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Drayton Manor Park

I think what really made Drayton Manor so special was Colin and his parents and they love for the theme park and Zoo.
Like up to the late 80’s the Zoo was the main attraction then.
They really looked at Alton Towers and the American adventure and they spent big on rides that wasn’t available anywhere else in the uk.
1990 Pirate Adventure
1992 Jolly Buccaneer and pirate Cove
1993 Splash Canyon
1994 Shockwave
1995 Klondike Gold Mile
1996 The Haunting
1997 Jungle Cruise re-theme
1998 Sombero’s and 6/7 more rides added to Robinson land
1999 Stormforce 10
2000 Apocalypse, Golden nuggets and the Popeye show
2002 Maelstrom

Then I think the park really started to waste money with
2003 Excalibur
2004 Pandemonium like it was just a update to the Sky flyer which I thought was a better ride
2005 G force think it was a last min decision as they should have built Barnstormer instead but they went for the cheaper option
2006 Drunken Barrels
2007 The Bounty
Now both of theses were good additions to the park but they already had theses at the park and with the Blade still going at Alton Towers not sure where Drayton’s went and if it’s still operational but the tea cups ride is at the Adventure wonderland

From: https://youtu.be/Btq32UmPS0I

2008 Thomas land opened and think the money it made for the Bryan’s really pushed for them to become a resort.
2009 4D cinema
2011 New hotel opened, Ben 10 coaster and Blue Mountain engines
Now this is really was the downfall of Drayton Manor for the Bryan’s as investment stopped outside Thomas land with just new movies for the 4D cinema, Air race and re-themes of the Haunting and Golden nuggets happening in the last 9 years the Bryan’s owned the park.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
It never had a 2nd train. They decided against it as by the time the coaster was loaded it was back in the station less than 90 secs later.
Click to expand...

I think it was more of a case of they could not afford a second train. They maximised their budget on that coaster as it was and what waste of money that was, I genuinely enjoyed Klondike more. Plus queueing in that sweaty humid, indoor cattlepen on a summers day was horrifc.

Then moving forward, Drayton had a very steep decline in customers from 2006 onwards, visitation dropped off a cliff, further adding to reasons as to why not to get one. Hardly surprising really, G-Force was not that well received, and for 2006 they got Drunken Barrels - at a time when the park was seen predominately as a place for young adults and teenagers and was in direct competition with Alton Towers' thrill market.
 
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Themeparksandy1981 said:
I think what really made Drayton Manor so special was Colin and his parents and they love for the theme park and Zoo.
Like up to the late 80’s the Zoo was the main attraction then.
They really looked at Alton Towers and the American adventure and they spent big on rides that wasn’t available anywhere else in the uk.
1990 Pirate Adventure
1992 Jolly Buccaneer and pirate Cove
1993 Splash Canyon
1994 Shockwave
1995 Klondike Gold Mile
1996 The Haunting
1997 Jungle Cruise re-theme
1998 Sombero’s and 6/7 more rides added to Robinson land
1999 Stormforce 10
2000 Apocalypse, Golden nuggets and the Popeye show
2002 Maelstrom

Then I think the park really started to waste money with
2003 Excalibur
2004 Pandemonium like it was just a update to the Sky flyer which I thought was a better ride
2005 G force think it was a last min decision as they should have built Barnstormer instead but they went for the cheaper option
2006 Drunken Barrels
2007 The Bounty
Now both of theses were good additions to the park but they already had theses at the park and with the Blade still going at Alton Towers not sure where Drayton’s went and if it’s still operational but the tea cups ride is at the Adventure wonderland

From: https://youtu.be/Btq32UmPS0I

2008 Thomas land opened and think the money it made for the Bryan’s really pushed for them to become a resort.
2009 4D cinema
2011 New hotel opened, Ben 10 coaster and Blue Mountain engines
Now this is really was the downfall of Drayton Manor for the Bryan’s as investment stopped outside Thomas land with just new movies for the 4D cinema, Air race and re-themes of the Haunting and Golden nuggets happening in the last 9 years the Bryan’s owned the park.
Click to expand...

when the haunting first opened it was a one of a kind ride in the world there was only one other ride like it and that opened the exact same year
 
Themeparkplanet said:
doesnt count we are on about vekoma madhouses
Click to expand...

But you did say "when the haunting first opened it was a one of a kind ride in the world there was only one other ride like it". While not Vekoma, Blackpool's and many other haunted swings offer very similar experiences to that of the Vekoma mad houses. I think the Vekoma's are just bigger. Even the small model is quite a bit bigger than your average haunted swing
 
BigShadowtinytree said:
Unlike Villa Volta, I can’t find any reliable info for an exact date The Haunting opened in 1996 unfortunately.
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It opened July 13th. 1996.

Here is the advert, snipped from a news paper from the time.
It was originally supposed to open in the June, but was pushed back.,

The thing is with wikis, unless there is a citation, there is no way of knowing if it is true or not. In this case, what you read @Trooper Looper was untrue in regards to the dates. Obviously there would not have been a citation for it either.

Evening Mail: Friday. July 12th. 1996.
1682197543870.png

In case anyone is interested, here is a publication from an earlier news paper, in March 1996, advertising the ride.


Stafford Post: Thursday. March 21st. 1996
1682197660212.png
 
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