21st September 2026: Alton Towers Day 1 With me having been back at work for over 2 months and it having been close to 3 months since I last visited a theme park (DLP was all the way back at the start of July!), I fancied a trip. And with me still holding a Merlin pass until the end of November and me not having done a Merlin visit since Thorpe Park in May, what better than a trip back to Alton Towers, which I last visited in April? Having noticed that I could get a bed and breakfast hotel room on-site for only a little over £100 with a Blue Light Card discount, I thought this would hit the spot nicely! I left my home at 6:30am this morning and reached Uttoxeter at around 10:15am, having changed in Cheltenham and Stoke on the way up: After hailing an Uber from Uttoxeter railway station, I arrived at Alton Towers at around 11am: I feared the worst in terms of potential crowds when I followed in what looked like an enormous school group, so attempting to get ahead of them, I decided to head to… Oblivion Oblivion was on an advertised 10 minute queue. It looked a good bit longer than this, though, so I decided to join the single rider queue. This took 20 minutes compared to the advertised 10, but I would hazard that the main queue was longer than 10 minutes and this was still a net gain, likely in no small part due to the one station operations resulting in a throughput lower than 500pph. Anyway, how was the ride? Well, I do love Oblivion, and today was no exception! The airtime was great, the speed was brilliant, and I also enjoyed having the longer hold back on the drop after years of it seemingly just staggering you rather than properly holding: After getting off Oblivion, I headed to the other coaster in the area… The Smiler The Smiler was on an advertised 25 minute queue, so I decided to give it a go in single rider. Single rider proved to be very fruitful on this occasion, with me being batched into row 1 within 5-10 minutes of joining the queue; I can never moan too much about that! So, how was it? Well, Smiler isn’t an absolute favourite of mine for a litany of reasons, but I have to admit that it was running quite well up front today; it’s probably one of the better rides I’ve had on it in a while! It wasn’t too rough at all, and there were also some quite nice forces, even if the heavy inversion focus isn’t entirely my thing; is it mad for me to say that my two favourite bits of the layout are probably the two airtime hills? It sounds insane for a ride with 14 inversions, but that second airtime hill in particular is absolutely nuts!: After getting off Smiler, I headed to my potentially controversial favourite ride on park… Wicker Man Wicker Man was on an advertised 20 minute queue, so as it’s my favourite coaster on park and I’d honestly say that it’s the one ride a visit to Alton wouldn’t be complete without riding for me, I decided to give it a ride. The queue actually ended up being merely 10 minutes, with me barely queueing past the baggage hold; I can never quibble with that! So, how was the ride? Well, I struck lucky and got assigned row 12, and it was absolutely phenomenal; I love Wicker Man, and today was no exception! The ops seemed to be quite tolerant of a looser lap bar today, which meant that there were multiple areas of the ride where I absolutely flew out of my seat with surprisingly strong air! The drop out of the “boring corner” and succeeding airtime hill are always a highlight, but one surprising area today was actually the very first drop after the lift hill; despite it looking quite modest, it offers a surprising jolt of airtime on the back! As well as that, the ride had all the usual great speed, fun laterals and just that general way of making me laugh like crazy! And to be frank, the latter is why it remains quite easily my favourite coaster at Alton Towers (yes, even ahead of Nemesis!), my 2nd favourite coaster in the UK, my 2nd favourite woodie behind Wodan and still in my top 10 even over 160 coasters in and having been to the likes of Florida, Europa Park, PortAventura and Parc Astérix; I will not claim and have never claimed that Wicker Man is the most face-meltingly intense coaster I’ve ever ridden, but it punches above its weight enormously for thrills and is definitely among the most purely fun coasters I’ve ridden. It never fails to plaster a huge smile on my face and make me laugh relentlessly, and that’s what keeps me coming back to it time after time: After I got off, the queue was even shorter than before, so I decided to head back round for not one, but two back-to-back rerides! The first was in row 6, but for the second, I got row 12, and both were sensational once again! After three rides in a row on Wicker Man, I decided it was time for a little