u/davechambers007

So I went on Wednesday and had a most fantastic day. Ive always felt that the guys and gals who worked at the park were the unsung heroes (compared to the roller coasters) and honestly yesterday was a strong reminder of that.

Now I went with my mum, shes nearly sixty and still loving the park and her favourite ride is Wickerman (used to be Smiler). She was unfortunately having a slow day due to a back issue so I was a single rider and mum enjoyed the atmosphere.

We arrived at 11 and the car park was less than half full - up to the C pylon. So hoped for a quiet day and short queues. There was no line for the monorail but there were guests in every cabin.
Upon arriving on park we decided to grab a cuppa before embarking on my adventure! And this was a first great interaction. At Corner Coffee Merlin Pass holder are not able to use the self serve kiosks and get the discount so we had to go to the till. My mum has a new hobby and that is Pokemon Go. My mum is so proud of her progress she told the woman serving us. Rather than just "oh thats nice" or something similar the lady asked what her favourite pokemon were, how many she had, if she had friends on the game. Mum was buzzing.

We headed to X-Sector first. I did Smiler and Oblivion really quick. Both were advertised at 20 minutes but the Single Rider queue was empty and I was straight on no waiting - great start. Dont Look Down is back on the audio before the drop. I dont know what theyve done but you can barely hear it at ground level so hopefully it remains and no complaints.

Next on to Dark Forest and Thirteen and Rita. This is where my longest waits happened. Thirteen first and here i noticed just how rude and entitled the general public can be (but also organised). Single Rider queue probably had me waiting 20 minutes when mainline was also 20. I noticed in the mainline a very tiny girl coming down the steps with, what i presume were parents, dad was doing a not very good job of hiding her and when it came to being batch he pushed her to his right in an attempt to stop the staff seeing her, he barged past the guy on batching as he stepped forward to measure her, ignored him completely and as he attempted to stop the guy the mother blocked him further as the dad ran for the pen. You could see the staff was put off by this and was clearly in communication with the cabin and other guys and i presume they felt some vindication and probably laughed at the guy - when the train arrived back in with this tiny girl and she was in tears.
On Thirteen I was also placed with another single rider, I didnt get his name but he was spending three days on park and staying at the hotel. He was a fellow fan and i, probably, bored him by prattling on about theme parks.
I did Rita next - and the lad from the single rider queue also followed on - so another 20 minute wait here bemoaning the lack of a Single Rider queue. The guy on batching here asked if i was having a good day and i told him it was fantastic thanks to single rider, he told me which rides still had them and which didnt which was friendly and helpful. I wished my single rider buddy a good rest of day.

I met back up with mum, she had caught seven new Pokemon already and felt the visit was worth it just for that!.

We decided on dinner and would have a loaded spud (baked potato). Personally I think this is best value for food on park. Its filling and £8 after discount is not horrendous. Mum had gone to sit down so I was left to carry two spuds and two cokes which i realised I could not do! Thankfully the young lass behind the counter saw my conundrum and offered to help me carry my food to my seat. Again she was lovely asking after my day what my favourite ride was (Thirteen), what I had done and remarked that I was "brave" for thinking of going on Wickerman straight after eating.

After dinner mum wanted to walk the lakeside walk to Forbidden Valley, she would be slow so i smashed out some more rides.

Wickerman was five minutes, main queue. Staff were so patient as someone was moaning about the lack of signing for the RAP. The person was saying they had to walk the whole queueline because they couldnt see the QR code. They moaned about "needing better signage" and the patient dude there kindly agreed saying "youre not the first to point that out" he must hear it alot but makes the guest feel heard.
Next a run around Sharkbait where I caught the Ray talk completely by accident. Informative with a bit of humour but i couldnt listen to all as i had mum to catch up to in Forbidden Valley

I took a stroll down Haunted Hollow. Whilst I do like this walk it does look tired already/still. I wanted to do Curse but reasoned to myself it was nearly time for me to leave so id rather do the coasters this time. I regret this decision as even riding alone i adore this ride I know not everyone is fond of this but I think it fits in so well and adds so much to the ride lineup and is great to boot. My favourite seen is the mirror hall.

Nemesis was on five minutes so i did this. No staff interaction here as they are all behind the bay line next to the train. I was so quick in the line - although the long hike around on a quiet day seems a bit painful! The ride was so quick i jumped on Nemesis again. The line had grown to ten minutes but I was rewarded with Front Row. Still the best experience on the park is Nemesis front row I cannot think of anything better.

