On the 29th of January my little family of three checked in to the Splash Landings hotel at Alton Towers. Before I go any further, I should explain that I am disabled. I use a wheelchair but I can hobble short distances on crutches and had my husband , so I hadn’t booked a special room. Upon seeing me in my chair, the receptionist immediately offered to change my booking to a room with a disabled access bathroom at no extra charge.
While I got us booked in, my son (Harlan, six years old) and his dad Rusty looked at the fish tank and car sculpture in the foyer. Harlan was wearing his favourite dinosaur coat and a member of staff made him a balloon Stegosaurus.
We had dinner (and breakfast the next morning) at Flambo’s restaurant and found that there was something for everyone at their buffet. We paid for our dinner, but breakfast was included in our room rate, which was £87 inclusive of entry to the water park for the three of us.
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At 4am, Harlan woke up very thirsty and wanted something besides the water we had in our room. Unfortunately every vending machine was sold out of non-fizzy drinks and we were on the brink of a meltdown as a result until a staff member saved the day by getting some orange squash from their staff vending machine.
While we killed time before the water park opened at 10am, we explored the hotel. There were some great touches, like a giant model sandcastle filled with Megabloks, a huge deckchair for posing for photographs and a walkway around the water park where we could look excitedly at the fun we would have later.
As soon as the clock hit 10am, we entered the water park. The changing rooms were clean and had plenty of lockers, and a friendly water park worker showed us to a basic but adequate disabled changing room.
The park has heated outdoor pools, which were wonderful to experience with snow on the ground around us, as well as a toddler pool and a main pool that included a fountain and the ‘lazy river’ where we could float on inflatable rings. There were three main slides, of which we went on two. All three are used with the inflatable tubes and they can be ridden by two people at a time so Harlan went down alternately with Rusty and me.
We spent over five hours at the water park and had a fantastic time. I can imagine that in school holidays it may be very crowded but our visit in term time was quiet enough that we didn’t haven’t queue for the slides and even Harlan, who has autism, could cope with the noise levels.
We intend to return and I would recommend it to other families, especially those who are dealing with disabilities or special needs.
Karen Beddow founded Mini Travellers in 2014 while doing what she loves most...going on holiday!
Mini Travellers is for parents looking for holiday ideas, destination reviews, days out and things to do with the kids. We also have family travel tips, activity ideas and all other things family holiday related. Take a look at some of our latest reviews for holidays and day trips in the UK.