change, so I headed over to a different favourite… Nemesis Like Wicker Man, Nemesis is one of those rides I can’t come to Alton Towers and not ride if it’s open, so as it was on only a 15 minute advertised queue time, I had to give it a go! As it turned out, the 15 minute advertised queue time was overstated, with me only waiting 5 minutes; that’s always a bonus! So, how was the ride? Well, I was interested to get back on Nemesis having crowned a new favourite B&M invert in OzIris at Parc Astérix back in June, and while Nemesis is certainly no OzIris in my opinion (come at me!), it is still a great ride in its own right, and I thoroughly enjoyed my ride in row 4! I always love that starting section of the ride, with the deceptively fast first drop, corkscrew, amazing downwards helix and zero-g roll making for an absolutely superb sequence of elements, and the general layout design is brilliantly unique! Nemesis may not be my top dog at Alton Towers or my top B&M invert anymore, but it will always hold a special place in my heart and it’s still my most ridden coaster of all time for very good reason! As an aside; I am continually flummoxed by all the whining about the rattle, even as someone whose roughness tolerance is not amazingly high. Based on vlogs and general enthusiast discourse, you’d think Nemesis now rode like an SLC, but I have ridden the retracked variant a number of times now and have found the rattle almost entirely benign on every go; if I wasn’t in tune with enthusiast circles, I think I’d hardly notice it: After getting off Nemesis, I sat and ate my packed lunch before noticing that the area’s other coaster had reopened from a temporary delay… Galactica Galactica was on an advertised 25 minute queue, but I decided to give the single rider queue a try, as I didn’t ride it on my last visit back in April if I recall correctly. Single rider proved to be a prudent choice, as I only waited 10 minutes; I can never moan about that! So, how was Galactica? Well, I was seated in row 7, and today’s ride underscored to me how Galactica has been one of the most unfortunate casualties of my changing tastes over the years. There was a time where I really quite liked Galactica and would put it quite highly in my rankings (I seem to remember doing Alton coaster rankings in the past where I had the gall to put it ahead of Nemesis and/or Oblivion)… but these days, I really don’t rate it and of the non-CBeebies coasters in Alton, it’s quite comfortably my least favourite and the one I’d care about the least if it was removed. I didn’t enjoy it much at all today, and that’s because I just find the thing incredibly uncomfortable; it’s not particularly rough or anything, but resting your whole weight on your front in the prone restraint style is just awkward and painful. My tastes have gradually erred towards sit-down coasters with more open and free restraint styles, and Galactica isn’t that at all, which has naturally made it suffer. As an aside, I did have an odd thought while riding through the on-your-back portion; I wonder why no one has ever done a fully led down coaster? I’m not sure it would be any less comfortable than a regular flyer, and the Vekoma Flying Dutchman coasters got halfway there with their loading setups and lift hills…: After getting off Galactica, I went for another reride on Nemesis on a short queue. I was in row 7 this time, and it was once again brilliant!: After getting off Nemesis, I headed out of Forbidden Valley back towards the rest of the park, taking a brief dark ride break on the way… The Curse at Alton Manor Alton Manor was on an advertised 5 minute queue time, so as I was walking by, I thought it would be rude not to give it a ride! As per usual, I ended up walking straight onto it, which I can never moan too much about! So, how was it? Well, I have grown to like Alton Manor, and I feel like I notice new details in it every time I ride it; compared to the hotch potch that was Duel, it’s an incredibly cohesive and well done experience! As much as I’m not a great horror fan, the level of horror in Alton Manor is also at about my enjoyable tolerance level; even as someone who doesn’t do scary things, I can ride it and enjoy it. That Trommel Tunnel is eternally going to disappoint me, though; I remember riding Alton Manor in 2023 and thinking that the reinstated Trommel was brilliant and one of the best effects in the ride, but I’ve hardly seen it functional since and today was sadly no exception: After getting off Alton Manor, I went to frequent a coaster I hadn’t yet ridden this season… Runaway Mine Train Runaway Mine Train hadn’t yet been open on any of my visits this season prior to today, so as I hadn’t yet ridden it in 2026 and it was only on an advertised 