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Drayton Manor Park

Ok at work I was talking to the youth and asked them when they had last been to Drayton or Alton and many have never been to Alton and they were under 10 when they last went to Drayton. I asked if they wanted any of my £18 tickets and they said no thanks I rather risk losing a arm or leg at Alton Towers then ending up dead at Drayton Manor.
 
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I've said it before and I'll say it again. Drayton need to focus on what they used to do and used to do well. Immersive themed attractions. Storm Force 10, Pirate Adventure and even Excalibur all raised the bar in immersive themed attractions for the UK. While Excalibur didn't work as well, the idea was there and was a solid idea at that. The park used to do this type of thing well and really set the park apart and raised the bar in quality attractions. We get non of this these days and some truly great attractions have been lost.

In the few highly themed rides they did, where the thrill of the ride came from the theming more so or as much as the ride hardware contributed to the attraction, Drayton matched and sometimes even beat the multimillion Tussauds. Who they couldn't compete with on sheer brute force large spend thrill rides. But more than competed on attractions that truly took you out of the real world for a few minutes.

It baffles me as to why Drayton never capitalised on the hugely popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie craze back over a decade ago, they were already halfway there with Pirate Adventure. They could have spent some money on that, fitted some new technology into it and really pulled in fanatic crowds when Pirates of the Caribbean was huge. Alas they never and was a huge missed opportunity in my oppionion. Yes it was plagurisim of the highest level, but who cares. Not everyone can afford or even wants to go to Disney, but want to experience similar experiences, of which Drayton did really well.
 
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I don't think it would be possible to explain it better than you have right there. Rides like Stormforce 10 are pretty rare. And I'm not so much talking about the ride system (although even that is pretty uncommon), but the elaborate cornish themed station with all the charts and maps, the huge lighthouse, queueline, and even stuff like the launch ramp at the start and the oil rig. It's a ride designed out of passion, which as you say, is very uncommon these days. The original and rejected concept for Stormforce was even more elaborate funnily enough, particularly when it came to the ride experience. It would of involved a large indoor section and a story driven 'rescue mission' and the construction of a large village instead of the one big station, but the Farmer station made for a very impressive facade and an incredible queue line at the end of the day. And I agree absolutely Excalibur had a huge amount of talent put in to it. And unlike Drayton's previous ventures with rides being based 'loosely' off Disney, it was also original, right down to the script and monty python style Arthurian story. The use of IR beams to transmit the audio was ambitious and experimental but sadly seemed to cause so many problems. I think Excalibur needed some form of protection against the outdoor animatronic knights. Having them outdoors day and night in British weather didn't do them any favors. I'm not saying it should of been indoors (although an indoor Castleville would of been very cool) , but something more like the Splash Canyon animatronics, where the worker animatronics were covered by the roof of the pumping station would of been better. They shouldn't have used the Pirate Adventure wall for the construction site/scaffolding scene either. An entirely new castle like structure that the boats would of passed through would of made it a lot better, and perhaps created a bit of an echo for the audio if it was enclosed. The best part of the ride was undoubtedly the finale, because the theming became a lot more dense, and the fire caught a lot of new riders off guard.In some ways I think the gap between sparse and dense theming changed a little too much as you entered the final showroom and all of the lake sections needed so much more added to them. But yeah, overall. I think it's clear Excalibur could of been a superb ride and it had many of the building blocks to get there already.
Yeah, back in the mid 2000s, the pirates films were making huge amounts of money in the box office. It should of definitely been marketed more.They did add the Bounty around the same time as At World's End came out, and they had the big pirate show inside the circus, but Pirate Adventure would of been far more effective to market. I suppose one advantage for Drayton was that Disney capitalized on this on their own rides in the wrong ways, especially with the fog screens. Drayton keeping their ride fairly similar at least had an old and original style to it.

But I definitely agree that Drayton's should explore making more highly themed rides. I think a brilliant dark ride should be their next long term goal. It should appeal to a family or family thrill market. Perhaps even an indoor roller coaster.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
Been a season pass holder at Drayton and been to Alton Towers. I feel like there’s more at Drayton than at Alton Towers. My daughter who is now 7 loves Drayton Manor as none of there rides feel like it’s for babies like CBeebies land is now. Troublesome trucks and Accelerator is way better than Alton’s 2 kids coasters.
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Entitled to your opinion and all but you're probably the only person I have seen say this.

For all towers faults (and there are plenty) it absolutely annihilates DMP for me still. I mean 3 B&M coasters in one park is very rare indeed for any park in the world let alone the UK.

I say this on many threads but Towers have the best coaster line up in Europe. Not even Europa, PA or Phantasialand can boast so many quality coasters. They may beat Towers at just about everything else but not the biggest draw i.e. the coasters.
 
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Benjsh said:
Shouting, swearing, spitting, screaming,


Entitled to your opinion and all but you're probably the only person I have seen say this.

For all towers faults (and there are plenty) it absolutely annihilates DMP for me still. I mean 3 B&M coasters in one park is very rare indeed for any park in the world let alone the UK.

