I’m beyond frustrated with Merlins recent decision to change its access requirements. What you’ve done isn’t just inconvenient, it’s discriminatory.
By introducing policies that clearly ignore the needs of people with disabilities, this company has effectively decided that accessibility is optional and that some customers matter less than others. That’s unacceptable. Accessibility isn’t a “special favor” or an upgrade you get to remove when it’s inconvenient, it’s a basic requirement and a matter of dignity and equal access.
What makes this worse is how avoidable it all is. There were inclusive options available. There were people affected who could have been consulted. Instead, the company chose a path that excludes disabled individuals and puts unnecessary barriers in place, all while pretending this change is neutral or reasonable.
If this is how the company treats accessibility, it says a lot about their values.

We have only had the passes a couple of month but what a couple of months its been, we've been to realise, lego land discovery, cadbury world and Warwick castle. We have loved every minute of making memories and can't wait to make plenty more. Lots of people worry about the summer holidays and children but honestly I can't wait as the pass allows us to do so much. The only cost we will now have is fuel and a picnic which is nothing. Everywhere we have been we have thoroughly enjoyed. When we went to Warwick castle we didn't get everything done in the day so can't wait to go back and do the bits we didn't have time for. They have bird shows, jousting, peacocks wondering around, they had a lovely pony at Christmas too and the rooms looked amazing with a Christmas tree in every room. If you want fun filled days out with your family merlin passes are the way to go.

I bought my cousin with severe special needs a merlin pass for Christmas as he like rides and so his full time carers can take him for days out.

So far he has had the pass a month and I've just found out they haven't used it because no-one could work out how to pre-book. I've gone to do it and I understand why. The pre-book portal have "error messaged" at least 20 times and every time I get emailed a code it tells me I can proceed with my email address and then 5 seconds later my email address is invalid again. I FINALLY got signed up to find out his pass (An essential pass) is Invalid for a carer to go with him?? There was no mention of this on purchase.
The pre-booking system is ridiculously stressful, faulty and floored and all this everything being on your phone...he lives in supported living and will be going with different carers...I need a PHYSICAL membership card like the good old days. I wish I could get my money back. Don't bother buying this for someone who needs carers or to be booked/taken by different people. SO STRESSFUL

Blackpool Tower used to feel like a landmark with pride, tradition and atmosphere. Under Merlin, it’s been stripped of its identity. The iconic blazers are gone, the sense of ceremony has vanished, and key parts of the Tower aren’t even open year-round. What was once a symbol of Blackpool’s heritage now feels like a generic, cost-cut attraction run with minimum effort. When you hollow out the Tower, you hollow out Blackpool itself — and it’s sad to see how little care is left for what made the place special.

I recently purchased an annual Merlin pass which has been renamed to Essential pass. I have had several passes over the years but not recently so I checked before I purchased how I get my carer pass due to a disability. On the first page of application it explained buy an annual pass and what documents you need to supply I went ahead and bought pass. It’s not till you get to the second page of the application for carer pass that it states a disabled person does not get a carer pass for the essential annual pass. I did contact Merlin and they said you can get a carer pass on arrival 🤷‍♀️. This does not make any sense to me. Just a money making scheme. If I purchased a gold card I get a carer pass.

Hi

I’ve had a Merlin pass for over 12 months and I have attempted to cancel on several occasions but the process was a bit of a pain. I couldn’t simply go into my account and cancel, I should have persisted but just forgot initially.

I finally emailed and requested to cancel expecting that would be the end of it. They emailed me back in October saying that this can now be done following a link and my order number. This again seems to be designed to ensure they get several more payments and make it once again more difficult to cancel.
I followed the link and input the order number as requested but it doesn’t work.
I have now emailed again requesting the pass is cancelled and will raise a dispute with my bank.

Disgusting that they have such a poor system for customers to cancel yet have absolutely no issue signing up and taking your payments

the purchase for me and my family

Like many others, we’ve had multiple nightmare experiences with Merlin’s new booking system.

The biggest issue is the severely limited availability of tickets for pass holders. Only a portion of daily tickets are allocated to us, while the majority are held back for paying guests. This isn’t clearly explained when buying a pass, and it used to be different — previously, we could just book normal tickets freely. Now, you have to plan months in advance just to visit on a normal day, which completely defeats the point of having an annual pass.

