Alton Towers

We spent a day at Alton Towers last week with our 3-year-old DS and 6-year-old DD. From my DD and husband's point of view it was excellent - they loved the rollercoasters. Where it was a let-down was for toddlers. There is a small section of rides for wee ones, but it's very limited, and not worth paying the adult price to take them in. The fact that my DH and DD spent a large chunk of time queuing for rides meant that there was little chance to swap over.
However, DS enjoyed the sea life centre, which was very good compared to others.
I would caution anyone going with an under-5 - there is a reason why it's free to take them!
Also, as a coffee lover, I couldn't finish the rank cup I was served!

Excellent theme park for a great family day out, all the family enjoyed this years scarefest and we even got given priority passes after a ride we were on broke down.

If you were taking five 9 - 11 year-old boys away for a weekend (why? why?), you probably couldn't show them a better time than at Alton Towers all done up for its Halloween Scarefest. And it's surprisingly OK for even rollercoaster-averse grown-ups too - the grounds and surrounding countryside are lovely, the staff are uniformly helpful and cheery, the onsite Splash Landings Hotel is comfy and the breakfast buffet is all that a hotel breakfast buffet should be. And everything's been pleasingly Halloweenified with pumpkins and ghouls. Also it doesn't feel crowded, particularly between rides, so you are less likely to be swamped by misanthropy than you would be in many another theme park where some dad is knocking you down to get to the hotdogs.
All of the assembled boys loved the waterpark (attached to the hotel!) and Extraordinary Golf (crazy golf based on the rides) on the first day. Then, after a fabulous night of small-hours sweet-consumption and Pokemon trading punctuated by adult despair, it was on to the hard stuff. Although some rides have height restrictions or are simply too frightening for small boys, there are stacks of rides suitable for pre-teens. Especially popular with our lot were:
? Battle Galleons (pirate ships on a lake, with built in water cannons with which to drench other ships and people on the shore - change of clothes or a good waterproof required)
? The Flume (like a water log ride, with individual carriage styled like bath tubs - one big drop at the end where you all get a bit soggy)
? Duel (like a lar quest ride in a haunted house)
? Runaway Mine Train (traditional rollercoaster that's exhilarating but not to a cacking yourself extent)
? Congo River Rapids (circular boat on a water circuit, a bit dampening but no big falls to drench you)
? Marauders Mayhem (pirate themed waltzer ride, where you can spin your own carriage as well as being spun around by the machine itself)
? Hex (a chamber that you sit in with about 40 other people which makes you feel like you're turning upside down, but you're not really).
The more intrepid and taller members of the party also enjoyed Rita, Th13teen, The Blade, Sonic Spinball...; And crowing at the shorter and/or wussier boys. "Best weekend ever,"; as one of the guest boys announced in his affecting treble. Awh.

We went to Alton Towers in August (the rainy season!) - bought tickets online through ASDA.com which did a good deal for two day pass. On the day we upgraded to the fast pass for the top five rides it was well worth it. Added

We were disappointed with our visit to Alton Towers the rides are all quite far apart and then there were huge queues. 2 of the rides' were out of order. We thought it was an expensive day and not very good value for money as we did not get on many of the rides.The grounds are very beautiful but we were there for the thrill

Alton Towers is a stunning theme park set in rolling hills and the gardens of an old castle. The two hotels on site are not going to win any poncey design awards but great fun for the kids - think aqua blue carpets with sea creatures on them - and have everything you'll need. We stayed at the Splash Landings Hotel in a family room that comfortably accommodated two adults and four kids.

We arrived early afternoon and immediately meant headed for the water park which is inside the hotel and spent a fun couple of hours going down water slides and fooling about in the lazy river (if you do have a strong swimmer - take a swim jacket or armbands).

Dinner was in a hotel restaurant, not gourmet but all very relaxed and kid friendly. There is a choice of a few but do book in advance to be sure of your first choice.

If you can sneak out to the Spa before or after dinner for a massage or a manicure then do as the treatments are great and very good value.

