Cbeebies Land - queues in term time?

[ManoloChooBoutin]

I'm thinking of taking my son to Cbeebies Land for his 3rd birthday. However I'm not sure how well he'll do with queues... can anyone provide experiences of going and what it was like for queues / any other tips for going with a 3 year old? Thanks

We did have to queue but no queues were over an hour even on a busy weekend. The official park opening time is 10am but if you book your ticket online you are able to get in earlier, from 9am. There's likely to still be a hefty queue but once the gates open at 9am, it moves very quickly.
The Octonauts Adventure Rollercoaster and the Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride are the most popular so head to these first if they’re on your list of favourites. The Furchester Hotel is a great little performance and a huge hit with kids.
The food is fairly standard theme-park fare (ie: expensive and usually served with a rather long queue), so bring your own packed lunch if you can. There is a lovely green spot in the middle where you can picnic and watch whatever outdoor show they have on at that particular moment, but it also might be nice to wander out of CBeebies Land into the main area of Alton Towers. It’s a beautifully maintained park with plenty of grassy areas to chill out on.
It’s not all about the rides. We loved spending time relaxing in the Something Special Sensory Garden and Charlie and Lola’s Moonsquirters and Greendrops attraction, and letting off steam in the Tree Fu Tom Training Camp.
The best time to catch characters is immediately after their show in the Big Fun Showtime area where a queue for photographs with them is organised. It may look a big queue but it moves quickly so don’t be afraid to join it.
If you wantto venture out of CBeebies Land, your ticket gives you entry to the whole of the Alton Towers Resort too!The main park is huge but there are a few rides worth walking to that are only a few minutes from CBeebies Land. I’d head to Mutiny Bay for the the boat ride and also the aquarium. He might even get on the Runaway Mine Train, Frog Hopper and Gallopers Carousel. Equally, a 3yo would love taking a trip in a gondola on the skyride across the park to The Gardens, where you’ll find a perfect spot for a run around before you head home.

Ricekrispie thanks so much, so useful!!! We're thinking of staying at the Cbeebies hotel too which I think gives early entry so could maybe get to one of those popular rides early.

The hotel is worth it.
The hotel has a daily entertainment schedule in a lounge area with a stage where characters do a constant turnaround of activities. This is a great opportunity to get your DS really exhausted before bedtime. At 9pm there’s some pre-bedtime stargazing, followed by storytime in the library. Grown-ups can go to the bar area – helpfully right behind the kids’ entertainment area – and try out one of the delicious gin brambles.
Food is served in the Windmill Restaurant, arranged in three themed rooms – the castle, the windmill and the library. The adult food is decent, though predictably a bit on the steep side (around £14 for most mains) but the design-your-own pizza option is a fab idea: kids make a picture of their ideal pizza with provided stickers for toppings. This then gets given to the chef who recreates it with the real ingredients.
Ask to be seated in the castle section if possible. It seems to be the area preferred by most kids, and it’s also far enough away from the entertainment area that they aren't too distracted and can concentrate on their dinner for a bit.
The food and drinks inside the park are really rather expensive…£2.40 for a bottle of water…perhaps there are water fountains…I didn’t see any though. £8ish for a burger. There are fridges in the rooms so you can take food for a picnic during your second day. I was glad I stocked up on snacks and drinks for the kids…just in general but also to keep them happy whilst queuing too.
The park closed at 6pm while we were there, and on the night we stayed we saw the pandemonium that was the car park exit at closing time. After queuing all day for rides I couldn’t think of anything worse than sitting in the car for another hour queuing to leave the car park. We went back to the hotel (even though we had checked out already) and got the DC in to their pyjamas and let them watch the magic show before leisurely loading up the car and then leaving around 7:30pm. There were no queues and we drove straight out.

Great tips - especially re not queuing to leave the car park - thanks so much!

Term time weekdays queues are generally good

Longest queue I saw a fortnight ago was for postman pat. DS is 2.5 had the time of his life.

Oh and for dinner before you leave book the rollercoaster restaurant. DS thought it was magical