Alton Towers Opinions?
Alton Towers: A couple complaints, about fireworks and wait times, for Alton Towers. Any U.K. theme park fans care to respond?
From Joe Hyson
Posted November 3, 2003 at 4:54 PM
I went to Alton Towers on November 1st and I have a few complaints and would like to hear your opinions.
1- The fireworks are good for an english theme park but the really could do much better with the storyline and music, etc.
2- They let way to much people in the park and should have a limit on how many people are allowed in on a day because I ended up having to wait nearly 3 hours for Air and nearly 2 hours for Nemesis.
What do you think about Alton Towers?
From nick power
Posted November 4, 2003 at 3:14 PM
agree totally.
The theme park won "worst theme park 2003 in the uk!" this year!
much has been said and talked about just how long you have to wait to get on most rides :-(
It all depends on how you plan your day and spend your time, it was bound to be busy because of the special events, and it is one of only 2 or 3 such like parks in the country with a umber of world class rides. I went on the 31st and managed to get on air and nemesis twice and oblvion 5 times (3 in the dark), and also thought the fireworks, although not in the league of those that disney and the like churn out nightly were very impressive.
From Anonymous
Posted November 13, 2003 at 10:32 AM
I agree, Alton Towers is becoming a no go anytime but very early season or late season and with the weather in England that means its rare to get a good day. The lines are very long! Also, you cannot compare the fireworks in the UK to US, they are never any where near as good, as the likes of WDW etc.
From N Stevens
Posted November 13, 2003 at 1:47 PM
Personally I think Alton Towers is overrated, but in many people's eyes, it's the best theme(d) park we've got. Wait times have forever been a problem at any park, waiting 3 hours is obscene, and the Fastrack system is only for Air and Nemesis on peak days? That's just not acceptable. People go to a theme park to have fun - you end up going on about 4 rides the whole day, therefore returning home annoyed and frustrated.
As for the fireworks, well it's not too difficult to come up with an imaginative idea, is it? I just get the feeling that people in this country just can't be bothered.
From p j
Posted January 27, 2004 at 6:08 AM
i think alton towers is the best theme park. when i went there were no q's and air and nemises were only 30 mins
i agree that Alton Towers is too populated on most days but when it comes to watching the fireworks, its the millions of people that adds to the atmousphere of the night, Alton towers must already have legal limit cos all theme parks do, why should we have to plan a different day or a plan to go round the park just because theres too many people in the park. And as years go by all a theme park can do is just keep growing unless the go bankcrupt. I know the alton towers have the land to keep growing, its all hidden further off forbidden and the hotel, But theres something there right now, it could be a mansion from the photos ive seen. Why do we have to think of the park as a park that was built in the wrong place because of the building restrictions or the people that live next door to the theme park, if you dont want to live next to a theme park then just move, im sure other people would like me and joe hyson!
From Ben Mills
Posted March 19, 2004 at 9:23 AM
Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as "just moving". People who have moved there in the past 7 years dont have much of a right to complain, I agree, but what about the people who have lived there all their lives? Should they have to lose thousands of pounds jumping back onto the property ladder because of AT? A lot of locals make too much of a fuss and lie to the council, I'll admit, but there's a lot to be said against forcing people out of their homes and possibly away from their work, friends and family, just so a money-grabbing corporation (which Tussauds most definately are) can put on some fancyass fireworks show. The picture is bigger than the eyes of a mere tourist, you see.
Too expensive, thats why I never came here.
The only reason we havn't been Adrian is because we never find the right time to go.Idiot...
Well I went twice last year, once on a relatively busy day (45mins for AIR, 20 mins for Oblivion) and had a really good day. I went a second time (instead of trekking across the country to Thorpe Park on a day which turned out to be really quiet. Walk ons on every ride in the park. The biggest queue was 5mins for Oblivion. It was in September and the weather wasn't that bad (I'm an Aussie, don't tell me I'm wrong about saying the weathers ok :) ). If you choose to pay more and go on peak days, then its your own stupid fault that your stuck in a queue.
The only thing I don't like the park is getting there. I hope the locals get their way on this one and a Bypass gets built.
