Enable family mini-break - We had a day at the pirate takeover followed by a night in the Alton Towers Hotel and a morning at Splash Landings. The day at the park was great fun, it was very cold and some of the queues in CBeebies land were very slow, particularly Octonautes which took well over an hour to get on, it was frustrating to see it go round with empty seats quite often but this was due to families refusing to ride separately and not down to the staff. We were disappointed that Spin Ball was closed all day due to the low temperatures. The pirates were brilliant, they were all interacting in character round the park and the show was good to sit and watch while we had some lunch. We stayed in an Arctic Explorer room and the theming was really impressive, I would also say the room, and the rest of the hotel, was absolutely spotless. The evening meal was what we expected, as was the buffet breakfast, both nice food but limited choices. Out morning at the waterpark was so much fun, I would also like to mention that all the staff we met over both days, at all the venues, were so friendly and welcoming and added to the great experience we had. For the price I paid I would definitely recommend this mini-break to other families and I would definitely book this again in the future. 4/5 due to long queues and could do with more rides open.

Disappointed pirate take over - Staff good. Alton Towers hotel room and breakfast good. We had to wait till 4pm for our room so curtailed our 3 o'clock time slot lot in the Waterpark. We had fun in the time left at the Waterpark. Golf excellent. No monorail other than a tester running. A long walk for us but for little ones or folk less able it is a very long walk in the cold. So few rides open and so many people there made the queue times 40 minutes plus. It was freezing cold but at least not raining . Spinball wizzer wasn't running no explaination. The only ride our teen wanted to go on was closed so that spoiled her day! As an oldie I would have walked round the gardens but they were closed too. We just went on the tea cups and into the packed aquarium. Had enough by then. There were food kiosks open but nowhere to eat out of the cold. They were also very expensive. Beware the food prices in the park and hotel are high so you might want to take your own. Sorry can't recommend for February half term. Weather is a problem but the company could do more. Nothing wrong with the staff just the owners being greedy by packing the park too full for what is available

Pirate Take over- overnight - We did the pirate take over,stayed at Alton Towers hotel and then splash landings the following day. Alton Towers great- just right for my 4 year old 🥰 Alton Towers hotel was dated,the room was amazing (sleepover room) however the smells were not great. Unfortunately the Secret Garden restaurant let it all down… the service was not great,we were waiting a long time and the prices were far too high for what the food was! We went to Splash Landing the following day and we wished we’d stayed that side as all seemed a bit ‘newer’ and fresher- pizza was beautiful on that side. Alton Towers hotel just needs a bit of TLC and better organisation in the Secret Garden restaurant.

terrible - horrendous - queues. lots closed and then closed on the day at random times - no organisation no guides. miserable staff over priced foods drinks! queues for little ones 80-90mins! I would hate to experience peak season! water park was good we were fire group queues were 10-20 mins however a hr in it was so busy! again hate to experience peak season! hotel was nice ! booking for restaurants were a shambles food is basic and overpriced! just failed from start to finish h when you’ve got little little ones it’s not fair and not good

Don’t do the Pirate takeover. Only take young children if the full park is open. - Such a shame. Pirate takeover was such a money grab. Over sold so that you had no time to do anything. Queues over an hour for CBeebies Land and Mutiny Bay. So many toddlers stuck waiting for ridiculously long times. Kids having accidents in the queues. So many meltdowns. No food stalls open in CBL so a 20 minute walk back for food. Badly managed and way more overpriced than it’s ever been. The hotel food was extortionate and such bad quality for the price. The whole thing felt rushed and rammed. Been several times not sure we’ll be back now.

Disappointing Visit in Half Term - We visited in half term and stayed for one night in the Splash Landings hotel. The waterpark was busy but the kids had a brilliant time. Our room in the hotel was clean and comfortable. I thought the buffet restaurant was a little overpriced but the food wasn’t bad. Our experience in the theme park the next day was really disappointing - we went for CBeebies land but it was overcrowded and every queue was over an hour long. We didn’t end up going on any of the rides because of this. The one food option open was very crowded, overpriced (£10 for 4 burnt nuggets, a few crisps and 4 veg sticks!) and the food was very poor quality. We had visited CBeebies land before and had a great time so this was really disappointing. It felt as if far too many tickets had been sold for the limited number of rides open.

Too busy. CBeebies 80 minute Queues - We did a short break, and we’ve done many of these over the years. Santa sleepovers and Pirate Takeovers. We won’t be doing another. This time around, park attendance seems to have been increased to levels that just overwhelm the two small areas that are open in the park. Ride queue times were around 60-80 minutes which is fine if you’re an adult, but toddlers cannot be expected to wait for hours for rides that last less than 1 minute. A side note, it was also disappointing to find the buffet in the windmill restaurant has been replaced with a menu. If we’d known we wouldn’t have booked.

