Alton Towers Resort Reviews 

Queued 2.5hrs today for Rita to completely break. Same yesterday queued for it to break. Customer services offered zero resolution, the only ask was 1 fast track for another ride to be told it’s not possible. Absolute joke Alton Towers don’t waste your money on unreliable rides and zero customer support when things go wrong. Spent a lot of money on a short break to enjoy the park been plagued by multiple rides breaking down across the two days. Won’t be returning

Dont waster your time with the SplashLandings water park you only get a 2.5hr Session, The opening hours are a joke. 10-4/5 and outside area is only open for a portion of that time if your lucky as its closed completely during the week! I cant belive there is no evening swim sessions for people staying on the resort. Surley thats the whole point of this hotel, waterpark?!. All the play interactive water features are broken and covered in black tape too.Having been to europa Park this year and visited Rulantica save your money and dont bother they have a long way to go to compete with other parks

I go to Alton towers any chance I get since I have a Merlin pass! I love it.
I honestly don’t get why people bother going to Alton towers if it’s gonna be expensive.
I was reading the reviews and people had put it to 1 star just because food was expensive? It’s a them park what do you expect? Without the money you guys spend there you be no rides probably.
And okay 12 may be expensive for a hot day but I think it’s worth it. They are like a foot long and they are located near the wickerman.
And some people are saying the staff may be rude. In all of my 8 trips to Alton this year so far have I ever seen or heard about a rude worker. Yes okay they might have gone through a lot that day from operating rides, standing up the whole time, checking people’s safety but are you sure YOUR being kind enough? It’s probably tiring for them and they are expected to work. I think some people should be a bit patient.
Queues. If the weathers horrible people may be like “ omg it’s the UK they should work” no. They won’t in the pouring rain. And I’ve been on the smiler and it randomly started heavily raining and it HURT. The raindrops felt like a slap to my face? But Alton towers can’t control the weather. Again going back to the topic of queues, if a queue is long, don’t go on it unless if you’re willing to wait that time. Try socialize with others in the queue because lots of people in the park seem really antisocial. Or maybe download games and bring a portable charger Definately.
I have a top tip on leaving your phone being able to last a whole day.
Try charge it up to 100%,
Put it on low power mode and keep it on that day
And in queues SOCIALISE!!
Anyway sorry you probably have to read all of this but Alton towers feels like my 2nd home at this point. Byeee!

I was there the night that 13 went down for 10 to 15 minutes and thier was nothing polite about how a guest spoke to the staff. It was disgusting. Shouting over him "WHAT ARE YOU UP TOO" ( we were stood just behind this guest) honestly id rather wait in line for any repairs or checks because people like that are the first to sue if something went wrong. (Just see past reviews, it will tell you what you need to know!)

Visited Alton Towers today 4th October something which myself, my 14yr old daughter and 9yr old son were looking forward to as we always visit during scarefest. Now I understand that the resort cannot control the weather but my god, rides down and out of action all day and then rides breaking down leaving guests with no options but to stand around and wait in the wind and rain. We live in the UK surely these rides should he able to run in the conditions as expected? 

But anyway the worst part of our day today was experienced over on Thirteen where we waited in line and as we were literally about to step onto the train we got told to take two steps back. The staff then proceeded to empty all of the trains but other than an automated message being played there was no explanation as to what was happening. For about 10 to 15mins we were all left stood there for whilst the ride hosts stood there or walked up and down the platform talking on those headsets that they are all now wearing laughing and joking whilst the op was sat there head in her hands until the two guys from the tech services arrived. At this point I asked the male host what was happening as we hadn't been spoken to but rather all guests in the station completely ignored. He replied stating "someone has reported something on the tracks so we are just checking it out". This was fine but then a first 15mins later and the techs had left and they had sent three empty trains and yet still no update. So I politely asked the same ride host what was happening now to which he proceeded to shout at me in front of all the other guests "iv told you we are doing tests! Iv already told you this!". Myself and all other guests were shocked by his appalling attitude and how a simple question gained such an appalling attitude from the host. This really scared my 9 yr old son who is autistic to the point where he was crying. How is this right or fair? How is it even thought to be acceptable to speak to a guest who has paid a lot of money to come to the resort for what should be a special day in such a horrendous attitude? I didnt see his name badge but another guest told me his name was 'Joe'. 

