Alton Towers Resort Quick Questions

General discussion regarding the UK's No.1 Theme Park. Talk about anything and everything Alton Towers here.
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Swarm Chris

On Sunday evening Galactica was saying 60 on both ride times and the board, but was probably only 5. Meanwhile Nemesis was listing 5 minutes on both online and the board, but the entrances were all bolted up and padlocked for the night. :roll:
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Justin
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It is certainly a tool which should be used though, especially on peak days. :)
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AltonOperator
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Location: Exactly 65.38 miles from Nemesis' entrance

The queue for Rita once said 5 minutes when it had been broken down for half an hour leading to swarms of people descending on the area and them all being turned away. On the same day I got in a 5 minute queue for Nemesis, only to wait 80 minutes.

In my experience all the times have been wildly inaccurate except for Wicker Man.
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Thanks Jack
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swfc96
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As a season pass holder, does the £10 upgrade for exclusion dates include Scarefest? It would be nice to only have to pay £10 entry + £20 for scare mazes rather than the £50 combi... 
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lewis97
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swfc96 wrote:As a season pass holder, does the £10 upgrade for exclusion dates include Scarefest? It would be nice to only have to pay £10 entry + £20 for scare mazes rather than the £50 combi... 
Yes, it’s possible for Season Passholders to book the £10 extra day tickets for Scarefest (and Fireworks) dates online.
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swfc96
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lewis97 wrote:
swfc96 wrote:As a season pass holder, does the £10 upgrade for exclusion dates include Scarefest? It would be nice to only have to pay £10 entry + £20 for scare mazes rather than the £50 combi... 
Yes, it’s possible for Season Passholders to book the £10 extra day tickets for Scarefest (and Fireworks) dates online.
Awesome, thank you very much!  :) 
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HoneyBagel
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Does anyone know if there's an age restriction to going alone (without a parent, basically) to Alton?
And also if there is any public transport I'd be able to catch to get there?
My grandparents live - give or take - an hour away and I'd really like to go there more, but my mother moves so slowly around the park so we only get to do a handful of rides, not to mention she doesn't even want to go on the majority. Since she's the only way I know how to get there I'm not really sure of any options I have with it.
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lewis97
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HoneyBagel wrote:Does anyone know if there's an age restriction to going alone (without a parent, basically) to Alton?
And also if there is any public transport I'd be able to catch to get there?
The answer to this FAQ suggests anyone over the age of 12 can enter without being accompanied by someone over 18.

Public transport to Towers isn't great, however there is a bus route that serves Stoke-on-Trent train station and Hanley bus station, although the page on the First website seems to imply it's only running until September 2nd.
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HoneyBagel
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lewis97 wrote:
HoneyBagel wrote:Does anyone know if there's an age restriction to going alone (without a parent, basically) to Alton?
And also if there is any public transport I'd be able to catch to get there?
The answer to this FAQ suggests anyone over the age of 12 can enter without being accompanied by someone over 18.

Public transport to Towers isn't great, however there is a bus route that serves Stoke-on-Trent train station and Hanley bus station, although the page on the First website seems to imply it's only running until September 2nd.
Cheers for the quick reply, I'll look some more on options for public transport and see what I can find :)
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daniel.jones
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Hi all,

I will be visiting Alton on the 24th of August last went four years ago!

Very excited but this year is the first time I'm driving there beforehand, what time is best to get to the car parks? I have been reading reviews and seen some people have parked up about 9:50 and not got into the park till 11!

I have tickets already so will scan and go in so maybe this will be quicker than the above BUT I'm also considering buying a fast pass to ensure I get on all the rides so I will have to queue to collect this the same queue as tickets?

Is the fast pass worth it this year?

Thanks!
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Robert.W
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Not sure about the car park situation. Depends how busy the park is and how quickly the admissions kiosks are processing people. If you have prebooked tickets (printed out, so you can scan them at the turnstiles), you should be able to go straight into the park, so that's one less queue to wait in. Many of the people complaining of the long wait to get into the park will probably have bought tickets on the day. If you prebook Fastrack, you can collect that from the Box Office on Towers Street when you enter the park (big green building on the right hand side).

Hope that helps :)
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Mikw
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daniel.jones wrote:Hi all,

I will be visiting Alton on the 24th of August last went four years ago!

Very excited but this year is the first time I'm driving there beforehand, what time is best to get to the car parks? I have been reading reviews and seen some people have parked up about 9:50 and not got into the park till 11!

I have tickets already so will scan and go in so maybe this will be quicker than the above BUT I'm also considering buying a fast pass to ensure I get on all the rides so I will have to queue to collect this the same queue as tickets?

Is the fast pass worth it this year?

Thanks!
Regarding the car park situation, walking instead of the monorail should save you some time. If there's a barcode on your tickets you can skip the queues on the booths (usually) and just scan them at the turnstiles. If they don't work then go to one of the turnstile staff. They sometimes have a stash of tickets on them and they'll swap you with one rather than getting you to go to the booths.
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Nynaeve
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Does anyone know the current exclusions for pink priority passes?
The one I have lists Nemesis, Oblivion and Rita and says "excludes Wicker Man and rides in CBeebies Land".
Does this mean that Galactica and the Smiler are included despite not being listed or excluded because they are not mentioned specifically?
Thanks in advance :)
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Justin
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If it is a pass for any 1.4m ride then you are fine :)
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Nynaeve
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Thanks Justin!  I was hoping that was the case!
I've not had one for a few years (we're not local so don't get down as often as I'd like) but I remember they used to specifically say they exclude the Smiler and Galactica on the back so guessing this has been updated now there's a new ride in town!
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Justin
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As long as it says valid for any 1.4m rise then just use the Fastrack entrance as usual :)
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altonmaniac1
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I’m heading to the towers next Thursday and need to go to see the chained oak for my media coursework. Does anybody know how to get to it and where to park etc?
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Loakin
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altonmaniac1 wrote:I’m heading to the towers next Thursday and need to go to see the chained oak for my media coursework. Does anybody know how to get to it and where to park etc?
Going up the hill to the entrance to the park from the Alton village, you'll pass the chained oak b&b. Next to the B&B is a path way leading to the chained oak

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If you don't know where the b&b is, it's next to the road entrance to X-Sector

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altonmaniac1
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Thank you very much. I really appreciate it
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Philuk
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Hi all,

Does anyone know if there are any discount codes for short breaks during October half term?

Thinking of going for one night and wanted to double check that booking via the website direct is the best deal.

Cheers
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