Alton Towers Fireworks, November 2025

Since I can first remember Alton Towers doing a fireworks display I’ve always wanted to go, but time and money, so it’s never been on the cards. Now as a fully fledged grown up with grown up money and a Merlin Annual Pass, I thought it was about time to rectify that wrong and book a family trip to see the event first hand. Excited? Yes. Will that excitement turn to bitter disappointment? Also yes. But we’re not blaming the fireworks, they were awesome.

I didn’t realise how popular Alton Towers fireworks was. OK, its fireworks at Alton Towers so obviously popular, but I didn’t think it was going to be THAT busy. We rolled in at around 3:30pm to give ourselves time to explore and maybe grab a ride and some food before the fireworks at 7pm. The signs in the car park were saying the event was sold out, there were cars in the overflow again too. I’ve never seen a full Alton Towers, so this should be fun!

The theme of this years display was Alton Intelligence, AI takes over the fireworks. The Alton Intelligence program will be scanning the crowds emotions and memories to be able to create the perfect fireworks spectacular! Taking place over three nights (7^th, 8^th and 8^th November), offering a different display each evening, so anyone attending could enjoy a different experience depending on their visit. We went on the Saturday – the middle night.

There were no actual fireworks on the monorail, but that’s where the experience began. There was a little voice over as the train began to move telling us we were being scanned for our memories and emotions and the results were uploaded to Alton Intelligence for the show. A nice little touch.

There was no fireworks photo op at the top of Towers Street like there is for Scarefest, but the frogs in the pond were decorated in high-vis jackets with boxes of explosives along side them. Ribbit Rockets indeed.

We popped in to Towers Trading because I needed a fridge magnet to mark the occasion. Gotta get a magnet. For fireworks they did have both pins and magnets, along with some t-shirts and hoodies. They also had the Christmas merchandise available, so we picked up a Christmas jumper ornament for the tree. There were also lots of sale items as it was the end of the 2025 season too. Hot drink cups for £1, bauble sets down to £10, lots of Scarefest items reduced too. A great time to come if you’re after a bargain.

On and around the field next to the lake, they’d put down plastic flooring to save the grass and erected speakers and lighting fixtures for the show. Along the side of the area were a host of food and drink vans selling burgers, churros, coffee, chicken and chips. To the rear you’d find a stall selling bratwurst sausages and the Wunder Bar for alcoholic drinks.

Across the others side on the way to Mutiny Bay they had a Noodle van and the Bus Bar – a big red double-decker bus selling more alcoholic drinks. Plenty of options to eat and drink added for the event. We opted for the noodle bar and the Korean fried sticky chicken noodle box. £13! Nice though and a decent portion.

We didn’t get to see much of the park. They did have a Fireworks photo op down in the square near Hex but we didn’t get that far. We headed down through Mutiny Bay. The kids wanted one last ride of the season on Wicker Man which was currently sitting on a 90 minute queue. But first, the kids wanted food and I wanted a one last Beornen Beer of the season too. Elliott had his favourite hot dog from the Wicker Man food stall while Evan wanted a burger from Burger Kitchen. I headed to the Courtyard Bar to get my drink. There were extra food stalls in the courtyard too along with a pop-up bar just outside selling the Alton Towers Laugh & Scream lager.

It was a busy night for rides. Queues were massive all around the park as expected. There were just over 2 hours to go until fireworks and with Wicker Man on 90 mins, we SHOULD have time to get on and off leaving around 30 mins go toilet/find a space for the main event. We managed to get through for our final rollercoaster of the season and a great night ride on Wicker Man, which felt a lot faster today. Always one of our favourite coasters at Towers, it looks great and is so much fun.

We had around 30 mins before fireworks, so after queueing for the toilets inside the courtyard, we made for the exit to head towards Towers Street, only to find the exit was being blocked and we had to go the other way out. Following the masses, we headed around the path and just got out of Mutiny Bay when the crowd just stopped.

