And that's not all. Around this time of the year, Alton Towers is transformed into a merry and bright paradise, as the theme park prepares to celebrate Christmas. Not only can you soak in the festive decorations of Tower Street, you can also enjoy a festive live show starring Santa himself, as well as taking part in some fun reindeer games and even a Santa sleepover.

All this awesome entertainment comes at a cost and it's no secret that a family trip to Alton Towers can be an expensive experience.

It pays to be organised and think ahead if you're planning a trip to the theme park, as turning up at the gates on the same day and spending as you go can make a big dent in your bank account. Good news if you've got under threes though, as they go free at Alton Towers.

To ensure you're not paying over the odds for your special family day out, we've rounded up the best Alton Towers ticket offers, hotel deals and packages that are available right now.

For more deals on family days out to UK theme parks, check out our guides to the best Thorpe Park deals and the best LEGOLAND deals.

What you need to know about Alton Towers before you book

Before you snap up the latest Alton Towers deals, all bundle in the car and get excited for an adrenaline-filled day out, it's important to check that this theme park is the right choice for you.

Here are some of the questions you might want to ask yourself if you're thinking of visiting Alton Towers:

How busy will it be?
Will the queues be really long?
Can you stay over in the hotel?
Are there enough food options for your family?
Will the rides and areas be appropriate for my child/ children's age/s?
Is it pushchair-friendly or wheelchair-friendly?
Is there enough to do for children under the ride height limit?

To help answer some of these questions check out our MadeForMums parents' reviews here...

Best Alton Towers deals at a glance

Best Alton Towers deals: cheapest ticket and hotel offers

Save almost £40 on Alton Towers tickets

Alton Towers Wicker Man rollercoaster — Wicker Man at Alton Towers Credit: Mikael Buck / Alton Towers

Planning ahead is the easiest way to save money when it comes to theme park tickets. So if you can, get the diary out and think about your family day out well in advance.

If you just rock up at the theme park gates on the day you'll end up paying £68 per ticket versus the special online advance ticket offer of £29. That's a discount of more than 57% and will save you £39 per ticket.

Buy an Alton Towers day pass for £29 at Alton Towers

Get 28% off Alton Towers waterpark tickets and overnight stay

Perhaps you've got a family of water babies and splashing around in the huge indoor waterpark together at Alton Towers is more your idea of fun. With slides, rides and attractions for toddlers through to adults, it's a great choice if you've got different ages to entertain.

Again, planning in advance is the key to claiming this offer at Alton Towers. Booking ahead of your visit means you could snap up tickets for £18 versus the on-the-day price of £25, a saving of £7 per ticket.

Get 28% off Alton Towers waterpark tickets and overnight stay

Save 26% on Alton Towers tickets for two when you book with Virgin Experience Days

Two tickets to Alton Towers will usually set you back around £80, but there is currently a special offer on Virgin Experience Days for a voucher for two to the theme park for £58, which is a saving of 26%.

Now is a brilliant time to visit with the recent opening of the Nemesis Reborn, a thrilling upgrade to the much-loved 90s ride as well as the exciting introduction of a live meet and greet experience with the much-lived character Bluey and her sister Bingo in CBeebies Land.

Buy two discounted tickets for Alton Towers for £58 with Virgin Experience Days

Get a Santa Sleepover from £90pp

It's the most wonderful time of the year once more, and now you can celebrate in style with the big man himself.

The Santa Sleepover package at Alton Towers not only includes an overnight stay in one of the theme park's themed hotels and free theme park entry, but you'll also get a unique visit to Santa’s Grotto in Mistletoe Lane, a festive evening meal and entertainment and, new for 2024, a festive courtyard show, reindeer games and Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime.

Get a Santa Sleepover from £90pp at Alton Towers

Save money on multiple visits with a Merlin Pass

Child and parents on flying ride — Alton Towers Merlin

If you're looking for a way to get entry into a range of different attractions, including Alton Towers, LEGOLAND and Warwick Castle, for less, then you have to check out the Merlin Pass.

There are 4 different levels of pass to choose from depending on how many days of entry you want across the year, from the £99 Discovery Pass to the £299 Platinum Pass. Each pass includes different benefits and caters to different needs.

