How to get two-for-one, Kids go free and other deals to save money and get you cheap theme park tickets.
I love a good theme park – but ticket prices for UK theme parks such as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park can be more terrifying than the fastest ride, especially for a family. But it’s actually really easy to pay less.
Here are some of the best deals right now to get cheap theme park tickets.
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Cheap theme park ticket rules
These are the basics that should help you avoid paying full price.
Use a promo code
Every single year there are discount codes, usually offering 50% off or two for the price of one tickets, to all the major theme parks. Smaller parks might have smaller discounts, but there are still savings to be found. I’ve listed below some of the best ones available right now from products you’re likely to buy.
Book in advance
Whether you’re using one of the codes below, or just paying full whack (why?), it makes sense to book in advance as prices are much cheaper. Often the earlier you book the better, with online prices on the day often more expensive (though still cheaper than buying on the door). You can sometimes stack a 2-4-1 code with these cheaper prices, meaning you’ll pay even less.
The annual pass trick
You can often pick up a season pass, giving unlimited access to one or multiple Merlin theme parks for the cost of a single ticket. Of course, if you’ve used the other promotions listed on this page you should only have paid 50% of the entry price. But if you are going to go at least twice in a year, then you may as well buy the season pass – even if you don’t go again.
Do check again for any restrictions, for example August weekends and special events are often excluded unless you buy a premium pass.
You can get season passes at locations including:
- Alton Towers
- Legoland
- Thorpe Park
- Chessington World of Adventures
Latest theme park special offers
You can regularly get deals on promotional packs of anything from cereal to soaps. Many do have exclusions though, including weekends in August for all attractions, and it looks like October’s half-term too. So do check. I’ve put in links with the exclusions and also the lists of participating theme parks where I can.
Thorpe Park: 50% off
Discount site Planet Offers is selling Thorpe Park tickets for £27.50, saving £2.50 on walk up prices and £22.50 for on the day online prices. It’s a smaller £11.50 saving on prices up to a month away.
Though you can book similarly priced £29 advance tickets at the Theme Park for £29, that’s only for visits a month or more away.
You can buy a ticket here and use it straight away until 30 September 2024. The terms state this is only for off-peak tickets, though it’s impossible to see on the either the Planet Offers or Thorpe Park site when this is.
Merlin: £19 kids tickets
From now until 3 September 2024, you can purchase kids (under the age of 16) one-day tickets to Alton Towers, Legoland Windsor, Chessington World of Adventures, Thorpe Park and Warwick Castle for £19.
You can purchase up to three discounted tickets per transaction on each attraction’s individual website. Click the ‘book now’ button on the Real Fun Deals! section to get this price.
Tickets are subject to availability. There are 27,000 discounted tickets available for Alton Towers, 21,000 for Legoland Windsor, 14,000 for Chessington World of Adventures, 18,000 for Thorpe Park and 20,000 for Warwick Castle, so you need to get them before they run out.
This offer is great if you have teenagers who want to go without parents, as you don’t have to buy an adult ticket to get the discounted price.
2-4-1 with train tickets
These offers are good as you can still use them on weekends in August, though there are still some blackout dates. There’s a long list of attractions, but notable theme parks included are Alton Towers, Chessington and Thorpe Park.
You claim your voucher from the Days Out website and present it along with your train tickets to the attraction at the gate. The vouchers are only valid on the day of your train travel.
Merlin theme parks: 25% off with Kelloggs
Buy a promotional box of Kelloggs cereal or a Snack Pack and get 25% off up to two online advance priced tickets at 25 participating Merlin attractions, including Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures.
Find the 10-digit code inside the cereal box or follow the booking link on your Snack Pack (eg Rice Crispy Squares or a Fruit Winder) and visit the Merlin Magic website to select the attraction and choose the date you want to visit. With Snack Packs, you must bring the promotional pack with you along with your pre-booked e-ticket and show it at the ticket desk.
Tickets are valid until 30 June 2025. Exclusion dates apply and do check the terms and conditions.
Legoland: £17.50 tickets via Sky
If you pay for Sky TV, then take a look at the Sky VIP section in your account to get a unique code for £17.50 tickets to Legoland this summer.
You need to buy them before 7 August 2024, but you can choose any date up until 3 November 2024. You can book up to four tickets each time.
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Tesco Clubcard points
If you’re earning points, you can get double value at theme parks including Alton Towers. Personally I’d say you’re better off using your points elsewhere, particularly for the Merlin-owned attractions.
That’s because although this promo is in theory the same as the 2-4-1 style offers, the prevalence of the latter means you’re effectively only getting 25% off that lower price. More on Clubcard deals here.
Kids Pass / Little Bird
These subscription-based membership sites offer money off at the major theme parks, including some which aren’t part of the Merlin group. More on them and how you can get cheap trials here.
Editor’s pick: 4.9% savings
Easy access ISA from Trading 212 paying 4.9%
Adults go free with Kellogs (expired)
Though the wording is different, it’s essentially the same thing, it’s just the adult ticket is free when you buy another full price adult or kids ticket.
Once again it’s for Merlin attractions, so the main theme parks are Thorpe Park, Chessington and Alton Towers.
Any vouchers you collect will be valid until 30 June 2024. Details here. You’ll need to keep the promotional packaging to share at the venue entrance.
Merlin Annual Pass: get £20-£60 off (expired)
Merlin has launched another sale on its annual passes. These run for a full year from when you buy them, so you’ll be able to get until April 2025 if you get one while the deal is on. The sale is on until 7 April 2024.
This gets you into any Merlin attraction – this includes Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, LEGOLAND, Sealife Centre and the London Eye. The different stages of pass have different perks – for example, the Gold one includes parking (usually £5-£10 each time), and there are restricted days on the Silver and Discovery passes. Some of them also have a sign-up fee if you go for a monthly option.
Remember, you’re unlikely to need to pay full price for entrance thanks to other deals, so you’ll need to weigh up whether the pass will represent good value depending on how often you’ll visit the attractions.
Here are the discounts available:
| Pass | Sale price (per year) | Normal Price (per year) |
| Discovery | £79 | £99 |
| Silver | £129 | £169 |
| Gold | £189 | £239 |
| Platinum | £239 | £299 |
I have taken out the £1 trial for kids pass and would like to go to flamingo land on 3/9/2021 . On the kids pass website I have clicked for 5 tickets but I am confused because when I read the t&c’s it states offer valid for a maximum of 4 admissions . Does that mean I can only book for 4 ?also you can’t book it as a family. Why would the app allow me to book for a maximum of 5 people but then only 4 addmissions?