Stay for 2 days or you won't get on everything you want to.
I agree. You'll never fit everything in on a Saturday, its too busy. I went two weeks ago and we only got on four rides. At this time of year the rides are all busy.
I agree. You'll never fit everything in on a Saturday, its too busy. I went two weeks ago and we only got on four rides. At this time of year the rides are all busy.
My advice would be to get their early (before the park opens) & to park in the VIP/priority parking area - this means you don't have to queue for the monorail at the standard car park & can get straight to the main entrance within seconds of parking up. You will probably be knackered at the end of your day at Alton Towers...the queues to get the monorail back to the standard car park at closing time can be as long as the queues for the major rides, so it's great to be able to just walk out of the park & get straight in the car.
The VIP parking is not cheap (think it was £15 last year, up from £10 the year before!), but if you split the cost of the parking with the people travelling with you & deduct the price you would have had to pay to park in the standard car park (think it was £2 a few years back, probably more now) it's not too bad.
Am thinking of going to Alton Towers on Saturday for the first time just wondered if anyone has any advice?
A weekend in summer - simple advice, don't!
I tend to go once a year, and make sure when I do I take a day off work and go on a weekday in October. You can get off one of the big rides and get straight back on it again.
A saturday in summer, you could be talking an hour at least in the queue for each.
I can't understand why so many people still go there when they know how ridiculous the waiting times are.I know I'll never be going back there.
Eh? The waiting times are long in any theme park at this time of the year, and especially so on the weekends. Seems like a silly reason not to go back. Go on a weekday in term time.
Eh? The waiting times are long in any theme park at this time of the year, and especially so on the weekends. Seems like a silly reason not to go back. Go on a weekday in term time.
I wouldn't take my kids out of school in term time for a theme park visit.I've done Chessington and Flamingo land and never stood and waited anywhere near as long as I did at Alton Towers.I don't have this problem anymore now because my kids are grown up and don't want to go anymore
I tend to go once a year, and make sure when I do I take a day off work and go on a weekday in October. You can get off one of the big rides and get straight back on it again.
A saturday in summer, you could be talking an hour at least in the queue for each.
I'd actually say much longer than an hour for a Saturday in the summer. I went in April during the week when the kids weren't on holiday and the wait times for Rita, Nemesis, Oblivion and Air were about 1.5/2 hours. Saturdays in summer they tend to be about 2/3 hours wait each. So yep, get there early and maybe take a book or game or something for while you queue!
Also, when I went Thirteen (the new ride) wasn't working and hadn't been for the whole month. It worked for about 10 minutes each day and then got closed down due to "technical problems" so try not to get your hopes up about it too much although hopefully they'll have fixed it now. It's a really fun place to go but unless you have no alternative I really wouldn't reccomend going on a Saturday in the summer.
Also, price wise, have a look on www.moneysavingexpert.com as they nearly always have 2 for 1 deals for Alton Towers which makes it much more affordable!
Yes, get two for one from somewhere as they are nearly always available.
Also you could just ride Nemesis all day as it is by far the best they have. Air is fun the first time for novelty value but it feels slow and boring after you get over the gimmick factor. Oblivion is much the same, it's got wow factor first time but it's literally one drop and a corner then it's over. Pff!
I've been in summer before and it's not been awful. You can buy fasttrack tickets for the main rides to reserve a time when you go on them, though they are expensive - just up to you how much you want the day to cost.
As for queuing, you just have to be prepared for it, check the boards constantly to see which has the smallest wait. And stay till the very end of the day, most people start to leave and you can usually get 2/3 turns on the bigger rides as the queues just disappear - stay in the park until you are told the rides are closed!
Also, take food and drink as it's ridiculously expensive to buy stuff. There's plenty of tables where you can have a picnic. And make sure you have BOGOF tickets as I would never pay full price to go! Have fun
BOGOF is a must. Only an idiot would pay full price for an Alton Towers ticket.
