The World's Most Disappointing Tourist Attraction In 2025 Is A Disney Theme Park Knock-Off In Europe

At a glance, Alton Towers Resort in Staffordshire, England, looks like a sprawling, family-friendly theme park with little reason to not recommend it. It's massive at 550 acres, gets over 2 million visitors a year, seems well organized from a bird's-eye perspective (with hotels and parking on one side and 40 Disney-inspired rides and attractions on the other side), and even contains a fortress-like estate owned by the same noble family from 1412 to 1924. What's not to like? Judging by an overall negative review percentage of 49.4%, per Radical Storage, quite a lot — or at least a few specific things. According to Radical Storage's findings, reviewers are most likely to criticize the park's relatively low value for the price, along with poor customer service.

Tripadvisor also has 2,630 one-star reviews out of 24,496 (at the time of writing), or 10.7%. Trustpilot, meanwhile, has a brutal 61% percent one-star reviews. All in all, Alton Towers is the worst-reviewed theme park in the world. Looking at a sample of negative reviews on Tripadvisor — some of which are blisteringly excoriating — guests tend to criticize Alton Towers' poor accessibility for disabled people, dirty hotel rooms, food and drink options, and confusing ticketing structure. A few people here and there complain about long wait times or certain rides not being open, but even many of those guests frame their complaints in terms of treatment of individuals with disabilities, especially children. On top of all of the above, reviews also condemn park staff for unhelpful or rude treatment. Tripadvisor user @wozza74 succinctly bundles together several such complaints in their review, describing how they told staff that their son couldn't stand in line for longer than five minutes due to a health condition. Park staff reportedly responded, "He will have to manage and it's only 15 minutes."

Would-be visitors to Alton Towers Resort can try to make the most out of the experience, but it'll take some work — especially for those with accessibility needs. Alton Towers does have what's called a "Ride Access Pass," which the park's website says is for "guests who may find it difficult or cannot stand for long periods of time either due to a physical disability or a learning/emotional impairment." But the website also cautions against waiting too long to purchase the pass, as the application process isn't instant. Access Passes require proof-of-access approval through an organization called Nimbus Disability, which will provide an access card. This card has to be linked to a digital Merlin Ride Access Pass which also requires its own photo card application made at least seven days before going to the park. So, yes, some of those negative reviews might have a point.

Regarding reviewers' other complaints: Guests are allowed to bring their own food and drinks, which will help rescue people from Alton Towers' options and keep costs down. Dirty hotel rooms are something else to contend with, however, and might be a bit of a crapshoot — and some surfaces in a hotel room are likely to be dirty no matter what. As for wait times and ride closings, there's an Alton Towers app that people can download to help them plan properly.  

Not only is Alton Towers Resort the most disappointing theme park in the world, it's also a Disney knock-off. There are loads of such parks around the world, like Germany's Europa Park, China's now-dead Evergrande Children's World and Wonderland Amusement Park, and Japan's Taiyo Park. In some cases, a theme park looks like it was inspired by Disney theme parks but actually came first, like the mystical Efteling in the Netherlands, which opened in 1952. Meanwhile, Disneyland in Anaheim, California — with its magical Main Street, USA that other streets hope to reproduce — opened in 1955, and Disney World in Orlando opened in 1971. The Alton Towers estate officially got converted into a theme park in 1980 with its first rollercoaster, the Corkscrew.

Alton Towers hasn't been shy about admitting that it took inspiration from Disney, and it has all the usual, Disney-like trimmings we've come to expect. On the mascot front, Alton Towers adopted its first mascot in 1984, the generously named Cuddly Bears. The park has gone through loads of mascots since then, many of which got dropped and some of which stuck around, like Darwin the Dodo and Fin the Shark. Like Disney, these mascots are attached to specific, themed areas within Alton Towers, like Fin the Shark hanging around Mutiny Bay, a pirate-themed zone. Alton Towers has a bunch of such zones, like the spooky Gloomy Wood; the Forbidden Valley with a signature roller coaster, Nemesis Reborn; and the adventure-themed Katanga Canyon. This is where Alton Towers shines, and it bears mentioning that few reviews criticize the actual rides or attractions at Alton Towers. If visitors keep its downsides in mind, it's possible to still have a good time.