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Alton Towers pulls out all the stops when it comes to Christmas, with a magical Santa’s Grotto, festive entertainment, Christmas markets and a selection of family rides. Add in an overnight stay in one of the resort’s themed hotels, Christmas dinner, breakfast and a trip to the Waterpark, and the Santa Sleepover is a pretty special way to kick-start the festive season.
We went along to check out the Santa Sleepover Alton Towers package as a family of four and WOWSERS, what a way to get into the Christmas spirit!
Peak District Kids were provided with a complimentary Santa Sleepover Alton Towers package for purposes of this review. As always, we provide reviews that are 100% honest, so that you can make the most out of your visit.
Peak District Christmas Events guide 2026
Details of all Christmas events taking place in and around the Peak District from Christmas markets and trails, to festive shows and experiences.
What is Santa Sleepover Alton Towers?
The Santa Sleepover at Alton Towers is a festive short break designed to pack Christmas activities, theme park fun and an overnight stay into one family getaway.
The current package starts from £96 per person and includes:
- 1-day entry to the Theme Park with a selection of family rides and attractions, including CBeebies Land
- A visit to Santa’s Grotto in Mistletoe Lane
- Festive Theme Park entertainment
- Live pantomime
- A festive evening meal and entertainment
- An overnight stay in one of Alton Towers’ themed hotels
- Buffet breakfast
- Entry to the Alton Towers Waterpark
- 9 holes of Extraordinary Golf
Santa Sleepover dates for 2026 run from 27th November to 23rd December.
The exact combination of entertainment and attractions can change from year to year, so it is worth checking the details for your chosen date before booking.
Alton Towers Christmas Markets
One of the things that makes Christmas at Alton Towers feel different from a standard theme park visit is the festive atmosphere around the resort.
When we visited, Towers Street had been transformed into the Towers Christmas Market, with decorated wooden huts selling gifts, festive food and drinks. Seasonal entertainment from the bandstand added to the atmosphere.
Compared with some of the big Christmas markets around Europe, these markets felt wonderfully quiet, while still having enough of a buzz to make it feel festive. This is probably because visitors are spread around the different sections of the resort rather than the market being the main event, as it is in many cities and towns.
We particularly appreciated not having to wait in a huge queue for our obligatory festive churros! There were also sheltered huts with tables where you could sit down and enjoy your treats.
Alton Towers rides at Christmas
Now we had recently visited Alton Towers for Oktoberfest, so our boys had a very clear idea of what rides there were at Alton Towers. Being 7 and 9 years old, they were at that in-between CBeebies Land and Nemesis age, and both were under 140cm for the upside-down rides. But these little adrenaline junkies absolutely loved their Oktoberfest visit, with favourite rides being Wicker Man, TH13TEEN and Spinball Whizzer. Do read our guide to visiting Alton Towers with kids aged 6-10 if you’re at that tricky in-between stage.
This is probably the most important thing to understand before booking a Santa Sleepover: Alton Towers at Christmas is not the same as visiting during the main theme park season.
The resort’s biggest rides go into hibernation over winter, while a selection of family rides and attractions remain open for the Christmas period. Ride availability can also be affected by weather and operational issues, so it’s worth checking what is running on the day of your visit.
When we visited, there were only a handful of rides available. The boys were particularly keen on Hex and Spinball Whizzer, and we also had a quick go on the rides in Mutiny Bay before meeting Santa.
The queues were generally short, although there was a longer wait for Spinball Whizzer. However, even some of the rides that were open weren’t guaranteed to stay open throughout the day. Cold and wet winter weather can affect ride availability too.
So, our advice is to see the rides as a bonus rather than the main reason for booking Santa Sleepover, particularly if your children are too old for CBeebies Land.
If your children are younger, however, the Christmas visit can work particularly well. CBeebies Land is included, along with festive live entertainment, so there’s still plenty to keep younger visitors entertained.
Meeting Santa at Alton Towers
You pre-book a time slot to see Father Christmas, which minimises your waiting time. We waited about 5 minutes before an elf shyly peeked around the entrance door to beckon us in.
Despite it being such a busy time of year, Father Christmas was wonderfully calm and patient. Somehow the boys made the ‘good list’ and they chatted about the present that they would really like. And then they were invited to open a box for a small present to take home (an Alton Towers Christmas teddy bear!)
