Alton Towers - can kids wait to the side on the big rides?

[HappyBrite]

We're going to Alton Towers this year. We have a 12 year old and a 9 year old.

The 9 year old is a daredevil but is just under the required 1.4m for the main thrill rides, the 12 year old is tall enough but is not a thrillseeker in the slightest.

In the past, DH and I have taken it in turns to go on the "big" rides but this means double the queuing which is often not feasible so I end up losing out and go off with the kids on the tamer ones.

Now the kids are a bit older I was wondering if they could queue with us and wait off to the side until we've been on the ride. Does anyone know if this is possible at Alton Towers?

DH has suggested we chain them up outside like a bike but I think that might be frowned upon.

That's a stupid idea.

I agree with others that alton tiers is not the best place for a thrill seeker that is under 1.4m.

Try drayton or chessington.

I'd never leave young kids alone at alton towers!

So your children won't leave your side of have any independent existence until the age of 14 or 15? That's going to be pretty shit for them. At 12 I was cycling to school and out most of the day at the weekends with my friends.

Thanks for posting this
The vitreol I have received for thinking it is wrong to allow a 12 yr old to supervise a 9yr old in such a place is quite fascinating.
Good to know it's not allowed!

@ItShouldntHappenToMeYet but you have argued that people shouldn’t let 12yo be on their own, regardless of whether they would be in charge of a 9yo

Alton Towers has school trips all the time along with scouts, guides etc. These groups don't all go around together with teachers or leaders. They break off into small groups of anything from 2 to 6 friends and go off on their own with a pre arranged meeting point and time. It si perfectly okay for a 12 and 9 year old to go around together and go on some rides with regular check ins from parents.

Children of 11 and 12 negotiate travelling to school every day on public transport across cities. Why on earth would they not be capable of going round a theme park until they were 14 or 15.
If they were there with school tbey would be going round without adults as well.

Have you had children of this age or are you speaking from the perspective of a parent of very young children?
It really isn't normal to wait until children are 15 before allowing them these freedoms.
School trips go abroad every year where children as young as 12 are allowed to go off in small groups without an adult.
What exactly do you think is going to happen if children are exposed to strangers. We all meet strangers every single day and nothing terrible happens.

Taking a 12 year old who is not interested in rollercoasters to AT to just spend all day queing up for rides they don't even want to go on is just mean. What a shit day out that is.

Leave the 12 year old at home or with grandparents/whatever and just go with the 9 year old. Plenty of rides for a day to keep that age occupied and parents can sneak in a ride or 2 on the 1.4s at various points.

This has to be a wind up.

I'd leave them behind and go just the 2 of you. You can walk through the carriage and wait the other side though - I remember doing it when I was younger and I saw a girl do it after she chickened out when she got to the front of the queue 😊

As others have said, if they are just going to be dragged around the big rides so they can stand and watch you, why take them with you?

Also, if last time it was you that took them on the small rides, then it's obviously DH's turn this time and he needs to suck it up.

We used to go there on school trips and go round by ourselves from age 11 onwards. It's fine

They won't be allowed to queue up with you and then wait until the ride is finished for safety reasons. Quite often on the larger roller coasters the exit point is a different place to where you go in.

My daughter went on a school trip to flamingo land last year, she was 11. They didn't go round with adults, they just went off on their own or in very small groups. 12 is absolutely fine to wander around a theme park

Child swap is common at places like Universal Studios Florida. Works really well.

No.

i queued over an hour for smiler with my daughter & 2 woman in front had 2 kids one who i thought was riding & boy about 6 clearly not - spent the whole time being really irritating (you’re crammed in pens like cattle) with him watching you tube bored on a phone. Finally got to the front & they argued he could wait for them at the side and staff said no as no one can be on platform bar staff for safety (obviously) they then said he could just wait in the entrance queue so not on the platform and they’d take responsibility for his “safety” which they also said no to based on how you exit. She said they could use the exit to leave the queue so they told the older girl older girl to take him out the exit and wait for them outside the ride. Staff refused that too & wouldn’t let them on so in the end one huffed off as it was her kids & the other woman rode herself as the older girl didn’t want to go on anymore.

selfish idiots who wasted the kids time and only one of them got to go on. I hate big rides but we waited until our kids were older / over the height to go as they had been asking to. I have 3 & my son hates rollercoasters so would never dream of making him queue like that so we did spend chunks of the day apart one taking the girls one taking him & by the end he went on 13 and wickerman which he really enjoyed so we could ride some together. Pick a trip your kids will actually like or leave them
home

Have you any idea how big alton towers is? I wouldn’t have let me 14 year old wander round herself with my 10 year old & be responsible for her!

When ours were too small for the big rides, they'd go on smaller ones with DH whilst I went on the big one with friends. DH doesn't like the big ones so they got quite a lot of rides in without hanging around. I would not be doing AT with DC that don't like the rides/too small otherwise. Stick to smaller parks, wait until they're bigger or go without them. It's also rather expensive to pay an entry fee for them to get bored standing around.

Sounds like an awful family day out.

Get a sitter and go on your own with DH and choose a different family day out.

The 9 year old is probably a bit young to be let loose but I'd have thought that leaving them together to queue for a ride they like (possibly more than once) whiel you and Dh do the ODD big ride is fine. Otherwise take turns - you are with the kids from 10-12 and he is doing his own thing. Then meet up for lunch. Then you're on your own from 13:00-1500 whie he has the kids.

Side note: I am laughing at the hysteria about children being left alone at places like Alton Towers. DS has gone to this sort of place with his friends without any adults from about 13. On one occassion, he got separated from his friends and wasn't feeling well and they actually called me (he calle dme too but the park called as well) to check on him.

DD is almost 10 and has started being allowed a bit of independence - eg I'll be in the restaurant and her and her friends will do 20 goes on the fairly basic ride that's close by. She's not at the point I'd let her run wild across the whole theme park, but I'd have no issue with her being with DS in a queue orwhatever.

This! I find the idea of taking your kids to Alton Towers and then making the day about you very strange.

Okay, I am clearly in the wrong re my views on allowing children to supervise even younger children in a crowded place.
Thank you all for your perpectives, even those who were condescending or casting aspersions on my parenting.
Love MN!😊

I know exactly how big it is. I was capable of getting around at 10 and so were my kids.

if yours aren’t then it would be foolish to let them do it, but I think it’s poor parenting not to have developed those skills in NT kids by that age.

I agree with you. There's no way I'd be letting a 12 and nine year-old go off on their own at Alton Towers. I wouldn't even let two 12 year-olds.🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️