Your the idiot Mark. Notice the prices are WAY to high. Guess your the only one who hasn't noticed.
the prices arnt that high, they have only gone up because the park has got better with more rides, Its thorpe park which has the high parices for no apperant reason, the only new ride there is samarai and its still more expensive then alton towers
From
Posted April 24, 2004 at 3:14 AM
I'd respond proparly but my internet has something wrong with it, (this is Adrian by the way) I can't log out and I hav'nt posted any comments in the last few months. So I have a major problem, I can't log in as myself now. Help please?
For the last few years I have been a little disappointed with the fireworks but we still go every year and it doesn't ruin our day out. I guess I go so often that don't get as stressed not getting on many rides but it is all about timing. I found the best time to go is second week in September when all the kids have gone back to school. It's very quiet them. Unfortunately now that I'm a teacher I can only go at the peak times... but hey ho it's worth it!
Managed to solve problem with computer so no complaints now.
Having been to AT a few times since I moved here from Canada four years ago, I'd have to agree that it's over-rated. But at the same time, if you've never been to a theme park in another country, it's hard to compare! I assumed that the crowds and long queues were just a result of there being a whole lot more people in England than in Canada. Another complaint I have, and I again put it down to the size of population going, is that the rides are much too short - you barely feel like you've started a ride before it ends! I think I'm just spoiled by being used to a theme park (Canada's Wonderland) that has a lot more space and fewer people (perhaps?) - the rides are longer, and the lines a lot shorter!
Kirsten
From Ben Mills
Posted August 14, 2004 at 1:32 PM
See that, all you Ben-naysayers and Colossus-lovers? It
is just a common "stupid-gene" of British people to like Tussauds parks! After all, how well is Heide Park doing recently? NOT SO WELL, HUH? Yeah! And yet, the European Union has done nothing to stop their reign of terror and plan to let John Wardley take over the world...they're gonna go and buy Gardaland too! Okay, so I never really loved Heide Park, and anything was better than the pre-Tussauds Thorpe Park, but c'mon, Gardaland? I love that park! It has, like, ONE whole nasty ugly thrill/flat ride thing - an aging Top Spin that'll probably get removed soon anyway. That's a good thing! They spent their money on superb rides like Fuga Da Atlantide and Blue Tornado. How many rides as good as that have Tussauds built recently? Scratch that, how many rides have Tussauds EVER built as good as that? NONE! Well, I suppose you could count Stampida and Dragon Khan at Port Aventura, but do Tussauds own those any more? NO! I mean, if Tussauds start turning Gardaland into a foreign Lost City, I'm actually gonna have to get my pitchforks and burning torches and march on over to the Tussauds main office. They CANNOT do this to such a great park. Quite simply, they do not know how to build quality themed rides. It's a fact of life. Their trademark brand of thrills, spills and nasty patches of vomit on the floor may fly in England, where we've become accustomed to crap parks, but Europe is not ready to have one of the beacon parks infected with the Tussauds Virus. It'd be like sticking swearing and pop culture references in the Bible. I mean, if ever there was a way to drive guests ten miles down the road to the nearby Movie Studios park, this is it. Gardaland is a THEME park that prides itself on a great atmosphere, the sort of praise people give to Disneyland. (Or used to, anyway.) How much "atmosphere" have Tussauds got, eh?
Man, I need to get myself a website...
alright im not exactly a fan of tussauds my self but you have to say it takes quite alot of bussiness skillto keep a theme park running in the uk, with its strict planning permission and stuff. Thats probly why they spread over europe anyway, what other choice did they have ben? And dont start dissing john wardley, hes one of the best roller coaster designers in the world! He loves this country so much, you cant blame him for only building in the uk. UK theme parks need our help, soon thier be taken over by crap rides like that intamin launcher (smaller then corkscrew) and oblivion may not be there much longer along with corkscrew.
PS you type too much ben!
I went to Thorpe and walked on everything so it sounds like people should go there instead.
hi.
well....back at last!
i had a lot of down time but i'm back!
so...this thing i like alton towers. i've got all the music and i've been there twice.
becaus i'm blind i can walk on all the rides straight away!
