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Drayton Manor Park

Whatever it turns out to be, it needs to be big. It's going to replace Shockwave as the parks big coaster, I can see the park taking the plunge at some stage and removing Shockwave.
 
Well it will not be that layout due to the space on the park being very different to that footprint. A similar type though? Maybe.

I noticed with Shockwave the other day, parts of the structure / track and major mechanical equipment are looking VERY tired / corroded and worn out now.

If they did plan on keeping it, major work will be required sooner than later to keep the ride operational. Personally, I cannot see that happening. I think they would rather replace than refurbish. Shockwave, like Apocalypse did, completely goes against the ethos set out by the park themselves. "Rides and attractions the whole family can enjoy, together." I can see them running it to the ground, like with Apocalypse and then removing it.

There were rumours flying around about a new train. Shockwave needs far more than just a new train to keep it going. Being a high thrill ride, I cannot see that happening. The money that it will need spending on it in the not so distant future, would be a large chunk of what could be a brand new attraction that completely fits in with the parks new direction.

Let's face it anyway, Shockwave was never really that good of a coaster to begin with. The only good thing going for it is the zero G roll. I could live without that though. I cannot say I would be too sad to see the back of it. Not like I was with Apocalypse. It probably has one of the worst layouts of any 'major' coaster in Europe, that is just the start of it's problems too.
 
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I personally can’t see this new coaster being somewhat better than shockwave. They would really need to nail this on as it’s only a small space. But being marketed as a family thrill, it’s not looking promising.

I do agree that shockwaves days are outnumbered . And they would much rather run it into the ground then refurb it as there’s no point .

It was a good ride while it lasted but the layout is terrible.
 
I don't think shockwave is going anywhere for a few years yet. I think they will want to keep it going as long as they can, could they even use those new Lightening trains from Zamperla?

Removing it would be a negative for the park regardless of the new coaster so they will need something to o replace it. Jormungandr is on its last legs as well so it will be interesting to see the five year plan after the coaster opens.
 
Also, I don’t get this “new direction” and “it’s thrill days are numbered” talk, mainly driven by apocalypse’s removal. Apocalypse always stood out like the literal sore thumb. Drayton has always been a park of predominantly kids, flats and family thrill rides. I’d argue they’re actually just reinforcing what they already were with a clearer ride line up, better theming and a clearer marketing identity and profile. I’d further argue that the only two “thrill” parks in the UK are Thorpe and Towers.
 
Jb85 said:
I'm not so sure, they won't get to build anything else substantial in that area to replace shock wave
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I think this is the biggest reason why it won’t be going anytime soon. If the rumoured work on the Excalibur and lake site(s) happen then I can see Shockwave going as there will be ready made sites in which to build / add new attractions. I think their new MD already hinted as such. Removing shockwave knowing they can’t use that site for something of that size seems counter intuitive at the moment, unless they’re forced to, by it becoming completely unserviceable.
 
Johnny_5 said:
Also, I don’t get this “new direction” and “it’s thrill days are numbered” talk, mainly driven by apocalypse’s removal. Apocalypse always stood out like the literal sore thumb. Drayton has always been a park of predominantly kids, flats and family thrill rides. I’d argue they’re actually just reinforcing what they already were with a clearer ride line up, better theming and a clearer marketing identity and profile. I’d further argue that the only two “thrill” parks in the UK are Thorpe and Towers.
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The MD is on the record a few years back saying the park are going in a new direction and they want more rides that the family can ride together. The talk of this was not driven by Apocolypse' removal. The park themselves made no secret of the fact they were aiming at the family thrill market rather than the thrill market. The parks thrill days are numbered. Drayton Manor have made no secret of that fact.

I quote the below from here;

“It also frames the future direction of the resort perfectly, with a shift in focus over the coming years to capture a more diverse family thrill audience, with new rides, attractions and immersive experiences that cater to guests of all ages"

Now you can read that two ways. But she did clarify at an event that a large portion of the shift in focus would mean attractions the family can ride together. All the investments so far that have came, support this. As do the new investments coming.

It was no secret that Drayton Manor were chasing the Alton Towers thrill market under Colin in the early 2000's. Colin made no secret of that in interviews. But they obviously shifted focus all the way over to the kids market with Thomas land and almost nothing else substancial across the park out side of Thomas for well over a decade. Nearly 2 decades infact.

Loopings seem to be bringing it back into the middle somewhat.

As for Shockwave and planning. Only the turnaround at the very end of the ride would be a problematic area for planning due to that is the part where the controversy came from. The rest and majority of the site is fine. That turnaround is closer to houses than the planners expected. So nothing can go there. That only makes up a tiny part of the rides site though.
 
