Alton Towers Resort Reviews 1,031

Disgusting treatment of those with disabilities. If you, or a group meebrr expects any level of support from this park you can forget it. You will be treated as a pain, and told it’s your fault. Staff simply don’t care. Avoid any attraction owned by Merlin.

We used to go 3 or 4 times a year but now we have had our nimbus card taken away our autistic son won't go as he has a multitude of issues from low muscle tone to severe sensory needs sorry but you lost another good paying customer

I suppose us parents with autistic children should just stay locked indoors for the rest of our days

We were hoping to visit Alton Towers during half term, but now they are discriminating against people Autism and we can no longer go. My son was previously approved a RAP, and it is still in date. However Merlin have now cancelled this saying his disability doesn’t meet the criteria. He struggles with sensory issues and can not wait in the regular queue line as it causes immense distress, so previously we would use the access pass and do our time out in between rides. I am absolutely disgusted with this approach that Merlin are taking. We will not be returning.

The recent changes to RAP have made Alton towers inaccessible to our family. We have attended numerous times over the past few years but we are now unable to visit,

I have cancelled my son’s Merlin Pass, which we have loyally held for 4 years, due to the recent decision by Merlin to discriminate against autistic individuals. I don’t need to say any more than that.

With the new accessible policy this will make Alton Towers no longer accessible for my family. In a world where people and places are being more inclusive, Merlin take a step back into the 1800’s!! Absolute disgrace and Alton towers should be stripped of anything saying they are Autism friendly!!

Absolutely disgusted by Alton Towers and their discrimination towards disabled children. We were going to book splashlandings and CBeebies in a few months but we shall not be visiting now. Not all disabled children have visible disabilities. By excluding ADHD, autism and anxiety from queue adjustments, Alton Towers and Merlin Entertainments are redefining disability around what can be seen, not what is experienced. This is gatekeeping access, leaving neurodivergent children behind. Disabled children should not have to prove their distress in public before they are believed. When access is restricted to what can be physically seen, families are forced into impossible choices, endure harm, leave early, or stay away altogether.

Inclusion only works when it recognises invisible disability as real, valid, and deserving of dignity not as an inconvenience to be managed.

Disgusted by the discrimination against Neurodivergent families being imposed at all Merlin attractions. Alton Towers was somewhere we loved - not any more. This is unlawful and morally wrong. Access clearly outlined that the new “difficulty with crowds” symbol DOES include queues… but this has been blatantly ignored and you have chosen not to include this symbol for Ride Access. We’ve gone back in time here… all the hard work to fight for equality and have hidden disabilities recognised has been undone thanks to Merlin. 1000’s of children and adults in the UK are being severely let down!!!

I come 2/3 times a month and spend money on food drinks and merch while in the park and after the announcement I can no longer come as you don’t accommodate for my disabilities I am so so disheartened their no support now for my issues with crowds I will find somewhere else that accepts me for my neurodivergence

As a local family and loyal Annual Pass holders, we used to visit Alton Towers 3-4 times a month. It was a safe haven for us. However, Merlin Entertainments has effectively banned us by changing their Ride Access Pass (RAP) policy to exclude the "Difficulty with Crowds" symbol.

Despite our frequent visits in the past, their new stance now makes it impossible for us to attend. It is unlawful and discriminatory for clear reasons:

Hierarchy of Disability: They are prioritizing physical disabilities (difficulty standing) over neurological ones (difficulty with crowds). The Equality Act protects both equally, yet Merlin has decided one is valid and the other is not.

Refusal of Service: Instead of providing the access we legally require, they are offering refunds. Telling a disabled family "here is your money back, go away" because you don't want to accommodate them is a direct refusal of service based on disability.

We are devastated to lose our local days out. Avoid this company if you have neurodivergent needs.

We have been visiting the Merlin parks with our autistic/ADHD children for 15 years - they buy merch, and food, we stay in the hotels and we have annual passes as a family. They are now adults and still need the same support but AT have decided they are no longer entitled to the reasonable adjustment of having a RAP which enables them to wait away from the queue line so they would not become overwhelmed with noises and jostling from others which would result in sensory overload and ruining theirs, and ours, day. This seems a bizarre way of saying disabled guests are no longer welcome. We were annual pass holders but we will not be renewing as it is clear Merlin Entertainments no longer want us visiting their parks.

Buying a 'sensory pack' or heading to a sensory room when you are 45 minutes into a queue and the person becomes overwhelmed, is not a reasonable adjustment.

Absolutely terrible decision by Merlin.