I have been to Alton towers a lot of times since 1990. The park is ok and I like the rides but the overall appearance of the park has gone downhill over the years. They seem to only care about getting your money. I've done the Orlando parks and find that they are cleaner and in better condition (no peeling paint etc) than Alton Towers. Ok so it's not that important but for £30 to get in there, I expect a little more of Tussauds. I also hate going there in the summer months because they do NOTHING to help prevent the wasp problem they experience there. The place becomes infested and many people are stung whilst trapped in the queues.
You also have to pay for parking which is a big con, and I notice you now have to pay for one of the rides (some kind of bumper boats, I think).
All in all it gets more disappointing every year.
I like Alton Towers,it rocks!!!I have only been there twice though and i really want to go on the spinball wizzer and Rita.Can anyone tell me what its like?
I like Alton Towers,it rocks!!!I have only been there twice though and i really want to go on the spinball wizzer and Rita.Can anyone tell me what its like?
I went to Alton Towers on the 20th July 2005, and must say I had an awful day. After my experience today i can honestly say I will NEVER be going back again. I used to like going to the park, alas, this will be no more. During my day out, I onlymanaged to get on TWO rides because of the excessive q's, Corkscrew and Spinball Whizzer, and I consider this extremely BAD value for money. My reasons for being hacked off,are the obscenely long queing times. We arrived at the park around 11am, duly paid the entry fee and enetered the park only to be confronted by the ride queue signs saying that most of the rides had q's of more than an hour. Also, another sign stating that all rides would be closing at 5.30pm. My main 'beef' with the park is not the fact that there are q's, these are to be expected, but the fact that if Alton Towers knew that queues are gonna be excessive why can't they stay open longer? And secondly, why couldn't they have put the ride q times outside the entrance so at least you could see how long the q's are gonna be and then you could decide whether or not you want to blow £22 on seeing other people riding the rides?!?
I have been to a few other parks, Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, Disneyland,etc and this kind of problem does not exist there, where are Alton Towers going wrong?
I too visited Alton Towers on July 20th 2005. The queue times were hideous with the vast majority having queue times of more than one hour. People were even queueing outside of the queue area which can't be good for health & safety.
They charge £29 for a ticket on the gate, I bought one via the internet for £22 but am still annoyed that I blew £22 on what I would consider to be a spectators ticket! i could see people on things but unless I wanted to wait for more than an hour, there was no way I was getting on any of the big attractions.
I had to queue for everything and this included a 30 minute wait for a KFC meal which is supposed to be 'fast' food! The seating for eating areas is so inadequate and Alton Towers can not cope with the amount of visitors, this is clear by the evident queues.
They should limit the numbers or vastly increase the amount of attractions available. I've been to Disney at the height of season and have still never seen anything like this.
It was the worst day out I have ever had. I've been there a few times and have always had to queue but it really was just ridiculous.
I managed 2 rides in 4 hours and they were corkscrew and spinball whizzer. I don't call that good value for money, that's £11 per ride!
It doesn't help with the park closing at 5:30, July is surely the parks peak season and I find this pathetic. The parks I ahve visited in Spain and Florida stay open up until 8 or even midnight.
I wouldn't mind queueing so much if you have time but the park closing that early, if you are not in the queue by 3:30, you WILL NOT get on your last ride!
They do offer a single rider queue on some of the big rides but again we spoke to people who had been waiting an hour for this option!
Alton Towers seriously need to re-think as overseas parks are so much better. It may be one of ther best options the UK has but I wint be going there again and am just about to submit a letter of complaint to them.
I have been to loads of parks all over the world and have never been so disappointed as I was in Alton Towers.
If you are not a patient person DO NOT GO HERE!
From vj ali
Posted August 4, 2005 at 5:02 AM
I went 2 years ago in August 2003 with 2 kids. It was awful. We didn't get to go on any of the major rides because the stated queuing times were 2 hours or more and none of us wanted to waste the (short) day queuing. And everyone is right, the park shuts far too early.
We stayed on-site. It was extremely hot weather at the time of our visit but there was no air-conditioning or fans in the rooms (Note: even the cheapest Disneyland Paris hotels have ceiling fans). Needless to say we found it very difficult to sleep in the miniscule room we were given. I asked if reception could provide us with a desk fan which they stated they could and would have sent up to us. It never arrived!
