Weeeeeeee...splash! (Alton Towers (Staffordshire))

Member Name: djw08

Product:	Alton Towers (Staffordshire)
Date:	19/11/08 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great rides, a alovely park setting

Disadvantages: Can be very expensive, if you go full price with no discounts

I have always been a bit of a thrill-seeker and places such as Alton Towers really impress me. During the summer we decided to cut down on money going abroad and stay at home. We wanted to actually do something rather than just stay at home bored. One week we went to London and then spent a few weekends visiting places. We went to Alton Towers one weekend and had a fabulous time.

The rides are the best bit about Alton Towers, both of us really enjoy fast, thrilling rides. On arrival we went to the 'pre-paid' kiosk as we had purchased out tickets online with a discount voucher, we only had to pay £15 each the usual price is £29. We walked in through the gates the tune playing was at first quite enchanting after a while the uncontrollable urge to kick the speakers to the other side of the world started to 'kick in'.

As confessed thrill seeker we paid £8 each to do the fast track, it actually didn't save as much time as we hoped although we got a few more goes than we would have if we didn't purchase it, I think the key is to go outside of season when the kids are in school

Our favourite ride has to be oblivion as the adrenaline rush was amazing. The park in general is huge but is easy to navigate and there are food and drinks stalls dotted around so it's not too far to go for a sit down and a toilet break. The park is easy to walk around with a cable car if you want to see a birds eye view of the park. We printed a map off online but you can pick up a map at the park. The areas are arranged into areas so its easy to find the rides you are looking for.

Towers Street is the first place you will see situated at the entrance, eher you will find lot of shops and places to eat/go toilet. I'm guessing it's a great meeting place if you are in a large group. The new area Mutiny Bay is new for 2008 and includes Battle Galleons, Heave Ho and Marauders Mayhem. This is a pirate themed area and is great for boys, I loved it! The other places are as follows: Katanga Kanyon, Gloomy Wood, Forbidden Valley, Ug Land, Cred Street, X Sector, Adventureland, and the Old MacDonalds Farmyard. We enjoyed the X sector most as a lot of our favourite rides were situated here or close by. To summarise there are areas for adults and kids and plenty for everyone. Of all of these rides we enjoyed the thrilling rides such as the Corkscrew, submission, oblivion and the ripsaw. We went during some awful rainy weather and the rides were still operational and the log flume seemed more appealing to my other half who normally moans about getting wet.

Food and drink is expensive but it's what I'd expect from a tourist venue such as Alton Towers. There is a wide selection of food including popular food such as burgers and chips. We found staff very helpful and eager to help advise on where to find certain rides. The ride staff were jolly and made you smile before 'take off'.

The prices in general were as you would expect from a tourist park. The food was priced fairly and items in the souvenir shop were OK. We did come away with a few things, although we spent so much it was worth it.

Summary: A great say out for all of the family, with so much to do.