5 minute queue, I decided to give it a go. Mercifully, the advertised 5 minute queue time was broadly accurate, as I only waited one cycle before taking my seat in row 2. So, how was it? Well, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Runaway Mine Train, and not just because it was only the 3rd coaster I ever rode and I’ve been riding it for 17 years now, since all the way back when I was 6! For a family coaster, I really do think the ride punches above its weight; the two downward helixes in the latter half of the layout are really quite punchy! The ride, and Katanga Canyon as a whole, does lack a bit of atmosphere with the rapids being closed, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the coaster itself always puts a smile on my face: After Runaway Mine Train, I went for another ride on Wicker Man. It was once again absolutely phenomenal fun, in large part because for the 3rd time today, I was allocated row 12! I’ve never been so lucky with Wicker Man seat allocations in one day; given that I’ve ridden the ride countless times and only ever had row 12 twice prior to today, I feel incredibly lucky to have scored it three times in one day today!: After getting off Wicker Man, I noticed that a certain coaster credit I was missing was on only a 10 minute queue… Bluey the Ride: Here come the Grannies! Bluey was on an advertised 10 minute queue time, so as I felt that was an eventuality that likely doesn’t occur very often, I decided to grow a pair of balls and nab the credit! I don’t typically ride kiddie coasters (although with that said, I don’t know how true that is any more… even though I keep saying it, I’ve done a good few in 2026!), and even though I attended Alton Towers on the opening day of Bluey earlier in the year, I did not partake in a ride as I felt that queueing 90-150 minutes for a kiddie coaster when bigger rides are on 30 minutes or less was a nadir I didn’t want to stoop to. But today, I saw that 10 minute advertised queue time and seized the opportunity, as I decided I would quite like to regain the clean sweep of Alton Towers coaster credits and I’ve ridden much more questionable coasters than Bluey in terms of scale! The 10 minute advertised queue time was overstated, with the queue taking only around 5 minutes; I can never complain about that for a quick kiddie cred grab! So, how was Bluey? Well, I was seated in row 11, and for what it is, I have to say that I thought it was quite a neat little ride! I was never going to come off it absolutely blown away, but for what it is, I think it’s a solid step up from Octonauts in scale and thrill level and it is surprisingly punchy in areas! It’s also very smooth; definitely the smoothest of these Zierer Force models I’ve ridden! For what the ride is, I’m pleased with it and I’m less sceptical than I was when it was being built; it’s a solid level above Octonauts and works well! The music is a bit irritating, but I think that has more to do with me not being the target audience and with me, even at only 23, being far too old to ever have watched Bluey: After getting off Bluey, I headed out of CBeebies Land to another nearby coaster that I hadn’t ridden yet… Spinball Whizzer Spinball was on an advertised 25 minute queue, but single rider looked short, so I decided to take a ride on there. My instincts proved correct, as I was on the ride within 5 minutes; Spinball is definitely one of the best SRQ rides, in my opinion! So, how was the ride? Well, I’m not a die-hard fan of spinning coasters, so while fun enough, Spinball is never something I’m going to go absolutely mad for. It’s not a bad ride, but I do find it a little bit sickly and a little bit rough; I tend to be more partial to spinners when they’re smoother and spin a teensy bit less, like Storm Chaser at Paultons. With all that said, it’s still a fun coaster and I think I have been too harsh on it in the past: After Spinball, I headed for a reride on Oblivion. The single rider queue was closed, but the main queue, advertised at 15, only took 5 minutes, and the ride was once again excellent: After Oblivion, I headed to the other side of the ruins to ride… Rita Rita was on an advertised 30 minute queue time, so as I hadn’t ridden it yet today, I decided to take a ride on there. I initially thought the 30 minutes was likely overstated, but I then realised that this wasn’t the case and the queue did indeed take 30-35 minutes as promised, in no small part due to the ride being on 1 train and attaining a throughput of under 400pph… but how was the ride itself? Well, even though the restraints aren’t the best, I do really like Rita! I was sat in row 3, and while the hydraulic launch is obviously the highlight, the ride also has some excellent pops of ejector