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Alton Towers Tips

30 replies

couchparsnip · 28/08/2021 16:08

I have two teens and we've booked 2 nights in the hotel and 2 Park tickets at AT and we're wondering about how to make the most of it.
We've made reservations for two dinners, one at the Rollercoaster Restaurant and one at the Secret Garden. Plus two breakfasts at the Crooked Spoon.

We are planning to have packed lunches so we don't have to queue for food while the park is open. We are planning on going to the big rides first while numbers are low, plus I've downloaded the app.
Any other tips?? Are the restaurants any good?
We could get fast passes but they seem quite expensive - are they worth it?

OP posts:
katemuff · 28/08/2021 16:17

The food is pretty dismal. It was better years ago when they had concessions but they brought it all back in house and it is expensive and poor in my experience. The 2 restaurants in the Alton Towers hotel - the garden one and the emperors one were the best imo, but a rip off. Pack lunches for the day would be my tip, and make the most of your early ride times - arrive at the rope drop at least 15 mins early (cancel your breakfast if necessary) and run to the biggest rides of your choice. Don't ignore the smaller rides - they are a lot of fun, and download the app - it helps with planning. The best tip is that it always gets quiet for the last hour or so and you can enter the queue until the official closing time so you can do a big ride then. Take a water bottle - you can refill it at most food stands. It's big - really big, take good comfy shoes. Under no circumstances use the map to estimate distances, the gardens are huge and you'll end up with angry teens stomping through miles of woodland paths furious that the 'short walk' was long hike. Use the cable cars instead. Do the rides in 'zones' so Nemisis and Air first, then the smaller rides there, head to Oblivion and Smiler and do all of those etc - don't go back and forth too much. Don't let anyone get drawn into the stupid fairground games you have to pay for - no one really wants a massive stuffed animal to carry around all day Grin

couchparsnip · 28/08/2021 17:45

Good tips thanks.
The zones is a great idea.
Shame about the restaurants. We might end up going off site instead as they do seem a bit over priced.

OP posts:
katemuff · 28/08/2021 18:08

There's very little nearby - I'd suck it up and make the best of it for 2 days and accept it's expensive junk food in most cases. The secret garden was the best of a bad bunch and they did have some very funny entertainment on which we all kind of a loved in a so bad it's good way....

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RelentlessForwardProgress · 28/08/2021 18:09

The food is pretty crap, tbh, so be prepared.The Rollercoaster restaurant was once described by my nephew as being "like a bad Frankie and Benny's except your food comes down a rollercoaster" which pretty much sums it up!

The queue times on the App are often an underestimate, 90 mins on the App is often 2 hours in real life. It is worth using fast passes strategically if you want to cross off a few big rides, it breaks up the queueing. They often sell out beforehand though, so its worth booking them in advance or doing it the second you get through the gates if not.
Also the queues close at closing times, not the rides, if you are already in the queue they operate the ride until everyone in the queue has been on. So to knock off 4 or 5 big rides you need to do 1 or 2 first thing, maybe a couple in the day using fast passes and 1 or 2 in the last hour when its quietening down.

Agree with pp about 'skill' ball games when you win a bigTeddy, a lot of them are virtually impossible to win, we have several big teddy's from there, but all were the result of me paying cash to the stall, we've never 'won' one. If your DC really want one, it will be much cheaper to 'buy' one in the first hour when they give them away cheaper to get other kids pestering when they see you with one Wink

Some rides don't open when the park opens. eg River Rapids and Runaway Mountain Train have never in my experience opened before 11am, so if you run to a ride at 9:30 to get first in the queue and then find it doesn't open till 11 its a pita, so check the ride you want is opening with staff.

There is a tucked away coffee shop in forbidden valley that is always a lot less insane than the other food and drink places if you need a sit down and calm moment or two, and nearby, in the gloomy wood, is a ride called Duel its sort of a cross between a ghost train and a shootout (its like laser raiders at legoland but has ghosts instead of mummy's) that basically never has a queue over about 5 mins and is probably now the best loved ride of my DC (they often go round and round competing with each other), so when the big rides queues are ridiculous in the middle of the day, that might be an idea. The aquarium is also quite good for that.

