We were excited about taking this mini trip to celebrate Tim’s third birthday at CBeebies land at Alton Towers. Last time I visited Alton towers was as a teenager and at the time there was no CBeebies land. I think I was more excited than the rest of the crew.

We told Tim we were off to CBeebies land, on an adventure.

Our package included:

• 2 nights stay in a themed room at Alton towers hotel (we hope to visit CBeebies land hotel on our next visit)
• 2 days entry to the Park (which includes the main Alton towers park and CBeebies land)
• Inclusive 9 Hole Golf Ticket Voucher

We planned to arrive early on the first day which was Tim’s birthday but sadly we set off later than planned and arrived a few minutes before the park closed at 4 pm.

We decided to visit the park to get a feel of what was available and plan for the next day. Once we arrived at the car park, Tim said mum CBeebies land, adventure, (He obviously took in a lot of what we said but didn’t show it at the time)

Tim and Joel were both excited once we boarded the monorail from the hotel car park to the theme park.

Tim was so excited on the day and the staff were friendly and nice. Even though we got to  Postman Pat ride less than 10 minutes before they closed they let us on. We helped deliver the parcel and saved the day.

It was great to have a ride we could all get on as a family.

We meet some “In the night garden” characters and although people were queuing for photos, Joel ran off to say hello. Tim preferred to watch from a distant.

After a brief stroll around the park, we made our way back to the hotel to check in and for a much-needed rest. We stayed in the Arctic Explorer room.

What we loved about the hotel and room:

• Lovely theme, we felt we were on a voyage (interiors had some awesome features including the car in front of the restaurant and ship display at the bar)
• The trundle-bed had a safety bar at one end which I felt was helpful for our toddler who is used to having one on both sides of his car bed. We used the pull out bed underneath as an extra safety measure in case, he rolled off the bed. (which never happened by the way a 🙂
• Family resource room: I am not sure how I missed this information on the website but I found it by chance while walking down the corridor. It had a microwave, fridge, washing machine and dryer. Loads of storage cupboards which were mostly empty.
• Live entertainment for both kids and Adults
• Friendly staff – From the door porter to the staff at the desk, I also noted they had a nappy disposal bin in the resource room but we needed to get rid of nappies from our room and I spoke to a staff who came over to collect them and advised us to ring if we needed to get rid of more later, which was a kind gesture.
• Travel cot was provided despite the website saying needed to call to reserve, we found one in the wardrobe (we had ours, so didn’t reserve one)
• We had no issue with noise and actually loved the room we got which was at the end of the corridor (room 256)

 

Few things I think they could do better

• Compared to the room, the family resource room looked a little dated and would benefit a makeover. It would be helpful to have things like a microwave cover, washing up liquids, laundry washing liquid or powder. I like to take home clean laundry after a break (Just my personal preference)

Day 2: We had a nice breakfast buffet at the Secret Garden Restaurant, we were advised to prebook which we did and loved the options they had for kids.

Hotel guest also gets early entry to the park before the park opens to the public at 10 am although not all rides are open this is very helpful during peak periods. The monorail starts at 9 am. We met a long queue on our way back to the hotel on the first day but was relieved there wasn’t one when we boarded on route to the park.

We didn’t have space for a double buggy in our boot so opted to hire one at the park.

Single buggy £10 (£10 deposit refundable on return)

Double buggy £15 (£10 deposit refundable on return)

The buggy was handy for moving around the park as can get tiring for toddlers. I am not sure it met all our needs and we could have done without. Tim spent a lot of time out of the buggy than in but Joel needed a nap and somewhere to nap but sadly the buggy doesn’t recline or lie flat and even for two toddlers the double buggy felt like a tight squeeze. (in future will pack lighter so can fit either our single Maclaren buggy or double Baby jogger mini. After the fun was over, we carried two very tired and sleepy toddlers back to the hotel for a much-needed nap.

We had a digipass but won’t recommend this for CBeebies land part as there were some technical issues on the day on the rides and although we got offered an alternative at the photo studio the boys were too tired to pose for a photo so sadly it was a shame. I think I got one picture from both days but I hope the fault gets sorted soon.

Rides recommended for families:

• Postman Pat: We had several goes, even 16-month-old Joel could go on this ride and loved it. When Joel was asleep on Dad, Tim and I had another go

• In the night garden boat ride: We got on our own boat as a family, we felt it was fab for the boys, Tim would shout out each characters name (Upsy daisy waving) as we went past.

Ride for the little ones

• The Numtums Number-go-round

Other family rides but for toddlers or kids over 0.9m (height)

• Octonauts rollercoaster: I felt this ride was a bit fast for a toddler but Tim loved it, he got off and wanted to go again. (Joel didn’t meet the height restriction and cried about not getting on but honestly, I think he is too young for this ride)
• Peter rabbit hippity-hop
• Justin House Pie-O-Matic Factory: Tim didn’t seem to like it when balls starting flying everywhere and it was very busy. He has played with similar ball guns and canons in soft plays so don’t think he was put off by it. I reckon either the crowd or he just wasn’t interested as he wanted us to get out as quickly as we got in. I can imagine him spending a lot of time here in a few years.
• Go jetters Vroomster Zoom ride: We both loved this ride. Tim has been on a similar ride at ur local beach amusement park when he was a lot younger but this time around he was eager to go higher and higher.
• Cuckoo cars driving school: sadly he didn’t get to go on this because he was knocked out before we even had time to get to this side of the park but being a car lover, I can see this being the top of his favourite ride list.
• The list goes on…

Other fun activities:

• Live shows: We saw Bing live

• Furchester Hotel show
• Mr Tumble sensory garden (Joel fell asleep in this garden)

Tips for taking this trip with toddlers

• Have a buggy (needed for naps and to rest tired legs)
• Have lunch ready for the live show as the area becomes a picnic area. The queue was too long to take photos with the character afterwards. I noted how swift people were to queue as soon as the show was over
• In the night garden characters came out for photos at certain times once you get the timing can get in front of the queue
• Download Alton towers app (handy for checking queue time and plan rides for the family)
• Stay overnight if you can afford it – For the early entry during peak periods.
• 1 Day isn’t enough

We didn’t get to visit the waterpark but we will be keen on this when the boys are older. Yes, I would recommend this trip for parents with toddlers.

Now we are off on another adventure, feel free to join us.