Where to start at Alton Towers!

[bex]

Hey Guys,

So i am going to Alton Towers on Saturday and I get to go in at 9am. I was wondering where is it best to start before the park gets too busy. Is it best to go on the smiler and oblivion and rita?

Love,
Bex

 

[smudge]

The Smiler doesn't open till 10, so you have 2 options:

• Head straight to Oblivion, have a few re-rides then get in the que for The Smiler just BEFORE 10am
• Head to Forbidden Valley via Katanga Canyon, then get an early morning RMT ride, then head to nemesis for some ride-whoring till 10 then do air and all other FV attractions after 10am.

If you go for option 1, then its probably best to head to Rita / Thirteen after The Smiler as these get very busy quickly.

 

[Burbs]

I usually whore my Blivvy at 9. Get at least 5 rides in before 10, then depending on The Smiler queue, I may go on that. Then do the rest of the park as I please, and finish the day in FV.

FV is very quiet in the last hour of opening as it's probably the furthest area away from the entrance and people want to get back.

Then it's woodland walk for me back to the hotel for a drink, then back home!

 

[TheMan]

I can't do Smiler first thing lol!!

I do however head over to Forbidden Valley and usually manage about 7 goes on Nemesis. Especially if I've gone up on my own. And that's usually in the last 15 mins of ERT at most, plus a few quiet minutes at park opening (because I hate getting up early lol!!)

If you got to Nemmy at just after 9 I reckon you could get 20 rides in on a quietish day if they are running quickly before it starts to get busier just after normal park opening.

(I admit though, that does involve some utterly scandalous running around the queue which I am not ashamed to admit I do ;D)

 

[Burbs]

I can't do Smiler first thing lol!!

I do however head over to Forbidden Valley and usually manage about 7 goes on Nemesis. Especially if I've gone up on my own. And that's usually in the last 15 mins of ERT at most, plus a few quiet minutes at park opening (because I hate getting up early lol!!)

If you got to Nemmy at just after 9 I reckon you could get 20 rides in on a quietish day if they are running quickly before it starts to get busier just after normal park opening.

(I admit though, that does involve some utterly scandalous running around the queue which I am not ashamed to admit I do ;D)

Hence why I love how close the single rider queue is to the exit! And especially how the SRQ is literally a few steps up.

 

[TheMan]

Hence why I love how close the single rider queue is to the exit! And especially how the SRQ is literally a few steps up.

Spot on dude!! ;D

I did once ride Nemesis far far too many times in a row though and give myself a nose bleed lol!!!

 

[Burbs]

Hence why I love how close the single rider queue is to the exit! And especially how the SRQ is literally a few steps up.

Spot on dude!! ;D

I did once ride Nemesis far far too many times in a row though and give myself a nose bleed lol!!!

What's your record?

 

[TheMan]

Hence why I love how close the single rider queue is to the exit! And especially how the SRQ is literally a few steps up.

Spot on dude!! ;D

I did once ride Nemesis far far too many times in a row though and give myself a nose bleed lol!!!

What's your record?

I can't remember, it's a lot. I think in a day it was well over 30 IIRC.

 

[GaryH]

Blivvy first, then Rita and Thirteen. I always leave the Smiler until the end of the day tbh

 

[SomeCrazyPerson]

Well, I always seem to end up on Air and Nemmy first, but I would listen to everyone else I mean, I may be a total and utter fangirl, but I have only been to AT 5 times before so...

 

[Rollercoasters4Life]

My route is in order:

X-Sector - Oblivion (a few time during ERT), wait 10/15 minutes for The Smiler to open at 10 and ride that (maybe a second ride on The Smiler heavily dependant on the queue length)

Dark Forest - Rita first then Th13teen with multiple rides on both if the queues are short (depending on day)

Skyride over to Forbidden Valley

Forbidden Valley - Ripsaw, Air, Nemesis, Blade, Sub Terra (multiple rides on Air & Nemesis if the queues are short)

Gloomy Wood - Duel

Katanga Canyon - RMT, Rapids

Mutiny Bay - The Flume, Sharkbait Reef, Marauders Mayhem

Adventure Land - Sonic Spinball

Then go back to whatever you want after that if you have time. Can get all rides done (some multiple times) like above on a quiet day as I did last Friday (9th May). On a Saturday like you going I'm not so sure. If I was you I would play it safe and only go on each ride once just to make sure you get everything/most things done on your trip. At a push if a ride has no queue then jump back on.

