{"id":10929,"date":"2023-09-15T08:30:21","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T08:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/?p=10929"},"modified":"2025-06-12T19:38:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T19:38:58","slug":"3-merlin-theme-parks-in-1-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/?p=10929","title":{"rendered":"3 Merlin Theme Parks in 1 Day\u2026."},"content":{"rendered":"

As a Merlin Annual Passholder, it\u2019s always exciting knowing you park hop across the South Theme Parks in one day. Trust me, it\u2019s easier than you think! We decided to do just that during our South trip in August to check out the events at Chessington & Thorpe and then check out the construction for the new duelling coasters at Legoland. So, here are some recommendations on making the best time & maximising your day! Please note, this is coming from a driver’s viewpoint not public transport. <\/span><\/p>\n

Research: <\/span><\/h3>\n

Firstly, do you want to visit all 3 of the parks? If so, research if they are open & closing times & the days your pass covers. Once you know they are all open (important for off-peak days) and their closing time you\u2019re golden. Don\u2019t forget to check the dates your annual pass covers you for too. If you\u2019re a Platinum Passholder you generally don\u2019t have any restrictions, unlike other passes. You just need to know those facts to work out where is best to start & finish your day but also ensure you\u2019re able to do the trip on the date you wish. I\u2019ll cover that in better detail below.\"\" <\/span><\/p>\n

Pre-Book:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Pre-book don\u2019t get caught out by assuming they no longer check because particularly on peak times they do check. It\u2019s not worth the risk & only takes a few seconds to do so. Head to the pre-book portal HERE<\/strong> to book your next trip.\"\" <\/span><\/p>\n

Choose A Ride or Two: <\/span><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not practical unless you\u2019re doing this on a very off-peak day you\u2019ll manage a tremendous ordeal of rides at each park. You could effortlessly manage 1 to 4 if the queue times are moderately minimum. So, I\u2019d say to decide on a ride or two that are your must rides from each park to make your visits more exciting and challenging. If any of the rides you choose are down go for a backup. Having a plan makes it even more thrilling. Perhaps if it\u2019s not a ride in particular you fancy riding then maybe a show? Choose a show or two or Easter egg to find\/see.\"\" <\/span><\/p>\n

Where To Begin? <\/span><\/h3>\n

Start your day at the park which closes the earliest or furtherest away on your travel. Once you\u2019ve established either of those elements arrive there ahead of opening time to get yourself straight into the park. Then work your way to the latest opening park or closest to home. For us, we decided to do Legoland first as it shared the same opening times at Chessington to then head to Chessington then finished at Thorpe due to the later opening times. Legoland is closer to home for us with only 15 minutes longer than Alton Towers but we knew we\u2019d spend longer at Thorpe due to the opening times being extended.\"\" <\/span><\/p>\n

Plan For Food:<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re not hoping to eat at the park bring a packed lunch or grab your food on your way up or down to South. For us, we did plan to get a meal deal from a local Tesco but then opted to eat at the Last Call Cafe at Thorpe Park. So, definitely plan where you\u2019d like to eat to be ahead of time. If you\u2019re eating your own meals then why not eat it on route to the parks to get even more time?\"\" <\/span><\/p>\n

Overall: <\/span><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s remarkably straightforward to do this trip even on an off-peak shorter opening hours kind of day. Honestly, it\u2019s a trip I adore doing as it\u2019s always such a delight to see what we can do across all 3 parks in one day. It\u2019s even better when there are events on too. Following those tips above and you could find equally as much joy as we do.\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you done this trip before? If so, let me know your own tips and tricks for making the most out of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you so much for reading!\"\" <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a Merlin Annual Passholder, it\u2019s always exciting knowing you park hop across the South Theme Parks in one day. Trust me, it\u2019s easier than you think! We decided to do just that during our South trip in August to check out the events at Chessington & Thorpe and then check out the construction for the new duelling coasters at Legoland. So, here are some recommendations on making the best time & maximising your day! Please note, this is coming from a driver’s viewpoint not public transport. Research: Firstly, do you want to visit all 3 of the parks? If so, research if they are open & closing times & the days your pass covers. Once you know they are all open (important for off-peak days) and their closing time you\u2019re golden. Don\u2019t forget to check the dates your annual pass covers you for too. If you\u2019re a Platinum Passholder you generally don\u2019t have any restrictions, unlike other passes. You just need to know those facts to work out where is best to start & finish your day but also ensure you\u2019re able to do the trip on the date you wish. I\u2019ll cover that in better detail below. Pre-Book: Pre-book don\u2019t get caught out by assuming they no longer check because particularly on peak times they do check. It\u2019s not worth the risk & only takes a few seconds to do so. Head to the pre-book portal HERE to book your next trip. Choose A Ride or Two: It\u2019s not practical unless you\u2019re doing this on a very off-peak day you\u2019ll manage a tremendous ordeal of rides at each park. You could effortlessly manage 1 to 4 if the queue times are moderately minimum. So, I\u2019d say to decide on a ride or two that are your must rides from each park to make your visits more exciting and challenging. If any of the rides you choose are down go for a backup. Having a plan makes it even more thrilling. Perhaps if it\u2019s not a ride in particular you fancy riding then maybe a show? Choose a show or two or Easter egg to find\/see. Where To Begin? Start your day at the park which closes the earliest or furtherest away on your travel. Once you\u2019ve established either of those elements arrive there ahead of opening time to get yourself straight into the park. Then work your way to the latest opening park or closest to home. For us, we decided to do Legoland first as it shared the same opening times at Chessington to then head to Chessington then finished at Thorpe due to the later opening times. Legoland is closer to home for us with only 15 minutes longer than Alton Towers but we knew we\u2019d spend longer at Thorpe due to the opening times being extended. Plan For Food: If you\u2019re not hoping to eat at the park bring a packed lunch or grab your food on your way up or down to South. For us, we did plan to get a meal deal from a local Tesco but then opted to eat at the Last Call Cafe at Thorpe Park. So, definitely plan where you\u2019d like to eat to be ahead of time. If you\u2019re eating your own meals then why not eat it on route to the parks to get even more time? Overall: It\u2019s remarkably straightforward to do this trip even on an off-peak shorter opening hours kind of day. Honestly, it\u2019s a trip I adore doing as it\u2019s always such a delight to see what we can do across all 3 parks in one day. It\u2019s even better when there are events on too. Following those tips above and you could find equally as much joy as we do. \u2014 Have you done this trip before? If so, let me know your own tips and tricks for making the most out of it. Thank you so much for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5053,5054],"tags":[4781,1787,4784,97,218,4787,256,3259,3407,3528,2493,4786,4782,3555,4785,416,742,3580,3044,4783],"class_list":["post-10929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theme-parks","category-themed-attractions","tag-3-merlin-parks-in-1-day","tag-adventures","tag-challenges","tag-chessington-world-of-adventures","tag-legoland-windsor","tag-making-the-most","tag-merlin-annual-pass","tag-merlin-annual-pass-collaborator","tag-merlin-annual-pass-perks","tag-merlin-annual-passes","tag-merlin-annual-passholder","tag-multiple-theme-parks-in-one-day","tag-park-hopping","tag-theme-park-challenge","tag-theme-park-hopping","tag-thorpe-park","tag-uk","tag-uk-adventures","tag-uk-days-out","tag-uk-park-hop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/9704A5AB-3A39-45FC-A438-F97A1C1152B4.jpeg?fit=1620%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb4qDv-2Qh","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10930,"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10929\/revisions\/10930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coastersonthecoast.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}