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DistortAMG said:
The MD is on the record a few years back saying the park are going in a new direction and they want more rides that the family can ride together. The talk of this was not driven by Apocolypse' removal. The park themselves made no secret of the fact they were aiming at the family thrill market rather than the thrill market. The parks thrill days are numbered. Drayton Manor have made no secret of that fact.

I quote the below from here;

“It also frames the future direction of the resort perfectly, with a shift in focus over the coming years to capture a more diverse family thrill audience, with new rides, attractions and immersive experiences that cater to guests of all ages"

Now you can read that two ways. But she did clarify at an event that a large portion of the shift in focus would mean attractions the family can ride together. All the investments so far that have came, support this. As do the new investments coming.

It was no secret that Drayton Manor were chasing the Alton Towers thrill market under Colin in the early 2000's. Colin made no secret of that in interviews. But they obviously shifted focus all the way over to the kids market with Thomas land and almost nothing else substancial across the park out side of Thomas for well over a decade. Nearly 2 decades infact.

Loopings seem to be bringing it back into the middle somewhat.

As for Shockwave and planning. Only the turnaround at the very end of the ride would be a problematic area for planning due to that is the part where the controversy came from. The rest and majority of the site is fine. That turnaround is closer to houses than the planners expected. So nothing can go there. That only makes up a tiny part of the rides site though.
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You are aware families doesn't just mean kids under 8 years old? My kids don't want to go on kiddy coasters or tame flat rides. I think the MD is aware they need to cater to older children as well. I'm not expecting them to compete with towers but I do expect them to have a broad range of rides for all ages but not mutually exclusive to younger age groups.
 
Relife said:
You are aware families doesn't just mean kids under 8 years old? My kids don't want to go on kiddy coasters or tame flat rides. I think the MD is aware they need to cater to older children as well. I'm not expecting them to compete with towers but I do expect them to have a broad range of rides for all ages but not mutually exclusive to younger age groups.
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As I said. She did clarify at an event they specifically mean attractions the whole family can ride together for the most part.

I am confused about that statrment you made above. You do realise that for the most part, the family thrill market, the one that Drayton have said they are going after, (in the Iink I posted). Is a market segment that generally caters for children that are older rather than younger. Aka children over 8. A Family thrill market segment never was for the most part, aimed at younger children, that is pretty obvious when you look at family thrill attraction on offer around the globe. Family thrill targets children all the way up to adults. It's a very broad market segment. Hence them going after it. It is also why loads of parks around the planet are not building 1.4m coasters as much. But 1.2 and 1.3. Because family thrill can encapsulate a much larger segment of the family.

Every single investment made at the park to date ynder looping AND every single investment coming to the park to date, (bar 1) support this statement and ethos made by the park.
 
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DistortAMG said:
As I said. She did clarify at an event they specifically mean attractions the whole family can ride together for the most part.

I am confused about that statrment you made above. You do realise that for the most part, the family thrill market, the one that Drayton have said they are going after, (in the Iink I posted). Is a market segment that generally caters for children that are older rather than younger. Aka children over 8. A Family thrill market segment never was for the most part, aimed at younger children, that is pretty obvious when you look at family thrill attraction on offer around the globe. Family thrill targets children all the way up to adults. It's a very broad market segment. Hence them going after it. It is also why loads of parks around the planet are not building 1.4m coasters as much. But 1.2 and 1.3. Because family thrill can encapsulate a much larger segment of the family.

Every single investment made at the park to date ynder looping AND every single investment coming to the park to date, (bar 1) support this statement and ethos made by the park.
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I think it's important the effect that "enthusiast bias" plays in reading park's statements to the media and others - especially industry media. Our view of the "family thrill" market might differ from other views and intended meanings. I'd say Disney parks are "family thrill" as an example - if we get a Disney-esque ride selection at Drayton, I'd be euphoric! (taking my point to extremes, as always!).
 
It's quite clear that they will be getting a 1.2 height coaster and that's great as there are loads of options on the market right up to some more thrilling Vekoma and Intamin models. You can't have a coaster that everyone can ride unless it's something ridiculously small and slow. My two year old can't ride accelerator for example so you do have to target a specific age range.

The problem is the family thrill tag is such a wide range and some of the statements on here imply Drayton will never have anything remotely thrilling now or in the future. There's also nothing wrong with having one large thrill ride at park just as shockwave as something kids can work thier way up to and it encourages repeat visits.
 
I wouldn’t class Shockwave as “family thrill”, though; in terms of calibre, I’d argue that “family thrill” encompasses up to the 1.2m height restriction bracket (I know height restriction doesn’t always correlate with thrill level, but for purposes of simplicity, I’m assuming it does for this post), whereas Shockwave is more of an “extreme thrill” with a 1.4m height restriction and multiple inversions.

