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Travel
Alton Towers 2024 dates and costs, tickets, prices and location
IT’S FAIR to say that Alton Towers is one of the UK’s most-loved theme parks.
If you’re thinking about visiting the attraction, make sure you read our essential guide first.
Alton Towers Resort is one of the UK’s most popular theme parks, with 40 rides and activities spanning from record-breaking rollercoasters to an indoor and outdoor waterpark.
Established on April 4, 1980, the Staffordshire-based theme park’s initial rides included the UK’s first-ever double loop roller coaster — the Corkscrew.
It is the largest theme park in the UK, covering 550 acres.
A new £12.5 million indoor rollercoaster codenamed ‘Project Horizon’ is set to be built, but very little is known about the project so far.
READ MORE ON ALTON TOWERS
Opening times
Alton Towers opened its doors for 2024 on March 16.
The theme park closes over the winter, and this will be on November 7, 2024.
However, the theme park runs a number of seasonal special events, which are detailed below.
How to get there
The address for Alton Towers is Farley Lane, Alton, Stoke-on-Trent. ST10 4DB.
Located in Staffordshire, near the village of Alton, the nearest motorway exits are:
- M1 Northbound – Junction 23a
- M1 Southbound – Junction 28
- M6 Northbound – Junction 15
- M6 Southbound – Junction 16
For those travelling by public transport, Uttoxeter is the nearest train station to the resort.
From there you can take a 20-minute taxi or the 30-minute X41 bus.
An Alton Towers coach is also bookable through their website.
The bus departs from Birmingham Newman University, Northfields Super Store, University of Birmingham, TK MAXX New Street and Freffs Scott Arms Shopping Centre.
Ticket prices
Like most parks, it’s always cheaper to buy Alton Towers tickets in advance from their website.
Advance Alton Towers tickets can start at:
- 1 Day Pass — £29
- 2 Day Pass — £48
- Short break at the onsite hotel — £90 per family
- Waterpark pass — £18
- Golf 18 Holes — £6
On the day tickets start at:
- 1 Day Pass — £69
- 2 Day Pass — £80
- Waterpark pass — £25
- Parent and Toddler pass — £68
The theme park sells annual passes with discounts.
Alton Tower’s £99 Silver Pass can get theme park lovers up to 10% off food and drinks and a further 10% off the waterpark and Alton Tower’s Dungeon.
The £139 Gold Pass will beef this discount up to 20% and offer benefits such as a Bring a Friend voucher and Discounted Fastrack.
Merlin Annual Pass holders get a minimum of 200 days of off-peak entry to the park.
You can buy tickets on the day you visit from the admissions team, but prices are subject to availability and bookings may sell out.
Alton Towers’ best rides
Best for thrill-seekers — Nemesis Reborn
Or features writer Richard Moriarty for The Sun tested out the latest addition to the park with his son, and had this to say about it:
“Daddy, this is awesome!” screamed my son as we were whizzed around the 716-metre track at speeds of up to 55mph.
As the name suggests, Nemesis really has been reborn. And wow. What a thrilling ride it offers.
Smooth, slick, exciting and terrifying in equal measure — it is a rollercoaster where, when you get off, you are not quite sure what just happened.
Best for families — Runaway Mine Train
Runaway Mine Train is now the oldest rollercoaster at the theme park.
Even so, everyone enjoys a trip on this family-friendly coaster.
Plus, if you are patient and wait to ride later in the day, you might even be lucky enough to whizz around the track three or four times.
As The Sun’s Richard Moriarty explained: “… our gruesome twosome could ride together as they are both big enough, allowing mum and dad to enjoy a coffee.”
Best for toddlers — Get Set Go Tree Top Adventure
This is the perfect place to start your family day out.
You can wake up the sleeping bugbies as you glide high above CBeebies Land on this toddler-friendly rollercoaster track.
Some of the other popular kids’ rides can be seen below, so you can also plan the rest of your day while up in the air.
Alton Towers events
Scarefest
Alton Towers runs a spooktacular annual Halloween Scarefest.
