How to get cheap Alton Towers tickets
If you’re looking for something exciting to do with your kids, look no further than Alton Towers. The amusement park has something for everyone, from even the most fearless teenagers to the little ones.
We remember going to Alton Towers on a school trip, and it’s no exaggeration to say it was one of the most fun days of our school experience (triple science and algebra being close contenders, obviously…), with the Nemesis and Oblivion rides being a standout.
The excitement of running around with friends and enjoying gravity-defying rides is second to none, and even queuing to get on the rides was fun. Alton Towers is a great day out for the whole family, so why not take your youngsters there during the summer school holiday?
The amusement park boasts over 40 rides plus 10 themed-areas, with something to entertain everyone, from thrill-seeking teenagers to tiny tots. There’s The Smiler with 14 loops, Oblivion with its tell-tale vertical drop, and Wicker Man which is the latest wooded rollercoaster in the UK.
Then there’s the In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride for youngsters who are a long way off the height restrictions. And remember, under threes go for free at Alton Towers. Alton Towers also launched The World of David Walliams in 2021, which is inspired by David Walliams's books like Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy. It also expanded CBeebies Land in 2022 with new attractions including Hey Duggee's Big Adventure Badge and Andy's Adventures Dinosaur Dig.
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Aside from the main theme park, there's also the waterpark which has water canons, slides, coasters and flumes which are sure to be loved by all, as well as garden space to enjoy a picnic.
Feeling inspired to take a trip? Here’s how you can get cheap Alton Towers tickets.
The RadioTimes.com team know a thing or two about bagging cheap tickets, just take a look at our how to get cheap concert tickets and how to get cheap football tickets guides.
Jump to:
- How to get cheap Alton Towers tickets
- Best Alton Towers deals at a glance
- Best Alton Towers discounts and offers for 2023
- How to travel to Alton Towers
How to get cheap Alton Towers tickets
We’ve put together this guide to help you buy Alton Towers tickets for as cheaply as possible, and we also have some tips and tricks for keeping the cost down when buying tickets in general. Let’s take a look.
Planning ahead is key. For Alton Towers and other theme parks like Thorpe Park, buying tickets online is a lot cheaper than turning up on the day. So, if you’re able to plan a day out in advance, we recommend doing so.
Also, have a think about what you’d like out of the day. At Alton Towers, you can choose between a theme park day pass, a water park day pass, and a crazy golf game. When you buy online, the theme park pass will set you back £36, whereas the water park pass is slightly cheaper from £17.50, and the crazy golf pass is even cheaper still from £6.
Read the offers below. Not to toot our own horn, but we have found some pretty great deals that will help you get cheap Alton Towers tickets.
Based near London? Find out how to get cheap Thorpe Park tickets and how to get cheap theatre tickets.
Best Alton Towers deals at a glance
- Overnight stay at Alton Towers Resort for a family of four from £90
- Save £34 on Alton Towers tickets
- Save 27% on Alton Towers water park tickets
- Save 47% on Alton Towers tickets, plus flexible booking
- Discounted Alton Towers tickets with Tesco Clubcard
- Two-for-one on Alton Towers passes with National Rail
- Get over 200 days' entry with the Merlin Annual Pass
Best Alton Towers discounts and offers for 2023
Overnight stay at Alton Towers Resort for a family of four from £90
This is a brilliant option if you’re travelling to Alton Towers from a place in the UK other than the Midlands as you might want to book an overnight stay to avoid wasting most of the day travelling to and from the theme park.
From just £90, a family of four can stay at a themed hotel in the Alton Towers Resort, like the Tropical Paradise and Woodland Lodge. The package also includes breakfast and evening entertainment, and if you’d like to add Alton Towers park passes in with the package, there’s the option to do that, too.
Buy an overnight stay at Alton Towers Resort for a family of four from £90 at Holiday Extras
Alton Towers would make a brilliant day out in the school holidays, and for more inspiration, take a look at the best UK family days out.
Save £32 on Alton Towers tickets
We know how difficult it can be to get your kids organised — even getting them ready for school on time is no mean feat! However, if you are able to plan your Alton Towers trip in advance, we strongly recommend doing so as it will save you some pennies.
Buying an Alton Towers theme park day pass on the door (or the large theme park gate) will set you back £68, whereas purchasing them online will save you almost half the price at £36 each.
Buy an Alton Towers day ticket for £68 £34 (save £34 or 50%) at Alton Towers
Save 27% on Alton Towers water park tickets
If water activities are more you and your family's bag, why not swap the theme park for the water park? It's jam-packed with water rides and slides for all ages. Plus, with the weather warming up, we could all do with a cool-down in a pool (and an ice lolly or two...).
Entry into the water park will cost £24 on the day, and you can get in from only £17.50 if you book online in advance. That’s a decent saving of £6.50.