Next day we set out for the park nice and early. Alton Towers has one very big advantage over most other theme parks and that is the genuinely beautiful setting. It's large and sprawling with at least four different themed zones each with a good selection of rides but has a fantastic cable car that connects the different areas and from which you can admire the stunning gardens of what was once a stately home.

Added to that it has great rides, catering for all ages - though for the real thrills you need to be 1.4m tall. The new ride - Thirteen - is awesome and has a unexpected little twist that I shall say no more about but which left us all very over-excited. Take a mac and plenty of snacks in a backpack and tell the kids from the off that you're not buying them anything from the shops or they'll be nagging all day. But if you're in a reasonably sized party consider buying the bulk photo deal as it's good value and life isn't complete without one of those pics of you screaming your head off in a roller coaster.

We went as a family of 5 to Alton Towers in Aug and loved it!! We stayed in the Alton Towers Hotel and found the rooms clean and adequate, the service excellent and entertainment super. The park itself was amazing with rides for all ages. the only thing I would change is the queues! Its too dear to pay for a fast pass for the different rides, and the queues can be veeeeeery long at times. Having said that we would defo go again!

Have 2 kids below 10 and though some rides are too scary there are still plenty of rides that suit their ages - recommend to take your own food as restaurants there are expensive and low quality

Love Alton Towers - bring your own food in a coolbag, and do the scary rides first!
We camped nearby, so we could do the rides one day and the water park the next, absolutely brilliant weekend away.

I love Alton Towers but I find it expensive. Today I just bought a 50% of Alton Towers Discount Voucher at www.4youdeals.co.uk/uk/discount/birmingham/birmingham-50-percent-off-day-ticket-toalton-towers-resort-for-adult-save-16-pound good value and I wish there was more of these vouchers around for UK theme parks

We've just come back from 2 days and had a great time. The water rides weren't open, but the rest of the big rides were and we didn't have to queue for longer than 20 minutes so definitely worth considering going in low season. Both my DS's had a great time and are already looking forward to going again!

We've just come back from 2 days and had a great time. The water rides weren't open, but the rest of the big rides were and we didn't have to queue for longer than 20 minutes so definitely worth considering going in low season. Both my DS's had a great time and are already looking forward to going again!

We've just come back from a night at the Splash Landings hotel and the staff could not have been friendlier. The place had a great atmosphere, with lots for the kids to do including a disco and a lego pit. The hotel was really busy, yet they had plenty of staff so we didn't have to wait long for food or anything like that. My youngest DS is also on a strict diet and they were so helpful with his meals, even suggesting the best places to eat for him in the park. The pool was also a huge hit with my DS's. Really enjoyed our stay and would definitely go again.

When we visited Alton Towers we stayed at the splash landings hotel and went into the pool. We were a bit disappointed, it was really crowded and wasn't that big.

We love Alton Towers, we decided because it is so far for us we would stay the night at the splash landings hotel. We are glad we did as one day isn't really enough. Highlights were the driving school and the pirate area.

Favourite theme park of all, the hotel was wonderful, the in hotel entertainment was splendid and the rooms were great. one thing I did learn though, which is obvious at all theme parks is go in peak season and prepare for queues, although not as bad as Florida 30 mins for a 2 minute ride, hmm, would probably go in slightly lower season if it were just for the rides, kids love all the characters that the team at alton towers put on and the ice shows are a must see !

We booked the alton towers holtel and the water park, we stayed for two days, I went with 4 children and hubbie and had a fantastic time. The hotel was fabulous and the kids enjoyed both the parks, even my 6 month old seemed to have a good time. We can't wait to go back again next year. I would definitely recommend it.

I think 2 days are definately needed if you have a varied age range of children. The park is so big that smaller children will get pretty tired so maybe one day for small rides and 1 day for thrillseeking. Cable cars to different parts were good. Food options were pretty varied and not to expensive. We went in summer holidays and still didn't find the ques for big rides more than 45mins!!

