Opening and closing times vary, so ring ahead. Apart from great rides, Alton Towers is the most civilised park with pretty gardens and a Skyride which floats you around high above the ground. You queue for hours, are cranked to a precipice, held tantalisingly over the edge and then dropped 200 feet at 70mph into a black hole. It's all over in a twinkling. Second only to the Pepsi Max in my book.
Closing time varies.
The newly-themed children's area, Robinsons Land opens this year. My own favourite, however, remains Shock Wave, the first and only stand-up coaster in Europe. A visit to the Moroccan Fun House is a must as it's one of the world's last traditional fun houses with pink-knuckle action including the wooden joy wheel, social mixer and rotating barrel, plus ball pools, and moving walkways. New last year was King Solomon's Mines, a classic woodie which joined its big brother The Cyclone. The park was voted 'Most promising park for the new millennium' by the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain.