ALTON Towers houses many of the nation's most popular rides, such as Nemesis Reborn, Oblivion and The Smiler.
Here's everything you need to know about about the theme park.
What is Alton Towers?
Alton Towers Resort is one of the UK's most popular theme parks, with 40 rides and activities spanning from record-breaking rollercoasters to an indoor and outdoor waterpark.
Established on April 4 1980, the Staffordshire-based theme park's initial rides included the UK's first-ever double loop roller coaster — the Corkscrew.
It is the largest theme park in the UK, covering 550 acres.
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A new £12.5 million indoor rollercoaster codenamed 'Project Horizon' is set to be built, but very little is known about the project so far.
When does Alton Towers open in 2024?
Alton Towers was closed for the winter season but reopened on March 16, 2024.
Alton Towers will once again close on November 7, 2024.
But this does not mean you'll have to wait until the new year to visit, as the theme park runs a number of seasonal special events, which are detailed below.
What is the address for Alton Towers and how do I get there?
The address for Alton Towers is Farley Lane, Alton, Stoke-on-Trent. ST10 4DB.
Located in Staffordshire, near the village of Alton, the nearest motorway exits are:
- M1 Northbound – Junction 23a
- M1 Southbound – Junction 28
- M6 Northbound – Junction 15
- M6 Southbound – Junction 16
For those travelling by public transport, Uttoxeter is the nearest train station to the resort.
From there you can take a 20-minute taxi or the 30-minute X41 bus.
An Alton Towers coach is also bookable through their website.
The bus departs from Birmingham Newman University, Northfields Super Store, University of Birmingham, TK MAXX New Street and Freffs Scott Arms Shopping Centre.
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How much does Alton Towers cost and how do I buy a ticket?
Like most parks, it's always cheaper to buy Alton Towers tickets in advance from their website.
Advance Alton Towers tickets can start at:
- 1 Day Pass — £35
- 2 Day Pass — £48
- Short break at the onsite hotel — £90 per family
- Waterpark pass — £18
- Golf 18 Holes — £6
On the day tickets start at:
- 1 Day Pass — £68
- 2 Day Pass — £80
- Waterpark pass — £25
- Parent and Toddler pass — £68
The theme park sells annual passes with discounts.
Alton Tower's £99 Silver Pass can get theme park lovers up to 10% off food and drinks and a further 10% off the waterpark and Alton Tower's Dungeon.
The £139 Gold Pass will beef this discount up to 20% and offer benefits such as a Bring a Friend voucher and Discounted Fastrack.
Merlin Annual Pass holders get a minimum of 200 days of off-peak entry to the park.
You can buy tickets on the day you visit from the admissions team, but prices are subject to availability and bookings may sell out.
Alton Towers' best rides
Best for thrill-seekers — Nemesis Reborn
Or features writer Richard Moriarty for The Sun tested out the latest addition to the park with his son, and had this to say about it:
“Daddy, this is awesome!” screamed my son as we were whizzed around the 716-metre track at speeds of up to 55mph.
As the name suggests, Nemesis really has been reborn. And wow. What a thrilling ride it offers.
Smooth, slick, exciting and terrifying in equal measure — it is a rollercoaster where, when you get off, you are not quite sure what just happened.
Best for families — Runaway Mine Train
Runaway Mine Train is now the oldest rollercoaster at the theme park.
Even so, everyone enjoys a trip on this family-friendly coaster.
Plus, if you are patient and wait to ride later in the day, you might even be lucky enough to whizz around the track three or four times.
As The Sun's Richard Moriarty explained: "... our gruesome twosome could ride together as they are both big enough, allowing mum and dad to enjoy a coffee."
Best for toddlers — Get Set Go Tree Top Adventure
This is the perfect place to start your family day out.
You can wake up the sleeping bugbies as you glide high above CBeebies Land on this toddler-friendly rollercoaster track.
Some of the other popular kids' rides can be seen below, so you can also plan the rest of your day while up in the air.
