A premier UK day out. (Alton Towers (Staffordshire))

Member Name: destiny2909

Product:	Alton Towers (Staffordshire)
Date:	10/08/08 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Something for all the family

Disadvantages: Expensive

Alton Towers is arguably England's best known and best loved theme park. It is nestled discretely in the Staffordshire countryside, and the approach by road from the south is beautiful as you travel through dramatic countryside, particularly as you get close.
Almost as soon as you arrive, you are hit by the theme music that everyone, adult and child, know so well. And if you don't know it, you'll be whistling it under your breath by the end of the day!
Car parks are large and spacious and you travel into the park via monorail, which the kids love. Entry isn't cheap - last time I visited an adult ticket was £21 - but there are almost continuous special offers of buy one get one free and the like.
It pays to get there early as it really is a full day out and it does very quickly get busy. Whatever way you look at it however, you are going to have to be prepared to queue, often for quite long stretches of time. However, the staff at Alton Towers have designed the queues well so that you keep moving and the scenery constantly changes around you.
My advice would be to decide before you go, what are your "must do" rides and run to them first. As it is the most popular rides - usually the newest - that get the long queues quickest. These rides would probably be Air, Rita and Oblivion where you could expect queues of an hour in peak season.
As for food while you are there. There are plenty of eateries in the park, yet I would recommend taking your own picnic. There are plenty of grassy spots where you can sit down and watch the rides while you eat. The food there is very expensive and could easily double what you paid to get in in the first place!
Time-wise, this is an all day attraction. If you do just a half day you will feel short-changed as you might not have got many rides in that time. If you were feeling splurgy, you could even stay overnight at the Alton Towers hotel!

Summary: Costly, but worth it.