Alton Towers cracks the list as one of my favorite parks I've ever been to as the whole experience…read morehere is nothing short of a unique time! So they have a handful of roller coasters each of them is fun and unique in their own way as they can't build them above the tree line so they come up with other ways to put them here and I must say I did it because it creates a ride experience on each of them like nothing else in the world! The park is massive and it's also in the middle of nowhere like this is the most out of the way park I've ever been to so do yourself a favor and just stay at the resort as there aren't many other options around the area and what they have isn't all bad! They have a huge garden area in the center of the park which was super cool to walk through to get to the other side of the park as at one point it made me totally forget that I was inside a park definitely something I can't say about alot of others. Overall awesome place to spend two days and I'm really hoping to visit here again at some point as this really is an incredible experience that's soo different in the awesome Alton Towers way!

Thrilling rides Seriously…read more You haven't lived until you have been on either smiler or nemesis reborn I went on 8 rides and they were all fantastic I went on Oblivion, Wikkerman,Congo river rapids, Nemesis reborn,Galactica,curse at Alton manor, Smiler and spin-ball wizzer All in that order This park is great

I am sure this place is great for watersports but my only visit has been to the adventure trail…read more This is where you traverse obstacles made from bits of junk and recycled farm machinery, through woods and rivers to arrive at the other end soaking wet, covered in mud and realize the only place to clean up is effectively a glorified cow shed. Whilst one of my children had a blast, the other was petrified and I was simply concerned for their safety. Could it be that I have been to too many sanitized, health and safety approved play barns in my time?

great fun for the kids, take change of clothes and shoes as they WILL get messy ;-)…read more set in countryside location it has different assault /activities. really quite basic stuff, no fancy built equiptment, but seems to keep the kids happy. The problem for me is the price to get in. It's £7.50 each and £2 parking so for families that have 2 parents needing to take more than 2 children it adds up. I went in a group of 2 adults and 3 children, so cost close to £40. Most adults who go dont intend to jump in mud or play of the activities, its for the kids, so you basically pay to stand and watch the kids get messy. Saying that what familiy days out dont cost a fortune anymore?! when you have exhausted all the free things to do in your surrounding areas you are left no choice but to pay for days out that may test the bank balance during the school summer holidays. Personally I think that manley mere should perhaps charge rates for families maybe. family of 4 £** family of 5 £** etc would make it a little more reasonably priced, especially for the adults as we dont really get the same use out of the activities ;-) 3 stars for the place and minus 2 stars for the price or it would have got 4/5 stars.

Reviewing this place primarily for the pool and the facilities surrounding that, seen as that is…read morewhat I use it for really, although they do have plenty of classes, gyms, suites, squash courts, and plenty of interesting gubbins (and a ridiculously placed vending machine full of chocolate, I may add). There are two pools, the kiddy pool, and the larger one, but last time I was there it was pretty badly controlled with screaming kids and their parents who didn't care about them, and strangers around them even less EVERYWHERE, 6 and a half foot blokes doing starfish floats in the middle of the pool, and teen girls with full faces of make up standing in the middle of the lanes and chatting about unprotected sex... When it's sunny, it's either terribly pleasant, or absolutely blinding, the huge windows, you don't particularly notice the fact people cold star and watch you in your spandex gear from outside, but you do really notice how depressing the place becomes when the sun goes behind a cloud, it's definitely got a "Oh, the film is sad so it's suddenly and conveniently raining, how original" sudden change to it. The changing rooms are of the village type, and are reasonably clean. It can be quite a trek from the showers to your locker if they're by the door though, so don't do what I did, and ensure you bring a big enough towel!

This is a fantastic sports centre, that was only built in the last 2 years. We mainly use it for…read morethe swimming pool, which is great - there is a main pool, and a smaller, warmer pool for children. There are communal chaging rooms, with lockers that take a £1 returnable coin. We have also used the large gym for my daughters gymnastics classes, and the facilities are excellent. The staff are always really helpful, and there is a large pay and display car park outside.

I went a few years ago and to say I was scared of water rides the whole experience was incredibleread more

Waterworld 2000 is the best indoor water funpark in the UK. For a big kid like me, it's ideally…read moreplaced about 30 minutes drive away from Alton Towers and I've done a few fun trips to enjoy both attractions on one visit. Waterworld is located in Festival Park, a collection of leisure facilities just off the A500 ring road around Stoke-on-Trent. Fortunately, the dreadful roadworks on the A500 are gradually getting better. I aim to visit out of school holidays and so parking and overcroading hasn't been a problem but I can imagine the waterpark becoming very busy at peak periods. There is a big changing room - you'll need a 50p piece for the lockers (non refundable). There's an air of excitement as you smell the chlorine and hear the screams as you walk up the ramp to the waterpark area. There is a medium sized wavepool and a klaxon signals the start of the waves every 20 minutes. There is also another pool for swimming, splashing and which houses the assault course where you can try to get across the floasting islands. However, the multi-coloured flumes that snake round the park above your head are the main draw for me. There are a couple of twisty flumes where you can pick up quite a lot of speed if you lie down absolutely flat. There is a straight 4 lane slide where you can race your friends and family. I also enjoy the Space Bowl where a short slide ejects you into what looks like a giant toilet bowl, which you gradually circle and eventually plop out (or are flushed out) of the hole at the bottom into a pool! Nucleus was the first water-roller-coaster ride in the UK, where you ride a circuit on a raft and water jets propel you uphill as well as sliding downhill. Another great fun experience are the rapids where powereful water jets propel you round and round a loop - it's really hard to escape once you're in the vortex and there's a sense of camaradrie as swimmers help each other escape at the crucial point near the entrance to the ride. A great lesson on the power of water. There's a cafe serving some light meals and snacks. Near to Waterworld, you'll find other entertainment options including a Wedgewood outlet, cinema, bowling alley and some eating options.