You could barely move. There was the odd surge forward but other than that it was a standstill. We were stopped just behind a tree and no one was moving. People were pushing through, causing issues. There were kids in buggies, people in wheelchairs all stuck in the melee. It was a full on crush and there were so many idiots making it worse. We were all trying to move and just couldn’t.

We’d been stuck for a good 20 mins with no movement other than security ramming through and getting a mouthful from some of the crowd about the organisation, overselling and greed. It wasn’t pleasant at all. I had to put Elliott on my shoulders to see and Evan who struggles with crowds wasn’t in a good place either with people pushing against him. It was an awkward, unpleasant experience and didn’t need to be.

We’ve seen pictures and footage of the show area and there was plenty of space in there for many more people. So why the hold up? There was no clear pathway for people to move to the back or up towards Towers Street. People were also pushing back through to get out as they couldn’t see anything which didn’t help. There should have been a fenced off walkway that security could have patrolled to stop loitering, but would have helped everyone move freely to the viewing area. I was standing with a child on my shoulders trying not to fall into a wheelchair while everyone pushed at us from all angles.

A clear path would have helped so much. If it was busy at the top, then fair enough, but we’ve seen the spaces at the top so there was definitely room. They had just created a bottle neck in that area and no one around to direct us. Interestingly, we’ve just seen a video from the Sunday and the Bus bar and other stalls on the Mutiny Bay path have been moved into the viewing area to open up that path! Too little too late.

We’ve learned from our mistakes. Next year we will go sit at the top an hour or so in advance to make sure we get a spot. We’ve seen reviews and videos praising the fireworks from those who were in a good spot, but nothing about how bad it was for the people who couldn’t get back up to enjoy them properly. That’s how the event played out for us unfortunately.

We’re fully aware that we should have gone earlier, but even so it shouldn’t have been like that. Regardless of how busy it was, many people had paid specifically to be there so they should have been able to see the fireworks, even from right at the back. We were trapped along the side, with the show partially obscured by a fence and trees.

I couldn’t fault what I saw of the display though, difficult though it was to concentrate on watching it and not falling over with a 7-year old on my shoulders. The fireworks were great. So many bright colours and explosions of different sizes, the lighting looked amazing and the lasers were great too. Fireballs bursting into the sky added another great visual and this all to a background of some remixed classic tunes and not unexpected the Alton Towers theme “Hall of the Mountain King”. I couldn’t quite follow the complete story properly with AI taking over then being flooded with emotions and memories for it’s finale, but as a whole it was a great show. Just disappointing we couldn’t enjoy it fully.

I don’t want this experience to put us off. Should we have gone to get a spot earlier? Yes, with the benefit of hindsight. I would have expected to be at the back if we’d have moved up with minutes to spare, but we had more time, and for people to not be able to see at all felt like bad organisation.

You live and learn though, and I hope we can come back next year and do it properly, that itch to see the Alton Towers fireworks hasn’t quite been scratched yet so maybe next year it will be.

The fireworks were done and many of the rides would take a minute to open back up, so we headed back through Mutiny Bay. We had a quick spin on Marauders Mayhem while it was quiet, then headed into the arcade while the crowd quietened and won some tacky bits from the 2p machine.

After that, we strolled down to Forbidden Valley so we could head out. Just as we got there they announced Nemesis was down (awkward when most other rides are still closed for fireworks) but I spotted Toxicator was on a 15 minute queue, it was dark and it hadn’t broken down! Would I actually get that night ride that has eluded me since opening day?? YES!!! A night ride on Toxicator at the fifth or sixth time of asking.

We were here on day one of the season for Toxicators opening day and it was the first ride we went on, so it was only fitting that it was our last ride of the season too! I do love Toxicator, and the night ride was so much fun. It felt a little more whippy than usual which was great, and I was glad the water jets weren’t on!

That’s us done for Alton Towers for the main 2025 season. Unsure if we’ll renew our passes for next year yet or do something different, so we’ll see. There’s still Christmas and Pirate Takeover in February, so we might be popping back for a look around. Until then, goodnight Alton Towers, it’s been emotional!

Keep an eye on the Alton Towers Fireworks page for info of this and next years event.