ALTON TOWERS 201428TH – 29TH August

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Basically what’s happening is;• We’re all getting the train from Blackburn to Manchester

Victoria (tickets will be pre-booked), and the other way round for the way back.

• We’re then getting the train from Manchester Victoria to Stoke-on-Trent, there will be changes (tickets will be pre-booked), and the other way round for the way back.

• Alton Towers, for two days. The 28th and the 29th.• We’re staying in the Ashbourne Travelodge over night!• There will be bus journeys and taxi journeys involved (will get

into that)• There will be additional costs, such as food, and lockers, etc.

-Initial booking situation-

Once I’ve figured out the final price, I’ll put it in a later slide.Once all the money have been given to Darren, Darren then can then book the train tickets, and also the park/lodge tickets.Then all we have to do is wait until say, the week before, then we can have another run down on everything.And also, days before, book our taxis.

PARK AND ACCOMODATION• Basically, for two days at the park, and one night at the travel

lodge, for 6 adults, is £459.60, basically £460.• With the deal we are going with, it is £460 for the two days,

over night stay at the Travelodge in Ashbourne, and then early entry at the park (an hour before regular opening time).

• We get 3 double rooms, so 2 people in each room.• Check in time on the 28th is 3pm.• Check out time on the 29th is 12pm.• Breakfast isn't included.• Situated 9 miles from the park.

PARK AND ACCOMODATION CONTINUTED

• Darren will book this through the Alton Towers website. You book the 2 days at the park, and the hotel at the same time.

• £460, between us as a group of 6, comes to £77 each.

TRAINS

• The first train we will be getting, is one from Blackburn, to Manchester Victoria. The train we will be getting will be leaving at 7:06, and will arrive at Manchester Victoria at 7:57.

• So it would be good if we all met at the station for 6:45 at least, no later than 7.

• With the trains, it will be 6 of us but only 5 of us will have to pay, as Mike has a special railway card.

• Buying tickets for this train, can go one of two ways…

TRAINS CONTINUTEDBUYING IN BULK BUYING BEFORE HAND / DAY OF

• Buying in bulk means we get the 5 tickets all together.

• This would come to about £73.50.

• Which would be about £15 each.

• Buying this way, Amber and Lauren as a pair could get a duo ticket, Ben and Darren as a pair could get a duo ticket, and I as a single could use my rail card.

• BUT THIS IS ONLY A MAYBE AS WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET DUO TICKETS / USE RAILCARDS SO EARLY

• So we are going to be finding this out before we book anything.

• If we go this route, the tickets would be under £10 each probably.

TRAINS CONTINUTED• Once at Manchester Victoria, the next train we get, is the

train from Manchester Victoria, to Stoke-on-Trent. As said before, there will be 2 changes.

• The train will leave at 7:59, and arrive at 9:11.• (there is another train a few minutes later, if we miss this one)• We will be buying the tickets for this in bulk, and for the 5 of

us, minus Mike, it will come to about £111.50, which will be about £23 each.

Stroke-on-Trent station to Alton Towers

• Due to the check in time at the Travelodge being 3pm, we will be going straight to the park with all of our things.

• There is a bus that runs from the station especially to Alton Towers, that will be arriving at 9:35, 24 minutes after we get off the train, so we can go straight to Alton Towers.

• We don’t know how much this will be yet, but I can’t imagine it would be really expensive.

AT ALTON TOWERS• The only thing that wont be sorted out until we get there, is

lockers. Lockers will be about £10, and depending on the size, we could use one each or share.

• And then all that’s left to do is HAVE SOME FUN AT ALTON TOOOOOWERS.

• Plenty of food places, can bring our own food and drink anyway, etc. etc. etc.

TAXIS• As said before, this is something that will need to be booked one or two

days before. We will be getting 8 seat taxi’s that will work out at about £30 between the travel lodge and Alton towers (and the other way around).

• We will be getting one taxi on the 28th, from the park to the Travelodge• And then one on the 29th from the Travelodge to the park!

• This will come to £60, between 6 people that is £10 each.

• When booking, we will be able to arrange a time for the taxi’s to come for us, so on the first day a time in the evening, and then on the second day, sometime in the morning before the park opens, as we have early entry passes.

TRAVELODGE • As said, we have 3 rooms, 2 people in each, so I assume Amber/Lauren,

Ben/Darren, and then Mike and I!

• Not much to say about the travel lodge, they’re pretty regular but pretty nice! It will be fun!

• There is also a pub next to it, where we can go in the evening!

• Check out time the following day is 12pm,• but we will have left by then with all of our stuff • anyway so that’s no problem!

PACKINGThought I’d add this in here, due to the fact we will be using the Alton Towers lockers for the two days, PACK LIGHTLY. Well not too lightly, but we need to make sure we can fit our bags in the lockers.

Its only one night so we don’t need loads!Clothes, toiletries, the necessity's! And then any little bag you’re willing to take Round the park with important stuff like moneyAnd then any food we’re taking with us!

Don’t be this guy!

• After another day at the park, we will be needing to get a bus back to the train station. They are said to run hourly.

• I’m not 100% on what the times are, but after looking online, I have found people say they are quite frequent, going from the park to the train station.

• It say here ;Return trips at:5:20 when rides advertised as closing at 5:006:20 when rides advertised as closing at 6:00

• And for the 29th, on the park website, the rides close at 6, so I assume there will be a bus at 6:20pm. Which will take about 34 minutes and get us at the train station for 6:54pm.

Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester• There are two possible trains we could get back, being 6:59

(gives us 5 minutes after getting off bus), or the 7:20 (which gives us 25 minutes).

• The 6:59pm train from Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester Victoria, has one change and arrives at 8:44pm.

• The 7:20pm train from Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester Victoria, has one change and arrives at 8:46pm.

(I’m unsure why the 6:59 train takes 1 hr, 45 mins, and the 7:20 takes 1 hr, 26 mins), this is something we need to decide.

Manchester to Blackburn

• Depending on which train back from S-O-T we are getting, it will be around 8:45pm that we are back in Manchester.

• The earlier train back to Blackburn, is 9:03pm (we only have a 15 or so minute wait), that will arrive back at Blackburn at 9:50pm.

FINAL FIFGURE-ISH• Blackburn to Manchester Return (IF bought in bulk) - £73.50 / £15 EACH

• Blackburn to Manchester Return (IF bought beforehand or on day) – UNKNOWN YET, MAYBE £8-£13)

• Manchester to Stoke-on-Trent Return (bought in bulk) - £111.50 / £23 EACH

• Bus to Alton Towers/Back to Train Station – UNKNOWN

• Lockers for both days - £10 PER LOCKER?

• Alton Towers food/other stuff – UNKOWN

• Taxi to Travelodge/Alton Towers - £60 / £10 EACH

• Pub in the evening – UNKNOWN

• Alton Towers tickets/Travelodge stay - £460 / £77 EACH

SOOOO BASICALLYThe only things we need to have right now, and booked, are the park/lodge, and then the two trains (well, 4).

This comes to £115 each. (Blackburn to Manchester bulk return for 5, Manchester to s-o-t bulk return for 5, 2 day park tickets and overnight stay at Travelodge for 6)

Then days before, and once there, we have the cost of the taxis, and lockers, and buses, which will come to around £20-£40 (depending on bus prices as lockers are £10 and the 2 taxi’s will be £10 each)

So overall price of everything except buses (as we don’t know price yet, and food),

is £135. But could go up to £150.