We were also given a family express pass valid for 5 rides (of their choice). However, on 2 of the rides the workers refused to accept them as they stated we needed 1 pass per person even though it was clear it was for a family!
I wrote a letter of complaint to Alton Towers on our return - this was never answered.
It would have cost only slightly more for us to have gone on a cheap coach trip to Disneyland Paris.
Further to my last post, after having a dire day out at Alton Towers, I wrote to customer services and made a complaint about the queuing times etc, and although I didn't get any form of compensation I did at least receive a written apology off the customer services manager. If enough people take the time to write in and complain, then perhaps Alton Towers might actually get round to sorting out some of the problems. The power of change is in your hands people.
From vj ali
Posted August 30, 2005 at 6:14 AM
From vj ali
Posted August 30, 2005 at 5:52 AM
Hi all. My family and I visited Alton Towers (again) last Saturday. We spent the Friday night in the resort's Splash Landings Hotel which at first sight appeared very nicely themed. However once in our room we realised what a very basic place it was. We paid 202 Pounds just to stay there for 1 night which in hindsight was a rip-off. Entry to the theme park was extra. Although the water park was absolutley superb, it involved a lot of standing in line to go on the slides. Before you could line up for the slides, you had to line up for a rubber ring which had to be used (of which there was a very limited supply). Also they had some bizarre rule about not being allowed on some parts of the water park unless you had rings with the name of a famous soap company endorsed on them!
Getting something to eat in the evening was a nightmare. They were charging 18 Pounds per person to eat from a buffet. We decided to drive off the resort for an evening meal.
The theme park was fun although there were long lines on some of the rides. The park closing at 6.30pm did not help matters.
Ive already entered my trip report on Alton Towers...I think Thorpe Park is alot better. The admission cost is less, sure there isnt as many thrill rides but the ques are alot shorter. Also its never as busy.
From Gaz Wilson
Posted November 4, 2005 at 9:43 AM
Went last week and i must say im seriously considering never going again.
1)Two of the top rides were broken down a majority of the day.
2)One of the cars on one of the thrill rides smelt of sick leaving 10 of us very naushous
3)Ride times were ridiculas.
4)Overall very unclean park.
5)Lack of communication between staff, very unorginised and very agressive at times.(This in itself is the biggest problem with the park imo as the imployees reflect that of the companys image)
6)Food and drink very expensive.
7)Car Park fees when already paying to get into any venue is disgusting. Makes me think there just making u pay for monorail costs.
8)Underage drinking and drug taking was witnessed.
9)Poor location.
10)No fast pass was advertised or offered when buying tickets online nor were they on sale at the gate on entry to the park.
Alton Towers need to sort their heads out! The rides are great, the place is very, very unprofessional.
I think they shouldnt have a limit on how many people because i'd b proper annoyed if i went all tht way and they said you cant get in
Everyone stop moaning about Alton towers. its great. In a place that big someone will have a bad day and find something to moan about. If you dont like quing go there off season, if you don't like it at all shut up and go to sh*t Thrope park and waste your money, the only good thing there is collosus, i was ready to go home by lunch time. sorry but thorpe park doesn't compare to alton towers.
From Gareth H
Posted March 6, 2006 at 12:12 PM
Alton towers is the best theme park in the UK. Far superior to Thorpe Park, but Thorpe park has the location in it's favour. All it needs is a few really good rides.
Alton Towers has the Size to expand, although the local residents make its a really big issue (Understandably)..
I have fond memories of running from one side of the park to the other to get all the rides in in one day...
Does anyone know if anyone one a car on the golf game (Where you hit a ball onto the Island to get a hole in one). I tried, got it onto the Island but not in the Hole...
I love alton towers i dont see whats wrong with it. If you have such a problem with queing times DONT GO IN THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS. Avoid bank holidays.
the only reason there is a bad litter problem is cuz you moaners are droppin it.
I am a season pass holder, and it's not that bad for only £85 for the whole year.My ride count is as follows.