If they’re going to limit the number of bookings passholders can make, they should also limit how many passes they sell — right now, there’s clearly more demand than availability, and that’s not fair or sustainable. Pass holders are paying upfront with the expectation of flexible, frequent access, but what we actually get is extremely restricted entry.

The situation is even worse if you have a disabled family member. Ride Access Passes also need to be booked in advance — often weeks or months — and there are fewer of those available. That means families with disabilities are not only fighting for standard tickets, but also trying to secure Ride Access slots just to visit. The whole process becomes completely impractical and inaccessible for anyone who can’t commit months ahead of time, which many disabled guests simply can’t.

This is a huge equality issue. Families without any accessibility needs have far more booking opportunities and the ability to visit spontaneously. That flexibility is not extended to disabled guests, and it’s deeply unfair. I believe it may even breach the Equality Act 2010, as it creates additional, unnecessary barriers to access.

Merlin keep responding to complaints by saying cancellations mean bookings often reopen — but this doesn’t solve the issue. Occasionally grabbing a last-minute cancellation doesn’t mean the system works. The fact remains: most pass holders, especially those with accessibility needs, are forced to plan far in advance or miss out entirely.

On top of that, Merlin continue to sell paid queue passes to wealthier guests, while offering very limited access for disabled guests who actually need them. There’s zero transparency when buying the pass — you’re not told how hard it will be to book anything or use key services. I imagine many families with disabled members would never have bought a pass if they’d known how restricted access would be.

We’ve also had other frustrating issues. Attractions like Bear Grylls or Cadbury World had to be booked months ahead, and even then, things went wrong. Bear Grylls closed before our visit, and Cadbury World was missed due to illness — with no way to rebook for months. We finally managed to book Blackpool Tower, drove all the way, paid for parking, and then they closed the top of the tower unexpectedly once we were inside.

Some attractions, like the Gruffalo Playhouse or Alton Towers Water Park, aren’t even included and require extra payment. And now Bear Grylls has closed and Blackpool attractions are being removed from the pass, meaning there are fewer options left — especially if you’re not based near London.

Even when we do visit, we’ve faced problems. Customer service is slow or non-responsive when things go wrong. We’ve been given incorrect information by staff, lost valuable time trying to resolve problems, and had to chase them just to get basic help. Staff at the parks are often unhelpful or rude, although there have been a few exceptions.

Theme parks themselves aren’t always in great condition — toilets are often out of paper, cleanliness is hit-or-miss, and drink refill stations are frequently out of order or closed. If you’re expecting a premium experience, you’re not going to get it.

To top it off, I raised a formal complaint about all of this, including the discriminatory impact of the Ride Access system. Merlin responded by essentially telling me everything is great and guests are happy with the improvements — which couldn’t be further from the truth, judging by the recent flood of negative reviews.

I’m not willing to accept their dismissive response, especially after spending money on a pass we can barely use. I’m considering legal action and would encourage others in similar situations to report Merlin to Trading Standards for misrepresentation and unfair commercial practices.

In short: if you’re considering buying a pass to enjoy spontaneous days out, especially with a disabled family member — don’t. The system doesn’t support that anymore. And if you’re here looking to see if others are struggling too, you’re absolutely not alone.

The room we paid for for two nights with ‘park view’ was not acceptable. Complained, nothing can be done. Spoke to a manager who has no power to sort problem can only fill a complaint in on an iPad. A member of staff who we spoke to Luke was rude and particularly ignorant about neurodivergence which is shameful. My son whose birthday it was was upset, my autistic son even more so. Eventually the manager could refund the difference between the park view and non park view room (even though this wasn’t originally an option) and said she would fill the complaint in to customer services. She later returned and said that if they refund the £20 difference we can’t follow up the complaint with customer services as they will close it. I agreed but not happy that it can’t be taken further and made it clear that I will be making a complaint about the member of staff no matter what.
Shameful service. Will seriously consider whether to renew our merlin passes and even though we have stayed for our sons birthday for years maybe next year needs to be a change of venue.

This will be my last year with the silver annual pass and I dont think ill be paying again . I was so what ok with having just 8 days in August as it gave me some time to take the kids but it still irritated me charging us a full months cost when the rest of the month wasn't available.

I hated the fact that parking wasnt included but it wasnt that expensive but thats gone up in price now .

Its nice getting a discount in the parks and short breaks .

The straw that broke the camels back was .....drum roll..... the restriction dates in August , only the 1st is included in the silver !! .yet im still charged the full price .

