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Reviews

• Good but lost its sparkle

  TomO406,May 4, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  3.00

  This is still my favourite theme park despite some of its recent short comings. It feels as though Merlin has fallen out of love it. In parts it feels unloved and slightly neglected. The gardens are spectacular but often forgotten by visitors and in parts they are overgrown hiding some of the many waterfalls. The rides are still good but many smaller 'fun' rides have gone like the Retro squad rides that added a bit of variety, the areas they once occupied are now abandoned. it all looks a bit unloved. The Dungeons have gone, the Skyride is permanently broken, the River Rapids will only operate May to September but are still out of service at the time of writing in May and I cant see them keeping them next year. The Curse at Alton Tower is usually brilliant but most features are not working or in complete darkness, again a lack of maintenance or interest. The indoor theatre is also closed and has been for 10+years. No more street performers. The magic has gone and it feels like they're planning on closing it or selling it off. Either way it needs some much needed energy and investment putting back into it. Its still a good day out but it needs some life injecting into it. On my visit many rides were closed so you I managed to do the whole park in about 5 hours including lunch and the gardens.

• An exhilarating day out

  jamesaZ154MS,May 4, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  We went just after half term had ended and had a great day out at Alton Towers. We managed to get on most rides without too much of a wait, and there's a good mix ranging from rapid thrill rides to gentler attractions as well. The food is about what you'd expect from a UK theme park in terms of quality and price, but there were a few more vegetarian options than you might expect. When we went the cable car was down, so there was a lot more walking than expected, but it gave us a chance to experience the gardens that are well-worth a visit!

• Waste of money

  hottraxsound,May 4, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  The worst experience ever !, the rides have ridiculous wait times , if there not broken down. Total waste of money. Can’t even get a refund, managed to get on three rides . The food and drink prices are pure exploitation. Unable to recommend in any possible way

• It felt exhilarating on most of the rides but Rita is a little bit fast for me and probably for you guys two

  danielvO2262ZT,May 3, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  I loved it especially as my first time on a roller coaster I recommend alton towers there was no one crying or anything just everyone having fun

  

• Getting much better still needs to improve

  Sherpa55207886671,May 2, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  We visted alton towers for a day on our first offpeak trip from 2 hours away beacuse of one single thing... dont...look...down. this audio was finally added back to oblivion! We headed straight for x sector home to the smiler and oblivion and we rode oblivion first. I cried hearing dont look down for the first time, i am extremely happy this is back and i love this improvment, tits the little things that matter most!... My gripe with oblivion however is sadly the hold on the drop track was not extended again like it used to be and the track needs to be repainted black again like in 2013. That takes us onto our next coaster and the best one in the uk at that.. THE SMILER!! The smiler is running pretty well this year, it felt great, the only uncomfortable part was the third to last inversion.. but sadly there are a lot more negatives than positives this year with smiler. The orignal audio in the projection room, halfway corrected and the gates in the station are missing still, this was very disappointing considering oblivions was added back, I expected the smilers audio to be back too, especially with the rumours and talk of correction making a come back to the ride which is much much needed. I think I would explode with excitement if that happened. The next issues are with the marmaliser structure, the effects are just broken as always, a massive shame considering that’s part of the rides storyline abour Marmalisation and correction via the marmaliser legs. The legs themselves have lost their shiny vinyl look on the legs, I guess Alton towers forgot to add that back when refurbishing it which is a really low quality look considering the smilers a futuristic device in the lore The smiler track is AWFUL probbaly the worst in the park, a shiny glossy repaint is definitely needed! Finally in the smiler shop the music is too quiet and the tv videos are broken with no video or audio playing, queueline screen is also broke smiler needs a lot of love, my suggestions of what to do in order would be: Add back all corrected video, audio and signage, it being gone is a major issue and is a big reason for so much disappoint for me and others. Considering the intense Marmalisation, needle imagry brain wipe theming has returned, correction definitely should and I expect it too soon. My next is to fix the shop tvs and audio, then fix the marmaliser effects and make it shiny and finally, a full repaint of the smiler and oblivion to restore them both to their former glory. A longer hold on oblivion too. also, the sign showing marmaliser effects should be restored now that the neelde imagry and marmalisation is back, im going to attach a picture of the orignal sign, the innoculator is the one too change back. I simply can’t give a 5 star review to Alton towers without the smilers old audio being returned, as I said with oblivion, the little things matter the most. Next on the list is nemesis, I have no complaints at all, It’s new, it’s shiny and it looks fantastic, I wouldn’t say it’s better than the smiler but it’s second best for sure! Galactica needs a retheme or needs to go! Not much else I can say.. As for Wickerman, it’s running amazingly and the super intense horror theming is fantastic and I love it to bits. Overall it was a good day, operations are great, old audios returning and more I love the improvments but I can’t give it the 5 stars until other issues are sorted. I adore Alton towers and the smiler is still my absolute favourite, that world record breaking psychological horror ride has gotten me through a lot of troubles in my life and it genuinely makes me so happy, it means so much to me. I would say focus on that ride for now, it needs a lot of improvement with the audio, signage and state of the ride itself. It’s the absolute best ride and I never ever want it to leave the park! I hope Alton towers feels my passion for their fantastic rides and restores the much needed magic once again. i hope your response shows passion and care if you do respond. Love you so much, Alton Towers, but please restore our amazing correctional device known as The Smiler back ❤️ PS: Please also add actors to major rides! nemesis actors were a blessing PS PS: I attached images of some older pictures compared with newer ones to hopefully help

