'I spent the day at Alton Towers and couldn't believe length of queue times'
A theme park enthusiast has given a little insight into the lengthy queues at Alton Towers as parents search for fun days out to keep kids entertained during the holidays
Alton Towers, the cherished theme park situated in Staffordshire, remains a magnet for adrenaline junkies with its collection of rides and attractions. With the six-week summer holidays soon coming to an end, many mums and dads are still searching for exciting days out while they wait for the kids to return.
Theme parks remain a popular option for family trips, though they tend to get packed during this time. For parents on a budget, the UK's cheapest theme parks have been revealed - including one where entry is completely free. A rollercoaster enthusiast known as Coastertog on social media has shown his followers the massive queues at Alton Towers through a TikTok clip.
The footage has racked up an impressive 1.1 million views, 63,000 likes, and over 1,600 comments since being posted.
In the footage, Coastertog began by announcing Alton Towers is extremely busy right now and warned viewers they wouldn't be prepared to witness the enormous queues for several rides.
He disclosed the waiting time for The Smiler was an incredible 140 minutes, while Thirteen had a 90-minute queue, despite it being only 11am.
The footage displays crowds of visitors at the park, with lengthy queues surrounding different rides.
Despite the wet conditions, Coastertog predicted around 16,500 guests that day.
He went on to emphasise the prolonged waiting times for additional rides, including Wicker Man with a 110-minute queue, Nemesis with roughly a 100-minute wait, and Galactica with a 105-minute delay.
Coastertog also noted a ride access pass queue that was "hanging out of the gate".
The passionate theme park enthusiast further observed that the closures of Rita and Spinball Whizzer were likely adding to the extensive queues.
He commented: "We've seen a lot of triple digit queue times today and fast track isn't going to save you either. Look at how long that queue is."
Coastertog warned Alton Towers is anticipated to be "busy pretty much every day" throughout the school summer holidays but also suggested that queues "do die down nearer the end of the day" indicating visitors might prefer to remain rather than leave early.
The TikTok post's caption cautions: "Alton Towers queue times right now. Queues do calm down later in the day but if you're looking for a chilled day at Alton right now, just wait until September!"
A spokesperson for Alton Towers Resort said: "At this time of year, the Resort welcomes a high volume of school groups from across the country, many of whom are eager to experience our most thrilling rollercoasters.
"As the UK's number one theme park, we're proud to offer unforgettable experiences but during peak periods, queue times can naturally be longer.
"We continue to work hard to manage guest flow and provide real-time updates via our app to help guests plan their day."
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A commenter on Coastertog's video suggested: "Alton Towers need to place daily guest limits.
"If [a] certain amount of tickets for the day have already been sold, no more can be purchased."
Despite Coastertog suggesting long waits for attractions, one recent guest at the theme park revealed: "Went on Sunday and walked onto Nemesis twice and [the] maximum we waited was 30 mins."