We have visited Alton towers multiple times over the years. My daughter who is 7 (ASD/ADHD amongst other things) loves theme parks so we try and visit multiple times a year. I find Alton Towers (and all Merlin sites) very unaccomodating when it comes to SEN. For example my daughter will literally only eat plain pasta - I purchased this for her on our recent trip to AT and was charged £7 for a bowl with approx 15 pieces of penne pasta in it. I honestly cannot understand how they can justify charging that for a bowl of plain pasta? I obviously logged a formal complaint upon our return but just continued to receive copy & paste AI responses that just said they will pass on my comments. Now with the recent updates to RAP it means my daughter cannot attend AT anymore (or any other Merlin attraction) as she simply cannot stand in a queue for an hour at a time. As others have said, we visited Disney in October last year and the way they deal with disabilities is incredible! Different queues to get into the theme park itself, passes that allow speedier ride access along with NO time outs. Merlin really are years behind knowing how to deal with disabled gusts when you compare them to the likes of Disney!! We have now cancelled our Merlin annual pass and will attend other theme parks in the UK who do appreciate and respect their disabled guests

Spent most of the day queuing up here. Didn’t meet my expectations. Will probably not go back again

Really surprised how great it was. Clean location, friendly staff. Will definitely be going back next year.

We travelled several hours to get there and were extremely disappointed by the overall experience as unbeknown to us it was a "special day" for a certain sector of society which they can't advertise or warn people about (apparently this sector of society go every Easter weekend and this weekend of Scarefest). Alton Towers know they cause trouble so Police AND security were on patrol but we still had a horrific experience.

The park atmosphere was not family friendly, fun, or safe. We witnessed and experienced multiple issues that made the day deeply unpleasant:
• Queue-jumping happening repeatedly with no staff intervention.
• My 6-year-old was pushed over by a group forcing their way through, and I was also pushed later in the day.
• Shouting, swearing, and aggressive behaviour from the other visitors.
• A fight broke out amongst two groups of these other visitors, creating a threatening environment.
• Smoking and vaping openly in queues, despite the rules.
• Verbal abuse directed at staff, with little visible response even when those guests were climbing barriers and trying to get out of and throw things out of the spinning barrel ride, causing it to stop.

The situation felt so unsafe that my husband and I decided not to take part in the Halloween experiences we had planned, as the behaviour of other guests made it feel too risky, unsafe and unpleasant.

This was the worst theme park experience I have ever had — and I’ve visited many parks around the world, including four in Germany, one in Australia, and five in the USA. I have never encountered such a poor atmosphere or such a lack of control over guest behaviour.
This day was meant to be a special family outing, but instead it was stressful, unsafe, and upsetting for both the children and older members of our group. Given the circumstances, I expected a suitable form of compensation for what was an unacceptable experience and the best they could do after lots of emailing exchanges, was give us half our money back with no reason as to why they couldn't give us a full refund.

The rides were great, hence 4 star review.

Crowd control after the fireworks was scary, they held us whilst they checked the grounds, we had to wait over half an hour in a tight group of people, when they allowed people to move they asked people not to push, but there were idiots who did and it was unsafe.

The food at the Butcher’s Block was inedible and really expensive! Just a bap full of pig fat, zero pork meat. Give it a miss!

The coffee stand charged £20 for 4 hot chocolates that were not fit to drink, watered down with no milk…

The noodle bar was good food and the donut place, worth the money paid. Get your hot chocolate from Costa!

It is massively expensive to go to Alton Towers as a family, as you need a fast pass to get on rides as wait times are ridiculous. Being ripped off with food on top is really frustrating.

I won’t be rushing back.

No complaints about the rides, staff or food for fireworks weekend. Really enjoyed it. However, the lack of crowd control for the fireworks on the Saturday was shockingly dangerous. No clear pathways were maintained at the back near the beer bus. People trying to get past and could barely move. Not a good sign when babies, cigarettes and beer are all being being held above people's heads and those lower down with buggies or mobility scooters were almost disappearing. Absolutley needs to be improved next time for health and safety.

Alton Towers has always had a special place for me but as I watched prices rise, and budgets begin to cut for the park, something seemed to shift.
it is not what it used to be.Although queues are obviously expected so this is not accounted for in my review

Went to alton towers on Saturday 8th November. We went for my daughter's birthday which was the day before and for the fireworks. I understand you have to que and so we didn't get many rides in. But alot of queuing is because of ride access passes so this doesn't seem fair there should be some kind of fair system with it. And then we had an awful experience with the fire works. We got caught up in a crowd I was pushed from everywhere, physically moved by some man scared of being separated from my family, it was so scary and I feared a crush incident happening. There was no staff security whatsoever there. We managed to get out of it and walked off a bit and there was 2 lines of security guards doing nothing! I spoke to the 1 to tell him to get someone down there and that I had 4 asthmatics with me and my eldest daughters and little boy are both on the adhd autism spectrum. My youngest daughters asthma was affected and she had to have her blue inhaler which she hasn't had in ages. As we were speaking to the security guard another man came and said they better get someone down there as people were getting crushed. Also the security guard said that the thing was there's nothing on the other side of crowd, just no one wants to let anyone through, now what does this tell you? That it's happened before! How else would he know. Surely this is a health and safety issue and should be investigated? Ruined our day and night.