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Best and Worst theme parks to get to by public transport

Ted

Ted

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As someone who doesn't drive, I normally tend to get public transport when going to a theme park, some are easy, others not so much. So I was interested to see what parks (mainly in the UK, but you can include anywhere in the world) are a pain to get to by Public transport and which aren't?

From my experience, Chessington is very easy to get to. Just get on a train to Chessington South and you have the option of a 10 minute walk or a 2 minute bus ride. The hardest I've done is Alton, Although there's some in the UK which look like a pain to get to when you can't drive.
 
Toverland is a nightmare unless you take a cab from the nearest Dutch railway station!

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For people in the South East I imagine Disney and Asterix are easier than almost any UK park north of London.

For me Chessington and BPB are the best, followed by DMP. Those are pretty much the only 3 that I can get to by train alone. Thorpe is next as they have the shuttle bus, with Legoland not far behind. Towers is possible but highly inconvenient due to the terrible bus services.

I probably wouldn't attempt to get to any other UK park without driving or getting a lift at least part way.
 
John said:
For people in the South East I imagine Disney and Asterix are easier than almost any UK park north of London.
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It is. For instance I've been to DLP more times than Alton because it's a lot easier to get to from where I live. Not to mention it's slightly quicker as well from my expericnes
 
It's not bad by car- it's only about 2 roads for me! But if you're taking public transport, forget it.
 
All the seaside ones are usually right next to bus stops, but maybe not all train stations with the exception of Blackpool? Alton Towers has to be one of the worst.

And as a very naughty off-topic addition, I'm currently listening to The 2nd Law, Nick.
 
Pleasurewood Hills, Train to Lowestoft, Transfer to the bus station, then 10,15 minutes bus ride on the 601/601A, 1/1A X1, although 601A would be best as it takes you to the car park
 
I don't think Alton towers is that bad to get to upon public transport, I think there is a bus straight from stoke station to Alton towers
 
There is a bus but it's far from convenient - there are only a few buses in each direction daily, and during scarefest the last bus back is well before park close.

As for Pleasurewood Hills, the train to Lowestoft alone would take me nearly 5 hours from Birmingham. Can't see myself making a trip there in the near future!
 
Eddie said:
It is. For instance I've been to DLP more times than Alton because it's a lot easier to get to from where I live. Not to mention it's slightly quicker as well from my experiences
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Its scary that its quicker to get to a park in another country, and just shows how shocking the transport links are. Maybe a little harsh, as Alton do not have the funds or infrastructure influence to get a high speed rail link built to its front door, but there is still a lot of improvements Towers could make to improve its accessibility from public transport point of view.

The bus service is shocking, and I remember waiting longer in the past for the bus, than the train journey I had just been on.

Ian
 
Poison Tom 96 said:
LWV is a bit of a nightmare to get to by the looks of things....
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Personally, I've got public transport to LWV on several occasions from York and it's not impossible but it does involve a couple of changes. However it is worth it :)
 
John said:
For people in the South East I imagine Disney and Asterix are easier than almost any UK park north of London.
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Then again, they're probably closer to you as well. Being a different country shouldn't stop you ;).

Easiest park by far I believe is Chessington in UK. Hardest? Oakwood seems pretty damn difficult.
 
Tom said:
All the seaside ones are usually right next to bus stops, but maybe not all train stations with the exception of Blackpool? Alton Towers has to be one of the worst.
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Blackpool's bus station is a short walk from the tramline however, which go directly to the park entrance. (Saying that, its helpful when the Pleasure Beach has its own train platform)

Speaking from experience, Alton Towers is extremely difficult to get to without a car/organised coach. It can be done, but isn't really practical. :(
 
Towers isn’t that bad to be honest, for me it is usually 2-3 changes to get from Donny to Uttoxeter station (Uttox box) and the bus arrives at the station in time with the train arriving, simples. And it usually takes less time than to drive.
 
Easiest:

Legoland Billund - Fly to Billund from Stansted. Then £5 taxi to the park.

Hardest:

Lightwater Valley
 
I wouldn't count anything that can't be sorted either on the day or the night before as easy!

Even though Legoland Billund is easy from the airport, any trip that requires a flight is automatically more difficult than a simple rail journey due to all the faff and pre-planning that flying entails. That leaves DLP and Asterix as the only international parks I would consider easy, as they can be accessed without flying.
 
Getting to Towers by public transport isn't too bad when the timetable's on your side. I visited Towers many times during the 2011 season using the infamous Stoke buses, and whilst it took a while, it wasn't terrible. I agree they should provide better transport links though.

Even for me, it is actually fewer transport changes to get to Disneyland Paris than it is to get to Towers! And it wouldn't take that much longer, really.
 
For me one of the worst would probably be oakwood as it's one hell of a drive and that's why I've not even attempted it yet. Towers is easy just get to Mansfield then it's sign posted from there although I've not needed the sign posts since the age of 11 to get there, photographic memory FTW. Although DLP is easy too get my lovely parents to drop me off at Retford train station then a train to Kings Cross then on the Eurostar, it's not too bad of a holiday if you take the cheap train that changes a Lille for a TGV for the last bit of your journey.
 
I can get the bus outside my house to Wicksteed... Not that in my entire time of living here have I ever done that.

MY HEAD.
 
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