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Drayton Manor Park

Hid said:
Maybe first step is to actually see if the ride can be repaired before going forward with the rest then move on no use doing the building if the ride itself doesn't work
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And who argued that? Not me? So I am not sure what point you are trying to make there?

For months, the argument has been that there is lots of work going on inside the ride and it is coming back imminently. Even though it has been pretty apparent that nothing major has been happening around the ride.....that's the basis for the argument being put forward here.

No one has or is arguing that they might be testing stuff to see the feasibility of bringing the ride back. I have not seen that argument anywhere.

Welcome to the debate 😀. You seem a little lost. So (excuse the pun) i've corrected your course and compass for you.
 
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Hid said:
Does anyone actually remember how long Pirates Adventure took to construct before 1990
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It was around 18 months. The majority of that time, as with any dark ride, being filling the building up with all the scenes, scenery and everything Pirates. Creating the building and boat system was relatively short.

With any ride of this type, be it Disney or Drayton, the biggest portion of construction is the part of actually installing all the scenery and show elements.
 
There's always going to be maintence work happening, it's a building sat not being used, or used in a minimal way. But that doesn't mean it doesn't need maintaining. If something big was happening it would be blatantly obvious, there would be a big construction team on site. I'm sure they will use the building (or site) at some point. But at the moment I don't think they're in any great rush.
I'm honestly at the point where I wish they'd do something with it, or knock it down so we don't have to go in the 'pirates adventure is coming back' cycle every 6-12 months. When something is actually happening it will be blatantly obvious.
 
I think everything they do inside the pirate adventure building has been done in house. Like I bet every 12 months the compressors are worked on and passed off. They really need to sort the building out as every year the theming around the building is slowly rotting away and could fall off at anytime like it did during the storms during Christmas 2 years ago.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I think everything they do inside the pirate adventure building has been done in house. Like I bet every 12 months the compressors are worked on and passed off. They really need to sort the building out as every year the theming around the building is slowly rotting away and could fall off at anytime like it did during the storms during Christmas 2 years ago.
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Doing whatever they are doing in house is probably why the castle turrets fell off in the first place.
 
First visit since 2018 yesterday. Let's start with the positives.

The Wave does feel like an improvement on Shockwave. It's now a solid entry-level thrill coaster for those guests looking to make the step up.
Maelstrom is still an excellent standout flat ride and one of the best in the country.
The hotel's cleanliness is solid, and winding down with a drink in the garden at the back is lovely. The play equipment being set away in the woods makes for a nice touch, giving the kids that little sense of adventure.
The hotel beds are very comfy.
The hotel breakfast, whilst not perfect, is far superior to that found in the other Staffordshire theme park resort hotels.
Gold Rush is a good family coaster.

The negatives:

I entered through the car parking barrier in the morning, which was up, leading to confusion at multiple touchpoints about whether I needed a ticket or not to leave. Hotel guest? No ticket required. Oh, you booked through Booking.com? No perks for you, cough up. Oh you don't have a ticket because the barrier was up? That's fine, don't pay but you'll need to press the help button to leave. Oh your car is arriving at the barrier ready for you to press the help button? Sure thing, I'll automatically raise for you. Eh?

You're a hotel guest? Great! Come on in early and enjoy your perks! Oh, you booked through Booking.com? No perks for you. Actually, no, come on in 10 minutes early. We won't scan everyone's ticket, though, so any neanderthal could theoretically just walk in.

Capacity and operations leave a lot to be desired.

Gold Rush on one train on a weekend whilst the second train sits in pieces at the top of the hillside.

Gold Rush's op with the Blackpool-esque "I want to get home, hurry the hell up" announcements towards the end of the day after a day of not being arsed to have any urgency.

The god-awful use of AI on Aceelerator's building and The Haunting entrance signs.

The lake. Genuine question, how many seconds would it take for a human body to dissolve when falling into it? Same for the lake by Pirate's.

Abandoned dark ride buildings. What a horrendous visual.

The state of the food outlets. Dripping wasp traps. Dead insects cobwebbed to 5* hygiene rating signs.

Sheriff Showdown is just mind-numbing. A high-capacity indoor flat ride would be preferable.

Fireworks in the daylight against a backdrop of mish-mashed tunes? No thanks.


Also, could I have some clarity from anyone who implied Vikings was the best area since sliced bread when it opened please? I'd like to understand how anyone can come to this conclusion.

Sadly I don't think I'll be bothering with Drayton for a long time now unless they really invest in something significant or make a drastic overhaul.
 
Danny said:
Also, could I have some clarity from anyone who implied Vikings was the best area since sliced bread when it opened please? I'd like to understand how anyone can come to this conclusion.
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Not sure I've seen anyone say that. It is why it amused me so much when some fanatics dumped on Paultons for 'copying' Drayton with their Viking land.

