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Drayton Manor Park

Yeah I dont think it can be called a design flaw as others have suggested, as the thing worked fine last season, its only since something has been adjusted that the issues seem to have arisen.

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Jb85 said:
Yep.
It’s the intamin curse alright ……

it is a fairly standard ride now given what they have built, and others have said it’s not launch related so god knows what’s causing the issue.

All parks should build b&m going forward - although they to have issues from time to time
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I mean in fairness to Intamin, if they went ahead and built a fairly basic single lift hill coaster, it would probably run reliably aswell. Part of B&M's reliability comes from the fact they keep their rides fairly simple. Intamin on the other hand usually have multiple switch tracks, multiple launches and or complex launch systems (RITA) which make the rides fair more ambitious than most B&Ms, but also make them much more complex.
 
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DistortAMG said:
Yeah I dont think it can be called a design flaw as others have suggested, as the thing worked fine last season, its only since something has been adjusted that the issues seem to have arisen.
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I mean in fairness to Intamin, if they went ahead and built a fairly basic single lift hill coaster, it would probably run reliably aswell. Part of B&M's reliability comes from the fact they keep their rides fairly simple. Intamin on the other hand usually have multiple switch tracks, multiple launches and or complex launch systems (RITA) which make the rides fair more ambitious than most B&Ms, but also make them much more complex.
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It was said in gesticulation but you are right - Intamin have been extremely daring in what they have tried to achieve with their rides. More so than any other manufacturer.
 
Jb85 said:
I mean in fairness to Intamin, if they went ahead and built a fairly basic single lift hill coaster, it would probably run reliably aswell. Part of B&M's reliability comes from the fact they keep their rides fairly simple. Intamin on the other hand usually have multiple switch tracks, multiple launches and or complex launch systems (RITA) which make the rides fair more ambitious than most B&Ms, but also make them much more complex.
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To be honest, I think if Drayton Manor had gone with a clone of Juvelen, it would've been more reliable and more what they need in terms of the thrill level progression than Gold Rush did.

I like Gold Rush but I'd say it's too similar to Accelerator with it's thrill level and what it does (even with a launch and not being a shuttle).
 
Alphe86 said:
You assume the park wants to go for something more thrills?
The Wave only exists because they wouldn’t get permission to put something else there of similar footprint
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Just because they are a family park doesn't mean they can't add thrill rides. They may do in the future.

I could see them adding something later down the line
 
Hid said:
Just because they are a family park doesn't mean they can't add thrill rides. They may do in the future.

I could see them adding something later down the line
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I disagree... they're starting to go slightly more family-oriented now, although not as much as other parks. Remember that they took out two big thrill rides in Apocalypse (RIP) and Pandemonium. I do not see them being replaced by new thrill rides as that would contradict the new direction of the park.
 
Skyscraper said:
I disagree... they're starting to go slightly more family-oriented now, although not as much as other parks. Remember that they took out two big thrill rides in Apocalypse (RIP) and Pandemonium. I do not see them being replaced by new thrill rides as that would contradict the new direction of the park.
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I am not talking of a big thrill to that extent more in line with the thrill level Maelstrom or Air Race provide that type still thrilling but more approachable by families something like Fonix would work well at Drayton's thrill level, Thrilling yet not really intense. Time will tell
 
Alphe86 said:
You assume the park wants to go for something more thrills?
The Wave only exists because they wouldn’t get permission to put something else there of similar footprint
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I was thinking that Juvelen would've fitted the thrill level Drayton would be going for like a glove.

It's unlikely they'll go for something like Hyperia or even Shockwave again however I'd certainly think that something in the middle is what they'd want to aim for. Towers has Thirteen, Wickerman and Spinball Whizzer, most of Chessington's coasters fit this whilst Paultons have Cobra and Storm Chaser.

Even a Eurofighter would work at Drayton like it's southern competition 😂

To add, I'd say the park are going more in the middle than they did before Looping picked it up, I'd say the previous management would've gone for family coasters more.
 
owenstreet7 said:
To be honest, I think if Drayton Manor had gone with a clone of Juvelen, it would've been more reliable and more what they need in terms of the thrill level progression than Gold Rush did.

I like Gold Rush but I'd say it's too similar to Accelerator with it's thrill level and what it does (even with a launch and not being a shuttle).
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I'd say Juvelen was the absolute highlight of Djurs Sommerland! It's another thrill level above Gold Rush and, whilst quite different than it would of been an excellent choice. In-fact I'd say a Juvelen clone would still work perfectly in Drayton to complement Gold Rush and The Wave.

I do feel like Drayton need another coaster that's a bit more thrilling than Accelerator and Gold Rush to complete the line-up!
 
The one thing I slate Drayton Manor for is their shockingly bad customer service, while the park has improved since Loopings took over, customer service has took a massive nose dive.

Want to contact the park before or after a visit? Good luck.

They very rarely if ever, reply via their guest services email, if they do, (which is rare) expect to wait a few weeks at least, for a reply. This along with no phone number, makes it practically impossible for anyone to contact the park.

Social media is just as bad too, they do not even reply to their customers TripAdvisor reviews, something that is rare for a company of that size. That alone, says a lot about how bad the things got and their whole view on customer service.

They easily win the award for worst customer service of any UK theme park, they are fine when there on park, however.

One more thing, the people who are hopeful of a new dark ride in to replace Pirate Adventure in the next few year's, ive noticed that both The Haunting and Sherrifs Showdown are both in very terrible states. Lot's of effects and audio not working on both, even the guns don't shoot or calculate scores properly on the latter. They have took a noticable down turn in the last few years after the Bryans, even they were not great at up keep for their dark rides either. But semingly better than Loopings.

It is all well and good building a shiny new dark ride which by their very nature require lots of upkeep and attention, but it is clear they cannot even do the most basic upkeep and maintenance with their current dark ride line up, even when both dark rides exist in their brand new 'shiny' area, so I dont hold much hope for anything new that comes.

I say 'shiny' because the new area consists of some pretty large and empty / abandoned prime restaurant / retail space, which was never completed after the re theme, and a half re themed Vekoma coaster. I understand the coaster is being done bit by bit, but what that shows, is that they ran out of money, and combined with the abandoned building and the dark rides, that they also do not see presentation of their new areas, as a high priority.

It's a poor effort and a shame because this new area consists of a new coaster, a half re themed older coaster with a bright green paint job (very wild west) and two dark rides in an absolute terrible state. They clearly dont have the skill set to pull off a massive dark ride like Pirate Adventure and do it well, the evidence is glaringly obvious.

There have been lots of positives at the park for sure in the last 5 years, but these two issues are not only quite big ones, but they are quite bad and frankly, going backwards in some cases.
 
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