Alton Towers is one of the UK's top theme parks, it reopened on 4th July along with other Merlin Entertainments owned theme parks, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and LEGOLAND Windsor.

As of 24th July, in line with the new Government guidelines, guests will be required to wear face masks to go on selected rides, into shops and when queueing inside for food and drinks. Until now, mask wearing has been strongly recommended at Alton Towers but not mandatory.

Alton Towers have announced on their official facebook page that the park will be open every day in September and tickets are available to be booked online via their official website. In order to manage capacity carefully reservations are needed for all guests that are visiting the theme park.

Updated Face Mask Policy

All guests over 6 must now bring a suitable mask when they visit the theme park. Here are the updated guidelines:

• Guests will be required to wear a face mask to go on selected rides, into shops and when queueing inside for food and drink.
• Only securely fitted face masks should be worn on rides for safety reasons.
• We recommend wearing a mask whilst on resort. 
• We would recommend removing face masks on water rides in case they get wet.
• Masks are not required for children under the age of 6 on our rides or for people with certain health conditions and/or disabilities. Guests who need a medical Exemption Pass will need to visit the Box Office team on the day of your visit with supporting documentation where an Exemption Pass will then be issued.
• In shops and food outlets, children under the age of 11 are not required to wear a mask.

In addition to changes in guest procedures regarding face coverings, visitors to Alton Towers can expect to see any guest-facing employees wearing protective equipment including face masks and, where appropriate, visors. 

Which rides are masks now required on?

Guests over the age of 6 are required to wear a mask on the following rides:

• Nemesis
• Galactica
• Oblivion 
• The Smiler
• Wicker Man
• Rita
• TH13TEEN
• Enterprise
• Blade
• Runaway Mine Train
• Marauder’s Mayhem

Guests over the age of 11 will be required to wear a face mask in the following locations:

• In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride
• Sharkbait Reef by SEA Life
• All shops
• When you are queuing inside food and drink outlets

What rides and attractions are currently closed?

Due to government guidelines the following rides/attractions are currently closed at Alton Towers:

• Hex: The Legend of the Towers
• The Monorail
• The Furchester Hotel Live
• Charlie and Lola’s Moonsquirters and Green Drops
• Justins Pie-o-Matic Factory  

For full details of Alton Towers health and safety policy and to book tickets visit their official site.

On a positive note Alton Towers Dungeon reopened July 18 with updated health and safety measures and as of 25th  July, Alton Towers is able to reopen it's Water Park. For full details of it's current guidelines click here.

Guests will unfortunately have to wait until next year for Gangsta Granny: The Ride which was supposed to headline the new 'World of David Walliams' opening at the start of the 2020 season, which marks Alton Towers 40th year. It is now expected to open at the start of the 2021 season.

Unsurprisingly because of the new government requirements, these same mandatory mask wearing guidelines are in place at Merlin Entertainments other top three UK attractions. Details of these are outlined on page 2...