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Drayton Manor Park

Once again DM’s social media team are proving that they are the best out of any park in this country.

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https://twitter.com/draytonmanor/status/1593574965252603909?s=46&t=sY6nQIBBIda758SaNT1GAQ
 
Perhaps it’s due to the Picsolve equipment in there? I’m not sure on the logistics but maybe they lease the equipment, in which case they won’t want to interfere.
 
I do think this 2024 coaster and a dark ride in the pirate adventure building could really put Drayton up there as the best non-merlin park in the uk.
With the looping group having a 5 year plan goes to show they got big plans for the park and zoo.
The Bryan’s we’re gonna reused the photo booth as they wanted to put a tracked kids ride on part of the G-Force site.
The booth could still be there as the contract with the company used to remove Apocalypse could have been just for the tower and it’s building and Drayton’s own in house team could be used to remove the photo booth, what’s left of Pandemonium and test track.
 
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Relife said:
I'm hoping thier new coaster is something similar to Formula at Energylandia. They really need to get the announcement out there soon.
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I too hope it's something like that but I disagree that they need to get the announcement about it out yet. If they announce it this early there will be no hype when it opens, they won't and certainly shouldn't announce it until this time next year.
 
JAperson said:
I too hope it's something like that but I disagree that they need to get the announcement about it out yet. If they announce it this early there will be no hype when it opens, they won't and certainly shouldn't announce it until this time next year.
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Id certainly expect something prior to the start of next season given it supposed to be opening in 2024 and a large chunk of the park will be closed off next season.
 
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I think after the Christmas Event they will start with the marketing campaign for whatever is new for 2023 to try to sell annual passes for next year.
Then they will market the new coaster and area after the main 2023 season ended.
 
Hello (my first post!) - I’ve been watching this thread as a local to drayton manor and have been going with family for many years!

In my honest opinion the park as a whole has had its pros and cons since the looping group took over, a few years before they did I always found the park to be a good balance for the family it was the kind of park you took the kids too and when they warmed up to the bigger rides you could then move and say Alton towers next trip for the bigger rides!

Since the looping group has taken over, I feel the theming in the new Viking areas and general vision of the park is top notch but for us as a family the removal of apocalypse, pandemonium and the new rides that have been replacing just haven’t packed a punch and there isn’t that next level ride type for the middle age kids before visiting other big uk parks.

Watching the development for the Viking’s area seemed exciting, but truthfully when they unveiled the rides they was having we was all left disappointed - and thought as a family we won’t renew our passes for next year.

Hopefully the 5 year plan they will add some better rides than heavily themed average ones - it’s hard to Articulate the point im trying to get across but as a family of 5 regular visitors it just doesn’t seem to have the same feel as the park used too
 
One_234 said:
In my honest opinion the park as a whole has had its pros and cons since the looping group took over, a few years before they did I always found the park to be a good balance for the family it was the kind of park you took the kids too and when they warmed up to the bigger rides you could then move and say Alton towers next trip for the bigger rides!

Since the looping group has taken over, I feel the theming in the new Viking areas and general vision of the park is top notch but for us as a family the removal of apocalypse, pandemonium and the new rides that have been replacing just haven’t packed a punch and there isn’t that next level ride type for the middle age kids before visiting other big uk parks.
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Yes, as a fellow local (and also a new poster here), I share your views on that one. I loved Sky Flyer as a teenager, sadly its replacement, Pandemonium, went before my two boys could have a go of it!

They still love the rides in Thomas Land, but they’re at that age now where they’re looking for a little bit more. They’re not yet big enough for Shockwave or Maelstrom, but Apocalypse was a good fit for that awkward ‘in between’ stage.

Accelerator is all right, but my kids seem to struggle to get excited about it. I’m really not keen on the theming of it either; I presume it was just done in haste when the Ben 10 licensing ended.

One_234 said:
Watching the development for the Viking’s area seemed exciting, but truthfully when they unveiled the rides they was having we was all left disappointed - and thought as a family we won’t renew our passes for next year.
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We’ve renewed ours, but without Apocalypse next season, it’s going to seem strange. Hoping to at least see some early site development over the course of next year while we await an announcement on what’s going up in its place!

Thor is a good ride, and we all enjoy it, but it’s not really got the ‘big ride’ appeal.

I made a bit of a joke elsewhere that it sometimes seems as though Drayton Manor just go through the Zamperla stock catalogue with a red felt tip, like my kids do with the Smyths Toys catalogue in the run up to Christmas…

One_234 said:
Hopefully the 5 year plan they will add some better rides than heavily themed average ones - it’s hard to Articulate the point im trying to get across but as a family of 5 regular visitors it just doesn’t seem to have the same feel as the park used too
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I hope so too.

It’s clearly always been a family park, and that plan doesn’t seem to have changed. I loved the place as a kid, and as a teenager. As I went into adulthood, like many I expect, I didn’t really attend much… probably two or three times in the best part of a decade, but then when my partner and I had kids, we kind of rediscovered our fondness for the place. That fondness, of course, is tinged with nostalgia, and we know what they say about that…

Clearly the park needs another coaster. I quite liked G Force in fact, but sadly that didn’t work out as hoped in terms of ride quality or reliability.

I’d like to see them bring in a new drop tower at some point. Apocalypse effectively replaced the Para Tower, so to take it away and not replace it - even in the longer term - will leave a bit of a gap in the park’s ride selection.

The thing is, whatever they put there, it’s got some big shoes to fill in that it needs to have the aforementioned ‘big ride’ status that the Vikings area doesn’t really satisfy. It needs to somewhat fill the void left when G Force closed. It should fit the requirements of the younger kids who are slowly but surely outgrowing Thomas Land and are looking to progress to thrill rides.

Finally, and probably most importantly, it must be a worthy successor to Apocalypse. A lot of people had a soft spot for the ride, especially locally, so I’m hoping the park management are taking that into consideration.

One could also suggest that it must live up to the inevitable speculation and hype.

I’m reasonably confident that Drayton Manor have something good going in there. I’m not sure if a single ride can do all the above though.

If they’re taking out the Super Loo toilet block and the old fish and chip restaurant too, could/should they get a shiny new drop tower in there, alongside a decent coaster (RMC? Vekoma?)

At least I can hope! :)
 
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Wouldn’t we be expecting some sort of planning or public consultation soon if this is expected for 2024? We’ve already seen this for Exodus and Horizon, so surely something for Draytons Future Project must be imminent.
 
Connor98 said:
Wouldn’t we be expecting some sort of planning or public consultation soon if this is expected for 2024? We’ve already seen this for Exodus and Horizon, so surely something for Draytons Future Project must be imminent.
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Drayton Manor doesn’t actually have to file for planning permission for much of what they build, as far as I’m aware. This is because of their Permitted Development Rights; any ride under 25m tall can be built without a planning application, as far as I can tell. Accelerator did not necessitate a planning application, Vikings did not necessitate a planning application… I’d wager the new coaster may be quite similar.

Come to think of it, I seem to remember hearing that even Apocalypse didn’t require a planning application…
 
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