Merlin presented their full 2023 financial report today, which showed that the company is increasing both guest count and revenue. Most of this growth has come from the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Most of the report is, as you could imagine, quite dry for normal theme park guests but a few things stick out.
The Orlando Eye
The Orlando Eye, which has gone through several branding changes since it opened back in 2015, is located next to Merlins existing attractions in Orlando: Madame Tussauds and Sea Life. Merlin has now bought the large observation wheel from it’s old owners. This brings it in line with the London Eye (co-located with the South Bank Merlin attractions) and the Blackpool Tower (co-located with the Blackpool Merlin attractions).
Expect the Orlando Eye to be added to the Merlin Pass USA soon, once all of the paperwork is complete.
Surge Pricing at Theme Parks
Merlin has promised that their top 20 attractions will have Surge Pricing by the end of 2024, with entry tickets being variable in price depending on existing crowd levels and weather.
“If [an attraction] is in the UK, it’s August peak holiday season, sunny and a Saturday, you would expect to pay more than if it was a rainy Tuesday in March” – Scott O’Neil
https://www.ft.com/content/1e58ae1c-5af0-44b4-a077-2512b46a3aad
Considering that Merlin already has some dynamic pricing on tickets, mainly based on how long before your visit that you book with walk up ticket prices being the most expensive, we assume this will mainly target the Midway attractions rather than the Theme Parks.
Most of this can be avoided by using an Merlin Annual Pass but with Disney, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and others going to war with Annual Pass Holders you do wonder if Surge Pricing might be the start of the end of the MAP.
