Oktoberfest comes to Alton Towers Resort - review with pictures
Bratwursts, luxury hot chocolate, giant toasted marshmallows and German beer are just some of the delights on offer at the first Oktoberfest event at Alton Towers Resort.
The entertainment-led family festival is taking over part of the Staffordshire resort everyday until Sunday, October 4, as part of the attraction's 40th anniversary.
Families and friends can enjoy delicious food while enjoying live outdoor entertainment from a variety of acts – including an oompah band – as the area is transformed into a Bavarian-themed venue daily from 3pm.
Guests can enjoy Oktoberfest within the price of their theme park ticket – meaning you can enjoy the German-inspired atmosphere, food and drink, and entertainment along with all your favourite theme park rides.
More than 150,000 traditional Bratwurst sausages, 3,000 gallons of ice cream, more than a quarter of a million traditional Belgian chocolates and 200,000 giant marshmallows were shipped into Alton Towers ahead of the new event – and they certainly disappoint.
During our visit, we sampled Bratwursts with Sauerkraut, a traditional hog roast bap, loaded fries and luxury hot chocolates – with a drop of Baileys to warm your insides after a day of ride-hopping.
The Bratwursts and Currywursts were served from a traditional Schwenkgrill, while a giant fire pit allowed you to toast giant marshmallows to your heart's content.
And for the adults, Gluhwien – mulled wine – and beer was also on offer! By teaming up with Spaten beer, the theme park is offering the classic German Helles premium lager which is brewed in Munich.
If the food wasn't enough, the event features a full line-up of themed live entertainment – with two stages.
From lederhosen-clad dancers, to a German Jukebox, to musicians to an Alpine horn players – there's plenty to keep the whole family entertained for hours.
And as the Oktoberfest is included in your theme park ticket, you have a day to enjoy all of Alton Towers' fantastic rides – from Oblivion to the Runaway Mine Train, to Rita Queen of Speed to the Smiler – which are open even later on selected evenings.
And to keep the little ones happy, there's even CBeebies Land.
For our first visit since the coronavirus pandemic, our group were very impressed with the measures the park has taken to ensure guest and staff safety.
Social distancing measures are in operation throughout the resort and in the ride's queues, mask-wearing is compulsory on selected rides, shops and food outlets and one-way systems are in operation.
Overall, we enjoyed our day at Alton Towers Resort – which was topped off by the Oktoberfest experience which transported us to Germany without the plane ride!
Oktoberfest at Alton Towers Resort runs everyday until Sunday, October 4.
For more information, visit www.altontowers.com/explore/events/oktoberfest.
