Alton Towers

“Your legs don’t get as tired when you’re having fun.” —Chilli 

CBeebies Land is a fantastic area for toddlers and small children. With the rides and play areas, you could spend a whole day there.

However, apart from CBeebies land, there is not a huge amount at Alton Towers for toddlers to do apart from the Sea Life Centre and the David Walliams area.

There are a couple of other rides with a low height restriction of 0.9m: The Curse, Hex, Heave Ho, Battle Galleons.

The Curse and Hex may be scary for younger children. Heave Ho is a typical swinging pirate ship.

Battle Galleons is a fantastic water shooting slow ride that me and my daughter found hilarious. My Husband found it even funnier squirting us from the side whilst waiting with my son!

Older toddlers, who are 1.1m, can also ride the Congo River Rapids, Runaway Mine Train, and Marauder’s Mayhem.

At 1.1m, small children can also ride a lot of the children’s rides alone which is really handy if you are going solo with siblings.

The grounds at Alton Towers are stunning with lots of wildlife and room for a picnic blanket. Though there are also plenty of picnic benches dotted around the park.

As we live in Kent, we always stay over at Alton Towers Resort so tend to bring a pack lunch and eat at the hotel.

I therefore cannot comment on dining at Alton Towers with a toddler but I do make a mean jam sandwich.

Out of all the Merlin theme parks, Alton Towers is probably most geared toward older children for the thrill-seeking rollercoasters.

However, I do think it is worth a visit if you have a CBeebies or Bluey fan!

CBeebies Land with toddlers

We love Cbeebies land! There are so many rides for toddlers and regular shows with current favourite characters, like Bluey, Teletubbies and that whiny brat Bing, even during term time.

What surprised me during our first visit – when my youngest was one – is how many of the kid’s rides had height restrictions.

This makes Alton Towers, in my opinion, not as accessible for babies but better for older toddlers.

The following have a 0.9m height restriction: Bluey: The Ride, Peter Rabit Hippity Hop, Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride, Octonauts Rollercoaster, Justin’s Pie-O-Matic Factory.

There are plenty of other rides for little ones but, if you only plan on going once, I would try and wait until the kids are over 0.9m.

Rides and attractions without a limit (But require adult supervision) include: Hey Duggee Big Adventure Badge, Andy’s Adventures Dinosaur Dig, JoJo and Gran Gran at Home, Something Special Sensory Garden, Bugbie Go Round, In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride, Get Set Go Treetop Adventure.

Below I describe each ride in more detail to help you decide if it is suitable for your toddler.

Rides in CBeebies Land for toddlers

Bluey the Ride: Here Come the Grannies!

We were really lucky to ride the Bluey rollercoaster when it had just opened. It is actually really good for a kid’s rollercoaster.

My 2-year-old was just 90cm (which is the height requirement) I wouldn’t take kids any younger than this as his face did look at bit shocked at the speed and drops!

My 4-year-old loved it though.

The main thing I just loved about the Bluey rollercoaster was the queue – no I am not being sarcastic.

Alton Towers have made a break through and their queue was filled with activities and play areas designed to keep the kids occupied.

They even play the ‘Chattermax’ song randomly in the queue and all the kids go mental.

It took me back to my clubbing days when Sandstorm started playing. But with little people high on E numbers instead of… well minus the numbers?

Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop

This is a gentle up and drop ride for children over 0.9m. It is exactly the same as Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp in the David Walliams area so there is no need to do both.

The negative is that if your child is under 1.1m, you must ride with them. The seats are child sized and very uncomfortable for my Ben and Jerrys loving bottom.

Bugbie Go Round

This is a cute little car merry-go-round ride, suitable for all, with no height requirement and even babies that can sit up unaided would enjoy the gentle ride.

The children sit on colour trikes and adults can sit in the middle on what is the most uncomfortable seat known to man.

It is nice but I wouldn’t wait in a long line for it.

In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride

This is my son’s favourite ride in CBeebies land, although we never got in to In the Night Garden, he learnt who Iggle Piggle was just from this ride.

