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Is it worth booking 2 days at the park?

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tactic

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Wickerman
I'm planning to go to Alton Towers after my exams this summer with a few mates and was wondering what they best option was.

I live close to Thorpe Park so it is a 3 hour journey to get to Towers so its only something I want to do once this year as I have to get up at around 6am so I can get to park before opening. The option I am considering is going down for about 9:30am one day (so we can get through security etc. before 10am), staying all day at the park then booking a night in the hotel and doing the next day at the park too. Would that be worthwhile or would we be able to get all the rides done in one day? I'm assuming the park would be slightly less busy as it isn't the summer holidays yet but I'm sure many people, like me, who have just finished their exams would be at Towers. I do have a Merlin Pass so for me I don't think it would be too expensive, but the hotel is still fairly expensive even with the holiday club discount and my mates would also have to pay for 2 days park entery.

So would it be worth booking 2 days at Towers, staying in the hotel overnight so we can definitly get on everything. Or is it a possibility to get all of the park done in one day (I'm fairly skilled at avoiding queues, park tactics etc.) if we plan the day very well in advance to avoid queues.

Thanks for the help in advance!
 
When are you thinking specifically? July, before the schools break up will be packed as it always is. It is school trip season and the place will be swarming with thousands of school kids - 90min - 2hr queues for the coasters is not out of the ordinary.

In terms of staying over, will you be driving? If so don't bother with the onsite options, save yourselves some cash and stay in the local area - there are lots of cheaper and quite frankly better options than the park's hotels these days.
 
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Personally I think it’s always worth booking two days at a good sized park that you have to travel some distance to get to and especially so if it’s your first time visiting. You’ll have plenty of time for re rides and taking things at a more relaxed pace rather than feeling that you have to rush to get everything done in one day. It’s also worth bearing in mind that ride availability has been a problem at times this year so that’s something to consider when weighing up whether or not to spend one day or two at the park.

As the hotel an alternative to staying on site is to have a look the Premier Inn and Travelodge hotels in the wider area (ie Stoke, Derby, etc) and driving in to the park in the morning as that can work out a lot cheaper you’ll get a good breakfast in those places as well. And if you want to be very near to the park then the Chained Oak is frequently mentioned here.
 
AT86 said:
When are you thinking specifically? July, before the schools break up will be packed as it always is. It is school trip season and the place will be swarming with thousands of school kids - 90min - 2hr queues for the coasters is not out of the ordinary.
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Exams finish at the end of June so probably w/c 26th June or w/c 3rd July, I don't think the park should be packed by then, but it might be more busy than normal (i've don't know towers that well but thorpe is usally quite busy by this time).

Unfortunatly, we're not going to be driving so off park hotels might be slightly more difficult. Is there public transport to get to any of the nearby hotels, or is it not worth it at that point?
Shaggy_Dog_ said:
It’s also worth bearing in mind that ride availability has been a problem at times this year so that’s something to consider when weighing up whether or not to spend one day or two at the park.
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By ride availability do you mean downtime on rides or do you mean some rides completely shut for multiple days?
 
tactic said:
Unfortunatly, we're not going to be driving so off park hotels might be slightly more difficult. Is there public transport to get to any of the nearby hotels, or is it not worth it at that point?
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The Chained Oak B&B is walking distance from the gates of the park. But it’s up to you if you prefer that to the park hotels.
 
I'm looking at the Stargazing Pods at Towers, they seem reasonable price being £90 a night for 2 people with the Merlin holiday club discount. Do they also come with breakfast included, or would I have to pack my own if we are staying there?

Also if I stay in one of the hotels on park, would we be able to drop bags off at the hotel/accomodation both days so we don't have to carry them around all day?
 
tactic said:
I'm looking at the Stargazing Pods at Towers, they seem reasonable price being £90 a night for 2 people with the Merlin holiday club discount. Do they also come with breakfast included, or would I have to pack my own if we are staying there?

Also if I stay in one of the hotels on park, would we be able to drop bags off at the hotel/accomodation both days so we don't have to carry them around all day?
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Pods come with a breakfast bap and hot drink.
 
Ok, nice. Seems staying in one of those might be a good choice as the free mini golf thing also will give us something to do in the evening.

Thanks for the help on this everyone!
 
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