Pirate week - Last time we went to pirate take over I remember having an amazing time. We were in the park all day, with plenty to do, see and enjoy. We stayed at the hotel for a good price and it was just an enjoyable experience… cut to two years later, I know my child has grown up a bit, but the ‘quest’ took less than an hour, it ended with 2 fredos and coin… the first year 5 chocolates, compass, clip thing, bag maybe 1 or 2 other bits. Ok cost of living/cut backs are likely to blame… but they couldn’t open one 1.2 ride… spinball was not running as advertised… I know it’s not the staff’s fault… the shows were the same, they were entertaining. The poor golf course needs some work. If there is one thing about Alton towers at the moment that makes it it’s the wonderful staff they have there! I honestly cannot fault any of them. If I had known that spinball was closed and no alternative, I probably wouldn’t have booked the hotel and just gone for the day, I feel like I could have saved the ££ for another night up there, when the park was fully open. We did the best we could. But it no way felt like the usual experience we got there and definitely felt different from the last Pirate take over we had experienced. Also it could have been my child is that bit older… I would still recommend for those into the ceebeebies era. We have made some suggestions to Alton towers based on other places we have been to… the best pirate themed week we have experienced was at blue stone in Wales! The 2 pirates in the pool with just a pool noddle, a small water pistol, a inflatable sword a ton of energy and sheer enthusiasm had about 50 kids entertained for a whole hour and was so memorable my child talked about it for a year and still one of their favourite memories. Anyway… if you have young kids to entertain for a few hours go for it… if not.. don’t bother.

Frequent visits but the final was a disaster - I have been to alton towers many times. With friends and a few times with my young family. I have been in all weather's and at different times of the year. My visit this year will be my last and here's why. October 2018 visited for Halloween special event, thoroughly enjoyed. Again expected long waits for rides but managed to get on quite a few. July 2022 visit with friends to alton Tower for the day. Average wait for rides 1 - 2 hours. No problems as expected, nice day out plenty of rides ticked off. In August 2023 summer holidays 4 children ages 2 to 7 years had a really nice family trip enjoyed by all in the cbeebies hotel was fantastic. In Feb 2025 half term we had another fantastic visit. Everything enjoyed and the kids had a great time. Stayed at splash landings, 1st visit to waterpark and really enjoyed with 3 year old and 14 year old children. My most recent visit Feb 2026 half term. Arrived 2pm for splash landings booking. First visit staying at alton towers hotel. Swimming again was great had a really nice time, this time with a 9 month old who managed 1.5 hours in the pool and really enjoyed. The evening entertainment was frankly a health and safety hazard. No clear route to the stairs and a sea of bodies, unable to sit or view the entertainment. We gave up and headed to our room to eat. Breakfast was nice other than we booked 4 days prior and the only time slot available was 7am. I should of sensed alarms bells at this point as its not usually open this early but I was told by a member of staff they add extra slots during busier times. Aka OVERBOOKED. We headed to the park for 9.40 and decided to head straight for the octonaughts ride as this usually had the longest wait in my past experience. 3 children aged 2 to 5 got in the line when the app and outside sign said 10 minutes. It soon went to 30 then 60 then announced that it would be 80 as it built up quickly but I'd estimate they where around 7/8 rides away as really near the front. 50 minutes passed and the rides seem to be taking a very long time per go round. As we made it to the front it broke down (next to ride). 3 hysterical children. I was alone with no way to contact my family to ask for help with my youngest, the staff offered 0 help. I wanted to take my youngest back as he was on the verge of a breakdown and then the older 2 be able to wait until it was back up and running. Obviously I couldn't leave 2 x 5 year olds alone. Within 2 minutes my husband returned via the exit to ask if they could return to the front and he was told to go to guest relations for a fast past. Something that is not offered at all for cbeebies. So it's now 11.30 and we are 2 hours in having ridden 0. Now the park is busier than I've ever seen (even compared to summer months). The 11.30 show was impossible to watch due to the sheer volume of people, children on shoulders and umbrellas up. There is always a few rides with a small wait time - Justin's and the little role play house. Both of them 30to 40 minutes. They are usually ones you can break up the day with but with exhausted children in the pouring rain already disappointed. We headed to the pirate area as the app was showing small wait times. This was incorrect and it was heaving with people waiting when we arrived. So we headed to the aquarium. 30 minutes we waited to get inside. We got out and decided to head home and call it a day. Really disappointing. There should be a limit on the amount of people booked on to a toddler and family park. Never witnessed such a shockingly organised event.

Disgusted with everything alton towers related - The woodland hotels are just basic. The restaurant ay the woodland hotel is extremely expensive with a small menu! Theres no convenient stores nearby except the rubbish ones at the water park hotel. They had no heating on for us even though they knew check in was at 1. Theres no halal food options except one that shuts at 4pm when the park shuts. 4pm is super early for a park to shut anyway! Most of the rides n restaurants were closed at alton towers park! The fish n chippy was selling a single strip of fish with a gazillion fries. There was one over crowded costa which had most things sold out. We sat on just two rides bcz the wait for each ride was 70+ mins even in feb! Im never ever going there again n wasting my money!