I, and my children, really enjoyed the gentle boat ride through the magical bedtime story.

The only negative is because it is such a slow ride the queue can get really long. Still, they do have a couple of interactive walls to keep children occupied whilst queuing.

For more tips on queuing with toddlers, check out my advice here.

Get Set Go Treetop Adventure

Similarly, this tends to have a long queue. If you catch it short on the app, I would recommend doing it.

It is suitable for all, with no height requirement, and a nice tree top slow track ride exploring CBeebies Land.

Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride

We have never actually done this Dumbo style ride where children can control if they go up or down.

There is no real reason but is just a bit out the way of the other attractions and isn’t high on our priority list.

There is also a 0.9m height requirement.

Octonauts Rollercoaster

Before the Bluey Rollercoaster arrived, this was our favourite rollercoaster at Alton Towers for our toddlers.

There is a 0.9m height requirement but it is much tamer than the Bluey rollercoaster.

If you are unsure how your child will react to a fast rollercoaster, I definitely recommend trying this first.

There is also usually a much shorter queue than the Bluey Rollercoaster so this is a good alternative if you don’t want to queue long or are unsure if your toddler will enjoy a rollercoaster for the first time.

Play areas in CBeebies Land

Hey Duggee Big Adventure Badge

This is a really good play area with smaller slides and trampolines for young toddlers; perfect for a bit free play.

The Alton Towers website description confused because it says you collect badges and meet Duggee but it really is just a playground.

We have seen Duggee in there once but no badges, either I have this mornings Weetabix in my eyes or it has recently changed.

Andy’s Adventures Dinosaur Dig

This is another play area perfect for toddler free play as it has a sand pit for digging.

Unfortunately we have never caught the show.

Entertainers also travel around CBeebies Land in a safari type jeep, with a little baby dinosaur, teaching and interacting with the children.

JoJo and Gran Gran at Home

There is a queue time for this attraction but we have never had to queue. I think they just make sure it is not too full.

My children love this indoor play area though we have never watched the programme.

There is an interactive kitchen area with touch screens and tablet games.

It feels a little strange paying hundreds of pounds for them to do what you try to avoid doing at home, in a pretend home but hey – if they’re happy I’m happy!

There is also a garden area with different activities for children to play with and a mini soft play type area that has stairs and a tunnel.

Something Special Sensory Garden

This small outside walk through is aimed at children with additional needs but my children enjoyed exploring the different sensory areas.

Mr Tumbles plays on screens throughout and there are his little suitcases that children can lift to find different garden creatures.

Fingers crossed he is not the next person named on Epstein’s files as I really like this area!

It is also suitable for babies to crawl around and explore on a dry day.

Justin’s Pie-O-Matic Factory.

With a 0.9m height requirement, this is for older toddlers and children, and even much older children would enjoy it.

Our 2.5-year-old son managed to meet the height requirement and really enjoyed it. I am still a bit puzzled why there is any height requirement as it is just an indoor play area with just stairs, no climbing or slides, etc.

The whole concept is collecting balls and firing them at each other which is very satisfying, especially if your husband left you with a stonker of a nappy change in the morning!

There is also a queue for this to manage the amount of people inside. We have been a few times and not had to queue but the queue can get quite high.

David Walliams area: The Towers & Cloud Cuckoo Land with toddlers

Here you will find several rides and attractions suitable for toddlers and small children.

This area could easily be missed as it is the other side of the park to CBeebies Land. I do think it is worth a visit and home to some fun toddler friendly rides.

We have always found the queues shorter here than CBeebies land too!

Gansta Granny The Ride

This has a  0.9m height requirement and could be scary for some toddlers. We have all seen David Walliams right?

It is a bizarre indoor immersive ride venturing through the story of Gansta Granny.

Some of the tech and ideas were really cool so if you find it has a short queue I would check it out.

Though the ride is slow and calm enough for small children, there are some loud noises that freaked my son out.

However, there a lots of exciting special effects, including bubbles, and I challenge you to find me a toddler that does not like a bubble!

Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp

As an up and drop ride, this is exactly the same as the Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop in CBeebies Land so there is no need to ride both.

It has a 0.9m height requirement but if your child is under 1.1m you must ride with them.

I still have PTSD of getting stuck on a similar ride at Chessington. It wasn’t because I’m fat (or so they say) it just broke down. A kid was freaking out and pushing lower down on the already extremely tight bar. If you want to avoid costly therapy bills then nominate your husband to ride or avoid altogether.

Royal Carousel

Does what is says on the tin: it is a carousel ride.

With no height requirement it is accessible to all and has seats for babies as well as horses.

Cuckoo Cars Driving School

This is a great quirky little driving school for older toddlers as there is a 1m height requirement.

A bizarre thing to note is if you enter the David Walliams area via The Towers, right by Cuckoo Cars, and have a pushchair you need to wait for the ride to finish and for a ride attendant to open a gate for you to access the area as the only path is via a bridge with stairs.

I’m surprised in a world with AI replacing jobs this is the only option.

There is, however, a more accessible route if you keep going past the towers and enter the land nearer the Sky Ride and Carousel.

Sharkbait Reef: Alton Towers Aquarium

A nice addition to Alton Towers Theme Park is a small aquarium ideal for toddlers and babies.

I always remember taking my daughter to an aquarium, when she was a few weeks old, and she was just absolutely mesmerized.

My 2 and 4-year-old toddlers still enjoy an aquarium so this is a welcome break from rides.

Entertainment at Alton Towers for Toddlers

Big Fun Show Time

Throughout the day, there are various shows, meet and greets, and activities at Big Fun Show Time.

This is forever changing so check the times and characters on the day of your visit.

We have enjoyed different characters here like: Teletubbies, Bing, Hey Duggee, and our favourite of them all… Bluey!

They usually have a meet and greet with the characters after the show.

Around the Show space there are different little games that babies, toddlers and older children can access.

This is also a nice spot for a picnic break as the area is shaded. Though there are a couple of clever ducks that also use it as a picnic spot.

Alton Towers Resort Hotel accommodation entertainment for toddlers

In addition to the shows in the parks, there is usually evening entertainment in the Alton Towers Resort.

I suppose you could technically go in to the hotels if you are not staying there and enjoy the entertainment but not sure this would be top of my list after a long day in a theme park. But we always stay over night when visiting.

Something we enjoy about going away with our toddlers is wearing them out just before bed with a bit of kid-friendly entertainment and watch them party like it’s 1999, in the hope that we can have a drink and actually finish a conversation.

Wherever you are staying in the resort, you can go to another hotel and enjoy their entertainment, apart from the CBeebies Hotel, this is exclusively for hotel guests. More on this below.

There is something for everyone with the hotel entertainment, but I think the most kid friendly (apart from CBeebies) is the Splash Landings hotel.

They have a little disco and play games with the children.

It is OK, but like a say about most children’s hotel entertainment, they play songs that most children don’t know. There are parts of the evening where the entertainers take a break and they just put on a playlist. Fine, but it is adult 90s pop. Though I am partial to an M-bop, there are so many songs children could enjoy from Disney to KPop or songs from films they know. This is my biggest bugbear with holiday entertainment and something that can so easily be fixed!

In all hotels there are also scheduled character appearances which is a nice extra.

When you check in look out for the screen to take a photo of that specific day’s entertainment as it is forever changing.

The best Alton Towers Resort accommodation for toddlers

There are plenty of choices for overnight accommodation at Alton Towers Resort.

We always stay overnight as we are over a 3 hour drive away and, until my kids push me to absolute self-destruction, I am not driving 6 hours, in one day, with two toddlers.

There are three hotels, camping pods and lodges.

Without a doubt, the Woodland Lodges are the most toddler friendly. With a Brucey Bonus of them often being the cheapest.

CBeebies Hotel with toddlers

CBeebies Hotel is expensive, like really expensive.

We decided to really treat ourselves, sell some foot pics on Only Fans and get a midweek term time ‘deal’.

Unfortunately, we were left poor and utterly disappointed.