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Don’t bother with CBeebies with a toddler!

  143rachaelb,May 1, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  2.00

  Went specifically for CBeebies land for our 2 year old who loves all the shows but as she was 0.89cms we were unable to go on 95% of the rides as they have a 0.9cm restriction on most. This was fine and we understood but still, very little for her to do instead - very disappointed little girl. We expected more, especially as she had been allowed on lots of similar rides at other theme parks. Lots of rides were also closed or not open yet, despite saying open in May. Super expensive as expected, £4 for most things minimum. What we found most frustrating was the lack of guidance/directions to get into the park from the car park! We had no idea where to go/which entrance to use/where the monorail was and ended up spending so much time walking the wrong way then turning round again! No one available to ask either!

• Terrible experience

  beckysC1186QY,Apr 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  What could have been a lovely family experience, has been completely ruined by the complete lack of ownership and communication from Alton Towers. We stayed here in March over two days to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. We made full use of our time, booking the water park, hotel and restaurants as well as the theme park itself. On our final day we headed to CBeebies land, and as the weather was nice we headed over to the outdoor play area. It was busy at the time with lots of families occupying the seats and overseeing their children from the fence line, so we proceeded to so the same. When we later moved, we were highlighted to the fact we had bright green wet gloss paint on our clothing. No warning signs were in place to say there was wet paint. We went to the customer services on the day to report our damaged clothing, and they took details and advised the would be in contact about compensation for replacing the items. To be cautious and for my own records, I followed up with an email outlining the facts again the following day. I have since emailed on two other occasions and have had no response other than one passive acknowledgement of my email. This had damaged over £300 worth of clothing that we only want to replace with like for like items, we’re not greedy or asking for any more than this. A swift resolution would have been so much better for a large ‘professional’ company like Merlin. Why bother having a customer service department if nothing is addressed? So frustrated by this whole experience. It put a damper on the whole trip and we are now left even further out of pocket.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• It ain’t what it used to be

  bionicfrank,Apr 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  3.00

  First time at Alton towers in about 10 years. You now have to pay for parking, most of the places to eat were closed and several rides were either closed or broken at various points in the day. Paid for express parking. It’s off to the right on your way in but make sure you’re in the second lane. I didn’t and only spotted the car park as I approached. Indicated and started turning right when a Range Rover almost took me out. In fairness largely my fault but terrible signage. Monorail was down for much of the day. Rita was out of action twice. Water rapids closed etc. it just felt very pricey for what you now get. Parking. Silver fast track etc. pricey underwhelming food. We enjoyed but the shine has gone and I left feeling I think this is my last ever visit

• One of the best theme parks ever

  Lakhi S,Apr 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  I have real nostalgic love for Alton Towers. I’ve been around 12-14 times and have always had a great time. The rides are excellent, you can tell money is invested to keep the attractions looking thematic and well kept. The only thing I find really disappointing is the cost of parking. It used to be £3 a day and now it’s £15. I know everything is expensive but it’s just a car park, come on. Give us something free at least!

• Worth a midweek visit to avoid the crowds

  Obi Mart Kenobi,Apr 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had an excellent time, lovely clean park, amazing rides (we travelled for nearly 5hrs each way with an overnight stay nearby) and it was throughly worth it. Staff were friendly mostly, and the rides were mainly operating, with other a few with downtimes. We visited midweek in late April, after Easter but before May bank holiday and there were hardly any queue times. Areally great experience, but glad we avoided the weekend crowds

  

  

  

  

  

  
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