There’s nothing like a trip to the movies. No matter how big your TV is or how clever your sound system is, there’s something about a trip to the cinema that still gives me a little thrill – even with the occasional annoyance from other people.
What’s more, this summer brings some highly anticipated blockbusters to the multiplex, including Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, Deadpool & Wolverine, the new Bad Boys, Borderlands and the latest addition to the Alien franchise, I know I’ll be there and back a few times over the next few months, with and without the kids.
But with rising costs, I’m always looking for ways to save money on my trip to the movies. Over the years I’ve tried different ways to make my cinema money go further, including signing up with a Cineworld card (before I had kids and went to the cinema a couple of times a month), using Compare the Market to buy our home insurance so that I could get Meerkat Movies, buy bundle tickets from Wowcher or Groupon when they went on sale and even use a little-known Amazon Prime benefit to get two Odeon tickets for £10 every month.
I had heard of Kids Pass before and when my kids were toddlers I used the discounts on the site to do discount days out at the farm or local soft play areas with them. But, it turns out, over the past few years as my kids have grown, so has the brand.
Kids Pass now offers discounts on everything from cinemas, restaurants, days out and holidays across the UK. Members can use an app or the Kids Pass website to choose from a range of offers, and after signing up for membership I was amazed at the wide range of things to do while making significant savings – whether you’re bringing the kids or not .
However, it was the cinema that I was particularly interested in. Searching the app, I soon realized that deep discounts were available seven days a week on all shows and venues – including the West End which I’d often found excluded or added on with other offers I’ve tried. You can even save money on snacks if you plan ahead.
I booked two tickets at Vue West End to see Inside Out 2 and was able to save £4.73 per seat on the cost of booking on the Vue website. Apparently it would have been more expensive for us to go up to Leicester Square and buy seats in person. For two of us the saving covered most of the cost of even discounted large popcorn and drink which you can get for £9.80 by buying in advance.
On the Kids Pass app, all cinema seats cost £10.27 per ticket, with super savers £7.65 each. As well as all Vue’s London venues, the Kids Pass has Odeon, Cineworld and Picturehouse options available, with the brand saying their discounts are up to 40% off the regular ticket price.
Booking through the app was a simple process and I’ve also earmarked a few other summer holiday dates including mini golf and our local trampoline park to make the most of my two month £1 membership. With Despicable Me 4 coming out as the school holidays hit and Kids Pass also offering restaurant deals with either 25% off or free kids meals I’m pretty sure there will be at least one more trip to the cinema over the summer holidays too – although I haven’t tried it in person than to see if there are any exceptions or caveats for dining out offers.
As someone who writes about shopping deals for a living, I’d like to think I’m pretty knowledgeable about how to save money. Although if you shop around you can find some of the offers on Kids Pass cheaper, but there are enough interesting offers that I haven’t seen elsewhere to make it more than worth the £1 sign-up fee.
I also think I will use the card to save money on a trip to the Borderlands later this summer for my husband and I. After all, why should the kids have all the fun?
Shoppers can get 60 days access to Kids Pass for £1 in a new offer by signing up online. After the first two months, members can either cancel or continue to receive the service for £3.99 a month. But if you’re looking for alternative membership schemes to keep the family busy this summer, there are of course other options.
Theme park fans could pick up Merlin Passes. With prices starting at £99, they are significantly more expensive than the Kids Pass, but if you go to theme parks more than three times a year, the savings are likely to add up, especially if you like going to central London which covers Madame Tussauds, London Eye, Shrek’s Adventure, London Dungeon and Sea Life on the Southbank.
Meanwhile, if you’re happy to explore further afield, a family membership from English Heritage gives you access to 400 historic buildings from just £42 a year for up to six children per accompanying adult. Alternatively, the National Trust sells individual memberships for adults and children aged under 18 who can access hundreds of stately homes and gardens across the country from £12 a year.
