Cbeebiesland in Alton Towers is a must for families with young children. Whether you are fans of Cbeebies or your children are ready to take their first steps into theme park rides then you will definitely enjoy your visit. We went during term time where Cbeebiesland was quieter than it usually would be (I have been both term and holiday times, and there is a difference in queue size). This meant we could take advantage of the ‘parent and toddler’ tickets at only £29 or the both of us. On top of being an active 4 year old, my son (F) also has additional needs (SEN) so I thought I’d share what worked for us and our thoughts on the park.
Planning your visit
Alton Towers in easily accessible from M1 and M6 and there are plenty of parking spaces (which you have to pay for). We paid for the basic car park which was £7. The spaces aren’t the widest though so just a word of warning. There are disabled parking spaces available which are closer to the park and also cost £7 . If you do park in the further carpark (like we did) just be warned that although there is a monorail (free) that you can use, if does get busy and the queue when we got there was 45-55min. You can take your buggy on, and there is one disabled carriage for wheelchair/mobility aids. We took the Excel Elise disability buggy and it did fit in the regular carriage, however it does take up lots of space. I knew my son wouldnt be able to queue for that length of time so we ended up walking to the park which was about 15 mins, uphill – not pleasant but it was better for him. On the way back we took the monorail and it was a lot quieter.
I highly recommend booking online for tickets. If you have a disabled child/adult and you are a carer you can get a free carer ticket on the day (still book other guests online). We booked the access pass for my son. He gets DLA and we had supporting documents from professionals stating he finds queueing difficult due to development delay and sensory issues. You MUST do this online 7 days minimum before your visit. It was free to apply for and you just pick it up on the day of your visit. It was super helpful for us. Due to it being a quieter day we didn’t need it for every ride, just when I knew he would struggle.
Alton Towers has its own app which has a map of the park. I showed this to F before we went so he had an idea of where we were going and what we were doing. It also meant I could plan rides, breaks and best routes to take. I found out where water refill stations were, the quiet room (which is near guest services for those who just need a bit of a quiet zone to regulate in or take medication etc) and toilets were.
What is there?
Cbeebiesland has all the well known Cbeebies characters and attractions. There is a mix of rides, experiences and play areas. There is something for a variety of ages/development stages. For those using mobility aids/wheelchairs – most of the rides require guests to transfer from wheelchair into the ride vehicle with support, nut not carried. Four rides required riders to be able to grip/put pressure to brace. You can get information on ride restrictions from Alton Tower.
The highlights for F were In the Night Garden Boat Ride (he loved calling out all the characters names), Jojo and GranGran interactive house (mixture of things to climb, but also low level wheelchair/disabled buggy accessible areas) and the Octonauts rollercoaster (it is a fast one but suitable for young children).
He also LOVED the Hey Duggee Clubhouse playground which was spacious, had a mixture of different play equipment for various sensory and mobility needs. You can also meet Duggee here and get a special badge (sticker). A note about Justins House – it is loud and it is open so children running everywhere. F wore his ear defenders but didn’t last long in there (there’s slides and air ball cannons that you fire as well as air ball exploring tables – get for sensory seekers in one way but a bit disregulating in terms of the noise).
There are various shows you can watch for free. When we went there was Bing, Hey Duggee, Twirlywoos and Furchester Hotel. They are short and interative with audience particpation…we chose to go to the Hey Duggee show so we could sit and have lunch. We took a picnic with us and sat by the stage area eating and chilling in the shade. You can then meet the characters after the show.
Mr Tumbles Something Special garden was a lovely little space. I do think they could do more with that space as its not as interactive as I’d hoped. You walk through the garden (sensory herbs/plants that you can tough and smell), the spotty bag is there to ‘open’ and find what creature you need to find in the garden, and there’s a drum area to enjoy banging away. There’s TVs where Justin is singing and signing the familiar songs from the TV show, this did mesmorise F. It did bug him that Grandad Tumble shed was there but he couldn’t go in and there’s no Grandad Tumble, haha. It’s also a shame that the general Cbeebiesland music was playing so close to garden as it would have been nice to just focus on Something Special sounds.
In Cbeeiesland there is a photo area which has a green screen and you can choose what characters/set up you have. This is great for if you miss characters or you know it would be too intense for your children to meet them but you still want a photo. Obviously there is a charge and you can set up whichever price package you choose.
Character Meets:
These are free and very brief photo opportunities. The staff are lovely, and understanding – they even offer to take the photos for you so you can be in the photo with your little one. F signed (makaton) thank you and they signed it back which was lovely. We met Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy around the park, however most meet ups are in the show area after the shows. Just a warning, the queue to meet them can get quite long so if you want to meet Duggee you are better to head from the show to the clubhouse as that’s how we met him and it was much quieter.