I went on a saturday in June a couple of years ago and it was ok, though I'd gone the day before as well and that was a lot better. If you haven't got a choice but to go and and back in a day then I suppose that's fair enough but I would strongly advise staying over.
If it's hot I'd consider buying one of their unlimited refill bottles. It allows you to go up and get a reflil of any soft drink you want for free throughout the day. If you grab a couple of straws there's no reason why you can't share it either.
i've just got back from taking a school trip there today and it was heaving.
all the big rides had queue times of an hour + apart from oblivion, the longest any of our kids queued was for 2 hours 30 mins for 13.
it is possible to do it all on a Saturday, i've been many times, its just about pateince and planning your day! hell i went on Aug bank holiday and walked on every ride!
Comments
I agree. You'll never fit everything in on a Saturday, its too busy. I went two weeks ago and we only got on four rides. At this time of year the rides are all busy.
unfortunatly i cant afford to stay overnight
I wouldn't attempt to go on any of the big 5 if you want your moneys worth!
It'll be very busy.
I think some break up next week, some the week after. Scotland are already on holiday.
The VIP parking is not cheap (think it was £15 last year, up from £10 the year before!), but if you split the cost of the parking with the people travelling with you & deduct the price you would have had to pay to park in the standard car park (think it was £2 a few years back, probably more now) it's not too bad.
A weekend in summer - simple advice, don't!
I tend to go once a year, and make sure when I do I take a day off work and go on a weekday in October. You can get off one of the big rides and get straight back on it again.
A saturday in summer, you could be talking an hour at least in the queue for each.
EDIT: Woo-hoo, my 1000th post!
Eh? The waiting times are long in any theme park at this time of the year, and especially so on the weekends. Seems like a silly reason not to go back. Go on a weekday in term time.
I wouldn't take my kids out of school in term time for a theme park visit.I've done Chessington and Flamingo land and never stood and waited anywhere near as long as I did at Alton Towers.I don't have this problem anymore now because my kids are grown up and don't want to go anymore
Nope, kids still have two and a half weeks left, especially in the area of Towers.
Why nor, I went to Alton Towers and travelling from Sunderland to Alton I managed to get on everything.
Also you could just ride Nemesis all day as it is by far the best they have. Air is fun the first time for novelty value but it feels slow and boring after you get over the gimmick factor. Oblivion is much the same, it's got wow factor first time but it's literally one drop and a corner then it's over. Pff!
As for queuing, you just have to be prepared for it, check the boards constantly to see which has the smallest wait. And stay till the very end of the day, most people start to leave and you can usually get 2/3 turns on the bigger rides as the queues just disappear - stay in the park until you are told the rides are closed!
Also, take food and drink as it's ridiculously expensive to buy stuff. There's plenty of tables where you can have a picnic. And make sure you have BOGOF tickets as I would never pay full price to go! Have fun
Don't forget car parking is £5.00 too. What a rip-off!
I went on a saturday in June a couple of years ago and it was ok, though I'd gone the day before as well and that was a lot better. If you haven't got a choice but to go and and back in a day then I suppose that's fair enough but I would strongly advise staying over.
If it's hot I'd consider buying one of their unlimited refill bottles. It allows you to go up and get a reflil of any soft drink you want for free throughout the day. If you grab a couple of straws there's no reason why you can't share it either.
all the big rides had queue times of an hour + apart from oblivion, the longest any of our kids queued was for 2 hours 30 mins for 13.
it is possible to do it all on a Saturday, i've been many times, its just about pateince and planning your day! hell i went on Aug bank holiday and walked on every ride!
I am sure plenty of other places are doing offers too. There is never a reason to go and all pay full price. Even if it means buying some BOGOF vouchers a couple quid from Ebay: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=alton+towers&_sacat=See-All-Categories
Also, these are good if you have enough points and will make use of the Merlin Annual pass (gets you into a lot more places than just Alton Towers):
http://www.towersalmanac.com/need_to_know/cheap_tickets.php