Big Changes to Merlin Annual Pass Attractions in Blackpool

It was announced yesterday that a new company owned by Blackpool Council will take over the running of The Blackpool Tower, Peter Rabbit Explore & Play, The Blackpool Tower Dungeon and Madame Tussauds Blackpool whilst retaining the Merlins brands under a new franchise agreement with Merlin.

This shock announcement sees some big changes to Merlin annual passes which drastically reduce the value for money offered by the pass whilst Merlin haven’t reduced the price of the passes.

This means from the 1st August passholders who purchased their pass before 31st July 2025 will only have access to those attractions until the 31st December and from the 1st August new and renewed passes will not have access to those attractions.

In my opinion this is a big blow for pass holders as the amount of attractions you could access in Blackpool including the fantastic circus as part of Blackpool Tower was always a big attraction of the passes and for pass holders from August the only Blackpool attraction will be the Sealife attraction.

This also does raise questions about which other Merlin assets in the UK we may see them handover at a time when Merlin have drastically reduced park entertainment (with current rumours suggesting Chessington won’t have a Halloween event at all this year) and have also been actively trying to sell the Sealife arm of the business.

However, this is great news for Blackpool as a town as it will see the running of these exciting (and in some cases, historic) attractions return to a group focused on celebrating Blackpool and it’s tourism over profit.