I did then ask the other ride host on the loading platform for the loading hosts name but he said "i dont have to give you his name". I gave up at this point, im appalled by the very low level of customer service skills of these hosts and the fact they feel it acceptable to speak to guests in this way is mental! I also noticed that at no time did any manager of the area attend the ride so it was as if the staff can do as they please. 

Alton Towers you have ruined our day in particular Joe from Thirteen, the ride op of Thirteen and the other hosts who didnt challenge his behaviour nor did they apologise for the behaviours clearly seen by everyone. No doubt Alton Towers won't listen to this feedback and no doubt the customer service will continue to get worse. Its been clear throughout this season that the engagement between staff and guests is no longer important even more so since they brought in these stupid headsets that they wear and talk to each other. Absolutely appalling visit and absolutely helped me to decide that we will NOT be buying any season passes from Alton Towers in the near future. 

Joe if you do read this, maybe consider yourself in my position and how your response made me feel and my children feel and your team well they should be ashamed for allowing the behaviour to be unchallenged! 

Some really amazing staff that still stayed kind, and funny, even when some other guests were being rude. The staff are always what makes the day for me at any attraction, and because of how nice everyone was I had a lot of fun.

All of the staff were really friendly, and we went on a great day so we got to do most of the rides numerous times. We did get stuck on nemesis reborn due to a security issue, however the staff were polite and tried to get it over quickly, I would of loved to go on it another time but it was in a awkward place comparatively to other coasters and quite a steep walk! The staff at thirteen let us stay on the ride and go again just as Alton towers was about to close which was also great fun :) we got to go on Thirteen 4 times, Rita 3 times, Wickerman 2 times, Nemesis reborn 2 times, Spinball Whizzer 2 times and Runaway minetrain 2 times.

In terms of theming my favourite was Wickerman by far, it was an overall very unique experience and very stylised. In terms of the ride, Nemesis reborn was my favourite, it was very smooth and it was set up on some really cool terrain, followed by obviously Wickerman and Thirteen due to how fun the theming was, when I went on the first time I had no idea what to expect and the drops caught me off guard. Rita somehow felt different everytime I went on the coaster, it’s definitely rougher towards the back, but it’s great fun and very quick so you can hop on multiple times. Spinball whizzer was also surprisingly a great ride that you can quickly get on many times as well, I wish I had done it more!

The only disappointment was Nemesis Subterra, I had no idea what it was nor what to expect, people around me were telling me it was gonna have a huge drop and spin, and turns out hardly anything happened and it is mostly a visual experience. This wouldn’t necessarily been so disappointing if it wasn’t the longest queue and waittime in the whole park, and when we were on it they were unfortunately having technical difficulties with the restraints so we were sat there for like 10 minutes. :c I wouldn’t bother with this ride again even though the theming was cool, I feel like similar to Wickerman it would of been better not as a unique ride but as a presentation before you go on Nemesis Reborn and I’d rather spend my time on other rides.

I would love to know what people’s scariest rides are because I didn’t have the confidence to get on the smiler and oblivion, I’ll have to do it next time if I can muster the courage lol

Dreadful, filthy, untrained staff ( kids) over priced to the point of extortion. No chips at the Chip shack? Wow! Coffee small flat Costa £5.60. Pizza £17 in the filthy hotel bar. Rude staff . Rides not working. Hot dog £12? Miserable staff. I asked one staff member their name as they were so so rude! She refused.. forgot she was wearing a name badge? Never ever believe the hype of Magical.. hype of this resort. It has sold out to corporations. It will bite them back the lack of service and overpriced food and beverages. The cost of living will surly force wonderful folks to create a picnic and enjoy parks and woods and play together for Free! No one needs to be made to feel they have been absolutely ripped off… very poor very sad.