For a theme park aquarium that is NOT a theme park based on aquariums it's a pretty sharp one…read more The displays are well done, they are staggered at different heights and levels. There are interactive stations and so much to do and look at. This was probably my 3rd favorite portion of the park, the new coaster and the actual summer house being my favorites.

Alton Towers is a behemoth of a place... I remember when I had my first visit (Circa 1995, maybe?)…read morewhere all you would find is rides and queues (and lots of ways to spend your pocket money). Fast forward to 2015 and there has been many changes, additions and new ways to spend your (now earned with a job) money. I have been attending Pirate weekend over the last few years at Alton Towers Splash Landings Hotel. This entails a waterpark day entry, overnight stay in the hotel, breakfast, pirate entertainment and entry into the small (bur perfectly formed) Sharkbait Reef within the park. All this for a princely sum of around £25? Bargain. These weekends are held when the main park isn't open and we sauntered up from Birmingham at 1pm on a Friday afternoon to get our Pirate on and have a good time. Now, we don't always get to Sharkbait Reef as part of our visit. Firstly, the opening times are normally geared towards Saturday stayers (rather than Friday adventurers) and secondly, it can be affected by the weather. It seems as though we chose the right weekend to go this time as the Reef opened at 10am, giving us plenty of time to get down there before the minigolf tournament was due to kick off at 10:30am. The reef is situated in the park in the pirate section. This can mean quite a walk from the hotel or a two minute drive. There is a dedicated parking section for this, but this section (Express parking) is rammed during actual park opening days. This little Sea Life centre isn't the biggest of the bunch, but it is well put together. From entering in via the "photo opportunity" (a giant statue of octopus tentacles), there are sharks, lots of varieties of beautiful shimmering tropical fish, jelly fish and rock pools (where you can stroke a starfish or meet some cute little shrimp). The walls are jam packed with information about the ocean and it's inhabitants and the staff are friendly and ready to answer your questions. The real stand out for us was the fact it was feeding time in the big tank. Have you ever seen a Ray eat broccoli before? I did for the first time ever on Saturday. It was fascinating (see photos). The walkthrough area is great for seeing the lovely creatures of the sea swimming about and interacting with each other. You end your visit (it takes maybe... about 20/30 minutes to walk around and you (predictably) end up in the gift shop. There are numerous "budget" gifts (starting from £1) in this shop, so if your little ones are desperate for a souvenir - you could do worse than checking out the cool stuff in this shop over the other more expensive options in the park. Whether you're a seasoned ocean expert or a small fry looking to get up close and personal with some of the inhabitants of the sea, a quick trip around Sharkbait reef is definitely worth your while during your trip to Alton Towers.

Amusements are always very protected by security this one has alot of security it is a really cool…read moreplace. Inside it has so much to do. There are different games to play on. You must be 18 to enter there are cool prizes to win. The staffs are really nice and friendly cannot fault them they keep the place clean and let you have change. They are well know and in stoke on trent there are not many amusement place to visit. Would recommend for a fun night out but you have to be careful how much you spend as it can become very addictive.

a good day out with a good range of animals. The meerkats exhibit is brilliant and shows a very…read morehappy family unit. the staff are knowledgable and its certainly a good place to go on a cold day just to warm up! The admission might be a little steep, but if you've definately got the time to spend its worth it, because there is a lot to see. As someone with mobility problems the number of benches in the plams is a definate plus because if you're struggling from one section to another there's always somewhere to sit down! The cafe in the palms is good, selling a nice range of drinks and food. The shop too has some wonderful gifts, and also information on adopting animals in the Palms. A good day out for adults and kids alike.

A good day out - animals to see - child friendly - worth a visit - ocassionally have special offers…read moreon entrance fees - which are not too expenisive in the first place

As I have really awful hay fever this personally was not my idea of a good time but the kids loved…read moreit and it was good value for money and worth the journey. Take wellies, sun block (cos you'll be outside a longggggg time) and a picnic. You get a flag to wave if you get lost - keep hold of it. We didn't take it all that seriously - there's a hunt/trail you can do but we found it fun just running and hiding from Daddy! The massive pyramid of straw bails is a good climb and the large sand pits with working mini diggers and tractors a firm favourite. The barrel ride is pulled around a field by a guy on a quad bike and a bit worryingly, goes out of view briefly, so wouldn't recommend if you're overly anxious about your kids or for really young ones.

A great day out (if the sun is shining that is) ,hours of fun and kids get exercise as well…read more A good selection of places are situated in the grounds where you can rest or grab something to eat. Well situated close to public transport and local car parks. Well priced and the family ticket offers even better value.