This includes Compound – a new live-action scare maze based on the Nemesis Reborn ride.
There is also a family-friendly interactive attraction called Amigos in the Afterlife.
Christmas
Their Christmas Day Out experiences (available on select days only) are the perfect way to escape dark and dreary winter days.
And for those wanting to immerse themselves in the magic of Christmas overnight, the park also runs Santa Sleepovers.
How to save money at Alton Towers
Thrifty mum-of-three Catherine Loftohouse gave her top tips on saving money when visiting the theme park.
She told The Sun: “If you pay on the day, it could cost £68 per adult and £64 per child at Alton Towers, so this year we saved about £280 just on that one day trip.”
Catherine continued: “This year, we visited Alton Towers in September and spent about £45 on six tickets.
“My brother and I both got a pair of Sun Superdays tickets as he lives in a separate household.
“Each pair costs about £9, as it’s the cost of nine copies of the paper (70p or £1 depending on day of the week) and then a £2 booking fee.
“Meanwhile we used a £25 adult and toddler ticket from the Alton Towers website for my husband and youngest son.”
There are many other ways to cut down on your trip.
Children under 3 can go free and the theme park offers Student tickets for £20 if you have a verified StudentBeans account.
Any parents visiting with a toddler (under 5) can save by purchasing a Parent & Toddler pass in advance for £29.
Additional children under 5 can be added onto the pass for just £5. This offer is not available during weekends and school holidays.
And as mentioned by Catherine, through Sun Savers you can unlock our Sun Superdays offer, which gets you two free tickets to Merlin attractions, including Alton Towers.
Find out about fastrack
Alton Towers fastrack tickets offer a variety of benefits.
As their website explains, these advantages include:
- Less time queuing: Exclusive fastrack queue lines offer reduced waiting time on some of our biggest rides and attractions. That means you have more time to explore and enjoy everything that we have to offer.
- Help planning your day out: Single shot fastracks come with a specific time slot to enjoy your favourite ride. Set up your fastrack slots to help plan an efficient thrill-seeking route around the park.
- Unbeatable package deals: Alton Towers’ packages combine some of our biggest thrill rides and family favourites. Book your fastrack experience as part of a package deal to enjoy big savings.
Alton Towers parking explained
There are a number of options for parking your car at the theme park.
Standard parking costs £10 for guests.
Gold, Platinum and Premium Merlin Passholders are entitled to free Standard Car Parking.
There is no need to pre-book your parking space as you can just scan you pass at the exit barriers.
Standard Parking is between 15-25 minutes walk to the Alton Towers’ entrance.
You can follow the road signage to the carpark, or ask members of staff for directions.
As there are both grass and tarmac car parks, you may be parked on grass.
Express parking is charged at £20 for guests and can only be booked online in advance.
Gold, Platinum and Premium Merlin Passholders are able pre-book Express Parking for £10 (must be pre-booked online in advance).
CBeebies Land Hotel Guests get free express parking, but hotel booking confirmation must be provided.
Express Parking is a 1-3 minute walk away from the Theme Park Entrance.
Blue badge parking is charged at £10.
Gold, Platinum and Premium Merlin Passholders and on-site hotel guests are not charged for blue badge parking — but your current and valid blue badge must be presented, with the badge holder present in the vehicle which is requesting disabled parking.
One vehicle is permitted to park on blue badge parking per blue badge (spaces on the day will be allocated subject to availability on a first come first serviced basis).
Average Alton Towers queuing times
According to QueueTimes.com, the average waiting times for the park’s top 10 busiest rides are as follows:
- Wicker Man — 48 minutes
- The Smiler — 46 minutes
- TH13TEEN — 34 minutes
- Rita — 32 minutes
- Galactica — 31 minutes
- Spinball Whizzer — 28 minutes
- Gangsta Granny: The Ride — 26 minutes
- Get Set Go Tree Top Adventure — 26 minutes
- Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure — 26 minutes
- Runaway Mine Train — 25 minutes
While you’re here, take a look at Legoland Windsor, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures‘ opening dates, ticket prices and locations.
