A weekend away to Alton towers. One of our friends did the drive up on the Thursday night. This was a four hour process which eventually ended at a travelodge. The cheapest way to find a hotel is to have a means of independent transport to the themepark. This allows you to stay a little further out and means you have a few extras £'s for souvenir pictures.
For the park we brought a two day ticket. This was good value for money as the second day only added an extra £5ish to the price of one day. Two days is really required to be able to cover the ground in this park. Especially as when the park is busy as the queues to some of the more popular rides can take over an hour. This might be worth considering if you were planning on bringing younger children.
If you get bored of queueing, the restored gardens are beautiful. I was very surprised to find a place like that in a theme park. In terms of concentration of guests, there is a serious reduction here. Peace and quiet!
We managed to get on all the big rides. Air was amazing and you go around the ride facing the floor head first. It does actually feel like you are flying - and a little bit less frightening for those who are a little more nervous! Nemisis was great and in an area of the park which takes longer for the guests to move to. It was probably one of the shortest queues.
The cheapest way of buying ride photos is to buy a 4 photo offer. It allows you to record the number of the pictures of the different booths and buy them when you have made your selection. This allows you to be a bit choosy and not buy them on impulse.
NOTE: the river rapids ride will get you wet. Either waterproof your bags or at least bring a decent waterproof!
