Does a day out at Alton Towers with the kids fill you with equal amounts of excitement and dread? I know that’s how I felt the first time we went.
Will it be packed? Will the kids turn feral in the heat? Will the combination of excitement, queue boredom, and sugar-induced hyper episodes be a recipe for complete disaster?
Alton Towers isn’t too far from where we live, so we have been a few times now, and honestly? The first time we went, it was exactly how I just described: boiling hot, sweaty angsty children, loads of laughs, and multiple tantrums. Oh, and my fella lost his mind when he thought someone had tried to jump the queue, only to realise that it was a Dad and daughter re-joining the Mum after going to the loo. I was SO embarrassed 🙈
But I realised we had done it all wrong. We spent half the time walking and queuing. So I got the park map out, did a bit of forum research, and made a proper itinerary before we went for the second time. And guess what? It worked sooooo much better.
We go every Summer now, always at peak time, but we always follow the same schedule (more or less) and I feel like I have discovered the Alton Towers cheat code every time. I should probably keep it to myself, but what can I say, I’m a nice person. So here is my no-stress, queue dodging cheat code to get the most out of your day when visiting Alton Towers with young children.
Pro tips before you start:
- Download and use the Alton Towers app
- Save money and time and take your own food, picnic style, and kid snacks for the queues
- Height check before you go to avoid disappointment on the day
Arrive Early!
If there is one piece of advice you take from me today, let it be this: arrive early.
The rest of my plan only works if you can get to the park for around 9am. Oh, you think that sounds super keen? You will change your mind when you see the queues to get in at 10:00am. If you arrive at 9am, by the time you’re all out of the car, checked none of the drinks have leaked, and untangled all the bags from the stroller, the gates will be open and you can walk right in.
This means you can be among the first visitors to get to Cbeebies Land, and this sets the tone for the entire day.
If you happen to be staying at one of the hotels you have even more of an advantage, because you get Early Ride Access. That means meandering into Cbeebies Land half an hour before the gates open to the general public. Expensive? Sure. But if you are travelling a long way it may well be worth it.
CBeebies Land: 9:30am – 11:00am
Assuming you followed my advice and arrived early, you will be able to breeze into Cbeebies Land, and this is where you make your biggest time savings.
I have tried a few different orders, but the following consistently works for us:
- Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure – Do this one first. This is the ‘big’ ride of the little kids section and everyone wants to do it, so it also attracts the biggest queues. The line stretches around the corner later in the day, so tick it off the list right away.
- In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride – It’s slow to get on and off this ride thanks to kids and water not mixing well, but it’s a great ride and young children love it. There will be a queue, but you might wait 10-15 minutes instead of 30 if you come here right after the rollercoaster.
- Get Set Go Treetop Adventure – The kids can see everything from up here, and people are usually still queuing up for the more exciting attractions at this point, so it’s a good time to do it.
If you get these three rides done with time to spare, you might be able to sneak another like the Go Jetters Vroomster of the Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop, but if the queues are too long leave them for now and do something open like the Hey Duggie playground, the sensory garden, or JoJo and Gran Gran’s house then move on.
You won’t be able to cover all of Cbeebies Land in the morning, but don’t worry, you’ll be back later.
The World of David Walliams: 11:00am – 12:00
You have now left Cbeebies Land and avoided the crush. Congratulations! Next, walk straight past the X Sector and ignore it. That’s for older kids. Instead, enter the World of David Walliams, which is next door.
The Gangsta Granny ride is the main attraction here – part ride, part story – so get that one ticked off, and the Driving School is always fun too. We might do Raj’s Bottom Burp if we have been lucky with queues for the others, but usually skip the Royal Carousel. It’s just a carousel…
There is a chance that the World of David Walliams will already be quite busy (check the Alton Towers app with live queue time info to get an idea), and if this is the case, we usually go to Mutiny Bay instead, which is in the other direction. If it’s really hot this can be a good call because the Sharkbait Reef SeaLife bit is covered, so there is some shade but the kids are still entertained.
After this, everyone is ready for some lunch.
Lunch and Downtime: 12:00 – 2:00pm
You brought a picnic right? Good, because this is where you can combine lunch with a show!
Instead of spending yet more time queueing (for food), go to the BigFun Show Time area and watch one of the live performances while you eat. There’s Hey Duggie, Bing, Teletubbies – check the schedule on the day for specifics. The cherry in top is you are now perfectly placed for the meet and greets afterwards so the kids can meet Bluey or whoever they trot out that day.
After lunch the queues for the rides are hell. Everyone has had a break and is ready to go again, so do the opposite. Avoid anything that requires queuing. Explore the Alton Towers Gardens, browse the shops, or if you see something on the app that looks quiet head for that. The Skyride is often oddly quiet after lunch, but it’s a nice relaxing way to start the afternoon, has great views of the park, and still feels like a ride. It also gives you a chance to reorganise your bag and get the snacks lined up for later.
Do a Loop: 2:00pm – 4:30pm
We have already done some of the most popular rides for young kids, so now we decide which rides to go for in the afternoon and do a loop of the park to get them all in. No backtracking during this bit, it just wastes time. Go from one section to the next and do the rides you have gone there to do.
If you missed the World of David Walliams earlier, fit it in here.
Katanga Kanyon is always a stop on our loop because it has the Runaway Mine Train and the Congo River Rapids. Both of these are big enough to feel scary but fun for our kids. It’s hit and miss with the queues, but we go for whichever one looks to have the shortest queue first.
You could do the Gloomy Wood before this if you are looping in that direction, but it’s a judgement call as these are scare themed rides, so not all children will enjoy them. We skip it, although our two are just starting to show interest so we may give it a go next time.
This is also when me and my fella pick a ride we want to do that the kids can’t go on. The Parent Queue Share Pass is a wonderful invention which allows us to go on the ride individually while the other keeps the kids busy. The second person can then jump the queue, so you queue once but both get to ride individually. Thanks Alton Towers!
We decide what to do on our loop as a family, so everyone gets to choose something, then we fill the gaps as we go.
CBeebies Round 2 and Home: 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Cbeebies Land is noticeably emptier at this time of the day, so we head back to do anything we couldn’t fit in earlier, or sometimes do one or two of the kids favourite rides again.
There will be so much you couldn’t fit in in the morning, and honestly, you usually have a 5 or 10 minute wait max for them towards the end of the day. I feel like a tactical genius every time.
Ending the day here also means the kids leave on a high, rather than feeling like all they did was queue and get dragged around all day on their tired little legs.
In terms of leaving, we either bail 15 minutes early to avoid the mass exodus, or hang around until most people have gone and have a snack, talk about our favourite rides, go in the shops for a souvenir, etc. Either way, we breeze out of the car park as easily as we breezed in. Getting car trapped at the end of hot, sweaty, tiring day is the last thing you want!
So there you have it. The perfect itinerary for a day out at Alton Towers with young children. A cheat code designed by yours truly.
It’s impossible to cover everything in a single day, but this way, you can get the absolute most enjoyment with the absolute minimum of fuss. The magic may never end, but the day will, and as you arrive home and unpack the car, you can do so with a smile, knowing you bossed that theme park and out parented all of those other mugs who spent 50% of their day in queues.
Smug? Me? Never! 😏😎