air and moments of speed. It’ll be a sad day if or when these hydraulic launches go; there really is nothing else like them: After Rita, I was going to head to Thirteen, but the ride was closed following a breakdown, so I instead rode… Hex Hex was on an advertised 10 minute queue, so I decided to give it a go. The advertised queue was if anything overstated, with me walking straight into the first pre-show room. I was also one of only 4 people on my cycle of Hex, which made the experience quite bizarre; not quite up there with when I rode The Haunting at Drayton Manor alone, but not far behind! So, how was the experience? Well, I’ve always liked Hex for the drama and theatre of the whole thing, as well as the excellent atmosphere, and the pre-shows and on-ride theming delivered on this wonderfully. However… I’ll admit that I’m growing less keen on the ride aspect of these Madhouses, as they are a little bit sickly. Hex is one of those experiences where I ride it for the pre-shows almost as much as for the actual ride, if not more, and that’s becoming more the case as time goes on!: After getting off Hex, I headed for one final ride on Wicker Man to close out the day. I was in row 10, and it was absolutely superb: By that point, it was past 5pm, so it was time to leave the park and head back to the hotel. It has been nice staying on-site again, and check-in was very easy, but the tight part of me did cry slightly paying over £40 for a two-course meal and two soft drinks this evening: So, that closes out the first day of this Alton Towers trip! I had a great day; I got on 17 rides in total, and I was thrilled to get on every coaster in the park bar Thirteen and Octonauts, along with rerides on some of the favourites! I will say that it maybe wasn’t the park’s greatest day operationally, with a number of rides on reduced capacity, but in fairness, I don’t think it necessarily needed to be; queues weren’t excessively long at any point. Thanks for reading; I hope you’ve enjoyed this report! Keep your eyes peeled for a trip report from my second day on park tomorrow!
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!
I also feel like Merlin are in a good place with maintaining hydraulic launches like Stealth. Skilled engineers, best source of getting parts and general up keep of these attractions is strong. Stealth is just massively complex and to keep her going for as long as they do is breathtaking. I take each launch thinking how lucky we are to have these amazing moments ❤️
Area is gonna be incredibly garish isn't it?
I agree that customer experience should remain a major priority when a theme park brings in outside companies to handle important operations. Outsourcing can work, but the park still needs strong oversight to keep service standards consistent. It’s similar to how customers compare the full experience when visiting a restaurant, from service to value, rather than looking at just one part, such as the McDonald's Philly Cheese Stack price.
Friends with an engineer, he says she should be up today at some point, or failing that tomorrow..
Thorpe's definition of a scare zone has always been...confused. I remember when Blair Witch first opened and they marketed that as a scare zone. But it could handle the crowds and basically always operated as an outdoor scare maze. Even in 2020 when they had loads of zones, things like Swarm Invasion and the Lycanthorpe zone had very very minimal theming. Their biggest zone successes have come in the forms of Crows and Deaths Doors, which have operated like high-throughput mazes. Their other zones have relied on shows to do the heavy lifting, which is fine, but yes, they need more to bring it to life. One of my peeves in recent years is how Creature Campus is non-existent outside the show, and it just feels like a missed opportunity. Lucifer's Lair almost always had something going on, even if it was just the actors roaming. This year may be more a struggle for that zone. Part of me wonders if they've effectively split Lucifer's in two, with Rebel Ball taking the shows, etc.
It rolled back in the morning yesterday, opened for the last half hour of the day and was running very slowly. It stayed closed all day today. Clearly an issue with it at the moment but could be a number of different things and difficult to say how long it'll be till its resolved.
Noticed that Thorpe Park’s YouTube channel has not only been purged of all videos pre-2017 and of those featuring IP they don’t have the rights to anymore (Angry Birds, I’m a Celeb, Derren Brown, and Black Mirror), but also those featuring The Walking Dead IP, so yeah this attraction is, no joke, no lie, no doubt about it, no bs, about to die.
Because what really happened is what really matters.
