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Alton Towers

Alton, United Kingdom

“Great coasters, ridiculous opening times”

Merlin Entertainments is one of Europe’s largest leisure brands and they’re stongly represented in the United Kingdom. The company is responsible for Sea Life, The Dungeons, The London Eye, Madame Tussauds, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland Windsor and… Alton Towers. This theme park resort can be found in the UK’s West Midlands region, within manageable driving distance from Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. The park is built around an ancient castle and it’s home to some of the country’s most recognisable thrill rides.

ROLLER COASTERS

This legendary theme park has spoilt its fans with some of the greatest roller coasters ever created. Alton Towers has nicknamed its greatest accomplishments as Secret Weapons. The two earliest Secret Weapons never got realized, so SW3 was the first Secret Weapon to open at the park in 1994. I’m talking about Nemesis, which was eventually renamed to Nemesis Reborn. This is a one-of-a-kind B&M inverted coaster that’s heavily impacted by Alton Towers’ strict height regulations. The park isn’t allowed to build above the tree line, so they dug deep into the Earth’s surface instead. The ride’s statistics are everything but extraordinary, but the actual experience is unforgettable. Nemesis Reborn’s setting is absolutely stunning and the ride features a whole bunch of near misses. I’m also a big fan of the unusual layout: Nemesis’ first drop and first inversion are relatively tame, but the ride gets considerably more intense after that.

Four years later, SW4 was launched (or should I say dropped?) as Oblivion. This became the world’s first Dive Coaster and B&M was once again hired for the job. The ride features a 55-metre decent and the aforementioned height regulations forced Alton Towers to put two thirds of that drop in an underground tunnel. In all honesty: Oblivion is the only Secret Weapon which hasn’t aged that well. The vertical drop is still fantastic, but the layout is just way too short if you compare it to modern Dive Machines.

SW5 was opened for the public in 2002 as Air, but it’s called Galactica nowadays. This Secret Weapon can be found at the Forbidden Valley area, right next to Nemesis Reborn. Air was B&M’s first flying coaster and it’s still one of the most unique coaster experiences to date. It’s not overly intense and it doesn’t involve pretzel loops, but the feeling of flying is performed very well. Alton Towers has made the unfortunate mistake of turning Galactica into a VR ride, but the VR glasses have disappeared again as of 2019. I’m happy about that: the ride itself is so awesome that it really doesn’t need this technological nonsense.

2010 was the year of SW6, which replaced the park’s iconic Corkscrew. Thirteen became the world’s first roller coaster to feature a vertical drop track. And despite the fact that this element has been copied by many other parks since then, Thirteen remains a surprising coaster. Still, Alton Towers acted a little silly by describing the attraction as a psychological thrill ride when it opened. In reality, Thirteen turned out to be nothing more (and nothing less) than an enjoyable family ride with some creepy theming.

Alton Towers has always tried to deliver groundbreaking coasters. Thanks to this philosophy, they even managed to obtain a world record. The Smiler opened as SW7 in 2013 and it features the most inversions on any coaster in the world: you’re flipped upside down 14 times. Unfortunately, a serious accident happened with The Smiler in 2015, which resulted in a lengthy closure for the ride. Nowadays, The Smiler is up and running again and it’s surprisingly popular. Personally, I don’t like the ride that much. This is mainly due to the uncomfortable restraints and those 14 inversions have a very disorienting effect. It’s a shame that Alton Towers didn’t collaborate with B&M or Intamin for this ride. I’m sure that these manufacturers could’ve come up with a more comfortable ride experience.

The 8th (and currently last) Secret Weapon was inaugurated in 2018. Unlike its predecessors, this coaster didn’t break records or push boundaries. SW8 is just a medium-sized GCI wooden coaster called Wicker Man. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but this doesn’t mean that it’s not good. This coaster’s theming is very original and the ride itself is pretty enjoyable as well. Although you shouldn’t expect the most intense ride of your life, Wicker Man turned out to be a decent family coaster.

Alton Towers’ coaster lineup is completed by a junior coaster, a powered coaster, a spinning coaster and Rita, an Intamin Accelerator. These rides weren’t awarded the Secret Weapon label and they definitely don’t perform on the same level.

