Opened to the public on April 13, 1860, as a country estate, Alton Towers has since become the second most visited theme park in England, attracting 2,300,000 visitors in 2023.
Throughout its long history, the park has changed ownership and management multiple times. Today, it is owned by a British real estate fund and managed by Merlin Entertainments.
Its most distinctive features are the vast green spaces, the sheer size of the park, and consequently, the large distances between its attractions.
After a few hours, I felt like I was at Parco Sigurtà, but with roller coasters inside—if you know what I mean.
Where is Alton Towers located?
Alton Towers is located about 100 km southeast of Manchester
What does it include?
Alton Towers Resort consists of:
- Alton Towers (the theme park)
- Alton Towers Waterpark
- Five on-site hotels
When is it open?
The Alton Towers season runs from March to early November, but many additional attractions, such as some hotels and the water park, have extended opening schedules.
I recommend visiting the official park website to check operating hours and download the park’s app, which will be very useful before and during your visit.
How much does Alton Towers cost?
The price of a one-day admission ticket to Alton Towers ranges from £30 to £50 per person.
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What are the themed areas of Alton Towers?
Alton Towers is divided into twelve themed areas, named as follows:
- Towers Street
- Katanga Canyon
- Gloomy Wood
- Forbidden Valley
- Adventure Land
- X-Sector
- Mutiny Bay
- The World of David Walliams
- Dark Forest
- CBeebies Land
- The Towers
- The Gardens
Towers Street
Along the path, there are the park’s frog-shaped fountains and a lawn where seasonal events take place.
Nearby is the first SkyRide station, a cable car that connects different parts of the park.
Close to the entrance, you will also find the monorail that transports guests from the five on-site hotels, the water park, and the parking areas to the theme park.
Katanga Canyon
Created in 1992, this African-themed land features two attractions.
Runaway Mine Train is a motorized family steel roller coaster that reaches a maximum speed of 36 km/h along a 305-meter-long track.
Congo River Rapids is a river rapids ride, inaugurated in 1986, the classic “tube ride” found in many theme parks.
Gloomy Wood
This is perhaps the darkest land in Alton Towers; the atmosphere is more somber and it hosts only one attraction.
The Curse at Alton Manor is a haunted house-themed dark ride with some interesting effects. It is an attraction that is appreciated for its simplicity. 
Forbidden Valley
Forbidden Valley is set in a “research facility” managed by the Phalanx organization, complete with actors animating the area.
The entire land revolves around an alien creature discovered during excavations that also unearthed some eggs.
The highlight attraction is undoubtedly Nemesis Reborn, an inverted coaster by B&M that originally opened in 1994 as the first coaster of its kind in Europe.
It underwent a major refurbishment in 2022-2023 and reopened at the beginning of 2024 to great fan acclaim.
With the same underlying theme, there is Nemesis Sub-Terra, a combination of a walkthrough and a drop tower. The experience focuses on the story of Nemesis and how some eggs were found underground in a Phalanx facility. 
In this land there is also a coaster that is not strongly related to the Nemesis storyline but still holds its own significance.
Galactica is a B&M flying coaster, originally opened as Air in 2002.
Air was vaguely themed as a peaceful landscape, in contrast to the “apocalyptic” look of Nemesis.
At that time, it was the first attraction of its kind built by B&M in the world and the first installed in Europe. 
Adventure Land
Adventure Land is a small family area featuring Spinball Whizzer, a spinning coaster inspired by a pinball machine where the ball is the vehicle that races around the machine.
The attraction originally had this name until 2010 when it was known as Sonic Spinball, until its renaming in 2016 after a contract with SEGA ended after six years. 
X-Sector
This land has a very specific theme; the entire area is a government facility tasked with conducting experiments on guests.
Here you will find two icons of Alton Towers, as well as attractions that appeal to park enthusiasts worldwide.
The Smiler is the coaster with the most inversions in the world! (14)
But it is not just the number that makes it remarkable; its theme, logo, music, and story also contribute.
This attraction is the crown jewel of the Ministry of Happiness, which uses this machine to make all its citizens happy, whether they like it or not.
Even the pre-opening advertising campaign was among the most viral in the world, from branding entire London Underground lines to dyeing flocks of sheep, and even installing the logo within the Big Ben clock! 
The other icon of this area is undoubtedly Oblivion.
This name might sound familiar, and rightly so, because this attraction is of the same type as the one in Gardaland, sharing the same name and even the same logo!
When it comes to economies of scale, Merlin knows how to do it.
However, there are some substantial differences compared to the Gardaland version: the cars are shorter, the layout consists solely of an almost vertical drop, and it features a black color scheme.
It remains the world’s first Dive Coaster. 
Mutiny Bay
Mutiny Bay is a family area with a pirate theme, opened in 2008.
Here you will find many classic family attractions, including a reimagined teacup ride with a pirate twist, a Splash Battle, and many fairground games.
Strangely, in this land there is also Wicker Man, a wooden coaster that in recent years has also become somewhat of a park symbol.
Costing £16,000,000, Wicker Man is very scenographic both inside and out, even featuring a pre-show complete with scent effects. 
The World of David Walliams
The World of David Walliams opened in May 2021 and is aimed at younger children aged between 7 and 11. It is based on the children’s books by David Walliams, the well-known English writer and television personality.
The only noteworthy attraction is Gangsta Granny, a family-friendly dark ride. 
Dark Forest
With a “haunted forest” theme, this land features two attractions with quite impressive characteristics.
Rita is a hydraulic launch coaster, very similar to Thorpe Park’s Stealth in terms of launch style, but here the track is much longer and twistier, and it operates at a lower speed.
Originally themed around drag racing, Rita is now used as a vehicle to escape from the haunted forest. 
The theme was later replaced by the introduction of TH13TEEN into this land, a coaster that is part dark ride and features a unique characteristic at the time of its inauguration.
It was the first coaster in the world to feature a vertical drop of both the train and the track. In Italy, we have something similar at CineCittà World within the Inferno attraction. 
CBeebies Land
CBeebies Land is based on the BBC’s children’s television channel, CBeebies, and opened on May 24, 2014. The area includes rides, shows, and interactive experiences based on CBeebies programs. 
The Towers – The Gardens
These two areas make up the central part of the park, where it all began.
The Towers are the ruins of the grand residence of Alton Towers and are the source of the park’s name. They belonged to the Talbot family as a manor until 1924 and were largely designed by Augustus Pugin, also known for his work on the Palace of Westminster. The Towers are now in a state of decay after decades of neglect. The ruins are open to the public for most of the operating season. However, some areas are closed as part of a £1.1 million project underway to restore the oldest parts of the Towers. The main areas of the Towers include the banquet hall, the chapel, the greenhouses, and Her Ladyship’s Gardens. 
Advice and Conclusion
The park is truly enormous, and the distances between attractions are off the charts for a European park.
I recommend planning a two-day visit because the operating hours are short even in high season; it makes sense to split your visit into two parts, with the right side of the park on the first day and the left side on the second day.
Being the second most visited park in England, crowd levels also play a crucial role. Make sure to check both national and local holidays—since there isn’t much in the area, many English people flock to the park on holidays.
