Alton Towers vs Chessington or Thorpe Park

charis18uk

I have the opportunity for free tickets to either of the three parks listed above. I can't decide which to go to. My son is 9yrs old and although he likes adrenalin rides he avoids anything too extreme (he enjoyed legoland thrill rides).

Any advice anyone? Also considering fastrack and would like advice for this at any of the parks above.

Thanks in advance.

susancs

Thorpe Park is probably a bit too old for your lad, as my now 9 year couldn't find much to do there when we took out 13 year old and friends so luckily as we had Merlin passes we left after an hour and went to Chessington. Chessington is my favourite as it never seems as busy as the other parks and has the zoo bit. We went to AT for 5 days and found it Ok, things are not as close together as Chessington and queues were bigger 9apart from the day it rained heavily then hardly any queues.

Nikkisun

It depends on your son - mine is 9 and goes on everything at Thorpe Park and we now find that Chessington doesn't fill a whole day anymore.

How tall is he? If he's less than 1.4m then that will cut out a lot of what he is able to go on.

As a general rule of thumb Chessington is best with younger kids (under 1.4m), Thorpe Park best for thrillseekers (over 1.4m) and Alton Towers is the best all-rounder with a good mixture of attractions for all.

Poly,put_the_kettle_on

Cross TP off then if he's not a thrill seeker. I'd avoid it with a 9 year old anyway to be frank- lots and lots of often lairy teens, and it gets packed to the rafters.

Chessington if he likes animals too would be a good idea, or AT if you want a good all round mix- great rides, but far more space, atmosphere and things for you to do as a family.

I'd say it's a close call between AT and Chess for your needs, so maybe base the decision on travel?

charis18uk

Thanks for all the advice. Been mulling this over all day, and have decided to settle for a return trip to Legoland. I know that wasn't on the list but had initially discounted it has had already been but I think it's about right for my lad.

susancs

I don't know if this will influence your decision, but if you are planning to go soon to Legoland there is currently a big problem with wasps there, with signs up stating there is a problem. I just say that as my friend has an allergic reaction to wasps so has decided her and the family have to avoid Legoland until they manange to get the situation under control.