To make the most of the annual passes, think about the year ahead and plan how many times your family will be visiting Alton Towers or other Merlin attractions. Do the maths (incorporating any of the other Alton Towers deals listed here) and see if a pass could help you make big savings.

Explore the best Merlin annual pass options

Check out our list of the best theme parks in the UK, many of which are included in the Merlin Pass.

1/3 off Alton Towers tickets with National Rail

If you plan to travel to Alton Towers by train, this deal is an absolute steal! When you register with Days Out Guide and buy National Rail train tickets, you can enjoy 1/3 off entry to over 250 UK attractions, including Alton Towers. It's easy to do – the Days Out Guide website will generate a ticket code when you book your train tickets that you can then redeem on the Alton Towers website.

You do need to show a valid train ticket at the Alton Towers gates though, so make sure you don't throw it away once you've travelled and if you're worried the ticket gates at the station might suck up your ticket, ask a member of staff to let you through.

Even if you're not travelling by train, you could easily purchase a cheap single ticket for travel to Alton Towers from a nearby station and simply show it at the gate, as this will still save a lot off the cost of a full price ticket for the resort. Just make sure to remember to print off the train tickets. You can also get great discounts when travelling to Alton Towers as a group with a Family and Friends Railcard, that helps you make big savings on rail journeys to lots of destinations.

Get 1/3 off Alton Towers tickets with National Rail

Save on entry, short breaks and food and drinks with the Alton Towers Gold Pass

If you're a regular visitor over at Alton Towers, then it's really worth investing in an Alton Towers Gold Pass.

As well as valid entry for 12 months (excluding 18 peak days), the pass will allow you to take advantage of up to 20% off food and drinks, discounts on short breaks, and up to 20% off the Waterpark and Alton Towers dungeon.

You can get all of this for a one-off purchase of £139. Considering that a day ticket bought at the theme park gates on the day costs £68, the Gold Pass is well worth the money if you're planning to frequent the park.

Save on entry, short breaks and food and drinks with the Alton Towers Gold Pass

Discounted Alton Towers tickets for Tesco Clubcard holders

Every time you scan your Tesco Clubcard you generate points that can be converted into Tesco Reward Partner vouchers. These can then be used to purchase tickets to major UK attractions, including Alton Towers.

This offer means you can get two times the voucher's face value to use on tickets, meaning every 50p worth of Clubcard points converts to £1 worth of vouchers. And, if you don't have enough points you can top up the price of the ticket using another payment method.

Sign up for a Tesco ClubCard

Redeem Tesco Clubcard points and turn 50p into £1 to spend at Alton Towers

We've put together a guide to the best Drayton Manor deals to help you save more this summer.

Save £32 on Alton Towers tickets

This Alton Towers ticket offer through daysout.co.uk saves you 47% on the price of a ticket (as long as you avoid peak times), with tickets costing £36 rather than £68. There are no booking fees to use the site and the tickets come straight through to your inbox ready for your family day out.

Buy Alton Towers tickets for £36 at Days Out

Best Alton Towers deals for cheap tickets and hotel stays

Enjoy Stay, Splash and Stay deal for £39

Double room in Alton Towers CBeebies hotel — CBeebies hotel Alton Towers

For a really affordable overnight deal at Alton Towers choose the Stay, Splash and Stay deal, which costs £39pp on selected off-peak and mid-week dates. The package includes 1 day pass for the waterpark, an overnight stay in either the CBeebies Land Hotel, Alton Towers Hotel or Enchanted Village Woodland Lodges, 9 holes of crazy golf, evening entertainment and breakfast.

Find out more about this overnight stay at Alton Towers

20% off for key workers on short breaks at Alton Towers

Until the end of November 2024, key workers benefit from 20% off all Alton Towers hotels with an overnight stay that includes breakfast, evening entertainment, access to the 9-hole crazy golf course and free car parking. However, this offer doesn't include passes to the theme park, and these will have to be purchased separately for the full price or using one of the discounts above.

Find out more about this discounted Alton Towers stay

Hollie Bond