A great day out (Alton Towers (Staffordshire))

Member Name: SaveMeTheMoney

Product:	Alton Towers (Staffordshire)
Date:	13/05/09 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant rides

Disadvantages: Queues and bad food

I recently went on a stag weekend that started off at Alton Towers resort. We were flying into East Midlands and arrived there at about 9 am. We had a mini bus waiting for us at the airprort which took us straight to Alton Towers. It was not a long journey and the resort is quite handy to the airport, maybe 45 minutes away.

As we were on an organised trip, we had prepaid tickets. However, the price of a day ticket was thirty six pounds. I think that this is very steep, considering the amount of waiting around you have to do, although the rides themselves are excellent.

The first ride that we went on was the one with the big drop - Oblivion. It was possibly one of the best rides all day and also had one of the shortest queues. It is not a long ride. You get on it and it takes you up into the air and then hangs out over a ledge so you are sort of looking down into a big hole with lots of smoke coming out of it into the ground. Then they release you and you go flying down into the hole - you don't know what to expect!

We then went on the very fast ride - Rita Queen of Speed. There was a very long queue for this. But it was worth it. You go from 0 to 100 kilometres an hour in 2.5 seconds! Ok, so the ride does not last long, but that start is well worth it.

Following that we headed for Air. This was a good ride, as it is a bit different. You sit in and then it tips you horizontal so you are in a Superman pose for the ride! Only bad point was it did not go fast enough.

The next ride we went on was Submission. Good point here was that the queue was practically non-existent! Weird sensation of been left hanging upside down.

Our last ride was Nemesis, which was the best ride and left all of us feeling a bit fragile and shaken! The queue was shorter than some of the other rides, but the ride was really good. Your legs are left dangling as you are thrown around the place!

We did have some food while we were there. We went to the Courtyard BBQ and Bar, which unfortunately was pretty uninspiring stuff. I had a burger which was as tough as old boots. The best thing about it was the beer! There was a little stage show type thing for the kids which was good.

Overall, if you have kids they will love this place, as there are so many rides. We only went on the big rides, but there is a lot to do. We also played a penalty competition and a golf competition while there. I am sure though that it is a lot busier during the summer holidays! We stayed in Nottingham which was about an hour away from Alton Towers.

Summary: Worth the trip