All the UK’s best annual theme park & attraction passes to save families hundreds
WHAT’S better than an annual trip to the theme park? Several trips, of course.
If your family is a big fan of rollercoasters, there are some brilliant value annual passes for parks across the UK that offer HUGE savings for repeat trips.
But which one should you go for? Instead of having to research them all yourself, we have gathered the annual pass prices for the most popular theme parks in the UK.
So here’s all the attraction passes you could get, and how many times you’d need to return to your favourite attractions to get your money’s worth.
Merlin Annual Pass
Starting off with probably the most famous annual pass in the UK, the Merlin Annual Pass gets you access to more than 20 attractions.
These include Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor, Cadbury World, Windsor Castle, Legoland Discovery Centres and much more.
An essential pass costs from £139 per year and allows members 339 days of access to Merlin’s top attractions.
For £239, you can get a Gold pass which also gets you free parking and 20 per cent off shopping and dining.
The Platinum Pass is then £299 per year, giving you all that plus four free bring a friend passes each year, one free fast track per visit and free Coke Freestyle cup & refills.
Tickets for Alton Towers alone start from £32 per person when booked in advance online, while Warwick Castle tickets cost from £25.38 online, so if you’re planning on doing several Merlin attractions each year there are big savings to be had.
To make the most of the £139 annual pass, you’d need to go to just four or five attractions across the entire year.
For example, if you booked Alton Towers (£32), Warwick Castle (£25.38), Thorpe Park (£32), Cadbury World (£18) and Legoland Windsor (£32) once each across the year, you’d make up the price of the pass.
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is the UK’s largest theme park with several thrill coasters.
There’s a CBeebies Land as well, ideal for younger children with themed rides and live shows.
The theme park also has its own waterpark with a tropical splash area.
You can stay onsite at the main Alton Towers Hotel, the CBeebies Land Hotel, Splash Landings Hotel, themed Woodland Lodges or at Stargazing Pods.
An annual pass costs £64, while day tickets start from £32 per person when booked in advance online,
You’d need to visit just twice across the year to get your money’s worth.
Thorpe Park
Surrey’s Thorpe Park is often considered the UK’s main thrill-seeker theme park.
The theme park itself sits on an island and has a number of record-breaking rides.
For example, you can head on Hyperia, which is the UK’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster, and in the autumn, the theme park is well-known for its Fright Nights.
The Thorpe Park Annual Pass costs £64 per person and allows you access to the park across 189 days over 12 months, as well as access to the Fright Nights.
Thorpe Park one-day tickets start at £32 per person when booked in advance online
Passes are only required for guests over 1.2metres tall.
Again, you’d need to visit just twice across the year to make the pass worthwhile.
Legoland
Legoland Windsor is aimed at families with kids aged between two and 12 years old.
You’ll find miniature worlds made out of bricks and family-friendly coasters, plus plenty of Lego building opportunities.
The Legoland Annual Pass costs £64 per person and allows you access to the park across 236 days, over 12 months. Day tickets start from around £34 when booked online.
Passes are only required for guests 90cm and over, and after two visits you’d have made your money back.
Crealy
Crealy theme park in Devon has a number of different annual passes.
The theme park is the largest in Devon with more than 60 rides and attractions including rollercoasters.
The cheapest is £99 per person, per year – which you can pay in one go or you can pay a £30 deposit, then £6.90 a month on direct debit for an annual pass (costing £112.80 total).
This annual pass gets you unlimited entry to the theme park, a 10 per cent discount across food and drink as well as in the shops and exclusive viewings of Crealy events.
The next level up is the Gold Pass at £120, which gets the same perks but you will get 15 per cent off food and drink, 30 per cent of entry for family or friends and 20 per cent off glamping and camping breaks at the park.
Get a Platinum Pass for £170 and you’ll get 20 per cent off food and drink, 50 per cent off entry for family and friends, 50 per cent off glamping and camping stay and even a free two-night camping break.
One-day tickets for Crealy Theme Park & Resort cost around £24 per person when you book online.
You’d therefore need to visit five times at least across the year to make the pass worthwhile.
Woodlands
Woodlands Theme Park, also in Devon, is home to massive indoor play areas including soft play, water coasters and a toboggan run.
There’s also a number of barns with farm animals in.
The annual pass, costing £110 per person over 1.1 metres and £86 for those under that height, includes unlimited free access to Woodlands Family Theme Park with outdoor rides, indoor soft play, an eight-acre zoo farm, and falconry.
You’ll also get 15 per cent off at the gift shop, 10 per cent off food and drink and 20 per cent off camping stays.
One-day tickets cost £29.75 for adults and kids over 110cm, and £21.95 for kids.
As an adult, you’d need to visit four times across the year to make the pass worthwhile, and the same amount of visits to make the kids pass worthwhile.
Drayton Manor
Drayton Manor in Staffordshire is ideal for families with kids aged four to 12.
The rides are tamer, with a Thomas Land including Thomas the Tank Engine himself and a Viking-themed area with spinning and rocking rides like the Thor Zampa Disco.
Drayton Manor has three different passes.
The cheapest is the Silver Annual Pass, which costs £75 per person (£45 per child aged two to three-years old) or you can pay for annual pass monthly, costing £35 for the first month then £5 a month for 11 months (£90 total).
This pass gets you unlimited visits to the park, 10 per cent off food and drink as well as the shop, free mini golf, 10 per cent off hotel bed and breakfast, 20 tickets for £20 for family and friends and discounts on photos.
The £99 annual pass (£65 per child aged two to three-years old) gets you all of the above, but discounts are 20 per cent on food and drink and the shop.
And last but not least is the ultimate pass costing £249 per person over the age of three (under this age no pass is needed).