Final stop of the day was Nemesis bunker for some shopping. I forgot to pick up John Wardleys books as I still have not read these. Mum bought a Nemesis t-shirt - shes slowly collecting them from all rides. Dude who served us was chatty and said he had the same t-shirt at home.

All in I did everything I wanted - except now reflecting i should have done Curse and bought the books but im going again soon. Lots of quick rides, positive interactions with staff and my single rider buddy. Mum loved catching Pokemon (and of course spending time with her son) We were on park a grand total of four hours 11am - 3pm. Yet I am truly worn out too. Fantastic day, great staff and cannot wait till i go again next week!

I had a visit with the family planned for tomorrow but the missus has taken a little tumble and is struggling to walk. Apparently I also cant be trusted to look after little people on my own - which is a complete shame because my wife very rarely agrees to come to Theme Parks with me.
So instead of a day of Squirrel Nutty and Bluey I am instead left to plan my own day.

Realistically that means i will be on a few rides and then spend the rest of the time just enjoying the park and Gardens and seeing what else I can find. Ive posted before on how much I love to go to Cuckoo Arbour or just stand in La Refuge or soak at a pagoda fountain. To watch a video about where the "hidden glass houses" are and then go find them myself.

But with my visits for the year already mounting up I thought I'd ask if anyone else was there that maybe wanted company? For a couple of rides?

Im a fairly normal and (probably) boring 43 year old dude. A retired Social Worker who has loved theme parks and especially Alton Towers for 20+ years. Ive travelled Europe and America in this hobby. Ive met people off of here previously too.

Let me know if youre on park and want to join me. Alternatively if youre reading this and not on park perhaps you could suggest a place for me to wander to? Not the hidden/forgotten toilets though - there is nothing interesting about that building!

A brief bit of context.
I am/was an adult social worker. My child protection knowledge is enough to know about keeping any clients children safe and understand that whilst drug use may be criminal it is not always a sign of neglect or abuse. But equally extreme drug use can impact on a childs, health, wellbeing and development.
I am also not a "prude". I realise cannabis use is rampant. I have friends that use it, clients that do and a brother in law who has given up use after being an addict for several years.

However the Easter week led me to a realisation about my neighbours and i questioned whether I should be reporting "concerns" to social services so i would appreciate any advice.

About two years ago new neighbours moved in. We believed just a man and woman who were partners. Im not overly social with any neighbour really. Once a week a smell (cannabis) would waft around the street. Me and the wife would laugh and joke that they are on it again and comment literally you cannot move in the UK for smelling weed and leave it at that. You can identify which house easily looking from an upstairs window and seeing them smoke.
Since the beginning of February (so nearly three months) the usage has increased to now every night. Where it used to be a smell that lingered for less than an hour its now the majority of the day - leading me to believe the usage or number of people using is increased. Obviously this is unpleasant but realistically what can we do? The Police arent going to be interested in a smell. I cant imagine an ASBO either?
But Easter weekend they had a party. There was probably 20 bodies there in the garden probably 50/50 split adult children. I would say every adult there was smoking weed. This was a prolonged occasion too. Again i reasoned i wouldnt intrude on their "fun" and it would be over in a night.

Since this weekend the usage has continued - if you drive into our close after 5pm you will smell weed probably until 7pm. I'll be honest its impacting on my enjoyment of the garden and my wife more so as she loves to sunbathe. The neighbours have now built a little wooden lean too which seems to serve as a shelter should bad weather set in so they can continue to use outside.
This is where the situation changes - as we've had nice weather we have been in the garden. We've come to realise that there are two children there. I've watched at school time (as we live very close to an infant school) and indeed every day of the week two girls, approx ages 5-6, have been escorted out of the close by one of our neighbours.

I understand theres no real "mandatory reporting" but is this report worthy? The children appear clean and healthy. They are chatty on the street. I'll be honest - its only come to my attention because of the effect its having on us enjoying the good weather. Whilst I havent got too close to the children I cannot imagine that they do not stink of weed too (although maybe theres no use in the house so maybe not?)

And heres where im struggling. Obviously we have a duty of care. Its not a pledge i take every morning but i am concerned at what appears to be a huge increase in drug use recently. I dont want to waste time or cause an issue for what, at least outwardly, appears to be a loving family but i also cant escape what was a once a week habit for an hour now appears to be every day for a prolonged period of time. With an increased risk knowing there are young children present.

Thoughts?