Skip to main content
Amusement ParkRanker
25Rank

Alton Towers

Score7.5
01 / 20
🇬🇧United KingdomTheme parkEurope

Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

Britain's best-known thrill park, set in the grounds of a historic estate.

Overall score

Weighted index · out of 10

7.5
Thrill9.0
Family7.6
Value5.7

Embed this ranking

Show Alton Towers's rank and score on your website.

About rank badges

Best for

Best for Thrill Seekers

Opened

1980

Size

910 acres (369 ha)

Rides

40 attractions

Avg. visit

7 hours

Ticket range

$46–$92 USD

Alton Towers overview

Alton Towers at a glance

Britain's best-known thrill park, set in the grounds of a historic estate.

Built around the ruins of a 19th-century Gothic mansion, Alton Towers hides its coasters below the treeline by planning rule — which is exactly why Nemesis, Oblivion and Wicker Man feel so intense. The 2024 Nemesis Reborn rebuild returned the UK's most celebrated inverted coaster to form.

BEST TIME TO VISIT · Summer

Our editor's recommendation

Yes, if you already have a reason to be in the region. It ranks #25 of the 50 parks we score, at 7.5/10 with 40 rides and attractions and a typical visit of about 7 hours. Tickets run $46–$92 a day. The strongest reasons to go are its big-ticket thrill rides. The honest catch: tickets are expensive for what you get, and queues average around 16 minutes. Best time to visit: Summer.

Alton Towers highlights

Whimsical Fountain Outside the Alton Towers Hotel
Whimsical Fountain Outside the Alton Towers Hotel
The Smiler Navigating Inversions at Alton Towers
The Smiler Navigating Inversions at Alton Towers

Rides & attractions at Alton Towers

These are the top attractions at Alton Towers — 10 rides and experiences hand-picked and verified by our editorial team, including 4 signature rides you shouldn't miss. Use the filter bar below to narrow the line-up by rider height, zone, category or thrill level.

SHOWING 10 OF 10 ATTRACTIONS · 4 SIGNATURE

  • Nemesis Reborn at the park
    SIGNATURE

    Nemesis Reborn

    EXTREME

    ROLLER COASTER

    140 cm min
    DURATION
    1m 20s
    TOP SPEED
    80 km/h
    HEIGHT
    13 m
    TRACK
    716 m
    INVERSIONS
    4
    OPENED
    1994
    Single rider lineSkip-the-line eligible
  • Oblivion at Alton Towers
    SIGNATURE

    Oblivion

    EXTREME

    ROLLER COASTER

    140 cm min
    DURATION
    1m 15s
    TOP SPEED
    109.4 km/h
    HEIGHT
    19.8 m
    TRACK
    373 m
    INVERSIONS
    0
    OPENED
    1998
    Skip-the-line eligible
  • The Smiler at the park
    SIGNATURE

    The Smiler

    EXTREME

    ROLLER COASTER

    140 cm min
    DURATION
    2m 45s
    TOP SPEED
    85 km/h
    HEIGHT
    30 m
    TRACK
    1170 m
    INVERSIONS
    14
    OPENED
    2013
    Single rider lineSkip-the-line eligible
  • Wicker Man at Alton Towers
    SIGNATURE

    Wicker Man

    HIGH

    ROLLER COASTER

    120 cm min
    DURATION
    3m 30s
    TOP SPEED
    70.2 km/h
    HEIGHT
    21.9 m
    TRACK
    672 m
    INVERSIONS
    0
    OPENED
    2018
    Single rider lineSkip-the-line eligible
  • Congo River Rapids at the park
    Seasonal

    Congo River Rapids

    MODERATE

    WATER RIDE

    110 cm min
    Skip-the-line eligible
  • Galactica at Alton Towers

    Galactica

    HIGH

    ROLLER COASTER

    140 cm min
    DURATION
    1m 40s
    TOP SPEED
    75 km/h
    HEIGHT
    20 m
    TRACK
    840 m
    INVERSIONS
    0
    OPENED
    2002
    Single rider lineSkip-the-line eligible
  • Gangsta Granny: The Ride at the park