It was a really lovely experience and felt very authentic. Alton Towers is one of the best places to meet Santa in the Peak District (although technically just outside the National Park boundary).
The current Santa Sleepover includes a visit to Santa’s Grotto in Mistletoe Lane.
Staying at the Alton Towers Hotel
Alton Tower’s Santa Sleepover package includes an overnight stay in one of the themed hotels. We were booked into a Moon Voyage Room at the Alton Towers Hotel.
The theming of this room was perfect for our family. But you can choose from a range, including Explorer Room, Gangster Granny Room, Peter Rabbit Room, to name a few.
This Moon Voyage Room sleeps a family of four. There’s a big double bed for parents, and then twin bunk beds cleverly separated with a divide. There are tea and coffee making facilities, two TVs, and a small bathroom with bath/shower. But the best bit according to the boys? The Xbox! They don’t have one at home and we don’t tend to let them use their tablets in their rooms, so this was a humungous treat!
Dining at the Santa Sleepover
Dinner and breakfast is also included in the package; although you do need to pay extra for drinks with your dinner (both soft drinks and alcoholic drinks are not included). We enjoyed both dinner and breakfast at the Secret Garden Restaurant at the Alton Towers Hotel.
The service at dinner was efficient and very friendly, and its a great atmosphere with live music coming from the balloon ship (the focal point of the Alton Towers Hotel). However, we were a bit disappointed at the quality of the food. Just a little on the bland side. It’s a set menu (see below).
Breakfast is served as a buffet, and despite having a later time slot, fresh food was coming out of the kitchen and everything was kept topped up. It felt very much like a Premier Inn style breakfast, with English breakfast, pancakes, cereal, and breads on offer. Fresh fruit was lacking though. Vegetarian sausages can be cooked on request. We all enjoyed a huge breakfast in preparation for the next and final experience of the Alton Towers Santa Sleepover package.
Alton Towers Waterpark
As if a full day of theme park rides, meeting Santa, and Christmas Dinner isn’t enough, the next day after breakfast, we headed over to the waterpark. This is situated next to the Alton Towers Hotel and connected by corridors, so you don’t have to walk outside in the cold.
Parents, get mentally prepared for a loud and full on few hours; music blares from the speakers over gushing water and shrills from kids. It’s intense, but brilliant fun!
It was busy during our visit, but numbers are limited and the only slides which required a long wait was the Master Blaster (30mins, so we didn’t bother). But there are two other slide systems, which kept us more than happy. Add in a lazy river and a huge waterworks climbing frame, and there is enough to make a full day of it.
Just remember to take a 20p coin for the lockers (a family will probably need two lockers). Quite surprised they haven’t installed an automated system for lockers yet, but apparently this is coming.
How to book Santa Sleepover Alton Towers?
Head over to the Alton Towers website to book online. Santa Sleepover 2026 is available on selected dates between 27th November and 23rd December, with prices currently advertised from £96 per person.
Because the package includes several different experiences, it’s worth looking carefully at what needs to be booked or timed separately once you’ve made your reservation. In particular, make sure you know when your Santa visit, evening meal, breakfast and Waterpark session are scheduled.
It’s also worth remembering that ride availability can change. Alton Towers recommends using its Resort app for live ride information and queue times during your visit.
Final thoughts on the Alton Towers Santa Sleepover
There’s a lot to fit into 24 hours, but that’s also what makes the Santa Sleepover such a fun family Christmas experience.
Just make sure you set your kids’ expectations regarding the theme park rides. Alton Towers is a very different place at Christmas, with the biggest rides closed for the winter and a selection of family attractions operating instead.
For younger children, particularly those who love CBeebies Land, the combination of rides, Santa, festive entertainment, a themed hotel and the Waterpark makes for a seriously memorable Christmas break. For older children, it depends a little more on what they want from the experience. If they’re expecting a full day of rollercoasters, they’ll probably be disappointed. But if they’re happy to swap the big rides for Santa, Christmas entertainment, festive food, hotel fun and the Waterpark, there’s still plenty to enjoy.
And for us, that was really the magic of Santa Sleepover. It didn’t feel like we’d simply spent a day at Alton Towers with a bit of Christmas decoration thrown in. For those 24 hours, Christmas really did take over the whole resort.