It is the waterpark at alton towers, it is done in a Carribean theme. It was very good although a lot smaller inside than i'd imagined. There are height restrictions on a few slides but there are some without a height restriction. There is a little pool for toddlers with a few slides for them as well. The changing area/ showers etc are adequate however I found the worst part was the lack of tables to eat your lunch.

I love the Water Park at Alton Towers mainly because they do a toddler morning Mon-Fri during term times which is only a £5 per parent with a child under 5. This runs from 10.30 (sometimes 10 check opening hours) until 1.

They ensure there are lots of toys in the water and the kids can go in the little pool with big water tools and a small slide, in the larger pool which is roped off when it starts to get deep, and you can take them round the rapids. On good days you can also go outside.

There are restrictions on what the adults can go on - you're not supposed to go on any of the big rides, but if its quiet they can be quite lenient, but if its just you and your kids its not like you would get a chance to go on anyway.

All in all definitely worth a visit with littlies and its pretty good fun when paying good price for the adults as well.

Lovley setting and not bad value for money if you look around you can always find a kids go free or 2 4 1 offer before you book.. But can get very busy at times expect long waits for the big rides

Torture! Pay

I think Alton Towers is a fantastic theme park partly because the setting is so fabulous - in the grounds of an vast country pile surrounded by rolling countryside and beautiful gardens - and partly because of the rides - which are brilliant. Our favourite is Rita - Queen of Speed - which just makes me laugh it's so fast. But there is a huge selection of varied rides and the walks between the different areas are really pleasant - like going for a walk in the countryside rather than hanging out in a placcy theme park!

The hotels are very family oriented - I much prefer the Alton Towers Hotel to Slash Landings, which is quite, shall we say, loud in decor and furnishings.

The food around the park is pretty good with some healthier options and my offspring love the water park. I'd advise you to hit the spa if you can - no under-16s and a relative haven. A lovely pool to hang out by, plus a full-range of treatments.

All in all top marks for Alton Towers from me pretty much any time of year. (One tip - if you can run to a priority pass then do - it makes all the difference to skip a few queues on the very popular rides).

Alton Towers is really good for thrill rides and family rides, but there wasn't that much for our 2 year old to go on.
One thing I didn't like was although it's a no smoking park, designated ares only, there were people smoking in the park and in the queues where you just couldn't get away from it. The staff freely allowed this to happen without comment too, which I was surprised about. There is a buffet style pizza / pasta place that looked pretty good value for money and lots of fast food options.

We stayed at the Splash Landings hotel so got 2 days at the theme park, there is loads to do and there is a great variety of rides for all ages.

Just got back form a stay at Splash Landings and it was briiliant. We got there at 8.30am to make the most of our early ride time and from getting on the monrail its a great experience. We did all the big rides before the park atrated to fill up, Rita, Nemesis, Air, Oblivion etc twice with no queueing. The

We spent a great Saturday in Alton Towers in July. The queues were not half as bad as we had expected and there were some great rides for all ages. We particularly liked Rita, Galleons,Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the laser Ride, the runaway train and the flume and rapids. We had a very nice meal in the pizza, pasta and salad place and this worked out very reasonable with our 20% annual pass holders discount. We can't wait to go again.

Overall, it was a fun day out, with lots of rides for our little girl, that she loved, especially the tractor ride, and the nutty squirrel, which allowed a good view of the park. However, the food options were not great, which was perhaps our fault for not taking a packed lunch. We don't really allow Lucie junk food, and there was only one half decent restaurant, and I did not think the options were great in there. This was the main negative to the day. There is a fun atmosphere around the park, although maybe it is that little bit too commercialised, with lots of other things to encourage you to spend your money, on top of the entry fee. Thankfully my daughter is too young to notice these things. Generally though I'd recommend it, although try and get a deal (2 for 1). We're fortunate in having parents that live just down the road, and having Madame Tussards passes. I would not recommend it for children younger than 3 though.

Only go by using up your Tesco vouchers - otherwise it is too expensive. Dad's will really benefit the most; Mums will just be glad that the Dad is excited & taking the youngsters on the rides so that they can have a lazy day. Advanced queing systems, a lot of post-ride tat (that kids love) & things that are not rides to do

Absolutely brilliant, I have been time and time again and I never grow bored. I was brought up with trips to Alton Towers and loved it so will take my kids as often as I can.

