Alton Towers Monday 22/09/2014

owlovethbl

Hey all,

I'm planning a trip to Alton Towers next Monday (22/09/2014) with some friends, and wanted to gauge how busy it's likely to be. Tripadvisor is full of people with horror stories of how busy the park was, and how they spend all day queueing and only got on four rides, but it seems they all either went in the summer holidays, or on a weekend, or both.

Has anyone gone to the park on an off-season weekday? I figured mid-September would be a good day to go because the kids are back in school and such. How busy was the park? What were the queues like? The Alton Towers app currently shows the queue times for all rides is less than 15m, apart from Smiler being 15-30m, which gives me hope that it won't be too bad. We definitely can't affort the speedy passes or whatever they're called lol!

We're having to buy our tickets on the day so we can use our BOGOF entry vouchers from Frankie & Benny's, 'cus damn tickets are expensive! I know that if you buy online you can enter the park at 9, but if you buy on the day you have to wait 'til 10, which leaves me wondering what time to turn up?

My current plan is to get there for 9am. Apparently it's a 20 minute walk from the car park to the entrance anyway, and I'd rather be hanging around outside the entrance for 40 minutes from 9:20 until 10, than sat in the car queueing to get in!

I've read the horror stories of people arriving between 9 and 10, only to have to queue for parking, train the the entrance and tickets for hours, and not get in the park 'til gone 12. Again I'm pretty sure that there reports come from people visiting at peak times, but I'm still scared!

Feedback from anyone who's been to the park about the same time of year previously about their experience would be awesome!

deanos

http://ridetimes.co.uk/

that will give you an idea of how busy it will be for rides, have a look in the middle of the day, , as its out of school holidays wont be that bad

SaLoGo

I've been mid-September on a weekday and we didn't queue for more than half an hour. If you get good weather it's a great time to go!

balletshoes

no - its even quieter if it rains !

Alton Towers on a weekday when the schools are not on holiday is a great day out.

owlovethbl

Cheers guys - any idea what time to turn up?

newbie1980

went last thursay max 1/2hr queues

id get there for around 9am get monrail over get tickets and get in

deanos

i haven't been for years, but always got there about 30 mins b4 the gates open at 10am , the monorail usually opens 30 mins b4 the main gates or it used to do anyhow

owlovethbl

newbie1980 wrote: »

went last thursay max 1/2hr queues

id get there for around 9am get monrail over get tickets and get in

Thanks man - did they let you in before 10, or did they make you wait?

balletshoes

owlovethbl wrote: »

Thanks man - did they let you in before 10, or did they make you wait?

they usually let you through the turnstiles and into the main street before 10am, but they don't let you into any of the ride areas until 10am.

owlovethbl

balletshoes wrote: »

they usually let you through the turnstiles and into the main street before 10am, but they don't let you into any of the ride areas until 10am.

Which ride would be best for someone who's never been on a roller coaster before? I'm thinking oblivion.

~Beanie~

Oblivion isn't really a roller coaster in my opinion, its just one drop and its all over in about 20 seconds.

Nemesis is my favourite although the Smiler is close behind.