Spinball 20
Rita 15
Oblivion 29
Nemesis 19
Air 31
Beastie 10
Ripsaw 29
Blade 23
Corkscrew 11
Black Hole 55
It's Really Good Value
Have any of you been to Cariba Creek or the spa. Big on experience and full of fun with nowait times more than 10mins on peak days.
At the moment - i can't complain ... because the 2 times we went.. we got on absolutely tonnes:
1st time went:
Nemesis 2
Oblivion 2
Air 1
Rita - closed!
Spinball whizzer - 2
Ripsaw - 1
Corkscrew - 1
The flume - 1
River rapids - 1
Charlie choc factory ride - 1
and the second time we went .... lol - over 2 days
Rita - 4
Oblivion - 7
Nemesis - 5
Air - 3
ripsaw - 1
river rapids - 1
Hex - 2
Corkscrew - 1
Tea cups - 1
Spinball whizzer - 5
Duel - 1
Enterprise - 2
Submission - 1
The flume - 2
Minetrain ride - 1
that second one was over 2 days cos we stayed in hotel :) .. we would have go on a lot more rides on the 1st day if it wasn't for all the waiting we had to do with mam and alan lol ... the next day we got on loads - beautiful day too plus their were loads of schools that came on that day but we still had a mint day!
however - a lot of people have said that in the peak seasons - alton towers gets really bad with horrendous queue times ... so i have to agree that they should let a certain amount in .. but can you imagine ... travelling for miles and then being told you cannot come in .... i bet they would get a few complaints if they did that also ... so they probably wouldn't win either way
it is brilliant what they have done though - single riders queues and things like that .. priority passes ( love them! lol) .... it all helps towards shortening queue times.... and i should know i've had some experience of waiting hours at flamingo land! .. seriously ... for example... if velocity and nemesis had the same long queue length .... you'd get on velocity in an hour and nemesis in 10 minutes lol .. that;s how bad flamingo land is lol unless they've becomes more queue efficient since april.
I'd also like to add - i can't believe how big Alton Towers actually is - didn't expect that .. didn't expect it to be as beautiful as what it was either ....
I just wanted to add that I absolutely love Alton Towers .... everything about it is brilliant :) .. I'm so pleased we have a themepark like that here in the Uk .. it's a shame it's 3 hours away from me but the traffic isn't bad so it's an okay drive (well - okay for alan cos he's the driver!) ..... I said to my mam the first time we went in June .... There is absolutely nothing i could fault with this day apart from the fact that Rita was closed..... asolutely nothing.. normally - i come back from a themepark all tired and frustrated because of the unorganised/unwelcoming crap and staff that you have to put up with all day (Flamingo land in April - I'm actually not going back this year because i was apalled by the quality of the overall park, toilets and staff in relation to the 700 million pounds profit the owners made last year! surely there could have been a few more improvements apart from a couple of million rollercoaster .. come one )
however i didn't get that with Alton Towers .... there was nothing to stress about ..... it is natural to be waiting in queues at a themepark .... look at the UK population ... and with Alton Towers reputation .. it's not surprising it's busy .. atleast the owners are constantly trying to shorten queue times such as single riders, priority passes, fast track tickets (nemesis, air) ... varying closing times etc.....
you've just got to put queuing at the back of your mind and just enjoy the time you're spending with your friends/family while you're waiting .. and enjoy the ride - cos in alton towers ... it's worth the wait anyway :D
From Amy Byers
Posted January 7, 2011 at 8:21 AM
I don't know everyone see's the need to complain about Alton Towers. It is an amazing park, and my favourite in the UK. Been Loads of times and each time, the q's havent been too bad. Even in Peak Times.. one time, i was there 26th July a few years back and the q's werent that long, i think the longest was an hour wait. Last year, i went 22nd August 2010, and the longest wait in line was an hour and half, but understandable as it was Th13teen we were waiting for, which had only opened a few month previous, the rest were all fast, 20 minutes at most. Oblivion was fastest, 5 minute queing time! Now, the other thing i noticed was people complaining about wasps. Last year, there were wasps about but there was LOADS of wasps traps around and no one i knew got stung at all, and i was there will a big group of my family!
So, before you'se start complain about Alton Towers... you should really consider that it's an amazing theme park in it's on right, and that if you hate the q's, don't go in peak times...
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