Can you eat there?
There are plenty of snack stalls (basic hotdogs, icelollies, crisps etc) and a basic cafe in the Cbeebiesland area which you can go to but considering one doughnut was over £2 we were glad we bought our own food. You can get free water from the refill stations – I took a small orange squash container and just refilled his bottle with water and added drops to it which kept cost of drinks down. If you take a picnic and don’t fancy carrying it around there are lockers you can hire in the park (not within Cbeebiesland itself). We kept our bags with us as the rides either had room to take the bag on with us, or had places to leave your bags whilst you ride (at own risk). There are other places to eat in the main Alton Towers bit and a lovely picnic area by the lake.
The Staff:
The large majority we interacted with was really friendly and helpful. I admit I needed the access pass explained to me twice before I got it as was distracted by F and no one complained or eye rolled. They would greet F when he showed his pass (he was very proud of it) and ask if he was having fun (hit and miss whether he answered haha). Staff would help with enquiries we had over the day, give advice and when my nephew lost his hat they were quick to tell us it was a guest services (and easily retrieved). There’s plenty of staff about and was always someone at the entrance of Cbeebiesland.
Toilet facilities
There are toilets dotted around the place. There’s baby change, disabled (basic disabled) and male/female. There was rarely a queue which was good. We used the basic disabled toilets which don’t require a radar key when in the park by the ones outside park (where monorail is) do require one. There are Changing Places facilities too which is so helpful and does require a radar (not in Cbeebiesland but around the park).
I used the toilet by the monorail with F but went to the baby change (forgot our radar key). It is big enough for a buggy and was a quiet space where he didn’t have to panic about hand dryers. There’s also chairs in there so great for breastfeeding and medication times (and separate to where actual toilet cubicle and changing tables are).
Can you go into Alton Towers?
Yes, you are free to go in and out all areas. There are some children’s rides in other areas of the park such as a carousel, place children can drive cars, pirate ship where you can squirt water (warning, you WILL get wet – F thought it was hilarious). We also went on some bigger rides like the Runaway Mine Train which thought was amazing and laughed the whole time – its quite an intense twisty and speedy rollercoaster compared to in Cbeebiesland.
Something not to miss is the Sea Life Sharkbait Reef. This is within the main park and its basically a free sea life centre style attraction. You get to walk around looking at the beautiful sea life, can stroke a starfish and listen to talks. It is accessible but does get crowded in some area. Its a great sensory space with its low lighting and mesmorising enclosures.
There’s also beautiful walks you can take around the gardens and the castle grounds (castle was actually closed that day) so if your child just needs a break from the noise and the rides then this is a great place to explore. We walked past but didn’t go in as it is a lot to take in in just one day visit.
Are the shops expensive?
Yes! It’s to be expected really as it is a branded theme park however there is a wide range of things to buy if you want to treat yourself/your children. There are themed shops in each area. Cbeebiesland had a range of clothes, toys and things like bedding, cups etc. F chose a Hey Duggee boat and a Cbeebies bugbie teddy. The only thing I found disappointing was that the size range for Cbeebies clothing stopped at 3-4yrs. It doesn’t take into account children who may be larger, older fans or those with development delays who are still Cbeebies level. It was a shame as I would have loved to have got a zip up hoodie from there.
How did F get on?
For those who follow us on Instagram and have been asking how F got on. Well he loved it and has been asking to go back every day since. The Access Pass was a life saver, but many rides would have been accessible without it. It was great to be able to plan rides and more ‘chilled’ attractions so he wasn’t overloaded by lots of fast whizzy rides all at once. The buggy was a must as it’s a LOT of walking and by the late afternoon he was starting to become defiant and grumpy from tiredness and overstimulation. There are buggy parks around the place for when you go on rides. It was so sweet seeing the excitement on his face and the happy stimming when he recognised characters and things from the TV and books he has. I think the only real struggles he had were when he didn’t to leave certain areas, and when he wanted to see what his cousin was doing if they were behind us on a ride but couldn’t move around the carriage (lots of reminders to stay still which was greeted with ‘okie smartypants’ which is F’s version of ‘f – you’ so I definitely wouldn’t trust him on rides by himself yet). Was it worth the price? YES. Would it have been worth full price during holidays/weekends? YES. It’s a unique experience to take him too since we don’t live nearby and one I’d happily repeat.
If you have any questions or you have anything you’d like to add to what I’ve shared please feel free to comment below or some find us on Instagram.
Mummy Est.2014 
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