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Drayton Manor Park

Danny said:
A standard wave swinger, flat-pack play area, new rapids boats and a re-paint of buildings in dire need of it aren't exactly giving me the optimism to believe Drayton will become the Paultons of the Midlands any time soon.
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I’m sorry but the rapids ride ain’t even finished yet but it’s already looking like the best rapids in the uk. They could have just painted the shockwave building and brought the rapids back but they painting and adding more theming to the Stormforce 10 when the park is closed, Maelstrom had a new roof and paint job, the chicken diner currently closed while it’s been themed to fit the area. I heard Air race will close down after the wave swinger and play ground open for a short retheme.
As for the next area I saw that some management was walking round the pirate Cove area of the park with Jonathan Hitching last month and pointing at the last side of the Pirate Adventure building and around the Bounty so that could be the next big project for the park for 2023.
 
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The park made two huge mistakes in a row with both Excalibur and then G-Force. The former was a family boat ride installed next to an existing perfectly good family boat ride, and the other was a clunky gamble that lacked any identity, rode terribly and generally failed to pay off. Both used poor choices of ride system. I expect they had hoped to innovate and provide engrossing rides in the same way that Alton Towers had managed, but they lacked the resources and imagination. After the success and surprise of Stormforce 10 (itself a risk), let's not forget that Apocalypse was a thematic rip-off of Oblivion, even down to it's logo.

The Bryans were/are nice people with great business acumen in some areas, but I got the impression they fell behind the industry at large. Thomas Land was a decent save, as was the hotel, to a lesser extent.

The work this year is a strong start at putting the park back on a course for a future as a decent family park. The care and attention to detail seems to be there, and in the current climate, this is something that Merlin seem largely unwilling to provide. I hope they find their strengths once more and continue to play to them.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I’m sorry but the rapids ride ain’t even finished yet but it’s already looking like the best rapids in the uk. They could have just painted the shockwave building and brought the rapids back but they painting and adding more theming to the Stormforce 10 when the park is closed, Maelstrom had a new roof and paint job, the chicken diner currently closed while it’s been themed to fit the area. I heard Air race will close down after the wave swinger and play ground open for a short retheme.
As for the next area I saw that some management was walking round the pirate Cove again of the park with Jonathan Hitching last month and pointing at the last side of the Pirate Adventure building and around the Bounty so that could be the next big project for the park for 2023.
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The fact remains that the rapids is still an existing attraction being brought back into use, and let's be honest having the title of the best rapids ride in the UK isn't particularly difficult to achieve at present! The actual "new" attractions are not all that exciting in the grand scheme of things.

I can't complain about the place spending money, and I hope it's the beginning of something for them. But referring them to the "Paulton's of the Midlands" is a push to say the least, and a bit of an insult to Paulton's when you compare it to the level and quality they've put in to not just their attractions but the whole experience over recent years.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I’m sorry but the rapids ride ain’t even finished yet but it’s already looking like the best rapids in the uk.
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The best rapids in the UK claim is hardly something to shout about when the bar is already so low. The last time I rode the rapids at Drayton, a staff member was stood at the side of the channel mid-course with a garden hose. It really was laughable.
 
Plastic Person said:
The park made two huge mistakes in a row with both Excalibur and then G-Force. The former was a family boat ride installed next to an existing perfectly good family boat ride, and the other was a clunky gamble that lacked any identity, rode terribly and generally failed to pay off. Both used poor choices of ride system. I expect they had hoped to innovate and provide engrossing rides in the same way that Alton Towers had managed, but they lacked the resources and imagination. After the success and surprise of Stormforce 10 (itself a risk), let's not forget that Apocalypse was a thematic rip-off of Oblivion, even down to it's logo.

The Bryans were/are nice people with great business acumen in some areas, but I got the impression they fell behind the industry at large. Thomas Land was a decent save, as was the hotel, to a lesser extent.

The work this year is a strong start at putting the park back on a course for a future as a decent family park. The care and attention to detail seems to be there, and in the current climate, this is something that Merlin seem largely unwilling to provide. I hope they find their strengths once more and continue to play to them.
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I think this is a pretty good account of the park.
Some of it is luck of course but I think if someone had taken a step back and properly looked at Excalibur they might have realised it was too exposed to keep working properly.
It's a real shame as without the two family boat rides the park doesn't feel the same. I really think replacing Pirates should be more of a priority.
Then a decent family thrill coaster.
 
djtruefitt said:
I wish there was a bit of imitation in the names for these new rides, I mean river rapids and wave swinger is awful!
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Tbf 99% of people who ride Wave Swinger will have no idea that its the name of the model. They will probably just think the fact Wave is in the name relates to the area and it does tbf.

River rapids is a bit bland and boring for a name though for sure. Definitely could have done more with that. Should have been tied into the new area more.
 
djtruefitt said:
I wish there was a bit of imitation in the names for these new rides, I mean river rapids and wave swinger is awful!
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I do agree to be fair, as the rest of the park has some very imaginative names for rides. That said, Alton Towers also had very generic names for rides such as 'Log Flume' and 'The Haunted House'. We are in a totally different era now, that basic naming of rides has a different impact than it did so I totally get it, plus it worked better at Alton for various reasons, could they be better,...absolutely.

But let's look at this and bring it into context a bit, this is mainly an addition that is anchored by a rethemed rapids ride, but the effort and quality being put into this and the area as a whole, seems to match and exceed what Merlin are currently doing. Just like Paultons. But let's be fair, it is not hard to beat Merlins current effort.

The point I am getting to, is this sort of work is great for the UK industry. I am not standing here and saying this is the best thing ever because it is not, but it is a solid set of additions and improvements, whileother smaller parks make solid additions too.

This is exactly what we have needed, catalysts into an otherwise decade long Merlin stagnated market.

I am highly optimistic about this fresh wave of investment from not only Drayton but Paultons too, for the long term effect on the UK industry as a whole.

Competition is great for consumers. In any industry. We are now seeing quality finally ramping up, hopefully this results in better experiences for us, the guest. The glass is half full if you ask me.

@djtruefitt I was only tagging you in the name part, not ranting to you about the test my friend.
 
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Benzin said:
I mean the only other themed area is Thomas Land no?
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There was some other pirate theming outside and around the pirates ride.

But yes I would say the nautical theme around Stormforce and Maelstrom was the most themed area of the park along with the original wild west theme of Splash Canyon (and shockwave).
But Drayton Manor has never really done major themed areas, with names like action park and aerial park.
 
I would say the next area that needs attention and theming is the other end of the park, where you have the random selection of rides such as the buffalo, haunting, apocalypse, accelerator, etc. None of which are partially themed to anything at all.
 
The top section of the Wave Swinger now in place:
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