The mobility scooter charges on these theme park pages are £25 at LEGOLAND Windsor, £25 a day at Alton Towers and £35 a day at Chessington, while Thorpe Park says it does not hire scooters at all and Paultons Park shows no price on its hire page. This article reports what the five parks’ own pages say, read on 9 November 2026, for visitors to Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures, LEGOLAND Windsor, Thorpe Park and Paultons Park in England. Apart from a Paultons page dated 28 August 2024, the pages are undated, so the current page decides what applies.
Can you bring your own scooter?
Alton Towers and Chessington use the same wording: visitors are welcome to bring their own mobility scooter to the Resort, but scooters cannot be brought into ride queue lines and must be left outside the ride. LEGOLAND Windsor says visitors can either bring their own or hire one, and that with most rides scooters should be left outside the building; a guest with a specific accessibility requirement about a scooter being brought to the boarding point should speak to a member of staff. Thorpe Park’s help centre lists a question, “Can I bring a mobility scooter?”, but its answer page was not read for this article, and the Merlin accessibility page read says only that scooter hire is not offered. The Paultons pages read state no rule on bringing a scooter; its 2024 page says the vast majority of the park is laid with smooth level tarmac paths to aid wheelchair and mobility scooter users.
Who hires one out, and what is held?
- Alton Towers: a £25 returnable deposit and a £25 charge per day, processed at Guest Services on Towers Street. The page says a limited number of scooters are available daily and recommends booking online in advance.
- Chessington: hire from Lodge Gate at £35 per day plus a £50 fully refundable pre-authorisation on a credit or debit card. The page says all wheelchairs and mobility scooters are standard dimensions.
- LEGOLAND Windsor: a hire charge of £25 (card only) and a £50 holding deposit (card only) taken on the day, refunded when the scooter is returned to The Beginning. Scooters must be reserved in advance, the minimum age is 18 and a disclaimer and terms of use must be completed on site.
- Thorpe Park: “We do not offer mobility scooter hire on Resort.”
- Paultons Park: scooters must be pre-booked on the website and cannot be booked at the park; only a limited number are available each day. The hire page read shows no charge and refers to a separate terms and conditions page that was not read.
What the hire scooter is
Only LEGOLAND publishes specifications for its hire scooter: a maximum weight limit of 500lbs (227kgs), a maximum speed of 4mph, a battery life of 35 miles (56 km) and dimensions of 42 inches high, 23 wide and 48 long (107cm by 58cm by 122cm). The page says to be seated before turning it on and to take the key if leaving it for an extended period. The other pages read give no weight limit or battery details.
Hills and paths
Alton Towers and Chessington both say, in their wheelchair hire paragraphs, that “due to the very hilly nature of our site” this “can make powered buggies very unstable”. Alton adds that users should take extra care and speak to a staff member in Guest Services; Chessington says to take extra care. Neither sentence mentions mobility scooters by name, so the pages do not say whether it is meant to cover them. LEGOLAND says sections of the park can be steep, which can make powered buggies or scooters unstable, and that all pathways are suitable for mobility scooters except the one heading down from Rebuild the World to Spinning Spider, whose rides can be reached by alternative routes. Paultons’ 2024 page names one exception to its tarmac paths: the Lakeside Walk, which is compacted gravel.
Does a scooter change how you queue?
At Paultons it can. The park says its scooters are not limited to guests with disabilities, so users are not automatically eligible for ride access via the exit gates, and a Queue Assist Pass is required when a scooter is hired. The only exception it gives is a guest holding an Access ID/Card with the wheelchair symbol, who should report to the First Aid Room to see the nurse once the scooter has been collected. The other four pages read do not describe a scooter-linked queue rule beyond leaving the scooter outside the ride.
One seasonal extra
Alton Towers describes a Fireworks Wheelchair User Platform for guests who require a wheelchair or mobility scooter, limited to one wheelchair or scooter and one essential companion per booking, with access from 4:30pm and last admittance at 6:30pm. The page read gives no event dates.
What the pages do not say
None of the pages read says whether a visitor can charge their own scooter on site. Prices and rules are the parks’ own and may change, and only the Paultons 2024 page carries a date.
The bottom line
Alton Towers, Chessington and LEGOLAND Windsor each say visitors may bring their own scooter, with scooters left outside rides, and publish hire charges of £25, £35 and £25 respectively, with a deposit, pre-authorisation or holding deposit. Thorpe Park says it does not hire scooters, and Paultons requires advance booking, shows no price on its hire page and requires a Queue Assist Pass with a hired scooter. Alton and Chessington warn of very hilly sites for “powered buggies”, and LEGOLAND of steep sections for buggies or scooters. Because most pages are undated, each park’s current page decides what applies.
Sources
- Theme park accessibility, Alton Towers Resort, page undated, read 9 November 2026 (altontowers.com)
- Theme park, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Merlin Entertainments accessibility pages, page undated, read 9 November 2026 (accessibility.merlinentertainments.biz)
- Mobility Scooters/Wheelchairs, LEGOLAND Windsor Resort help centre, page undated, read 9 November 2026 (support.legoland.co.uk)
- Theme park, Thorpe Park Resort, Merlin Entertainments accessibility pages, page undated, read 9 November 2026 (accessibility.merlinentertainments.biz); Accessible Facilities, Thorpe Park help centre, page undated (support.thorpepark.com)
- Mobility Scooter Hire, Paultons Park, page undated, read 9 November 2026 (paultonspark.co.uk); Wheelchair Accessibility, Paultons Park blog, 28 August 2024, read 9 November 2026 (blog.paultonspark.co.uk)