I say this on many threads but Towers have the best coaster line up in Europe. Not even Europa, PA or Phantasialand can boast so many quality coasters. They may beat Towers at just about everything else but not the biggest draw i.e. the coasters.
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He’s mostly saying that Drayton has much more to offer for children over Towers, which being fair it 100% does. Thomas Land is probably the best children’s area in a theme park in the UK. This unfortunately can’t be said for CBeebies Land, which has less than half the rides and attractions and the theming is falling apart.

However yes, Alton Towers has much more thrilling rides than Drayton Manor does and I’ll admit that, you just have to think about the different target markets. Drayton over the recent years has definitely made a move to becoming a family park over a thrill park and Towers has always been a thrill park which makes it unfair to compare the two and say “Drayton Manor is terrible and is falling to bits” because everybody here is the wrong target market for Drayton.
 
Benjsh said:
Shouting, swearing, spitting, screaming,


Entitled to your opinion and all but you're probably the only person I have seen say this.

For all towers faults (and there are plenty) it absolutely annihilates DMP for me still. I mean 3 B&M coasters in one park is very rare indeed for any park in the world let alone the UK.

I say this on many threads but Towers have the best coaster line up in Europe. Not even Europa, PA or Phantasialand can boast so many quality coasters. They may beat Towers at just about everything else but not the biggest draw i.e. the coasters.
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There are a fair few parks with 3 or more B&M's these days to be fair. Just in North America and to name a few you have; Canadas Wonderland, Seaworld Orlando, BGW, BGT, Carrowinds and Cedar Point, all with 3 or more B&M's, to name a few.

I absoloutly agree with you though that Alton have a stellar lineup of coasters, world class without a doubt.

However, I think he was referring to Drayton being a better day out for his daughter and children in general than Alton is. As a father to a 5 year old myself, I can't help but agree.

Drayton is leagues ahead of Alton in providing a great day out for kids than Alton currently is, walking around with a 5 year old all day sort of gives you a glimpse of what a place is like through their eyes.

Personally, I would love to see Alton excel in this area going forward. I think the location and atmosphere that Alton provide is perfect for some amazing stuff. Shame its not utilised properly at the moment.
 
I admit that it could definitely be argued that DMP has a stronger children's lineup than Alton does, but don't forget that Alton still has a number of family attractions; for starters, CBeebies Land is now quite a substantial area with a number of attractions. You also have the likes of Runaway Mine Train, Congo River Rapids, Hex, Duel, Spinball Whizzer, the Mutiny Bay attractions and quite a bit more! They certainly aren't short of attractions for this market, if you ask me.

However, despite my personal preference for Alton Towers, I won't deny that Drayton Manor has a fantastic lineup for families. For starters, Thomas Land is a substantial and charming little area that I know I'd have loved if I was young enough to truly appreciate it! One area that I'd say Drayton is definitely superior is in terms of their main kiddie coaster; as strange as it sounds, I must admit that I far preferred Troublesome Trucks to Octonauts as a coaster! It's extremely smooth, surprisingly forceful for a kiddie coaster and it was just more fun than I was expecting in general! When you move out of Thomas Land, there are many more very good family attractions! Accelerator is very fun and very smooth; I'd really love for more parks to get this model! Buffalo Mountain Coaster might not be quite as thrilling as Runaway Mine Train at Alton, but it's still a fun little powered coaster, in my opinion! Add to that the many family attractions that I didn't even get to experience!

From reading back through old posts in this thread, I think the thing to note is that I don't think thrillseekers are really Drayton's core audience anymore. It might be worth me noting that the last time they invested into a thrill ride (Air Race in 2014), the park experienced a loss, whereas every time they've invested into Thomas Land besides when the Splash Canyon incident occurred in 2017, they've had a record year for profits. I definitely feel that providing for families with young children is what the park excels at most presently, and I think they realise this themselves. Out of their recent additions, the ones that have been most successful are the ones for families, more specifically Thomas Land. In an era as turbulent for Drayton as the present one, I personally find it more easy to see why Drayton would go for something they know will be successful as opposed to something less proven. They can't really afford to take risks at present; one risk that backfires on them could potentially be catastrophic for the park.
 
My issue with Drayton is it doesn’t cater for your adult / older teenage market. Apart from shockwave and apocalypse what is there really?

Shame - they really lost their way about 10 years ago
 
I think what has also helped Thomas Land be so successful is the fact the park already had a zoo and a farm, this coupled with Thomas Land makes for a very complete and good value day out for families.

On a side note. I can clearly hear Shockwave running today from my living room. I'm a good few miles from the park but the wind must be running in the right direction today. As it is very rare that it can be heard.
 
DistortAMG said:
I think what has also helped Thomas Land be so successful is the fact the park already had a zoo and a farm, this coupled with Thomas Land makes for a very complete and good value day out for families.