With this pass you get all of the above, but also unlimited visits to West Midlands Safari Park and Waterworld, as well as discounts at each of those attractions.
Drayton Manor one-day tickets start at £25.80 for visitors aged 12 and over, and £14 for children aged 2 to 12 when booked online.
You’d need to visit three times across the year to make the annual pass worthwhile (four times for under three-year-olds).
The Big Sheep
The Big Sheep in North Devon has farm experiences as well as rides and live shows.
Season tickets for The Big Sheep cost £50 per person.
You then pay £1 each time you visit if you book online, or £2 at the door.
The pass includes a member’s day where you can bring a guest for free, discounts on events, a 10 per cent discount on food and drink, as well as a 10 per cent discount in the shop.
One-day tickets for the Big Sheep in North Devon start from £14.95 for adults and children over three feet tall when booked online.
You’d need to visit at least four times to make the annual pass worth it.
Gulliver’s World
There are a number of Gulliver’s World theme parks across the UK including Warrington, Matlock Bath, Milton Keynes and near Sheffield.
Each park is slightly different, with themed zones and attractions aimed at kids under the age of 13.
The parks often host events too such as Fright Fiesta for Halloween and the winter Land of Lights lantern festival.
For £99, you can get a 12 month pass allowing unlimited entry to all Gulliver’s Theme Parks (Warrington, Matlock Bath, Milton Keynes & Rother Valley).
You’ll also get entry to Gulliver’s Dinosaur & Farm Park in Milton Keynes, plus discounts on short breaks.
One-day tickets for Gulliver’s World Theme Park Resort cost £28 when booked as an online advance ticket.
You’d need to visit four times across the year to make your money back on the pass.
Flamingo Land
Flamingo Land Resort in North Yorkshire spans across 375 acres and features a zoo as well as rides.
For example, there’s Velocity, the UK’s first motorbike launch coaster.
You can also head to a Peter Rabbit Adventure area, ideal for younger kids.
An annual pass costs £199 to Flamingo Land and gets you unlimited access year round to the theme park and zoo.
Flamingo Land one-day tickets start from £46 per person when booked in advance.
You’d need to visit five times to make your money back on the annual pass.
Pleasure Beach Resort
Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool sits right by the seafront and is more than 125 years old.
Inside the park, there are a range of attractions including thrill rollercoasters.
There’s also a Nickelodeon Land, which has themed rides including Wallace and Gromit Thrill-o-matic.
The Platinum Annual Pass at Blackpool Pleasure Beach costs £125 per person and gives you unlimited entry for a full year.
But what makes it even better is that, included in the price, you get free entry to seven theme parks across Europe, including Efteling, Europa Park, Liseberg, PortAventura World, Emerald Park, Tripsdrill and Isla Magica.
All you need to do is show the Pleasure Beach Resort Platinum Pass Card when you arrive.
You are allowed one free entry to each attraction per pass holder, per year.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach one-day tickets start from around £30 to £34 when booked in advance online.
You’d need to visit between four and five times to make your money back on the annual pass.
Paultons
Paultons Park in Hampshire is spread across 140 acres and is home to more than 70 rides and attractions, including the official home of Peppa Pig.
The theme park has a number of different annual passes, but the cheapest is the Essential Pass which costs £172.
With this pass you get unlimited off-peak visits over 12 months.
And at the end of the year, if you renew, it will set you back £153.
The Star Pass costs £225 and gets you unlimited off-peak visits including some weekends (renewal would cost £203.50).
The Premium Pass costs £290 and gets you unlimited access to the park at any time, as well as discounts on food and drink and in the shop (renewal would cost £262).
Paultons Park one-day tickets start from £46.75 per person when booked in advance, and kids under 1m are free, so paying visitors would need to go at least four times to make the annual pass worthwhile.
Pleasurewood Hills
Pleasurewood Hills in Lowestoft, Suffolk, is home to more than 35 rides and attractions, as well as live shows.
The park’s main thrill ride is Wipeout, which boasts six inversions.
A Standard Season Pass for unlimited access all season, but with some blackout dates (dates where you cannot attend the park – usually during peak season) costs £79.
Alternatively, you can get a Premium Season Pass, which gets you unlimited visits all season as well as exclusive perks and discounts such as 50 per cent off entry for family and friends and free parking for £99.
One-day tickets for Pleasurewood Hills start from £16.41 per person when booked online.
You’d need to visit at least five times across the year to make the most of the £79 annual pass.
Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures, about 12 miles from central London, is home to more than 40 rides across a number of themed lands.
And next year, the park is set to open a new Minecraft World, which will be the world’s first Minecraft-themed land.
A Chessington Annual Pass allows visitors access to the park across 339 days, costing £64.
Passes are only needed for guests 90cm and over.
Chessington one-day tickets start from £32 online in advance.
Visit the park twice to make your money back on the annual pass.
Lightwater Valley
Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park in North Yorkshire is ideal for families with younger children, with safari-styled areas, pirate-themed rides and classic fairground favourites.
A seasonal pass costs £89 and includes unlimited entry throughout the park’s open days, including special events and Bank Holidays.
One-day tickets for Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park cost between £22.00 and £27.00 when booked online.
You’d need to visit between four and five times across the year to make the pass worth it.
M&D’s
M&D’s Scotland’s Theme Park is Scotland’s largest theme park and is in North Lanarkshire.
The park has more than 40 rides and attractions to explore, including rollercoasters and children’s adventures such as a sky trail and Scotland’s only indoor tropical rainforest.
A season pass to the theme park costs £75 and allows you unlimited access to the park when it is open.
You will also get other offers like discounts on food and drink and a day where you can bring a friend for free.
M&D’s Scotland’s Theme Park offers free entry with ride all day wristbands costing from £20.13.
Visit four times across the year to be quids in.
