Sperious Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Hey everyone! Just came home from a small trip to the UK. I've been to Thorpe Park (sun 16/7), Alton Towers (mon) and Blackpool (tue). The queues at Thorpe Park was horrific! Between 60 and 90 minutes on every attraction worth a ride! Alton Towers started out just as bad, but got a little better in the afternoon with 30-60 min queues. Blackpool was GREAT with 0-10 min queues on all rides! I'm planning on going back soon again to be able to actually RIDE some attractions at Thorpe and Alton Towers. Can anybody tell me whether the queues are as bad all summer? Is this the way it normally is? Is it better in, let's say, september? I know going to Thorpe on a SUNNY sunday in july was kinda stupid.. so next time it'll be on a weekday! So.. what is the best DAY and MONTH to visit these parks again, and what are the "normal" queue times on the major rides. Please help me plan my follow up trip! Thanks Sperious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goleafsgo Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Alton Towers and Thorpe Park are packed most of the time because they are the only 2 real premier theme parks in the UK. The best time ot go is anytime when kids are in school. So weekdays in september, october, november, febuary, may, june... i left out quite a few months because usually there are hollidays those months for alot of schools. also, stay away from mondays and fridays... i went to alton towers late June a few years ago and it was packed, except Nemesis (the best ride in the park) was almost walk on the whole day, while oblivion and air had 1 /12 - 2 hour waits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReDMaN B Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 For the next 2 months I would say a big no no. Never go on a saturday either. Sundays aren't too bad (during school term). The best time to go : Around September 17th on a monday, ride times will be 5 - 15 minutes P.S. that applies for all parks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neovortex2k Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 i'm goin over on the 28th of october. Its a saturday and i can't change the date. Is it gonna be bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReDMaN B Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 VERY, It will be fright nights and will be absolutely awful Q's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis-storm Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 i'm goin over on the 28th of october. Its a saturday and i can't change the date. Is it gonna be bad? Where are you talking about ? If it's Thorpe Park, then yes it will be fright nights weekend & it gets very busy. I'd suggest getting there early ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperious Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 Thanks guys. A few different opinions, but (mon)-thu in mid september should be ok for all parks? Are all rides still operating in that time of the year? Thanks Sperious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neovortex2k Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 No i'm goin to Alton Towers, so does that have like fright nights aswell?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperious Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Hi guys! Time to bump this topic. I'm going to visit the same three parks again (Thorpe, Alton, Blackpool) and I'm wondering whether to go the first week in june or sometimes in september to avoid waiting in line all day.. When are schools out and when do they start up again? Please help! Sperious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groteslurf Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 I've only been to the 3 parks once, on weekdays beginning of May in 2005. None of the rides in the 3 parks had any rows except Rita which had just opened and suffered breakdowns often that day. June is 'dangerous' for schooltrip-crowds i think. If you have to choose betwn June and September, i would go for the second half of September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanjonesbath Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Hi guys! Time to bump this topic. I'm going to visit the same three parks again (Thorpe, Alton, Blackpool) and I'm wondering whether to go the first week in june or sometimes in september to avoid waiting in line all day.. When are schools out and when do they start up again? Please help! Sperious Schools are on holiday from mid-July to the end of August roughly. As Groteslurf says, June can be quite busy with school trips etc, so late September is probably better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verticalzero Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Always visit a Theme Park in England before June or after the 2nd week in Sept, this way the kiddies "should" be at school and the Q time will be less than 1/2 hour for each ride. I tend to go to AT in Oct, don't care if it rains as this makes the Q time shorter and I can wear goggles on the rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 The TPR UK Tour went the 2nd and 3rd week of June last year and it was great crowdwise! Although, We did get the 'Fastpass' type tickets at Alton and Thorpe, and they came in VERY handy at Thorpe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperious Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 I'm afraid the end of September is out of question because of the work situation for the party going with me. It'll have to be the first week of September. My plan is as follows. Sun Sep 2: Arrive in London. Spend the whole day in the city. Mon Sep 3: Thorpe Park Tue Sep 4: Alton Towers Wed Sep 5: Blackpool Pleasure Beach Thu Sep 6: Going home Why would this be worse than the second half of September? Schools are back in business by this time aren't they? Also, do the parks usually have all attractions open at this time of the season? Or do I have to fear half of the rides being closed down for maintenance of something horrible like that? Anyone? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Nothing has scheduled maintenance during the open season at Thorpe or Alton. That said, Thorpe's rides have horrific reliability, so some may be down, it has been known (but not frequent) for two or three coasters to be down for the best part of a day. The first part of september will be fine, not as good as the second part (because private schools go back slightly later) but the queues will be short, you should have a fantastic time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperious Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Sounds great, Dave. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceDragon Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 go for the whole day and leave 1/2 an hour before it ends, otherwise you'll get caught up in traffic! We sat there last year for 2 hours... and with note to Dave: yeah, we went there last year N:I was down. The lift hill chain *broke* and Stealth wouldn't get any faster than 50 or 60mph for the whole day, so they shut it down... right when we queued up for the rollbacks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluea61 Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Try and get there early about 30-45mins before opening and try and park in the 4-6 row from the front in the gravelled area. This will help you get out as this is roughly in line with the exit row. Queues will probably be ok on a Sunday in September, but try to hit NI early as it is usually walkon for a few rights at the start of the day as most head to Stealth and Vortex (Mainly as its the first ride you come to). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NathP Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Best time to go any UK theme park is March, Late April, May and Early October weekdays when schools are in. September most schools will be back by the 10th but you get all the uni people that don't go back until October so expect a bit of a queue, June and July you tend to get alot of schools going to the parks on trips and it can be as busy as a weekend and of course August it will be packed for the whole month. The least busiest time I ever to Thorpe was on the 17th October 2006 during the Fright Nights, It was so dead that Stealth didn't even have enough people to fill the trains. Avoid bank holidays, school holidays and weekends, should you have to go on a weekend Sunday is best. Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days I find. I went to Thorpe 13 times last year and only 1 or 2 times all the rides were open, I tend to head to Stealth first which is never open on time in hope that it opens in the next 10 minutes which it usually does after a few test runs and get the front row on the first train Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N'at Man Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I have a question about the Thorpe Fastrack tickets because the wording on the website is confusing. They offer a Stealth Fastrack ticket for £4.00 which makes sense. But then they have an Extreme ticket for £7.00 good for "Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, X:\No Way Out, Tidal Wave or Loggers Leap." The "or" makes no sense to me. Is this for all five rides or just one from the list? Also, what happens if I book a Fastrack ticket for Stealth online and I show up at the park and it's down? How does the park handle that? I'm going the last week of July on a Monday with my group. That was the best we could do. It looks like the holiday season is starting but I'll take that with extended hours on a weekday over dealing with school groups in early July like I did in 2002 with ACE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceDragon Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I have a question about the Thorpe Fastrack tickets because the wording on the website is confusing. They offer a Stealth Fastrack ticket for £4.00 which makes sense. But then they have an Extreme ticket for £7.00 good for "Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, X:\No Way Out, Tidal Wave or Loggers Leap." The "or" makes no sense to me. Is this for all five rides or just one from the list? Also, what happens if I book a Fastrack ticket for Stealth online and I show up at the park and it's down? How does the park handle that? I'm going the last week of July on a Monday with my group. That was the best we could do. It looks like the holiday season is starting but I'll take that with extended hours on a weekday over dealing with school groups in early July like I did in 2002 with ACE. yeah, we were planning that. For £4 you get *1* ride on Stealth (anywhere) £7 (i believe) gets you as many rides on *1* of the selected roller coasters £40 gets you on all fast track rides any time of the day for as many turns. I'm not sure if it's worth that much though... A huge rip off in my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N'at Man Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 yeah, we were planning that. For £4 you get *1* ride on Stealth (anywhere) £7 (i believe) gets you as many rides on *1* of the selected roller coasters £40 gets you on all fast track rides any time of the day for as many turns. I'm not sure if it's worth that much though... A huge rip off in my opinion That is a huge ripoff. I'm not even sure I would consider it now with how limited the options are (and the unlimited is too expensive). Can anyone tell me if the line bypass tickets at Alton Towers work the same way? The way it reads it doesn't sound like you are limited to one attraction or one ride but I want to verify the details. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperious Posted May 3, 2007 Author Share Posted May 3, 2007 Thanks everyone for all the tips on parking and getting round the parks. Can anyone confirm whether or not there are any bank holidays during the time that I plan to visit these parks, Sep 2-6? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceDragon Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 yeah, we were planning that. For £4 you get *1* ride on Stealth (anywhere) £7 (i believe) gets you as many rides on *1* of the selected roller coasters £40 gets you on all fast track rides any time of the day for as many turns. I'm not sure if it's worth that much though... A huge rip off in my opinion That is a huge ripoff. I'm not even sure I would consider it now with how limited the options are (and the unlimited is too expensive). Can anyone tell me if the line bypass tickets at Alton Towers work the same way? The way it reads it doesn't sound like you are limited to one attraction or one ride but I want to verify the details. Thanks. Thats how I read it. I'm not 100% sure if thats correct, but it seems so... It's only worth it if you're thinking about getting an annual pass Sperious: Half the schools don't go back until the 5th September... It may be quiet, but we done Chessington then and it was full to the brim. By 2pm they had a queue as they had the maximum number of guests... You can risk it, but it may not work to your benefit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inferno Insane Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Can anyone confirm whether or not there are any bank holidays during the time that I plan to visit these parks, Sep 2-6? Uk Bank Holidays are In March/April (depends on the what year)/ May / August and Christmas. So you alright visiting sometime in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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