    Gangsta Granny: The Ride

    MILD

    DARK RIDE

    No height requirement
    IndoorSkip-the-line eligible
  • Rita at Alton Towers

    Rita

    HIGH

    ROLLER COASTER

    140 cm min
    DURATION
    25s
    TOP SPEED
    98.3 km/h
    HEIGHT
    21 m
    TRACK
    640 m
    INVERSIONS
    0
    OPENED
    2005
    Skip-the-line eligible
  • Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers

    Runaway Mine Train

    MODERATE

    ROLLER COASTER

    90 cm min
    DURATION
    1m 50s
    TOP SPEED
    36 km/h
    HEIGHT
    11 m
    TRACK
    305 m
    INVERSIONS
    0
    OPENED
    1992
    Skip-the-line eligible
  • Th13teen at the park

    Th13teen

    HIGH

    ROLLER COASTER

    120 cm min
    TOP SPEED
    66.9 km/h
    HEIGHT
    20 m
    TRACK
    765 m
    INVERSIONS
    0
    OPENED
    2010
    Skip-the-line eligible

Plan your visit to Alton Towers

Operating hours
Typically 10am-5pm, extended to 6pm or later in peak summer and during Scarefest
Typical gate times
Usually opens at 10:00 (rides), resort entrance from 09:30 in main season.
Operating calendar
Theme park season runs roughly March to November, plus Scarefest and Christmas events; daily hours vary by date.
Seasonal closures
Closed November to mid-March apart from selected event dates
Queue-skip pass
Fastrack sold per ride or as a bundle; price varies sharply by date. From about $45 USD.
How long to stay
Full day, two with the hotel
Multi-day tickets
Short-break tickets bundling a second day with an on-site hotel stay are the usual multi-day route.
Season pass
Annual or season pass from about $140 USD.

Alton Towers map

Official park map

Click the map to view it full size.

Alton Towers events & shows

  • Fireworks over a theme park castle during a nighttime parade

    FIREWORKSEarly November

    Alton Towers Fireworks Spectacular

    End-of-season closing weekend with a large fireworks, light and music display.

  • Snow-covered Christmas market stalls and string lights inside a theme park at night

    HOLIDAYOctober

    Alton Towers Scarefest

    Long-running Halloween event with scare mazes, live scare actors and family Halloween entertainment.

Event dates shift each year — confirm on the park's official site before booking.

Alton Towers reviews & ratings

Amusement Park Ranker overall score

7.5/10

An aggregate of 3 public review platforms, each normalized to a 0–10 scale and weighted by review volume.

Scores aggregated from public review platforms, not independently verified by Amusement Park Ranker.

Alton Towers wait times

  • Typical day

    16MIN

    All-park average: 20 min

    −4 min vs average

  • Crowd & wait score

    5.3/10

    All-park average: 5.5/10

    −0.2 vs average

Averages compare Alton Towers with all 50 ranked parks. Source: Queue-Times.com 2025 all-ride annual mean (park 1), first-season attractions excluded. Average posted queue times, indicative only.

Alton Towers records & achievements

  • World's first vertical freefall drop coaster (Th13teen)

    2010

    Th13teen opened in 2010 featuring the world's first vertical freefall drop track section on a roller coaster.

  • Europe's first inverted roller coaster (Nemesis)

    1994

    Nemesis opened in 1994 as the first inverted (suspended, feet-dangling) roller coaster built in Europe.

Attractions near Alton Towers

Alton Towers Gardens, a nature near the park0.2 KM
Nature

Alton Towers Gardens

Grade I listed Victorian pleasure gardens within the estate.

Peak District National Park, a nature near the park18 KM
Nature

Peak District National Park

Moorland, limestone dales and hiking trails across Derbyshire.

World of Wedgwood, a museum near the park30 KM
Museum

World of Wedgwood

Pottery museum, factory tour and tea rooms in Stoke-on-Trent.

Things to do near Alton Towers

Alton Towers is part of our index of theme parks ranked worldwide. Planning a shorter shortlist? The top 20 amusement parks in the world narrows the field to the essential stops.