Alton Towers 21st/22nd September 2026 (22nd September 2026: Alton Towers Day 2)

22nd September 2026: Alton Towers Day 2

I had another day in the park today! I was looking forward to getting back in and doing some rerides on my favourites, as well as maybe 1 or 2 things I didn’t do yesterday!

After my night in the Alton Towers Hotel, I checked out and left the hotel at 8:30am or so, making my way to the turnstiles for just before 9am. I had forgotten that the turnstiles now don’t open until 9:30am, but even still, I entered in plenty of time to get to my first ride early:

As always with my Alton Towers visits, I decided to start at the back of the park…

Rita

Very few people head towards Rita at the start of the day, so as always, I decided to head straight there. Only two people were in front of me, one of whom was DigitalDan, who I understand was riding Rita many times for charity! So, how was Rita? Well, I was once again sat in row 3, and I have to say that it was a very good ride! That launch always delivers, and there are some brilliant airtime moments and bursts of speed too! I do think Rita is overhated among enthusiasts; people always seem very eager for it to be removed, but I still think it holds its own and would be sad to see it go:

After getting off Rita, I headed to the one major coaster I didn’t ride yesterday…

Thirteen

Thirteen was on an advertised 5 minute queue time, so as I hadn’t ridden it yesterday, I decided to give it a go. The queue time advertisement was very accurate, so much so that I walked straight into the station and it was so quiet that we had to wait for more people to fill the train! So, how was Thirteen? Well, I was seated in row 3, and it was really good fun! While the outdoor section isn’t the most intense on there, it has some fun twists and turns and pops of airtime, and I do always love the indoor section with the drop track and backwards section:

After getting off Thirteen, I headed for a reride on a favourite of mine from yesterday…

Oblivion

Oblivion was on an advertised 5 minute queue time, so I decided to take a ride on there. The queue only took 10 minutes, which I can never moan too much about! So, how was the ride? Well, as with yesterday, it was absolutely superb, with great airtime, a smooth ride experience and a phenomenal sense of speed at the bottom of the drop! I also have to say that the mist is firing out nicely at the moment; I’ve been absolutely pummelled with mist on every ride I’ve had this year!:

After getting off Oblivion, I headed to the other coaster in the area…

The Smiler

The Smiler was on an advertised 10 minute queue, but I once again decided to give single rider a go. Despite the short advertised time, this proved a prudent choice, as I was batched straight into the front row; I can’t quibble with that! So, how was it? Well, I have to say that once again, the ride was running pretty well; it’s never an absolute favourite of mine, but it was providing good forces and speed and wasn’t overly rough either:

After getting off The Smiler, I headed for another very quick single rider queue ride…

Spinball Whizzer

Spinball was on an advertised 10 minute queue time, but I could see that single rider was empty, so I decided to take a ride on there as I was walking by. I got batched pretty much straight into a car, which I can never moan about! So, how was it? Well, it was enjoyable enough, but I have to admit that it was running quite rough today:

After I got off Spinball, I headed for a reride on another favourite of mine…

Wicker Man

Wicker Man was on an advertised 15 minute queue time, so I decided to take a ride on there. As advertised, the queue took around 15 minutes, but they seemed to be struggling to batch the pre-show in time to fill the trains; it was running 3 trains, but the operations were bizarrely struggling and you had times where an empty train was sat waiting in the station with no one to board it and the staff were desperately trying to hurry people onto the train. So, how was the ride? Well, I was seated in row 3, and even though I was sat closer to the front, the ride was still absolutely brilliant; you still feel the speed and airtime even at the front!:

After getting off Wicker Man, I headed straight back round for another reride while the queue was short. I was in row 11 this time, which was a much better placement!

After my two excellent rides on Wicker Man, I headed further round the park to reride another classic…

Runaway Mine Train

Runaway Mine Train was on an advertised 5 minute queue time, so I decided to take a ride. The queue was in fact overstated, as I walked straight into row 9; that’s always a bonus! So, how was it? Well, as with yesterday, it was great fun and put a smile on my face; parts of it are surprisingly thrilling, and I think the ride as a whole punches above its weight for a powered coaster:

After getting off Runaway Mine Train, I headed into Forbidden Valley to ride another favourite…

Nemesis

Nemesis was on an advertised 30 minute queue, so I decided to take a ride. From afar, the queue was only curving around the final curve of the queue line, so I thought 30 minutes looked wildly overstated… but this unfortunately turned out to be pretty accurate, because it became apparent that the ride was only running 1 train. This was disappointing to see, particularly as the ride was running 2 trains yesterday and the queue today was 30 minutes, which isn’t insignificant. But enough about the operations; how was the ride? Well, I was seated in row 3, and as with yesterday, the ride was running brilliantly, with an awesome sense of speed and intense forces without being too intense:

After getting off Nemesis, I headed to another ride I didn’t do yesterday…

Toxicator

Toxicator had just reopened from a breakdown and was resultantly walk-on, so as I had only done it once previously in 2025, I decided to give it another try. I had not remembered taking to it at all in 2025, but was interested to see if I’d been too harsh. So, how was it? Well, I sadly hadn’t been too harsh in 2025, as the ride was every bit as vile as I’d remembered if not worse. I’m just not an enormous fan of flat rides in general, and this one has a lot of sustained hangtime which I find nauseating, as well as some horribly intense back to back flips that I just find myself clinging on through and waiting for them to end. As an aside; does it mean anything if the “program” is now different? I seem to remember it being “program alpha”, but today, it said “program beta”:

After getting off Toxicator, I headed for a quick dark ride break…

The Curse at Alton Manor

Alton Manor was on an advertised 5 minute queue time, so I decided to ride it as I was walking by. I walked straight on, which I can never moan about! So, how was it? Well, as with yesterday, it was a very nice atmospheric ride, and very nice for a quick sit down; even if the Trommel remains broken, there’s lots to look at and see on there:

After getting off Alton Manor, I got some lunch, timing the throughput of Wicker Man as I ate, and then went for a reride on Wicker Man. I was in the front row this time, for the first time in about 5 years, and it was certainly a great ride up front, even if the back remains my definite preference on Wicker Man:

After that, I went for not one, but two back-to-back rerides on Oblivion, as it was on a 5 minute queue. These were once again fantastic!:

I then used the single rider queue to go for a fun reride on Thirteen. I was seated in row 6 this time, and it was just as fun as earlier, with perhaps a bit more pull being on the back!

After that, I went for another reride on The Smiler. I was quickly batched into row 3 via the single rider queue, and this was perhaps the best Smiler ride of the trip; it ran very well all trip, and I have gained some new appreciation for it:

I then went for two further rerides on Oblivion on a short queue, which were once again fantastic:

Finally, I closed out the day and the trip with another fantastic reride on Wicker Man in row 6:

I then left the park and headed back home after an excellent trip.

So, that wraps up my second day at Alton Towers, and this September 2026 trip to Alton Towers! I’ve had an excellent trip; it was great to get back to the park for the first time since April, and it was also great to stay on site again! Rides-wise, my highlight was as always Wicker Man, my favourite coaster on park, but I rode lots of other great rides too!

Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed this report, and yesterday’s too! I’ll be coming back at you later in the week with trip reports from Thorpe Park and Chessington on Thursday and Friday, so keep your eyes peeled!