All the rides (except cbbeebies) exit through a gift shop Angry so have a discussion with DC first about how much you will/will not buy.

If you want a last 'family' ride all together, i'd recommend getting in the queue for the Runaway mine train just before the queue closes, so you are in the last ride of the day....the kids shout 'again' every time the train pulls back in and the ride operator (if they are in a good mood) takes the brakes off and lets them go again...my DC's record is ten consecutive loops of the track. I had to have a quiet moment sitting down afterwards until things stopped spinning.....

couchparsnip · 28/08/2021 23:09

I love the Runaway Mine Train! Excellent idea about going on that last and not getting in the queue.

Hopefully the Rollercoaster will make up for the rubbishness of the food. I'm under no illusions that they'll make good food when they have such a captive audience.

I've booked one of our breakfasts at Secret Garden now. Is it inside the park?
One more thing - if anyone has been on rides recently, I'm a bit rubbish on rides that spin around, up and down and upside is fine but waltzers make me sick.

Is there anything that I should definitley avoid?

OP posts:
RelentlessForwardProgress · 29/08/2021 00:22

Avoid the

RelentlessForwardProgress · 29/08/2021 00:26

Secret Garden is in the AT hotel, not in the park itself

Laaaaa · 29/08/2021 00:29

Leave kids to go and go to leek for the day

ellaballoo · 29/08/2021 06:04

I highly recommend this pub if you want to eat off site .
Great good , great music .
I want the halloumi waffles now !
www.bullsheadalton.com/bar-and-kitchen/

Bigpjbottoms282 · 29/08/2021 06:57

See how you get on without fast passes first. DH and DS went a few weeks ago and the wait times were awful so they did get fast passes and had a brilliant time.

RelentlessForwardProgress · 29/08/2021 09:40

Also, just had a thought on the food front, at the moment on the grass at the bottom of the main street as you enter, (in front of the lake) they have got some independent food trucks and put tables and chairs on the green, so they might be worth a shot. Think a couple of weeks ago there was fish and chips, paella and a waffle truck{?}. Frankly it couldn't be worse than the in house stuff.

paddler78 · 29/08/2021 10:07

We went for 2 days a couple of weeks ago and queue times were okay, longest we queued was for smiler as they kept closing it due to wind - also beware they queue you underneath the ride in a cage like area so even if the queue looks small in the park there will still be a big queue underneath. We didn't bother with fast passes and went on everything we wanted to over the 2 days and some things twice.

Also don't get on the monorail for park entry if you walk towards the park you'll find the entrance for hotel guests only where there is rarely a queue and you can enter on both days from 9.30am (although rides don't open till 10am and as someone else mentioned river rapids are more like 11am).

couchparsnip · 30/08/2021 17:14

Good tip about the food. We might try the kiosks one day for lunch.
I did see a tip about waiting and having your lunch late so you can go on rides during quieter times between 12-2 when everyone else is eating.
I'll add that.
We are staying in the enchanted village which looks fun, the rooms look like little Hobbit holes with an extra curtained off bunk bed area for the kids.

OP posts:
GameSetMatch · 30/08/2021 17:24

After going in July my best tip would be ‘don’t go’ the queues were ridiculous we only managed 6rides and they were the CBeebies little ones too.

The only thing that was good was the rollercoaster restaurant it was really entertaining for the children and the food was actually quite nice for a theme park, (especially the chocolate brownies).

Createdjustforthis · 30/08/2021 17:30

The gardens are genuinely special so please don’t ignore them. We go regularly (passes) and have spent hours in them.

Some rides have better throughput than others. Nemesis and oblivion munch through queues but the smiler and wicker man are always busy. Rita is always slow and 13 is hit and miss for queues. Galactica is often forgotten about and can be quite quiet.

The food is shocking but the hotel food is actually alright.

Fullywhelmed · 30/08/2021 17:34

We went a couple of years ago and were given fast passes because we were staying in the hotel.

Pumpkintopf · 30/08/2021 18:51

Kids went in the holidays and said fast passes were a godsend. They only had the bronze ones as they were the only ones available for their date to buy online but it meant they were able to get on everything they wanted by bypassing queues for some and spending time queueing for others. They only had the one day at the park to do everything though.