I think with such a high price tag we were expecting a lot. There is nothing actually wrong with the CBeebies Hotel, the rooms are nice, food is OK, just not worth the cost in my opinion.

No actually, there was something wrong with it, the entertainment.

The few character interactions that we did have were good.

But for what we paid, I could buy a Postman Pat costume and deliver them handwritten letters from Bing himself… not that his grammar would be any good!

I have a personal vendetta against Bing. I think him and Peppa Pig just need a week with SuperNanny whipping them in to shape.

Anyway, the hotel theming is good and the rooms are fun; I just don’t think it is good value.

Now when we visit Alton Towers we always get a Woodland Lodge; this is by tenfold the best option for families.

Alton Towers Hotel with toddlers

All of this moaning is going to make me get a peri menopausel test, but I just want to be brutally honest.

And I am really sad to say that we didn’t have the best experience at the Alton Towers Hotel either.

However, I do think it was just bad luck and circumstances so I hope this doesn’t put you off.

Firstly, the monorail was not running whilst we were there, so it was a very long walk to and from the park with a 2 and 4-year-old.

Secondly, none of the advertised entertainment was on either which is a highlight for our family.

For this reason, I would have preferred to save the money and stayed at a local premier inn as we had no real perks of staying on site.

Despite this array of entertainment being displayed in the foyers, not one thing we attempted was on. Nothing before 7pm anyway.

I get that things happen but three different members of staff in three different locations didn’t have a scooby that there was even anything scheduled.

Just write to DPOLE and change my name to Karen now.

I think what is frustrating is that you gear your toddlers up for a character meet or disco and when it doesn’t happen they are left disappointed.

I hope this was a one off, and after contacting them they did offer me some money off our next stay. Yet, this genuinely took about a month of back and forth to resolve.

One positive of the Alton Towers Hotel was the room.

We went for a Moon Voyage Room, only because it was not much more expensive than a standard room.

It came equipped with a fridge, travel cot and giant cuddly teddy!

Again, the theming around the hotel was fun, the breakfast was edible and everything was clean.

I just wouldn’t stay here again if the Woodland Lodges were an option.

Enchanted Village: Woodland Lodges at Alton Towers with Toddlers

To end my Alton Towers page on a huge positive here is the best accommodation for toddlers: Woodland Lodges at the Enchanted Village.

Not only is this by far the best accommodation at Alton Towers: it is just fantastic accommodation overall.

The hobbit style lodges have a separate sleeping area for toddlers, which you know I am a fan of, divided by a curtain.

There were such simple, but wonderful, magical touches that my kids went crazy for.

Like the cute fairy hole and handy night light that my son created a whole narrative for that there was a fairy sleeping in and he was sure she had moved.

Or the ‘art’ above the bed where children can spot the mischievous fable folk… also a bonus for exhibitionist parents!

Even from check-in they had thought of the kids with their own staired area to access the desk and Mushroom Trail.

The Mushroom Trail is a toddler friendly scavenger hunt where you identify the letters and shapes that make a word from the many play areas.

You can then hand it in to reception and get a prize. Spoiler alert: it is a sticker.

Which leads be to the best thing about the lodges: the play areas.

Every section of lodges has its own play area that can be seen from every single lodge which means Mum and Dad can enjoy a cup of tea whilst watching the little ones happily play.

Or something stronger than a cup of tea.

…Hack #36 for pretending to be a responsible, crafty, home-baking Mum that really is just craving some peace and quiet with a Savvy B.

On that note, there is also a pub – The Crooked Spoon – that has a play area and lawn games and is reasonably priced for dinner and where you will have your breakfast buffet.

Finally, each child gets a free book: The Enchanted Village in the lodge or reception area which really was such a nice touch, I just love a freebie.

The book is for older children but will be nice to read to the toddlers at bedtime, until they are old enough to realise I am skipping pages.

From our experience the Woodland Lodges are by far the best option for toddlers and a bonus is that they are usually the cheapest!

For more advice or any help with your next theme park trip feel free to contact me.