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I have visited the Staffordshire resort several times with my wife Lauren and excited kids Clara and Adam. Each time I feel like we are getting ourselves more and more accustomed to the best ways to enjoy the park and indeed get about it.
Gone are the days when we just blindly turned up at the gates and randomly wandered around the park to wait in one mega queue or another.
It’s the largest theme park in the resort tucked away in 900 acres of countryside so there is plenty of walking to be done to get from one attraction to another. So plenty of pre-planning is required and you may want to fork a bit extra too to make things go as easily as possible.
With a fair bit of planning, sensible clothing choices and a decent stock of food you are pretty much guaranteed to have a great day out at Alton Towers on some fab rides whatever the weather – here are my top five tips…
Adam outside the Alton Towers Resort Hotel (Image: Geoff Maynard)
1. Make use of the ‘golden hour’ perk
The park opens at 10am but if you are staying in one of the resort’s hotels (Alton Towers Hotel, Splash Landings Hotel or CBeebles Land Hotel) then you are at a big advantage. We stayed in the Alton Towers Hotel to celebrate Adam’s 11th birthday.
We breakfasted early and were in prime position nice and early to benefit from the golden hour – when guests are allowed into the park an hour early to beat the queues.
This enabled us to quickly get on to a couple of key rides. The kids’ favourite is Runaway Mine Train so we were one of the first people on it and spiralling off, shouting out the traditional Choo Choo! On a previous visit Adam and Lauren were quickly on to one of the park’s main thrill ride attractions – Nemesis Reborn – as myself and Clara watched on with trepidation. The golden hour allows you to get two or three big rides done before the hordes descend and the queues mount.
2. Consider Fasttrack
If you are like me and a hater of queuing then I recommend putting your hand in your pocket to book a hotel stay or get a Fasttrack ticket. Fasttrack tickets can be quite pricey – they cost between £45 and £175 per person, depending on the package you choose and the date of your visit – but on busy, peak days they are a real benefit. Queues for some of the major rides like Smiler or Oblivion can easily stretch to an hour plus so a Fastrack pass can come in extremely handy and allow you to pack a lot more in.
The thrilling Oblivion ride at Alton Towers (Image: Getty)
Armed with one of them I lost sense of my usual rollercoaster averse senses for a few minutes and headed to Wicker Man with Lauren for support. Before I had a chance to think about the errors of my ways I was on the ride and being propelled around the track at a rate of knots. I lived to tell the tale, actually found it hugely exhilarating and had plenty of time left to set off for the next ride adventure.
Now and again though you do just have to accept you will have to queue (even me). So it really is best to be prepared for it and take a bag with you packed with as much food and drinks as you can manage to snack on during that downtime. Like most popular resorts the food in restaurants and kiosks is not cheap so the more of your own nosh you can bring with you the more you can spend on those Fasttrack passes instead.
That said there is nothing wrong with just heading for the shortest queue time and there are plenty of attractions where that is not a major issue. The kids are big fans of Mutiny bay where the queues for rides like Marauder’s Mayhem (where you are spun around at speed) and Heave Ho (a boat see saw) are relatively easy to get on.
The kids enjoy the Runaway Mine Train ride (Image: Geoff Maynard)
3. Don’t ignore the weather forecast
Don’t be caught out by the elements either. When we were there it rained all weekend and I can exclusively reveal that most of the shops do not sell umbrellas. The only option is a very untrendy poncho that just about does the job but will be set you back another tenner or so each. So pack a coat and umbrellas, it is England afterall.
4. Get your comfiest shoes out
And that brings me to shoes. Comfy yet sturdy is the way to go. Alton Towers is not a place to show off your finest footwear. Even if it’s not raining your feet are likely to get a drenching on Congo River Rapids or Battle Gattleons – a real favourite with the kids as they get to drench others and be drenched by firing water cannons. And of course you will be doing a LOT of steps. Alton Towers is a dream for those wanting to beat their 10,000 a day steps target. On both days we were there we easily surpassed the 20,000 mark – that’s between eight and 10 miles depending on your step length.
5. Download the Alton Towers app
One other essential requirement for a good day at Alton Towers is to use the technology. Make sure your phone is powered up and get using the Alton Towers app. It gives you live queue times for all the rides and indeed tells you if they are closed which happens periodically. There is nothing more frustrating than racing across the park to find your favourite ride has suddenly closed as staff fix a fault. The app also acts as a map directing you from one ride to another so you can plan your campaign of attack for delay.
On one of our earlier visits I can specifically remember walking 10/15 mins one way, then 10/15 back in haphazard fashion rather than trying to tackle things in a more sensible circular route.
The Congo River Rapids ride at Alton Towers (Image: Alton Towers)
Book the holiday
- You can find short breaks at Alton Towers from £77pp in 2026. Book online at altontowers.com.
- Parent and Toddler passes start from £29 for an adult and toddler, saving families over £35.
- Alton Towers has revealed the brand-new scare maze Final Exhibit coming to Scarefest 2026, from Saturday 26 September to Sunday 1 November 2026.