Don’t bother,
We went yesterday for my sons birthday,
The queue time for the monorail was 1 hour and 30 mins!

90 minutes plus for every ride!
We managed 4 rides!
Total waste of money and time!
They are letting far too many people into the park!
We most definitely will not be going back!

A completely rubbish day for my son and I.

There were so many rides going offline and whilst I appreciate some precautionary weather delays due to possible electrical storms, the number of times rides went down, everyone seemed to pretty much try and aim for the rides that were running and you guessed it, longer queues and the opposite side of the park!!! I emailed in the following day to provide negative feedback and see what they could do, but the response was 'oh sorry for this and by the way, the email address you sent this from isn't the booking email address' A week later from replying back from the correct email address and still nothing. Their way of holding out I suspect till the park closes for the season.

Other gripe was the absolute crazy food costs. 2 donuts and a coffee, £21 and two chicken meals £34.

Needless to say, driving home in the peak district was better than the 4 rides we got to go on.

We booked a short break at Alton Towers for 29–30 October, spending over £500. This was not just any trip – it was the only chance we had to see our grandchildren before next summer, as we live and work overseas. We have not seen them since Easter, and this was meant to be a very special occasion.

Our autistic grandson, who holds both a Merlin Pass and a Ride Access Pass, chose Scarefest as his “special place.” Because of his condition, he is medically unable to queue. Standing in long lines could cause him to collapse. This is exactly why he was granted an Access Pass in the first place. Last year, with the pass, everything worked brilliantly – it allowed him to enjoy the park safely and without distress.

This year, however, we were told that no Ride Access Passes were available for our dates. The result? He is effectively excluded from the park entirely. Without the pass, he cannot go on the rides, cannot take part, and cannot experience the special day he has been excited about for weeks.

What makes this even more outrageous is that while disabled guests were being told “no,” Fast Track tickets were still available for purchase. In other words, paying guests were prioritised while a disabled child was denied access. This is indefensible. It is not only deeply unfair – it is blatant disability discrimination.

We contacted Merlin and Alton Towers directly, hoping for compassion, understanding, or at the very least a reasonable adjustment. Instead, we were met with a flat refusal to help. There was no flexibility, no willingness to make accommodations, and no recognition of the impact this decision had on a disabled child and his family.

The consequences of this are devastating. We now face the heartbreaking task of telling our grandson that the trip he has looked forward to for months is not possible. He will not understand why. He will only feel disappointment and exclusion – something no child should have to endure, and certainly not at the hands of a company that claims to welcome families and prides itself on accessibility.

Let me be clear: to issue an Access Pass but then refuse to honour it when needed, while simultaneously selling Fast Track tickets, is not just poor customer service – it is a systemic failure and a discriminatory practice. It undermines the very purpose of disability access schemes and highlights that revenue is being placed above inclusion.

We will be escalating this further through the Equality and Human Rights Commission and through disability advocacy groups, as well as seeking legal advice under the Equality Act 2010, which clearly states that service providers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled guests. What Merlin and Alton Towers have done here is the opposite – they have made active choices that place disabled guests at a substantial disadvantage.

I am writing this review not just out of personal frustration, but as a warning to other families of disabled guests. Do not assume that because your child has an Access Pass, they will be accommodated. As our family has learned in the most painful way, Merlin and Alton Towers may refuse to honour it, regardless of the consequences for your child.

For us, a long-awaited, once-in-a-year family reunion has been overshadowed by disappointment, exclusion, and discrimination. Merlin have not only ruined our holiday – they have broken a little boy’s heart.

Highly uninclusive for disabled visitors.
Trip cost in excess of £600 with a stay overnight. All external rides closed for 2 hours.

