Alton Towers Opening Day 2025
Alton Towers Opening Day - Saturday 15th March
On Saturday, 15th March, I spent over 12 hours at Alton Towers for their opening day.
We arrived around 7:45 AM—early, yes—but given it was a sold-out opening day featuring a highly anticipated new flat ride, the group I was with wanted to secure a good spot in the queue at the entrance. I arrived first, noticing the toilets in the front plaza weren't open yet—not ideal for those who'd driven far. Around 8:15, security began preparing their bag-check stations, so we felt hopeful we'd chosen a good queue. But at 8:30, we saw only four security guards having a briefing, despite there being six stations. At about 8:40, with still no guard at our queue, I asked and was assured one would arrive at 9. Thankfully, they began checking bags slightly earlier, around 8:45, but due to understaffing, some visitors started jumping the flower beds to skip queues. Eventually, at 9 AM, they finally let us into the park—hooray!
Our first stop was the box office to buy Fast Track tickets. Initially, we planned to buy single Fast Tracks for Smiler, Wicker Man ("Wicker"), and Nemesis ("Nemie") for night rides. Alton Towers, owned by Merlin Entertainment (which also owns Thorpe Park, Chessington, Legoland, and various European parks), has increased spending on park lighting recently. This year marked the second time they're opening for "Alton Towers After Dark" during the first three weekends of the season, plus Scarefest in October and Fireworks in November. Being Merlin pass holders (Gold and Platinum), we wanted to use our £5 Fast Track vouchers before Merlin replaces them with a 10% discount. However, we couldn't prebook online, needing instead to purchase on-site. At the box office, we were upsold from our original plan to the Silver Fast Track package (£55 with a voucher), giving us one-time use on Smiler, Oblivion ("Blivvy"), Thirteen (13), Rita, Galactica, and Nemesis—but notably excluding Wicker Man.
Next, we went to reactivate our Coca-Cola refillable freestyle cups. Unfortunately, I'd mistakenly brought an older cup from home, and even after activation, it didn’t work. I had to queue again, and rather than simply exchanging it, I had to purchase a new one (thankfully at a discounted price after deducting the activation fee).
Having both a gluten intolerance and a nut allergy (I carry an EpiPen), food choices are tricky. Last year at Legoland, I'd found gluten-free sandwiches easily, so I checked the café by CBeebies Land. Unfortunately, with their new touchscreen ordering system, there was no gluten-free option listed. I didn't ask further, deciding to eat later instead.
Our first ride was Smiler, which opened promptly and operated all four trains (its maximum). My only complaint was the loud queue-line music, prompting my "tactical wait"—pausing until there’s space away from a speaker. Smiler's bag-drop system at the merge point (where Fast Track, Ride Access Pass, and main queue converge) was messy, especially without attentive staff to manage the queues.
Next was Oblivion, the world's first B&M dive coaster. We used the new single-rider line, but batching was inconsistent. Oblivion, famous for its drop into a tunnel, thankfully operated with two stations and six shuttles, although it often stacks on the brake run.
After Oblivion, we went to Thirteen in Dark Forest. The queue board advertised a 20-25 minute wait, but it was significantly longer. Thirteen ran three trains (maximum), although one had maintenance issues, briefly causing downtime. Their bag-drop merging was chaotic, with main queue riders pushing through when unattended, causing delays for Fast Track and Ride Access Pass users.
We skipped Rita after seeing it operated only one train with a massive queue, and instead, we checked Spinball Whizzer (I still call it Sonic). Its main and single-rider queues were long, so we opted to head across the park to the new flat ride, Toxicator, advertised as a 30-minute wait, which ended up longer but moved quickly. One notable issue was a leaking foundation drain (a humorous nod to Ripsaw, the ride it replaced), leading to tactical waiting to avoid getting dripped on. Toxicator was enjoyable, with decent intensity and hang-time flips—a needed addition after the park removed other flats like The Blade and temporary travelling rides.
Galactica was next, a ride somewhat out-of-place in Forbidden Valley. We used Fast Track again due to an underestimated queue time. Galactica added a single-rider line this year, which frustratingly merged with Fast Track, slowing both queues down. Despite a brief delay for a first-aid incident, we eventually walked straight onto the train—a rarity. Unusually, they operated two stations but just two trains, avoiding uncomfortable brake-run waits.
Around 2 PM, we finally stopped for food at the chicken place in Forbidden Valley. Mentioning my allergies led to a supervisor filling out a form (though oddly not taking my name). Although fries weren't listed on their allergen menu, staff confirmed they were gluten-free. Due to an oversight, my Merlin pass discount wasn't applied initially, resulting in delays, confusion, and a wrong order number, extending my wait to 30 minutes—plus, they forgot my drink.
After lunch, we rode The Curse, always a walk-on. Though not a fan of jump scares, it's relaxing enough for me. The Trommel Tunnel was working, always a plus.
Returning to Dark Forest, Rita was unfortunately closed, and Thirteen soon followed. However, noticing Thirteen testing, we returned to ride using our Fast Track. The merging chaos repeated here too.
Next was Wicker Man, as we discovered Forbidden Valley had temporarily closed due to a pipe burst beneath Toxicator. Fortunately, we successfully used our Rita Fast Track at Wicker Man. The merge point was equally messy, but we managed a decent ride, though operations were slower than usual with only two trains instead of three.
At sunset, we headed back to Forbidden Valley. Nemesis staff amusingly allowed multiple Fast Track uses due to their scanner malfunctioning. We even secured a spontaneous back-row ride due to some miscommunication among staff—lucky us!
Seeing the toxic leak under Toxicator was resolved, we rode it again before returning to Nemesis once more (still no scan!). Notably, Nemesis now has a noticeable "rattle" like many newer B&M coasters, a disappointing development.
Ending our night, we crossed back to X-Sector for night rides on Smiler and Oblivion using our remaining Fast Tracks. Oblivion, thankfully, continued running two stations efficiently.
Overall, opening day had its ups and downs. Availability was poor, with all major rides experiencing downtime at points. Reduced train operations notably impacted capacity, particularly on Wicker Man and Rita. Given they've just had a winter maintenance season, it's frustrating that rides weren’t fully prepared. While I had a good time overall, it's clear from forums and social media that many others didn't—understandably, given the operational issues. Hopefully, Alton Towers addresses these for future visits.
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