We stayed there last summer in the Splash Landings hotel and had a wonderful time, there's just so much to do and not enough time to do it all. Surprisingly the queues in the park weren't too bad despite being the school holidays, and the cost of the food was very reasonable. Staying in the hotel meant that we could spent all day in the park, then go back to the hotel for a swim and then eat in the all you can eat buffet, which was wonderful value. In the evening there was entertainment in both hotels, and then the following morning we could enter the park early to get ready for the rides and avoid the long queues. Well worth the money.

We stayed overnight in the hotel and spent one day at the water park and one day at the theme park - we went just before the kids broke up for the summer holidays and it was very quiet!! We found the hotel excellent value for money with loads ie: shows/characters etc going on (think disney/butlins type thing!!!) Kids loved it! We got a parent swap pass so we could just go straight on the rides although my other half doesn't enjoy the big rides so i went on twice! would measure your child before going as they are VERY strict on height - even in the bouncy castle!!

A great day out

Great park with lots to see and do. But disappointingly two of our three children couldn't go on most of the rides as they were too small.On others, our middle child WAS tall enough but had to be accompanied by an adult rather than by his older sibling (park rules) and I couldn't go as I was pregnant, so he wasn't allowed on.This seems to be a problem for the 4-9 year olds, who are too old for toddler rides but not tall enough to be permitted on the more exciting ones

Went last year with two children, has been many years since I had last been. Not very impressed, parts were very run down, very expensive, take your own food like we did, loads of scams especially the "get free coke all day" - its cheaper to take your own coke with you!! Some of the rides were good but most don't cut the mustard these days.

Just keep going round and around "Air" and fly all your troubles away. Best with older dcs.

Great for my 4 and 6 year olds, even better when I took their Nanny so I could go on the bigger rides myself!

I visited the theme park on a rather cold, rainy October day with my 4-year-old son and 3-month-old baby. My 4-year-old had a great time BUT I would not recommend visiting with a young baby unless it is a warm sunny day. Their website states that they have 6 'baby care areas' and 7 'baby changing facilities'. I was therefore expecting to have no problem finding warm, clean places to BF my baby. Unfortunately their idea of a 'baby care area' is a fold-down changing table inside a toilet cubicle. Because of the weather all the indoor cafes and restaurants were really busy and most do not have toilets in them (tricky when your baby fills her nappy during a rather uncomfortable feed in a very busy pizza hut and the nearest toilet with nappy changing is quite a long walk in the rain) One member of staff actually suggested that I sit on the toilet to BF because the disabled cubicle was "plenty big enough"! The staff in guest services sent me on a wild-goose-chase halfway across the park in the rain with a screaming baby because she thought there was a "baby care area there somewhere" (it turned out be be yet another toilet cubicle). I filled in a feedback form on their website and just got an automated reply. Not impressed!

We love alton towers always have a great day when we go!
Would only recommend it to poeple taking older children because most of the rides have hight limits.
Loads of food places dotted around so always easy to get a bite to eat.

We were lucky enough to win a trip here courtesy on mumsnet last year. We arrived early on the Saturday and went to the Cariba Creek pools for the day. Great fun for all, although tricky to keep your eye on everyone as we have three children. The outside spa type pool was lovley, but under fives are not allowed, so we could only go one adult at a time. That said, however, it's a brilliant water park and the children all had a fab time and were suitably exhausted at the end of it. Food at the poolside not great, but ok, but evening meal at the hotel was excellent and the hotel entertainment in the evening was great fun for everyone and suitable for the kids to stay up late and enjoy while the adults relax with a drink.
The theme park itself was amazing and there is plenty there for everyone to enjoy. We didn't the very big rides as our dc weren't tall enough, but the ones they could go on were all excellent. Impossible to get round it all in a day, but you leave wanting to return. Our dc are all begging us for a return trip, so the saving up is in place.

