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0 Current Deals
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Look for promotional bottles of Carex handwash (£1ish at most supermarkets), to get half-price entry to three attractions – Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures and Sealife Centres and Sanctuaries (norm up to £50ish). This deal is great if you have an uneven number in your party, as it'll work out cheaper than the 2for1 deals.
To get your half-price entry, you must pre-book your tickets online via this special special Carex link and select which attraction you’d like to visit. Once you’ve chosen, you’ll automatically be shown half-price tickets. One promotional bottle gets you one half-price entry, so if you want to use this for multiple tickets, you'll need multiple bottles.
When you arrive at the attraction, you'll need to show the 'v' code which you can find on the back of the promotional bottle. We're not sure if just taking the sticker will be enough, so it may be best to take the whole bottle with you, if you can, or you may have to pay the on-the-gate price.
Alton Towers allows you to book half-price tickets for up to four adults, four children and two under-threes in the same booking. Chessington World of Adventure’s lets you book for up to 10 adults, 10 children and two under-threes and Sealife allows you to book up to five adults, five children and two under-threes.
The voucher's valid until 31 May 2022, so if you buy a bottle now, you'll have plenty of time to use it. There are some date exclusions though. We're not sure how long the promotional bottles will be around for, so best to buy a bottle soon if it's something you're interested in.
Vouchers from the 2020 promo have been extended till May 2022
If you still have an unused voucher from when Carex ran this promotion in early 2020, it'll have an end date of 31 May 2021 – but Merlin has confirmed it's extended these vouchers to 31 May 2022.
Prefer a different attraction? See our round-up of current theme park deals which include 2for1 offers and MoneySaving tips & tricks.
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For 27 Merlin attractions till June 2022Look for promotional packs of Kellogg's cereal and snacks including Corn Flakes, Coco Pops, Crunchy Nut and Rice Krispie Squares (£2ish-£3ish at most supermarkets), to get a 'Free Adult Ticket' voucher for 27 UK Merlin theme parks and attractions. To get the free ticket, you'll need to purchase a full-price 'on-the-gate' child or adult ticket (norm up to £50ish).
The vouchers can be exchanged for entry at Alton Towers, Legoland, Chessington, Sea Life centres, Madame Tussauds and more – see the full list of Merlin attractions. This is the first big 2for1 theme parks deal that most people can get that we've seen since the pandemic. Promotional packs will be readily available in stores until the end of June, after which they'll be harder to find.
This deal can be particularly strong if going with a child, and is valid till June 2022
If going with another adult, then effectively this is a 2for1, as you'll need to buy an adult ticket to get the free adult entry. However, this can actually work out better than a 2for1 if you’re going with a child as in this case, the paid-for ticket is a child ticket, and these are cheaper than an adult one at many attractions such as Sea Life, Chessington and Madame Tussauds.
What also makes this deal particularly 'grrreat!' is the voucher's valid until 30 June 2022, so get it now and you've plenty of time to use it. There are some date exclusions per attraction though.
Of course, if you aren’t going in a pair, it’s worth checking to see what other deals are available. See our round-up of current theme park deals to check which is best for you.
Book online to guarantee entryAttractions are currently having to restrict visitor numbers and we don't know yet how long that will last. To guarantee entry, it's best to book your tickets online in advance at this special Merlin site. Note you'll still need to pay the on-the-gate price for the paid-for ticket. You can do this using the unique 10-digit code printed inside the cereal box.
If there's no code (eg, on snack packs such as Rice Krispie Squares) you'll need to select the 'snack pack or cut out voucher' option when booking, and importantly, you must show your original on-pack voucher when you visit. When we checked, The Blackpool Tower Dungeon won't let you book online without a unique code.
Vouchers from the 2020 promo have been extended till September 2021
If you still have an unused voucher from when Kellogg's ran this promotion in early 2020, it'll have an end date of 30 June 2021 – but Merlin has confirmed it's extended these vouchers to 30 September 2021. This means if you're looking to visit one of the attractions in the next few months, you won't need a voucher from one of this year's promotional packs.
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If you register with Days Out Guide and buy a National Rail ticket, you can get 2for1 entry to 80+ UK attractions, including Thorpe Park, Kew Gardens, Chessington World of Adventures, Alton Towers and Legoland Windsor (see the full attractions list). You must pre-book the attraction tickets – on-the-gate purchases are no longer eligible.
Important: Before booking, make sure to check ahead on the venue's website for Covid measures and changes to opening times.
You'll need to click on your chosen attraction on the Days Out Guide website and register or login. A 2for1 code will generate onscreen. Copy it, and click through to the attraction's own website and use the code right away to book two tickets online. On arrival at the attraction, you'll need to present these alongside a valid train ticket dated for the same day.
If you don't present a valid train ticket at the attraction on the day, you'll be required to purchase your second ticket on the gate.
Before the pandemic, there were 300+ attractions available under the 2for1 scheme. We don't know if the rest will be added at a later date but we have a hunch they might, once more attractions are fully open and allowing pre-booking. Check back at a later date for any updates to the attractions list.
What if I live near the attraction/am travelling by other means?
