Nemesis? Check. Oblivion? Check.
In years gone by a trip to Alton Towers just wouldn’t have been complete for me without ticking off the park’s biggest rollercoasters.
So ahead of making my first trip to the Staffordshire fun land with my 19-month-old toddler, I was a little bit nervous what we would actually do if rides that flipped you upside down, had a 180ft vertical drop or launched you to 100kph in just 2.5 seconds were obviously all ruled out.
For those who are like me and normally whizz straight to back of the park for the biggest rides, CBeebies Land sits to the right of the entrance and pays homage to everybody’s favourite kids TV shows.
Height is key rather than age with some of the attractions only allowing youngsters who are taller than 0.9 metres.
This ruled out four rides for us including Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride and Justin’s House Pie-O-Matic Factory.
But thanks to three new attractions that have opened this spring, there was still plenty for us to enjoy.
The new CBeebies Land attractions
The Hey Duggee Big Adventure Badge attraction feels like you’re stepping straight into a scene from the show and is the kind of colourful play area that would have kept my little boy happy for his whole visit.
With slides, trampolines and plenty of areas to explore set around a real-life Hey Duggee Clubhouse, it took quite a bit of persuading to tempt him to try the rest of the park.
The second new attraction - JoJo & Gran Gran At Home – will be perfect on a rainy day as youngsters can explore Gran Gran’s kitchen and garden maze as well as sitting on the couch to call Great Gran Gran in Saint Lucia.
And finally budding explorers will love the prehistoric sights and sounds of the new live interactive show Andy’s Adventures Dinosaur Dig.
We first had to help find all the fossils on the site before meeting a baby dinosaur as part of an interactive show and even joined in with one of Andy’s raps via video link.
If you’ve visited the park before, you’ll definitely recognise one of the rides we could go on - Get Set Go Tree Top Adventure circles above the CBeebies Land.
While our other faves included an In The Night Garden themed-boat ride and riding in a Royal Mail van on the Postman Pat Parcel Post ride. Ready for a break from the queues? There was also a wide choice of shows throughout the day featuring favourites Bing, Duggee and the Teletubbies.
The CBeebies Land Hotel
And when tired little legs are in need of a break, dare I say it but the CBeebies hotel is almost more fun than the park itself.
There’s meet and greets with favourite characters and little ones can dance the night away during Ubercorn’s disco before winding down before bedtime with some stargazing.
The rooms have every toddler feature you could imagine including steps for the bathroom sink and plenty of toys attached to the wall to keep little ones entertained.
But our favourite bit had to be the lift to our second floor room which lit up and played music resulting in my little boy spinning with joy and yelling ‘More!’
(Apologies to the other families trying to get to their rooms at this point!)
The buffet breakfast also made the morning meal easy with a fussy family member with endless options including a full English, pancakes with fruit and every sweet condiment you can think of as well as cereals, fruit and yoghurt set under a huge windmill in the centre of the dining room.
Is Alton Towers suitable for toddlers?
Theme parks are all about making memories and just as CBeebies is the channel that makes 6am wake ups more bearable, it’s also the place that makes missing out on Alton Tower’s biggest thrills an easy task.
And while my little boy may be too young to remember his first boat ride with Igglepiggle, his grin while ‘driving’ Postman Pat’s van or saying ‘Bing’ for the first time when he recognised the CBeebies bunny opening the park will stay with me for a lot longer than any ride photo.
How to book tickets for CBeebies Land and Hotel
An overnight stay at the CBeebies Hotel includes a full English breakfast buffet, exclusive evening entertainment, a 9-hole round of Extraordinary Golf and free car parking.
Prices start at £38 per person for a Bugbies-themed room or £50 per person for character-themed options including Postman Pat, Octonauts or Bing.
Buy a Merlin Annual Pass for Alton Towers
If you want to head to CBeebies land, you can purchase your Merlin Annual Pass now!
The Merlin Pass is a one-stop wonder to loads of discounts and attractions, including Alton Towers Resort, SEA LIFE, Thorpe Park Resort, Madame Tussauds, the London Eye and loads more. It gives you 20% off retail, food & beverages.
You can buy your Merlin Pass on the Alton Towers website here.
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