 

[smudge]

My route is in order:

X-Sector - Oblivion (a few time during ERT), wait 10/15 minutes for The Smiler to open at 10 and ride that (maybe a second ride on The Smiler heavily dependant on the queue length)

Dark Forest - Rita first then Th13teen with multiple rides on both if the queues are short (depending on day)

Skyride over to Forbidden Valley

Forbidden Valley - Ripsaw, Air, Nemesis, Blade, Sub Terra (multiple rides on Air & Nemesis if the queues are short)

Gloomy Wood - Duel

Katanga Canyon - RMT, Rapids

Mutiny Bay - The Flume, Sharkbait Reef, Marauders Mayhem

Adventure Land - Sonic Spinball

Then go back to whatever you want after that if you have time. Can get all rides done (some multiple times) like above on a quiet day as I did last Friday (9th May). On a Saturday like you going I'm not so sure. If I was you I would play it safe and only go on each ride once just to make sure you get everything/most things done on your trip. At a push if a ride has no queue then jump back on.

That is IDENTICAL to my route apart from I tend to sneak Hex in after Th13teen. You can normally get the above done before 12 on quiet to medium days. The start and the end of the days are always the best (understandably) for getting a good ride count, so always be early, and stay late. In the middle of the day I tend to wander round the Gardens, have a few drinks in the tavern, or even wander back to the hotels for a bite.

As someone has already mentioned, Forbidden Valley tends to be quiet at the end of the day, so grab a few last goes on nemesis before using the woodland walk to get back to the Hotels/Car park. Its probably no further than walking back to the main entrance.

 

[Rollercoasters4Life]

As someone has already mentioned, Forbidden Valley tends to be quiet at the end of the day, so grab a few last goes on nemesis before using the woodland walk to get back to the Hotels/Car park. Its probably no further than walking back to the main entrance.

How can you not end the day walking back up Towers Street? For me it sort of seals up the trip and I like to have a look in the shop (even though it mostly the same stuff each time) and then one final look down Towers Street toward the Towers themselves before I depart out of the turnstiles.

Love looking down Towers Street to the Towers at the end of the day, something so special that most theme parks don't have.

 

[jon81uk]

As someone has already mentioned, Forbidden Valley tends to be quiet at the end of the day, so grab a few last goes on nemesis before using the woodland walk to get back to the Hotels/Car park. Its probably no further than walking back to the main entrance.

How can you not end the day walking back up Towers Street? For me it sort of seals up the trip and I like to have a look in the shop (even though it mostly the same stuff each time) and then one final look down Towers Street toward the Towers themselves before I depart out of the turnstiles.

Love looking down Towers Street to the Towers at the end of the day, something so special that most theme parks don't have.

Well except all the Disney parks

It is the main thing missing at Chessington really (at least Thorpe has the dome), they don't really have a nice exit.

But I must admit I do like it at fireworks at Alton Towers when they open up the big gates by Air, means you can get that last ride in the dark on Nemesis and not have to go all the back to exit!

 

[alee298]

Hence why I love how close the single rider queue is to the exit! And especially how the SRQ is literally a few steps up.

Spot on dude!! ;D

I did once ride Nemesis far far too many times in a row though and give myself a nose bleed lol!!!

I have done the same thing But I think best order is definitely Oblivion first. Gives you a huge adrenaline rush which propels you around the park to FV onto nemesis and air, or Dark forest. Depending on if you want to ride Rita and Th13teen.

 

[delta79]

'Where to start at Alton Towers?'
At the turnstiles

I am surprised no one has already said that

 

[nemesis1994]

For me it's the smiler first then Blivy if before 11:30 enterprise then eat some biscuits up to Rita after that th13teen 12:30 after that burger kitchen ccl then the sky ride to forbidden valley doing 1:15 ripsaw first then air after that nemesis. Repeat til 2:50 Then sky ride to towers street maybe have a ride on spin ball if before 3 which it usually is. Then hex at 3:30 and back up to the smiler for 3 more rides on that and two on blivy usually 4:15 on quiet day. We then go to mutiny bay for maurauders and quick look around shark bait reef. Usually 4:30. If it's a nice day we go to flume and Congo river rapids where we leave at 4:45 if it's raining runaway mine train. Usually 4:35 when we get to duel which we skip. Then ripsaw, air and nemesis 2 rides on each and off to duel by 4:55. Then we go home. Usually get between 10-25 rides

 

[josht]

I would say nemesis, gardens, dinner (woodcutters) then hex

 

[Burbs]

I would say:

Dark Forest > Cloud Cuckoo > Oblivion > Mutiny Bay > Katanga > Valley > CBeebies > Smiler

 

[Rob]

In my opinion the best place to start at Alton Towers is Europa Park. Failing that Liseberg isn't a bad place to start!