It's worth doing this even if you are not travelling by train as a cheap single ticket can be available for a couple of quid, far cheaper than the entry ticket price (Legoland Windsor is the most expensive at up to £53).
Just stop by the nearest station on your way and pick one up, then present it alongside your pre-booked tickets at the gate. Crucially, your rail ticket must show that you have travelled to one of the stations nearest the attraction. So for Thorpe Park, you need to have a ticket with an end destination of Staines or Chertsey.
For savings on travel, see how you can swap Tesco points for discounted Railcards. -
Convert Tesco Clubcard points into Tesco Reward Partners vouchers* and on many attractions you get three times the vouchers' face value to use on tickets, eg, £5 in points converts into £15 worth of vouchers. Can be used at theme parks, wildlife parks and more.
Important: Not all attractions may be open yet, following their closure during lockdown. Before exchanging your points for vouchers, check to see if your chosen attraction is open and if they're operating any differently since the start of the pandemic.
Here are some of the theme parks you can select:
Alton Towers
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Chessington
Legoland
Thorpe Park
Edinburgh Dungeons
And some of the wildlife parks:
Eden Project
Blackpool Zoo
Longleat Safari
National Sea Life, Birmingham
Sea Life, BlackpoolFor how to fully maximise Clubcard points, see the Loyalty Schemes guide.
Latest Expired Deals
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2for1 Legoland, Alton Towers etc with £3ish cereal
Adults go 'free' voucher on selected Kellogg's cereals
ExpiredLook for promotional packs of Kellogg's cereal and snacks, including Rice Krispies, Frosties, Crunchy Nut and Squares (norm £2ish-£4ish at most supermarkets), to get 'free' adult entry via a voucher for 30 Merlin attractions until 30 June 2020.
Effectively this is a 2for1, as you must buy a full-price on-the-gate child or adult ticket to get the free adult entry, but this could actually work out better than a 2for1 ticket if you're an adult going with a child as generally child tickets tend to be cheaper than adult ones.
The vouchers can be exchanged for entry on the day at Merlin attractions including Legoland, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington, Sea Life centres and sanctuaries, the Dungeons and Madame Tussauds. Some dates are excluded and these vary between attractions - see 'More info' below.
Promotional packs will be readily available in stores until May, after which they'll be harder to find.
How strong is this deal?
While attraction prices vary, the most you could save with this offer is £57ish based on peak Legoland Windsor ticket prices (norm £60 each on the gate, so £120 for two, but you could get two for £63ish with this deal).
As it covers a large range of attractions and the vouchers are valid for over a year, this is a particularly strong deal if you and one other person are considering visiting one of the participating venues.
However, if you’re only interested in visiting a specific attraction, possibly more than once, and aren’t going in a pair, it’s worth checking to see what other deals are available. Find ticket prices for other attractions and see our round-up of theme park deals to check which works best for you.
You can also book online
To guarantee entry and beat the queues at selected attractions, there's also an option to book your tickets online in advance using unique codes found inside Kellogg's cereal packets (though you'll still pay the on-the-gate price). Technically, these codes can be combined with the physical vouchers to obtain two free adult tickets with two full-price child tickets purchased - see 'More info' for full details.
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Discounted Merlin theme parks pass £129 (norm £179)
Gets you 15 months unlimited entry to Legoland, Alton Towers etc
ExpiredIf you buy an annual 'standard' Merlin pass for the discounted price of £129 per person before 11.59pm on Mon 3 Dec, you'll also get three months extra for free. After that, it will rise to the normal 2019 price of £179 per person for a 12-month pass.
The discounted 15-month pass gets you unlimited visits to 32 attractions including Legoland, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon, London Eye and the Blackpool Tower.
Is it worth it?
Given you could also go to many attractions using a 2for1 voucher, eg, Legoland for two people costs £55ish with 2for1 tickets, you need to make about five theme park visits during the 15 months to make it worth buying a pass – more for cheaper attractions.
It's worth noting Legoland, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and the Jurassic Skyline attraction are closed until March 2019, effectively cancelling out the extra three months you’re getting with this deal if those are the attractions you’re interested in visiting.
However, even if you don’t make full use of all 15 months’ access, you’ll still be saving £50 per pass compared with if you wait until next year to buy them – so it’s worth it if you definitely intend on getting some.
The passes also can’t be used at central London attractions in August, or at some theme parks during key summer school holiday weekends – check full T&Cs including these and other exclusions.
Buying for three to five people?
If you're buying passes for between three and five people (max three over-12s), you can get them at the reduced 'standard family' rate of £109 per person, going up to £139 on Tue 4 Dec. You don't technically need to be family, or even visit together, so adults can team up to get the cheaper rate.
Got Tesco points?
If you've got Tesco points, you can buy a 'standard' annual pass for £60 in Clubcard Boost vouchers. See our Tesco Clubcard Boost page for more info.
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Then ask:
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And although Section 75 doesn't apply to debit cards, there is something else to fall back on if you've paid using a debit card, or used a credit card for a purchase under £100. Known as Chargeback, this is part of banks' and card companies' internal rules and not a legal requirement. Read full details of Section 75 or Chargeback, plus how to claim, in our guides.
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