TheCarrs · 30/08/2021 18:58

@Createdjustforthis

The gardens are genuinely special so please don’t ignore them. We go regularly (passes) and have spent hours in them.

Some rides have better throughput than others. Nemesis and oblivion munch through queues but the smiler and wicker man are always busy. Rita is always slow and 13 is hit and miss for queues. Galactica is often forgotten about and can be quite quiet.

The food is shocking but the hotel food is actually alright.

My experience is the same as @Createdjustforthis

Love the gardens, hotel food surprisingly ok.

Agree about the queues.

FakeTanandProsecco · 30/08/2021 19:00

We queued nearly 3 hours for Smiler when we went this summer 😭😭 they have deliberately hidden the queue/made it confusing to guesstimate how long you have left. So would Def get fast track passes if you can stretch to them!

Can't comment on food as we were only there for the day so had a big breakfast en route then a hot dog late afternoon.

Also echo route planning and wearing sensible shoes!!

PotteringAlong · 30/08/2021 19:03

A bit late now but my top tip would be go to Drayton manor instead. Longest queue this summer for any ride was 17 mins…

TomAllenWife · 30/08/2021 19:07

If you visit the food kiosks on the grass be prepared to sell a kidney to pay for it

I bought 2 burgers, 2 bottles of water and 1 chips from the burger van = £19

I had chips, curry sauce and a sausage = £11

I also miss the old concessions, I remember when they had macdonalds. And when we went in the 80s you could easily walk back to your car for the cool box Grin

I would do the crazy busy rides first so Smiler, Thirteen and the Wicker Man. Nemesis and Air/Galactica are old now so much smaller queues.
Oblivion & Rita also pretty big queues

Definitelytheothersideof40 · 30/08/2021 19:08

We've just spent 2 and a bit days there. Longest we waited for anything was just over an hour. If you want to do the smiler, head there first, and get in as early as you can. If you hate things that spin avoid all the retro rides they have put in as they all spin.

The food isn't amazing, but is typical theme park fair, burgers, hotdogs, donuts etc. Doesn't hurt for a few days, I always pack plenty of snacks and something to amuse us in the queues.

Finally, use the app, we found the queue times incredibly accurate whilst we were there. And remember closing time is the time the ride queues close, not the park itself, so long as you are in the queue, you will get on that ride before they shut.

Retrievemysanity · 30/08/2021 19:12

Love Alton towers but fast passes are a must if it’s busy as nothing worse than wasting a day queuing. We went earlier this year on an inset day not long after the last lockdown which was great as it wasn’t too busy-queued 20 mins for Smiler which we went on first, longest queue was Wickerman but we managed about 10 rides without any passes. However I’ve been before when queues have been over an hour for lots of rides and ended up getting the passes.

If you can time it right, you can usually squeeze in one last ride by getting in the queue just before closing.

Eat lunch in the queue too! We ate ours in Galactica queue which was also quite a long queue so that was a good use of time. Have a good time!

cowbag1 · 30/08/2021 19:13

We've just come back from a weekend at AT. The queues actually weren't too bad and the app was helpful in getting about and planning your day (though the wait times were often an underestimate). Gangsta Granny and Wicker Man seemed to have the longest queues.

Definitely try to do the rides section by section as walking from one side to the other takes quite a lot of time. Use the early entry for hotel guests in the morning to get in the queues for the most popular/your favourite ride. We entered through the hotel entrance (near Nemesis) at about 9.40, went straight to Wicker Man and were done by about 10.30.

The food isn't the best but Just Chicken near Oblivion is ok (like KFC) and the Rollercoaster Restaurant is good fun. There's also lots of stands with various snacks.

If you don't like spinning I'd avoid Smiler too! And don't forget the Spalsh Landings Waterpark, it's the best we've been to outside of Center Parcs and good for half a day (maybe pair it with the mini golf for the other half).

Nomorescreentime · 30/08/2021 20:34

If you're going in school hols/weekends I would spend the extra for fast passes in advance. We went for a day at the start of the hols and we managed to get on 4 rides- we were there 10-6! We were spectacularly unlucky though and Nemesis, Oblivion and Smiler all closed for technical faults whilst we were in their queues.

If the weather's nice, the river rapids are a nice way to end a day.