We took our grandchildren here and stayed overnight in the Splash Landings hotel. There is loads to do and the children were exhausted by the end of the 2 days. The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride was a good family ride, there are lots of very fast rides, we all enjoyed the pirate area.

FANTASTIC! We've been several times and it really is an awesome theme park. Go off-peak if you can to avoid the biggest crowds/queues. And notch up your courage to go on the biggest/best rides!

It is a large site, so expect to do some walking, and spend some time looking at the map at the start and plan your day. It's a good idea to arrive early and leg it to the biggest/busiest rides first if that's your taste.

One word of caution - we took the boys aged c.6 and 8, and it was a mistake. DS1 was tall enough to go on the big rides, but didn't want to. He felt disappointed in his lack of courage; especially as there weren't many 'next step down' rides to satisfy him.

I would say it's great for littlies, for thrill-seekers, and for willing spectators; but needs careful handling for those in betweens.

It is expensive, but there are always offers around, or Tesco voucher deals and similar, if you keep an eye out.

This park is amazing, I think it is definately the best theme park in the UK. There is so much to do, worth considering staying overnight as one day is not really enough time to cover everything.

Took DS (7) here last Easter and had an absolute blast. We arrived quite late in the day as we were staying overnight at the Alton Towers Hotel, so we ditched our bags and went straight to the Cariba Creek Waterpark. We've been to a fair few pools with flumes and such, but this was on another level. Loads of flumes, various rides, lazy river, waterfalls and more make it well worth the extra cost. Have to say the Master Blaster "watercoaster" came as a bit of shock - DS and I were wedged into a figure of 8 inflatable and then we were off. We were expecting to go down - fast - but not up as well. (Word of advice, make sure your bottom isn't touching the bottom of the slide - keep yourself wedged up on that inflatable or you'll get an 'intense' massage when you hit the rollers that launch you back up the shoots.) Unexpected pummelling aside, it was a total scream, but I was mightily relieved to find out that my swimming costume and I had not parted company. Only complaint is that I do think it a bit tight that they don't throw in towel hire as part of the entrance fee - seemed a bit picky to me.

Hotel accommodation was ok - decent sized, functional, clean room with double bed and two stow-away singles - but would suggest asking for a room well away from the main staircase unless you want to be kept up by the noise from the bar and entertainment. It being Easter, there was a chocolate theme going on throughout the hotel - DS was given handfuls of free choc's at reception and there was a special Easter Bunny warren, complete with mad inventor and more chocolates, that went down well. Personally, I could take or leave the evening entertainment, but the kids seemed to love it.

The actual park is beautifully situated in stunning grounds and well thought out. There's a huge range of rides to suit all ages and fear factors. DS loved the Corkscrew - AT's classic rollercoaster with double inversion. I was dead impressed as I thought he'd hate it. DS was too small to go on Rita - Queen of Speed, which meant I went on it with another (unnamed) Mumsnetter. Ferociously fast, one second we were sitting there shaking, the next we were travelling at 100kph. I imagine it's a bit like being shot out of the barrel of a gun, but without the pain. Nothing can really prepare you for the speed you travel at; our involuntary reaction was to laugh hysterically, so much so that we could barely walk as we got off. (Although it has to be said my travelling companion was veering between laughing hysterically and crying with relief. I have the pictures. They're very funny).

My personal fave was Air. I nearly bottled it as we queued up - the nearer we got the more terrifying it appeared - but the minute it started I was hooked. Far from hanging on for dear life, I had my arms in the air and was screaming with sheer joy like a loon. Absolutely exhilarating stuff, you get the most incredible adrenalin rush from it - and it's all perfectly legal. As near to flying as I will probably ever get (unless I sprout wings) I cannot wait to go on it again.

Food wise, there's a good mix of outlets, including some healthier ones than you'd expect. We ate at Rita's Chicken & Ribs grill bar, and had a very nice meal at a reasonable price.

All in all, a brilliant short-break and by far the best theme park I've visited in this country.

Brilliant if you have a child with ADHD - priority wristbands are available to avoid the frustrating queueing process