I have come here twice first time was perfect if it wasn't for the food costing twenty quid for a drink and the rides shutting down whilst I was in the queue and smiler shutting down 20 minutes before the ark closed a lot wrong still the seconds time was awful I only got on three rides a woman cleaner was cleaning with no sign of her being in there and being in the cleaning cupboard whilst I was peeing and the wickerman and rita where shut doing for the entire day pretty much and I personally think you should put a limit of like 150 people in your park at once a day only not like 1000.

the best feem park ever splashlandings is realy good to my fravrit feem park ever

There was no access to the outside area . Only 2 slides available inside and at £50
For me and my sun I think it’s definitely over priced and to top it off .. food pricing is ridiculous £12 for a £3 hotdog and nachos £10 bad experience

I'd love score higher as my kids had fun, but as a parent I simply can't. The eventual smiles from my kids by the days end is the only reason you're getting two, not one.

Both of my children require special access due to ASD related issues. The booking process for red passes was easy enough so I wasn't too worried, but then we arrived.

We got there around 10:30 to see zero queues at the gates, and this initially made us happy. It was a Tuesday so some kids were back already and we thought this meant we'd lucked out with a low attendance day.

We had everything prebooked so go to the gate to be told no, we can't come in here due to our access needs, we need to go over there. To the one place with a queue. There were around 70-80 people easy, if not more, in the queue for ride access passes. Only ONE desk was open and each family was taking 5-10 minutes to be processed.

Three bored teens were manning the regular ticket desk (with zero customers), there were five or six members of staff on the main gate (with zero customers).

The place to get passes for people who can't manage queues without a panic attack? MASSIVE QUEUE WITH ONE PERSON ON IT.

Seriously Merlin, what on earth is going through your management minds. We asked about this and got told it was due to staffing issues, when you literally had ten or more staff bored and on their phones on the other desks and entrances doing NOTHING.

It took nearly 90 minutes to get in. There were kids breaking down, neurodivergent kids lashing out having to be walked away, it was a mess.

Nearly 150 quid, three week booking lead time for the red passes, two and a half hour drive, only to lose a third of our day getting to use our PREBOOKED TICKETS.

My family are here today and irs an absolute shit show. The queue times are not only huge - to be expected in school holidays- but the rides are closing and opening and the queue times displayed are completely inaccurate. My daughter is only 1.3 and expected to stand for 100 minutes for one of only 2 decent rides she can go on after waiting 90 minutes for wicker man. It’s raining they’re all miserable and they don’t even do the rainy day guarantee anymore. Tried to buy a fast pass for spin ball whizzer, all sold out for today. shock. £120 and a two hour drive for a sub standard version of what they advertise, it’s absolutely criminal to take peoples hard earnt money in this climate for a piss poor day out at best. We’ve visited for 40 plus years and will never ever give them our money after this. Do yourself a favour and go to Thorpe park or Paultons.
The fact they don’t reply to any of the feedback on here speaks volumes of how they see their customers

We wandered into the park and wandered into Andy's Adventure enterence. We were greeted by a VERY condescending, passive aggressive vile "Andy" character who shouted at us loudly and cocky "GUYS CAN WE NOT ENTER PLACES THAT ARE CLOSED PLEASE" I replied there's no closed sign anywhere we didn't know and there was no need to speak to us like that. He didn't even listen to what I was saying he just talked louder over the top of me. I felt dehumanised and humiliated by him for NO valid reason. Great start to the holiday.

Paid for a skip the queue pass for the kids - doesn't apply to any of the kids rides - stupid. But they DONT DO REFUNDS despite it being mis-sold.

Must rides don't work. Expect to only be able to access only half the rides at the park, but still pay full price.

Driving school: we paid for son who was 100cm exactly. Couldnt go onto anything. Waited on queues to be turned away - they should be measured on entering the queue - not after waiting for an hour for a kid to build up excitement. Girls the same height as him got in, but because he didn't have a pony tail on his head was turned away in tears.