On a side note. I can clearly hear Shockwave running today from my living room. I'm a good few miles from the park but the wind must be running in the right direction today. As it is very rare that it can be heard.
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Don’t become like the Ropers now
 
Ok this is based on a family person in his late 30’s.

Thomas Land vs CBeebies

Thomas land wins hands down the only thing that’s better in CBeebies is the indoor play area.

Coasters under 1.2m

Drayton again win this as both there coasters are better than Alton’s

Flats

Drayton Again Alton should be ashamed of the flat rides they removed and not replaced over the past 15 years.

Water rides

Draw as the rapids are better at Alton but Drayton got more water rides so that’s why it’s a draw.

Dark Rides

Hex is better than the haunting but sheriff showdown is better than Duel as at least when you hit the targets they interact with you so gonna say a draw.

Non rides

Drayton again as they got the zoo and farm again but Alton really just the gardens

Coasters over 1.2m

Alton win this as they got the money to spend 15 to 20 million to spend on a coaster and know they can sell fast track tickets for all of them.
Drayton only got a Shockwave.

Drayton know there market and if they can get adults to bring there kids £88 for 4 people they know they can get a bigger ride court at Drayton where at Alton it will be a good day if you managed to just ride to SW coasters in a day.
 
Jb85 said:
My issue with Drayton is it doesn’t cater for your adult / older teenage market. Apart from shockwave and apocalypse what is there really?

Shame - they really lost their way about 10 years ago
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Well, I guess it’s like @Ciaran & @Themeparksandy1981 said above..

I don’t think the park cares what your issue is ;) I say that only for the fact that we (as enthuasiasts, thrill seekers and young adults - WOOHOO, YOUNG!) are clearly not the park’s target audience.

Back in’t day when the focus was the installation of thrill rides, a journey seemingly lost when G-Farce landed (I am SO pleased to see that thing go), the park was buzzing with thrill seekers who lavished praise on the place.

The park took a punt on updating their family offer, taking their focus off the thrill market, and they hit the jackpot.

Nowadays the park has relatively low risk decisions to make about investments - they stick to the family audience. Family is a market they have catered well for in the past decade or so, and have built a relatively strong base of guests from that. Despite the incident of recent years, the families still keep coming.

Why? Because the park down the road has a terrible, terrible family offer. CBeebies is a wonderful place for babies and toddlers... but where do they go when when they’ve outgrown In The Night Garden but are far too small for Wickerman and Runaway Mine Train? They don’t!

I have incredible memories of the place from my childhood, but I am in no way blinded by them. When I last visited the park it felt run down, unloved and stagnant. I despise their zoo, I’m not the right age for Thomas Land (I know I can throw some serious tantrums sometimes), and I really struggle to find decent food.

Love the place & desperately want to see it back as a well-loved park with a buzz... I just fear it won’t happen.
 
To be fair, I wouldn't exactly call Alton's family lineup "terrible"; they have Mutiny Bay, the Katanga Canyon duo and Duel amongst others for those who don't want to go into CBeebies. Also, I don't think CBeebies Land seems inferior to Thomas Land in any particular aspect or aimed at a younger target market than Thomas Land; I think it just aims to do a different sort of thing.

CBeebies as a channel always had an underlying message of "edutainment" when I used to watch it and I think the land at Alton Towers reflects this, with some slightly more unique and educational experiences compared to other children's lands. For example, CBeebies has quite a few shows and non-ride attractions in it that teach young children about certain things or let them "explore", if you get what I mean. Thomas, on the other hand, doesn't have quite as much of an educational commitment, so can focus more on rides which immerse you into the TV programme and use the physical ride hardware as quite a pivotal part of the experience. I don't think that one is necessarily aimed at a younger audience or inferior to the other, but I think they definitely set out to do somewhat different things, and I feel that both areas are brilliant at what they set out to do! For some idea of target audience, I seem to remember watching Thomas the Tank Engine around the same sort of time I watched CBeebies, so I'd say the two have a similar target demographic.

I'd also say that both parks have comparable mid-tier family attractions; Drayton has Accelerator, Alton Towers has RMT, for example. Drayton has Sheriff Showdown, Alton has Duel. Drayton has The Haunting, Alton has Hex. Drayton has The Bounty, Alton has The Blade. I could name many more examples. Admittedly, Drayton may have slightly more of these sort of attractions, but I think it boils down to the fact that the park now aims at a different target market to Alton Towers and to what it used to. Drayton aims almost solely at families now, whereas I think Alton aims to be more of a "jack of all trades" if you get what I mean.
 
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To you have a season pass and kids you get to see Drayton Manor from my daughters point of view been 38 now and with my son due to be born this week I let her pick what rides to go on.
The Zoo has been updated a lot over the past 3 seasons and they about to build a aviary for a collection of African birds.
I speak to a lot of the staff and the zoo getting a major new penguin area in 2021 and a lemur walk though area. The reptile house is always having new animals.
Next years budget has been put aside for just the theme park area as it’s the parks 70th next year.
I wonder where Alton Towers would be now if they wasn’t taken over by Tussaud’s.
 
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