Early Ride Time (ERT) at Alton Towers Resort is a benefit offered to annual pass holders, Hotel guests and those who book tickets online. It allows access to the theme park from 9am (an hour before regular visitors), with a selection of rides and attractions being open exclusively for this hour.
Throughout the season it is not unheard of for the park to make small alterations to the lineup, which is usually dictated by attraction availability and accessibility. For example, during the construction of The Smiler, Oblivion was removed from the ERT system, to allow access for construction teams. For the majority of the 2014 season the Early Ride Time attractions have been as follows:
- Duel
- Heave Ho
- Marauder’s Mayhem
- Nemesis
- Runaway Mine Train
- Sharkbait Reef
- The Blade
- Oblivion
However, from Friday 25th July 2014 to 31st August the park have today announced that the ERT list will be changing. The new list now consists of:
X Sector
- The Smiler
- Oblivion
- Enterprise
CBeebies Land
- Postman Pat’s Parcel Post
- In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride
- Mr Bloom’s Allotment
- Get Set Go Tree Top Adventure
- Something Special Sensory Garden
- Justin’s House Pie-O-Matic Factory
- Nina’s Science Lab
- Charlie & Lola’s Moonsquirters and Greendrops
- The Numtums Number-Go-Round
- Tree Fu Tom Training Camp
- Big Fun Show Time
- CBeebies Photo Studio
These changes mean that Early Ride Time will be confined to two areas of the park (X-Sector and CBeebies Land), and should offer a broad mix of attractions for guests of all ages. It is speculated that by opening The Smiler an hour earlier a significant number of guests will be able to ride first thing in the morning, hopefully reducing the queue length during the day from 10am onwards.
What are your thoughts on this temporary amendment to the Early Ride Time system? You can have your say over on our TowersStreet Talk forum. Also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news and developments on this, and any other changes around the Alton Towers Resort. For more information on ERT, check out our TowersStreet guide to Early Ride Time.