Buy an Alton Towers water park ticket for £24 £17.50 (save £6.50 or 27%) at Alton Towers
Save 47% on Alton Towers day tickets, plus flexible booking
You are always going to save when it comes to buying tickets in advance versus getting hold of them on the day you need them. Just bear in mind that with this deal, there are peak times when prices may be slightly higher, like on bank holidays – if you can avoid these days, do. Having said that, we've never seen a price spike of more than £10.
One of the reasons we love this deal from daysout.com is that it has flexible booking, so if your plans change you won't lose out on money or on your day out. It's easy to exchange dates on the website, just remember that you need to exchange your ticket at least 24 hours before the date of your original booking.
Buy Alton Towers day pass tickets for £68 £36 (save £32 or 47%) with flexible booking at daysout.com
Discounted Alton Towers tickets with Tesco Clubcard
Like with Thorpe Park, you can get discounted tickets to Alton towers with Tesco Clubcard. It works like this: scanning your Clubcard generates points, and you can convert these points into Tesco Reward Partners vouchers. In this particular offer, you get double the vouchers’ face value to use on tickets. For example, £5 in points is £10 worth of vouchers.
- Turn every 50p into £1 to use at Alton Towers Resort with Tesco Clubcard
- Sign-up for a Tesco Clubcard
For more great savings, here's how to get cheap cinema tickets, which includes cheap tickets to The Luna Cinema outdoor showings, and how to get cheap Disneyland Paris tickets.
Two-for-one on Alton Towers passes with National Rail
We’re big fans of public transport over at RadioTimes.com. There aren’t any traffic jams or extravagant petrol costs, and you can read a book while you make your way to your destination — something which is very difficult to do when driving!
If you need convincing to hop on the train National Rail’s Days Out Guide will do just that. Get up to two-for-one entry on top UK attractions, including Alton Towers, when you travel by train.
- Get up to two-for-one entry to Alton Towers with National Rail
- Browse all two-for-one attractions at National Rail
It’s also worth mentioning that Trainline has some fantastic deals when you book in advance, too.
Get over 200 days' entry with the Merlin Annual Pass
The Merlin Annual Pass gives you access to some of the UK's biggest attractions, including Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. With prices starting at £99 you can get the Discovery Pass, which gives you over 200 days entry to any of the attractions available. Or, you can upgrade to the Silver, Gold, or Platinum passes, which give you 300, 340 and 364 days respectively, and extra perks like free parking and a discount on fast track vouchers.
Get over 200 days' entry with the Merlin Annual Pass
For more information on this magical pass, take a look at our What is a Merlin Pass? guide.
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How to travel to Alton Towers
Speaking of National Rail, are you wondering what's the best way to travel to Alton Towers Resort? Well, let us enlighten you. As we mentioned earlier, the RadioTimes.com team would always prefer to catch public transport to places rather than drive as it avoids traffic jams and you can unwind on the journey, perhaps you could read a book (did you know we have a best Kindle deals guide?), listen to an audiobook (be sure to check out the top Audible deals for this month), or try to prevent the kids from picking on each other.
But is the cost of public transport cheaper than petrol? Well, with our how to get cheap train tickets article, we break down the best ways to travel for less, for example, buy a Railcard to save over 30 per cent of the overall price or book tickets in advance; to save money on Alton Towers, we recommend buying tickets in advance anyway, so why not kill two birds with one stone (as the saying goes), and purchase train tickets at the same time?
The nearest train station to Alton Towers Resort is Uttoxeter station, which is just a 30-minute bus journey from the theme park.
Save up to 1/3 of the train fare with a Railcard
Is there parking at Alton Towers?
If you'd prefer to drive to Alton Towers, it's worth knowing where you'd park your car.
There is a car park at Alton Towers, and it's roughly a 15-minute walk to the main theme park entrance. Parking will set you back £7 for an all-day ticket, and there are a few ways you can purchase a ticket: on the Alton Towers website, through the Alton Towers Resort app, at the main theme park entrance, or at the Resort Box Office. Your ticket will be scanned when exiting the car park.
Buy a standard parking ticket for £7 at Alton Towers
Some unique days out for the family include ghost tours, and we've rounded up the best York ghost tours and the best Edinburgh ghost tours.
Can you do Alton Towers in one day?
If you live in the surrounding areas to Alton Towers, such as Stoke-On-Trent, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham, and Sheffield, we believe you'll have time to travel to and from Alton Towers, and experience it within a day.
If you live further afield, or perhaps you and your family would like to really make the most of the 40-plus rides and 10 themed areas, then we recommend booking an overnight stay. In this article you'll see a brilliant offer from Holiday Extras which sees a family of four stay at the Alton Towers Resort for just £90.
Buy an overnight stay at Alton Towers Resort for a family of four from £90 at Holiday Extras
Looking for some experiences in the capital city? There are some great ones in our best escape rooms in London and best VR experiences in London guides. We also have our best West End shows and London walking tours recommendations.