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The 8 most magical Christmas light shows across England in 2024
CHRISTMAS is a magical time of year and one of the best ways to get into the festive spirit is to see a light show.
There are many stunning light shows across England from Kew Gardens in London to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
Some even serve festive treats including mulled wine and gingerbread men to help you get into the fun of the season.
Here are the eight best Christmas light shows in England.
Kew Gardens, London
When Christmas arrives, Kew Gardens is lit up with more than a million bulbs.
It’s an entirely new way to see the 320 acre attraction which is home to over 16,000 species of plants.
The gardens are bathed in warm, colourful light and the trail is lined with thousands of candles, holographic laser beams and canopies of fairy lights.
Visiting Christmas at Kew doesn’t have to break the bank either, as ticket prices range from £21.50 for members at off-peak times to £26 at peak times.
For non-members, it is a little bit more expensive with off-peak tickets costing £25.50 and peak tickets costing £32.
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
The grounds at Blenheim Palace are already so beautiful that they have been used in Harry Potter, James Bond and Indiana Jones — but Christmas there is really something special.
There are thousands of illuminated lights transforming the historic building and grounds into a winter wonderland.
Kids will love the Neverland in the palace experience, which gives them the opportunity to explore the sparkling state rooms, complete with a model London skyline
Also, £1 will be added at basket stage for each Neverland in the Palace ticket to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
Longleat, Wiltshire
Bristol is home to the beautiful Longleat House which opens its gates for visitors to welcome them to its annual Festival of Light.
The grounds, which are home to one of the UK’s most exciting safari parks, will turn back the clock and take visitors on a journey from the dawn of man to the present day.
But that’s not all because this light show has a Santa train to meet Father Christmas and his elves.
The Festival of Light runs from November 9, 2024 to January 5, 2025.
Oxford Street and Regent Street
Oxford Street and Regent Street are among the busiest streets in Europe and they are both home to some of England’s best light displays every Christmas.
Both streets have over 300,000 LED lights which provide great photo opportunities while you do some Christmas shopping.
Regent Street has huge angels of light spanning across the entire street and Oxford Street is draped in over 5,000 white stars.
Oxford Street will be lighting up from November 5, 2024, and Regent Street will follow suit just two days later.
Killerton, Exeter
Christmas at Killerton will feature a traditional Christmas experience that includes an enchanted decorated house, which has green garlands, warming fireplaces and lush trees to make you feel cosy.
There is more fun to be had in the garden, which has an outdoor trail for the kids to enjoy.
The gardens and chapel grounds will be covered in Christmas lights, making it the best location for a Christmas family photo so dress to impress.
Christmas at Killerton will run from November 26, 2024 to January 2, 2025.
Bedgebury, Kent
Bedgebury is home to a one-mile magical winter trail which has fields of light and giant luminous seed pods.
Then, you’ll walk through sparkling tunnels of light and the forest is drenched in all of the colours of the rainbow.
It’s perfect for a little Christmas warmth on a cold December day.
Christmas at Bedgebury runs from November 14 to December 31, 2024.
Mayfield Park, Manchester
The Twilight Trail transforms Mayfield Park into a 6.5 acre Christmas extravaganza with 50,000 lights.
From hot chocolate to toasted marshmallows, there is plenty to eat and drink as visitors wander through the winter wonderland.
Tickets are now on sale. Adult tickets priced at £14 and child tickets are £9, with under two-year-olds gaining free entry.
The Twilight Trail runs from November 14 to December 31, 2024.
Liverpool Cathedral
The Light Before Christmas 2024: Starlight is an immersive sound and light installation by the acclaimed artistic collective Luxmuralis, in one of the most historic cities in England.
The cathedral will be become a stunning display of sound, light and storytelling — but it only runs for one day so you’ll need to hurry to get tickets.
Head on to Liverpool to catch The Light Before Christmas when takes place on November 30, 2024.
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