How to save money at Alton Towers
Thrifty mum-of-three Catherine Loftohouse gave her top tips on saving money when visiting the theme park.
She told The Sun: "If you pay on the day, it could cost £68 per adult and £64 per child at Alton Towers, so this year we saved about £280 just on that one day trip."
Catherine continued: "This year, we visited Alton Towers in September and spent about £45 on six tickets.
"My brother and I both got a pair of Sun Superdays tickets as he lives in a separate household.
"Each pair costs about £9, as it's the cost of nine copies of the paper (70p or £1 depending on day of the week) and then a £2 booking fee.
"Meanwhile we used a £25 adult and toddler ticket from the Alton Towers website for my husband and youngest son."
There are many other ways to cut down on your trip.
Children under 3 can go free and the theme park offers Student tickets for £20 if you have a verified StudentBeans account.
Any parents visiting with a toddler (under 5) can save by purchasing a Parent & Toddler pass in advance for £29.
Additional children under 5 can be added onto the pass for just £5. This offer is not available during weekends and school holidays.
And as mentioned by Catherine, through Sun Savers you can unlock our Sun Superdays offer, which gets you two free tickets to Merlin attractions, including Alton Towers.
Alton Towers events
Alton Towers runs a spooktacular annual Halloween Scarefest.
Their Christmas Day Out experiences (available on select days only) are the perfect way to escape dark and dreary winter days.
And for those wanting to immerse themselves in the magic of Christmas overnight, the park also runs Santa Sleepovers.
What is fastrack?
Alton Towers fastrack tickets offer a variety of benefits.
As their website explains, these advantages include:
- Less time queuing: Exclusive fastrack queue lines offer reduced waiting time on some of our biggest rides and attractions. That means you have more time to explore and enjoy everything that we have to offer.
- Help planning your day out: Single shot fastracks come with a specific time slot to enjoy your favourite ride. Set up your fastrack slots to help plan an efficient thrill-seeking route around the park.
- Unbeatable package deals: Alton Towers' packages combine some of our biggest thrill rides and family favourites. Book your fastrack experience as part of a package deal to enjoy big savings.
Alton Towers parking explained
There are a number of options for parking your car at the theme park.
Standard parking costs £10 for guests.
Gold, Platinum and Premium Merlin Passholders are entitled to free Standard Car Parking.
There is no need to pre-book your parking space as you can just scan you pass at the exit barriers.
Standard Parking is between 15-25 minutes walk to the Alton Towers’ entrance.
You can follow the road signage to the carpark, or ask members of staff for directions.
As there are both grass and tarmac car parks, you may be parked on grass.
Express parking is charged at £20 for guests and can only be booked online in advance.
Gold, Platinum and Premium Merlin Passholders are able pre-book Express Parking for £10 (must be pre-booked online in advance).
CBeebies Land Hotel Guests get free express parking, but hotel booking confirmation must be provided.
Express Parking is a 1-3 minute walk away from the Theme Park Entrance.
Blue badge parking is charged at £10.
Gold, Platinum and Premium Merlin Passholders and on-site hotel guests are not charged for blue badge parking — but your current and valid blue badge must be presented, with the badge holder present in the vehicle which is requesting disabled parking.
One vehicle is permitted to park on blue badge parking per blue badge (spaces on the day will be allocated subject to availability on a first come first serviced basis).
Average Alton Towers queuing times
According to QueueTimes.com, the average waiting times for the park's top 10 busiest rides are as follows:
- Wicker Man — 48 minutes
- The Smiler — 46 minutes
- TH13TEEN — 34 minutes
- Rita — 32 minutes
- Galactica — 31 minutes
- Spinball Whizzer — 28 minutes
- Gangsta Granny: The Ride — 26 minutes
- Get Set Go Tree Top Adventure — 26 minutes
- Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure — 26 minutes
- Runaway Mine Train — 25 minutes
While you're here, take a look at Legoland Windsor, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures' opening dates, ticket prices and locations.