The rides he was tall enough to go on consisted of like 5 rides. One was hex. So took him on it as appropriate for him apparently. (I put his height and AGE in the app). It was TERRIFYING and scarring for him. He came out shaking. He couldn't go on a little car ride - but could go on this makes NO SENSE whatsoever.

Hotel Waterpark splash landingings contains slides my son couldn't go on. 2 my son couldn't go on and the little one I couldn't go on??? So we left after 30 mins. COST £80. We couldn't go on any slides together and I'm not letting my 4 and 6 year old wander round water without my support. Only saw on exit there was life vests. Very little slides for a water park, more of a glorified splash park. Lazy river was naff, no wave pool.

The food alone at the flamingo place cost £80 for 2 adults and 2 young kids for buffet at splashlandings. A coke on top was £5 each! The buffet was DISGUSTING. People were sat eating McDonald's at the front of the hotel and at this point we realised why. They had barely any choice and was GRIM! Everything is stale, tasteless and just disgusting - literally inedible. The bread breaks your teeth. The soup tasted like watered down tomato puree. No one asks how your food is because they already know the answer.

We went to little lunch in cbeebies land and it was also disgusting. The £15 pizza I bought for my 4 year old looked like it was Asda price, and came charred and black. I don't want to sound rude but the staff looked like they didn't have a brain cell to rub between them. They were sending food towering tables constantly. There was one girl walking round who a lady had asked to speak to and she was practically shaking, cowering behind a chair. She was not equipped to deal with customers - not the constant flow of complaints that the kitchen were causing. The only way this place survives is because every customer is a new one. There's NO WAY anyone would return here if it was any other food establishment.

No dairy free pancake options at breakfast. It Wouldnt of been much hardship to whip up an oatmilk option. So we had to deal with tears and more disappointment from my kid.

Window didn't lock on our GROUND floor room, openable from outside. I'm just glad my children didn't get obducted.

Everything comes at an expensive charge. The drinks were so expensive - and no other option but HAD to pay for it.

Spent £100 at the arcade in the hotel. Which got my son a track racing car that costs £5.99 at b&m.

Expect to pay £40 a time for a family of 4 anytime you need basic refreshments. £40 for some ice-cream for the 4 of us at the park.

Internet laggy and rubbish.

90% of staff were snappy, rude.

Hotel is dated and FILTHY. Carpet was all wrinkled and I stretched, everywhere full of dust. Again, ran by kids or sponsored workers. Perhaps this is why the food quality and cleanliness is so diabolical.

NEVER. AGAIN.

Absolutely horrendous experience and totally devastated son who was supposed to be celebrating his 9th birthday.
The park do absolutely nothing to accommodate disabilities and the Ride Access Pass system is absolute joke! Complete insult to people who actually require support. TWO rides were all we managed and not a single member of staff was helpful or understanding.

We are going on Sunday and already noticed its £12.00 just to park, even for blue badge holders. So if its a family on a budget there's some of it gone just to park, Extortionate!

We arrived yesterday and queued for The Smiler first. The ride didn’t even start until about 10:20, wasting about 20 minutes. Then, just as we got into the building, the queue was suspended due to technical problems. This took about 20 minutes to sort. We then went to Oblivion. Just as we got to the front, the same thing happened and we had to wait for about 15 mins. Then we went to Rita. Exactly the same thing happened again, but this time we waited a good half hour.

Today, although we weren’t caught in any of the closed rides, because several were closed (Rita, 13, Nemesis sub Terra ) there were extremely long queues for Galáctica and Smiler (100 minutes) , which we then had to decide not to do due to our daughter not being able to stand for this long.

This afternoon, the threat of a storm kept us waiting in line for an additional hour for Nemesis (although i appreciate that safety is key and it wasn’t their fault). We therefore had no time to then queue for another ride with a long queue after this so decided to queue for Intoxicator. Just as we got to the seat, we were sent back due to technical issues. That was when we gave up and decided to leave.