I think we can all agree that Paultons will make Draytons attempt look like Drayton ordered the theming from wish.com and still managed to lose half of it.
 
Danny said:
First visit since 2018 yesterday. Let's start with the positives.

The Wave does feel like an improvement on Shockwave. It's now a solid entry-level thrill coaster for those guests looking to make the step up.
Maelstrom is still an excellent standout flat ride and one of the best in the country.
The hotel's cleanliness is solid, and winding down with a drink in the garden at the back is lovely. The play equipment being set away in the woods makes for a nice touch, giving the kids that little sense of adventure.
The hotel beds are very comfy.
The hotel breakfast, whilst not perfect, is far superior to that found in the other Staffordshire theme park resort hotels.
Gold Rush is a good family coaster.

The negatives:

I entered through the car parking barrier in the morning, which was up, leading to confusion at multiple touchpoints about whether I needed a ticket or not to leave. Hotel guest? No ticket required. Oh, you booked through Booking.com? No perks for you, cough up. Oh you don't have a ticket because the barrier was up? That's fine, don't pay but you'll need to press the help button to leave. Oh your car is arriving at the barrier ready for you to press the help button? Sure thing, I'll automatically raise for you. Eh?

You're a hotel guest? Great! Come on in early and enjoy your perks! Oh, you booked through Booking.com? No perks for you. Actually, no, come on in 10 minutes early. We won't scan everyone's ticket, though, so any neanderthal could theoretically just walk in.

Capacity and operations leave a lot to be desired.

Gold Rush on one train on a weekend whilst the second train sits in pieces at the top of the hillside.

Gold Rush's op with the Blackpool-esque "I want to get home, hurry the hell up" announcements towards the end of the day after a day of not being arsed to have any urgency.

The god-awful use of AI on Aceelerator's building and The Haunting entrance signs.

The lake. Genuine question, how many seconds would it take for a human body to dissolve when falling into it? Same for the lake by Pirate's.

Abandoned dark ride buildings. What a horrendous visual.

The state of the food outlets. Dripping wasp traps. Dead insects cobwebbed to 5* hygiene rating signs.

Sheriff Showdown is just mind-numbing. A high-capacity indoor flat ride would be preferable.

Fireworks in the daylight against a backdrop of mish-mashed tunes? No thanks.


Also, could I have some clarity from anyone who implied Vikings was the best area since sliced bread when it opened please? I'd like to understand how anyone can come to this conclusion.

Sadly I don't think I'll be bothering with Drayton for a long time now unless they really invest in something significant or make a drastic overhaul.
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Can I ask was your visit worst than your visit in 2018 if u can remember?
 
They’d be daft to use the Vikings expansion for anything other than a family wood coaster. Other Loopings parks have installed these recently and they may be keen to get another coaster in after Gold Rush has started having issues and isn’t a reliable headliner
 
tayspru said:
They’d be daft to use the Vikings expansion for anything other than a family wood coaster. Other Loopings parks have installed these recently and they may be keen to get another coaster in after Gold Rush has started having issues and isn’t a reliable headliner
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There is no room for a woodie in that area in the current setup. The area is quite small and blocked in on all sides. Even if they removed the coaster in the area, I doubt that will provide the space due the extremely small and thin footprint it has.

There only hope would be going over the lake for the majority of the ride I guess.
 
If they rerouted the road to the “new” Vikings carpark and then around to the main park then your left with an area similar in size to Wickerman. But it’s not gonna be a coaster so irrelevant
 
DistortAMG said:
There is no room for a woodie in that area in the current setup. The area is quite small and blocked in on all sides. Even if they removed the coaster in the area, I doubt that will provide the space due the extremely small and thin footprint it has.

There only hope would be going over the lake for the majority of the ride I guess.
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There is plenty of room if they relocate the horses, even more so if they bridge over the current roads. The new woodies in other Loopings parks are very compact
 
Poisson said:
Vikings is basically B&Q sheds and brown paint, with the odd small nice piece thrown in. Majority is just nothing.
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This is the thing with Drayton now, in all of the themed areas they have built under Loopings, there isnt really much "theming", in the traditional sense.

A few minor bits and pieces but mostly just painted wood and lots of it. Not like the theming of old which would be lots and lots of custom, bespoke themeing pieces.

They just seem to have gone wild with wood on everything they do these days.

This is also why, Pirate Adventure or a replacement is almost guaranteed to be crap, if they carry on themeing the way they have. As a proper dark ride doesnt need wood, it needs lots and lots of custom and bespoke theming pieces to convey the theme they are trying to convey. I'm not sure the new Drayton have it in them to pull it off.

I am surprised Greta Thunberg hasn't been kicking off at the gates, with the sheer amount of timber the place seems to be using these days.
 
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