Im going to put my £40 towards something better .

Since they changed the rap experience it's gone awful. Had our passes 3 yrs now and last 2 yrs hardly been used as wkends and school holidays there is no chance of getting raps. Unless u book mths in advance which is no good when u have autistic children. It needs to go back to the old way where u turn up on the day and get the rap. Or if u are passing holders u will automatically get a rap when u book. This new way sucks big time. So far we've used our passes only 3 times this yr. And their accessable team is awful. I've emailed them loads complaining about how bad their new rap booking system is and just get the same old lies and rubbish back. 4 passes going to waste this yr.

We've been Merlin Annual Pass holders since 2018, and we absolutely love it! The pass has been amazing value for our family — we use it regularly and it’s saved us so much money over the years. There’s always something fun to do, from theme parks to attractions across the UK, and it never gets boring.

As a special needs user, I also want to highlight how inclusive Merlin is. They've put in place a thoughtful and supportive system that really makes a difference. It’s clear they’ve worked hard to ensure everyone can enjoy the experience comfortably and safely.

Highly recommend the pass to anyone looking for adventure, flexibility, and great memories all year round!

I don’t usually leave seriously scathing reviews without giving some sort of positive feedback, but after what’s happened recently with Merlin, I feel compelled to warn others. We joined as a family of four with Premium and Gold Merlin Annual Passes, full of excitement about exploring all the UK attractions. What a mistake.

First, Bear Grylls Adventure was shut with barely any notice. A rare and unique attraction, especially valuable to those of us in the Midlands. Then we find out the Blackpool attractions are shutting down from 1st August. That’s two major regional hubs gone in quick succession — it’s starting to feel like Merlin is abandoning everywhere north of Watford.

If you don’t live near London, what exactly are you paying for? Our passes promised variety, flexibility, and nationwide experiences. Now it just feels like Merlin is closing things from the top down and pretending like it's business as usual.

To make matters worse, their Merlin Pass bot is an absolute joke – it’s like arguing with a brick wall. No real help, no ability to escalate to a human, just generic links and recycled answers. For the money we’ve paid, it’s genuinely insulting.

Merlin is gutting its offerings while still marketing the passes as if nothing’s changed. If you’re considering buying a pass, don’t. Wait until they prove they’re investing in new attractions (that are not just additional to pay for on top of a pass solutions) or at least stop quietly shutting them down.

Total rip-off. Empty promises. No transparency. Avoid.

My daughter has a merin pass and booked a ticket for her friend to you to Thorpe park with her. However, a night before her friend got ill and could not make it anymore. On the day of the booked visit I phoned the customer service and they happily re-booked the ticket for a day that my daughter and her friend can make it. Quick, polite and friendly customer service. Thank you.

Absolutely fantastic value for money thank you for a year of adventures as a SEND family we are so greatful for the opportunities the pass gives our family.

Love having access to fantastic venues across the country. Often plenty of availability if you book in advance.

Purchased merlin passes on the false pretense we could easily book access passes for my disabled child.
You have to book 4 weeks in advance for weekends and even then your limited to only 1 of the days on that weekend.
We went to Chessington today and was told access passes will become available through the day but after constantly trying to get them they was totally unavailable.
I don't want to have to book something 4 weeks in advance and feel the only way to beat this obviously broken system is just book for days that I may not actually attend and this is what other pass holders are obviously doing as the disabled access pass lines are empty i took a photo of one of the busiest rides in the park with2 people queing but cant upload on here unfortunately.
It's very disappointing that whilst disabled access passes are unavailable due to no spaces they will still happily let you purchase fast track tickets.
I have only used the passes 3 times now and if they offered me half my money back I'd happily take it and would never renew my merlin passes again.
We was at chessington for 3 1/2 hours and managed 1 ride before the kids wanted to leave says it all l!

Stayed at chessington for 4 nights .hotel was fab .accomadtion was fab .little treats left in room were lovely .the Azteca restaurant was a let down .from last time we were there .same food every day .while there I didn’t have a car so ate there 2 nights .got take away uber other 2 nights .in the park the smoke house was lovely .the extra time in park was so good .

With your flexible passes you introduced, most of days of school off term, Saturday Sundays are added as exclusions so flexible passes cannot attend. It’s still shameful though.

Good value and takes the stress out of squeezing everything into one day, or feeling frustrated by queues.