I could see something along the lines of a Wicker Man type thrill level for Drayton’s next coaster, and to be honest, I’d be very happy with that. Provided such a ride was rerideable and fun, I think it would easily be my favourite coaster on park.

My favourite ride at Drayton Manor was Apocalypse, and now that’s gone, I’d probably say it’s Accelerator. I’d like to hope that the 2024 coaster might take that title for me while also fitting in with Drayton’s less thrilling target audience. I see no reason why it couldn’t do that; now is arguably a better time than ever to build a brilliant family thrill coaster!
 
I’d love to see DM get an Abyssus style Vekoma launch coaster for 2024 (as a Shockwave successor) but further down the line what I think they really could do with is a good mine train type ride or a Gertslauer Bobsled, just a good fun family coaster. I know that [mention]Themeparksandy1981 [/mention]suggested a Zamperla Mine Train the other day and the more I think about it I think that could be a great addition to the park (or a Coco Chip Creek style Vekoma Mine Train), but I don’t think that’s what the park needs first. It’s needs a bit of a statement ride and then something down the line so that Jormungandr can be put out to pasture.

It’s pretty clear that Shockwave and Jormungandr are no spring chickens and sooner or later a discussion will have to take place for the park about what to do with them, and bearing in mind that the other Class Of 94 rides, The Big One and Nemesis have both the subject of extensive works then it’s obvious that Shockwave will be facing similar issues. And that’s the thing, do the park throw a large amount of money at it or do they decide that It’s fulfilled its original purpose and that it’s time is up? It’s certainly not as iconic as the aforementioned rides and it’s arguably not as important to the park as it’s two peers are respectively to theirs.
 
I think this year they really testing the age ranges of its visitors. With theses events like they had the dinosaurs and Thomas’s birthday for the under 6’s. The 9pm Close and fireworks event for the Coronation for the 8+ market, Summer nights with the under 10’s for the day event and over 10’s for the evening event, same with the Vikings event, Halloween event aimed for Teenagers+ and the party bingo for the over 18’s. They know they winning the under 6’s market with Thomas land as Cranky the last ride they can ride in the area when they reach 1.05m but they can also adventure outside Thomas land and also ride Loki&Jormungandr. Then you got the Drunken Barrels at 1.1m.
Now the looping group have looked at the 1.2m market which is the perfect height to Aim for as that’s the 7&8 year old market and you feel you really growth up as you can go on the Rapids with a parent/adult, Wave swinger on your own, Air race, Thor, Dodgems with a adult, Jolly Buccaneer on your own, Accelerator on your own, Jormungandr on your own, The Haunting on your own, The Bounty and Troublesome Trunks on your own.
Then that’s when some kids start to think it’s uncool to go places with there parents and want to hang out with friends but if they do they got Stormforce 10 and Maelstrom for the 1.3m Shockwave at 1.4m and finally 1.45m to drive the dodgems on there own.
Drayton know they can’t match what’s on offer at Alton Towers or Thorpe park but they looked at Paulton’s park and know it’s a win/win situation if they keep improving and adding to the Thomas land optioning but also add thrill rides and coasters for the 1.2m range.
 
The issue with Shockwave, while it looks impressive. The ride is rubbish. No amount of new trains will solve that. I get that it is a step up coaster and a ride that young thrill seekers could aspire to ride, but is the money required to refurbish that really worth it? Maybe younger people would see it differently. Would the money be better spent else where?

Old does not equal clapped out no, but the ride is old and the ride is clapped out. Years of under investment have taken it's toll. One train is in pieces, the second is just hanging in there, major equipment like the transport motors and the lift hill plant all look and sound like they do not have much life left in them. All this would need to be taken into consideration. Plus with it's age increasing, unless they actually do go down the route that Alton Towers have with a full re track and new trains, then the year on year maintenance and inspection costs will continue to grow from it's current position after 30 years of use.

Nemesis probably could have gone on for a bit yet, but the costs to keep it safe to the public would be rising higher and higher every year. Just because the ride does not need a track replacement, given it's age, that does not mean it does not need ever increasing and costly maintenance and inspection work. Especially on large scale coasters, with big elements and tall lift hills., that have been standing for the best part of 3 decades.

But also, who would make the track if any track would inevitably need replacing??

B&M now own the patent rights for the exact box section spine style track that Shockwave uses. I am no lawyer, but anyone re making that track for financial gain, such as a steel fabricator, would be infringing on their patents. The patents were not registered properly in 1994 I do not think. This could also be another potential costly issue and a sticking point preventing any re track without large licence fees possible. If B&M would even licence it out at all, considering the track is a massive contributor to one of their USP's, it is very doubtful. B&M have in rare cases allowed their track design to be used by others for certain projects in decades gone by, but that has not been for a long, long time now.

Everyone makes some pretty valid points here actually, an interesting discussion point for sure.
 
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