The secret to avoiding the crowds at Alton Towers during peak season is to look closely at the weather forecast.
The worst time to visit Alton Towers
Everyone knows the worst time to visit Alton Towers – or, indeed, any theme park. The school holidays, at the weekend, in the height of summer, is an ordeal by queuing. If spending two hours waiting to get on Spinball Whizzer fills you with dread, then avoid summer holiday weekends.
But when should you go to Alton Towers if you want to beat the crowds? Obviously, there are far fewer people around outside of the school holidays. But if you’re going with children, there’s little choice but to go in the school holidays.
If that’s the case for you, then the secret of finding the best day lies in the weather forecast.
The best weather for visiting theme parks
The best weather for visiting theme parks is, counterintuitively, the worst weather for visiting theme parks. On a lovely sunny day, everyone wants to be there. If it is honking it down with rain, nobody does. Or, at least, very few people do.
If the forecast is set for heavy rain, people who have prebooked their Alton Towers tickets might brave it, but most will try to try to switch them for another day.
Crucially, though, almost nobody will rock up on the day and buy tickets on the gate. Crowds will be significantly lower than on a sunny day.
Visiting Alton Towers in heavy rain
Obviously, though, nobody wants to be soaked to the skin as they trudge around an Alton Towers where most of the rides are closed. But there is an art to reading the weather forecast.
Most people looking at the weather forecast on their phone don’t go beyond the daily forecast. They’ll see the heavy rain symbol below the day, and rule out going to a theme park.
However, if you click through to the hour-by-hour summary, it’s often the case that the heavy rain is only forecast for one or two hours during the day.
If you want to go to Alton Towers (or any other theme park), these are the days to look out for. Sure, you might have to deal with being wet for a couple of hours, but most of the rest of the day will be OK.
And, more importantly, the huge crowds you’d usually be queuing with will have been put off coming in the first place.
When to book Alton Towers tickets to avoid the crowds
Therefore, the best tactic for visiting Alton Towers in the summer holidays is to wait until the weather forecast predicts a horrible day. Then, check the forecast in detail. If the heavy rain looks like coming in short burst, book your Alton Towers tickets for that day.
The same, naturally, applies to the likes of Chessington World of Adventures, Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor.
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