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Alton Towers is a pretty fantastic theme park to visit! It’s enormous and there is so much to do for the whole family! I’m going to give you all my helpful tips so you can have the best day out!
Address
Farley Ln, Alton, Stoke-on-Trent ST10 4DB
The three closest train stations are Stoke-on-Trent, Uttoxeter and Derby. When I went a few years back I got the train from London to Stoke-on-Trent and then a taxi from the station. I think (I can’t quite remember) it cost around £15 each way.
I decided to drive to Alton Towers from Birmingham which was just over and hour. From London (where we live) it would be around 3 hours. Standard parking is £6 for the day.
Please note that standard parking means you could be walking 15-25 minutes to the theme park, which is a horrid thing to do after a long day out at Alton Towers. It’s pricey, but I highly recommend paying £18 for the express parking, which is a short walk to the theme park.
You can also make use of the monorail, but the queues can be long!
Price
Tickets are from £34 if you book in advance. I’ll share some ways you can save money further down. If you want to book the water park, then prices start from £12.50. We’ve never been to the water park, so I can’t give you a review on that, but I’ve heard some good things about it!
Ways to save money.
- Parent and toddler pass – this offer is only available online and it’s for visits on selected dates during off-peak periods. For just £25 an adult and a toddler (under 5) can spend the day at Alton Towers Theme Park including CBeebies Land! This special ticket is not available during weekends & school holidays.
- Seabooks crisps – special packs are offering 241 entry.
- The Sun Superdays – get 2 “free” tickets to Alton Towers. The promotion has now ended up keep and eye on my socials for next year.
- Special packs of Kellogg’s – are offering 241 entry or “grown ups go free”
- Kids Pass – you can get discounts on tickets and thr hotels.
- Carex – you can get half price entry with special promotional bottles.
Plan your day.
Usually, I don’t like to plan what to do at a theme park. I want to go with the flow, but Alton Towers is so big that I think planning can be really helpful.
First things first, download the app. The app is brilliant as it has a park map, height requirements and even queue times. You can even use the app to plan your day and tick off all the rides/attractions you have seen.
Remember, rides are based on height, so you need to check the size of your kids before you even book tickets to see if it’s worth the trip. The app sorts our rides into “thrill rides” and “family rides”, which is very helpful.
Height restrictions can be found here too.
What I recommend.
- Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure – a very cool rollercoaster for little ones 0.9M +
- Generally the whole of CBeebies land is exciting! Perfect for under 5s
- The new Gangsta Granny ride is pretty cool but be aware that queues can get crazy.
- Sharkbait Reef by SEALIFE is wonderful!
- Skyride is an amazing way to get around the park and also see some beautiful scenery.
Food
The only food we bought was fries, and for a small portion, it was around £2.95. You should bring plenty is snacks, especially for queues. Drinks can be pretty pricey too, so I recommend paying £15 to get a cup that you can refill all day or bringing plenty of drinks with you. Top tip: put water in the freezer the night before so it can stay cold all day.
Other top tips for your Alton Towers visit.
- Avoid visiting on a weekend or school holiday if you can! It’s obviously going to be very busy on those days.
- I know I’ve said this already but download the app. It has everything you need!
- It’s a good idea to do the most popular rides first thing or right at the end as those times seem to be the best for queuing. If you’ve never been before you can see what’s popular by checking out the app the day before and see what rides have the longest queue wait times.
- Kiddiwhizz – nothing worse than waiting in a queue and your kid suddenly needs the toilet. Check out Kiddiwhizz– a portable unisex potty!
- Get there early! Rides don’t operate until 10am but the queue to get in the car park can’t get crazy.
- Bring a poncho if you don’t fancy getting wet on water rides. Poundland and Tiger sell them.
- If you want to stay (I highly recommend doing 2 days) and save money then check out nearby cheap hotels like Travelodge or Premier Inn.