DARK RIDES

The park’s haunted house has never received the Secret Weapon label, but it deserves some attention nevertheless. At the time it opened in 1992, it actually was Europe’s largest dark ride. It’s still in operation today and it’s still huge, but the ride has undergone some dramatic changes. After its run as an interactive shooter dark ride (Duel – The Haunted House Strikes Back), the ride is now known as The Curse at Alton Manor. And if you ask me… the attraction has never looked better than it does today. Theming of the queue and ride are excellent, and I certainly enjoy those classic ghost train scares. This counts as one of  the best haunted houses in Europe.

A new family-friendly dark ride was added to Alton Tower’s lineup in 2021. Gangsta Granny – The Ride is based on a children’s book by David Walliams. The story is easy to follow, even for those who aren’t familiar with the book. However, the ride felt kind of underwhelming due to its overuse of screens and 2D decoration elements. Then I actually prefer a ride on Alton Towers’ mad house, which was integrated in the castle ruins in the centre of the park. Hex – The Legend of the Towers‘ creepy background story (which is based on a local legend) and the ride’s brilliant soundtrack send shivers down my spine. Story telling is the biggest strength of this attraction anyway. In fact, I even consider Hex’ two pre-shows to be more interesting than the actual mad house ride. Very impressive attraction.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

The British have a strange relationship with water rides. The country isn’t exactly known for being tropical, but locals seem to adore water rides nevertheless. That’s why I always encountered a decent queue for Congo River Rapids at Katanga Canyon. Personally I don’t like getting wet, so I usually skip it. An attraction that shouldn’t be missed is the Skyride. Alton Towers is huge and the park is split in two by a large (and stunning) valley. This makes it a bit challenging to navigate the park, but the Skyride is there to cover the largest distances. Besides, it also offers incredible views of the park and its surroundings. The Skyride section between Forbidden Valley and Dark Forest is especially beautiful, as it soars above the valley.

BEAT THE CROWDS

It seems a good idea to plan an Alton Towers trip on a weekday when schools are in session. And although this certainly may result in low crowds, it also means that you’ll have to cope with the park’s ridiculous opening times. During the low season, Alton Towers is usually scheduled to be open from 10 AM until 4 PM. This means that you’ll only get six hours to enjoy the offerings, which is obviously too little for a major theme park like Alton Towers. Even during busier times, Alton Towers usually closes relatively early. It therefore requires some planning to visit all the Secret Weapons.

Queues aren’t limited to the rides inside the park, but you may already encounter a long line outside of the park gates. The parking lot is located approximately one mile from the park entrance and Alton Towers provides a monorail to cover that distance. However, monorails don’t run as often they do at Walt Disney World, so there’s a good chance that you’ll encounter a line. This certainly isn’t the most ideal way to start your day. That’s why I recommend walking to the entrance if you see a long queue. You’ll walk a lot during the day anyway, so an extra 20-minute stroll isn’t that bad, right? By the way: guests of Alton Towers’ on-site hotels shouldn’t worry about lines for the monorail, as they are able to use a dedicated park entrance that’s located in Forbidden Valley.

Inside the park, there are several options to tackle the crowds. I don’t recommend starting with Wicker Man (it’s located close to the entrance, so many people ride it early), but Forbidden Valley and Dark Forest are good places to get your first coaster rides in the early morning. Alton Towers also features single rider lines and paid Fast Lane tickets, so these are other options to shorten queues.

WORTH A VISIT?

Overall, Alton Towers is a fine theme park. You’ll find a few excellent coasters (Nemesis Reborn, Galactica and Thirteen are my favourites), landscaping is beautiful and Alton Towers is also home to the world’s greatest Vekoma mad house. However, the park has its flaws and it seems as if Alton Towers’ golden age is over. Recent additions aren’t on par with the park’s classic roller coasters and the short opening times are simply ridiculous. I definitely recommend visiting Alton Towers, but just don’t expect it to be the world’s best theme park.

Am I the only one who’s intrigued by Wicker Man’s strangely shaped lift hill? What’s your favourite coaster in the Forbidden Valley? And did you also experience Alton Towers’ unbelievably short operating hours? Share your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Alton Towers during a visit in May 2025.