FamilIes know all too well that taking children to a major attraction for the day can be an expensive business.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Merlin Entertainments – the UK’s biggest owner of theme parks – is charging almost seven times more for tickets to venues here than identically branded sites abroad.
A family of four visiting its flagship Madame Tussauds in London will pay £35 for each adult and £30 for a child – £130 in total. In contrast, the same family would pay a total of just £18.30 to visit the waxworks museum in Prague – a whopping £111 saving.
A family of four visiting its flagship Madame Tussauds in London will pay £35 for each adult and £30 for a child
A family of four visiting Tussauds in Istanbul pays £94 less, £54 less in Berlin and £51 less in Amsterdam.
Tickets to the London Dungeon cost £28.95 for an adult and £23.95 for each child – £105.80 for a family of four. But visitors to the Berlin Dungeon pay only £19.50 per adult and just £16 for each child, or £71 total.
Last night, critics urged Merlin to adjust its prices. Justin Urquhart Stewart, of financial firm Seven Investment Management, said: ‘These parks are making big profits, but they need to be careful. They could price themselves out from loyal UK customers. ’
Tickets to the London Dungeon cost £28.95 for an adult and £23.95 for each child
The Mail on Sunday analysed walk-up prices for adults and children across Europe at Madame Tussauds, the Dungeons, Legoland and several other major Merlin-owned theme parks. While some parks offer discounted entry prices for family tickets, British visitors still end up paying more.
Despite facing a public backlash following the horrific accident on its Smiler ride in 2015, Merlin-operated Alton Towers has refused to drop prices.
Tickets for adults cost £52.80 and £45.60 for children – a total of £196.80 for a family of four.
At Legoland in Windsor, tickets cost £50 more for a family of four than at its Bavarian counterpart
Tickets at Alton Towers for adults cost £52.80 and £45.60 for children – a total of £196.80 for a family of four
In contrast, Gardaland in Italy –which features similar white-knuckle rides – charges £36 for adults and children. That represents a £52.80 difference compared with Alton Towers.
At Legoland in Windsor, tickets cost £50 more for a family of four than at its Bavarian counterpart.
Merlin Entertainments is second only to Disney as an operator of themed visitor sites – and reported a £1.27 billion turnover in 2015. The Poole-based firm runs 123 hugely popular attractions in 24 countries across four continents.
A Merlin spokesman said: ‘Compared to many entertainment experiences, our prices offer great value. Visitors to our UK attractions benefit from discounts by booking in advance and online.’