One day at Alton towers (or similar) or annual pass to smaller local theme park with teens

[elliejjtiny]

Got some money for Christmas. Dc are aged between 19 and 11. 11 and 15 year olds have autism/adhd and struggle to sleep unless they have been properly worn out during the day.

I was thinking that an annual pass for somewhere with rides, a massive softplay and a huge outdoor playground would be best. But inlaws think the dc are too old for that and we should go for a one off trip to Alton towers instead. I think Alton towers is over priced and I don't think my 15 and 11 year olds would cope with the queues. Also if we spend all our money on one day we will have nothing left for the rest of the year. On the other hand I don't want to take the dc somewhere boring.

What do you think?

Hi bit left field but how about national trust membership? My little boy is autistic, he really enjoys the green spaces, natural play areas, climbing in trees etc

Erm, the massive drip feed that you’re near Exeter completely rules out Alton Towers 🤣

Just go for the local thing, you know if it’s suitable for your kids or not. Just give the 19 year old their share of the cash in cinema vouchers or something

We regularly pass Alton towers on the way to take dc1 to and from university so it didn't seem that far away for a day out.

Currently leaning on dh taking older 2 to Alton towers once and then getting an annual pass somewhere local for me, dh and younger 3.

Bit different just one parent driving the eldest to uni. This would be a car full of people!

Interesting idea. Would that bring Thorpe Park into consideration? I'm guessing it would be significantly closer and some argue it surpasses Alton Towers these days for the biggest thrill rides. I can see why you'd pick Alton Towers, especially for the while family, but if you are only looking for the big ticket rides it might the worth weighing up.

I just can't imagine managing 6 hours of driving on top of a full day on my feet, all in one day. My DH drives us one hour to Thorpe and I usually fall asleep on the way home! Kudos to your DH if he can do all that.

My DS and his friend who are autistic both had an annual pass to a trampoline park aged about 16 and that really did do the job of wearing them out, they got extremely good value out of them.

Dh drives a lot for work so he is quite happy to drive a long way for a day out. We try to save money where we can so we will go up to visit dc1 4 hours away for the day.

We have been to Thorpe park but not since dc1 was about 4 so I will have a look on the website.

We've got a trampoline park near us but they have got rid of the big inflatable and the stunt zone so they would rather go on the trampoline at home where I am more likely to say yes to snacks than in the cafe at the trampoline park.

OP if you have 2 children on DLA you should qualify for a free carers ticket for you and another adult, plus be able to get the Ride Access Pass. As a family we bought the Merlin Essentials Annual Pass a month or so ago for £80 each (one for my DH and each child) then I will apply for a carers pass each time we go to a park. We used the annual pass on the London eye last week and I went to reception for a carers pass - just showed his DLA letter and they gave me a free carers pass plus queue jump. So you only need annual passes for 5 rather than 7

Just checked and the Essentials Pass is back up to £139 rather than the sale price of £80 but its still worth looking at. But either way even if you just do one day, you should be able to get the carers pass

Oh and Nimbus will be straightforward if they get DLA

PS the Nimbus pass is amazing and recognised in loads of places. We used it in Paris and were ushered to the front of the queue in the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, plus my sons tickets was free along with a carer.
We have also used it in London to help in situations my son would struggle in eg we didnt need to queue for the Lego Store etc