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Drayton Manor Park

Themeparksandy1981 said:
if they had kept Apocalypse and re themed it…
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Was that even a realistic option? There’s a reason that they scrapped it and a reason why nobody wanted to buy it from them when it was up for sale. It was on its last legs, it’s not as if they just got rid of it on a whim.

From a business point of view I’d think that keeping it and retheming it would have been a very unappealing option and would have been like throwing money at something that was ready for the scrap. It’s joined Pandemonium and Pirate Adventure in the list of rides that are gone and if that’s what the park has to do to evolve, thrive, and keep going with new attractions then that’s just the way it is. Just because something was popular it doesn’t mean that it can’t be retired in order for a new attraction to take its place, the owners don’t have unlimited funds, nor do they have unlimited space.
 
I remain unconvinced Apocalypse had to be on its last legs. It was on its last legs on its last day but it had a big referb in 2019 under the Bryan's as one of the last things they did before they were forced to sell The only reason it was on its last legs was because Loopings decided very soon after buying the park they wanted rid of it so effectively stopped maintaining it and asset stripping sides until they were ready to close it. It went down hill very quickly under Loopings ownership (ironic considering all the good they have done with the rest of the park) because why spent money (any significant) on something they knew they were getting rid of.
 
Poisson said:
Maybe I am jaded from the 2 S&S coasters I've done being either not great (Falken) or downright awful (Mumbo Jumbo) and not trusting S&S to make something reliable.
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Maybe I'm jaded because I believed what I was told twenty years ago about what stunning new rides were coming to Drayton over the next couple of years...still waiting!
And I am not at all sure that the park has become "high flying again".
Too early to tell if the park is doing well...lots of recent very quiet days apparently, and as the parks attendance had dropped considerably after the accident, we don't really know how they are doing economically.
 
rob666 said:
Maybe I'm jaded because I believed what I was told twenty years ago about what stunning new rides were coming to Drayton over the next couple of years...still waiting!
And I am not at all sure that the park has become "high flying again".
Too early to tell if the park is doing well...lots of recent very quiet days apparently, and as the parks attendance had dropped considerably after the accident, we don't really know how they are doing economically.
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They had a good year last season and wouldn't be spending big money on a new coaster if they weren't confidant about the future.

I'd also say thier hotel has a better reputation than Towers hotels as well atm.

I think the poor weather and cost of living has put some people off visiting parks in general this season it's not unique to Drayton Manor. People can be optimistic about the parks future regardless as it's getting the investment it needs.
 
Shaggy_Dog_ said:
Was that even a realistic option? There’s a reason that they scrapped it and a reason why nobody wanted to buy it from them when it was up for sale. It was on its last legs, it’s not as if they just got rid of it on a whim.

From a business point of view I’d think that keeping it and retheming it would have been a very unappealing option and would have been like throwing money at something that was ready for the scrap. It’s joined Pandemonium and Pirate Adventure in the list of rides that are gone and if that’s what the park has to do to evolve, thrive, and keep going with new attractions then that’s just the way it is. Just because something was popular it doesn’t mean that it can’t be retired in order for a new attraction to take its place, the owners don’t have unlimited funds, nor do they have unlimited space.
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After they failed to sell the ride they had the idea to turn the 2 stand up sides to sit down and keep the floorless side and they spent around £50000 on replacement parts on the floorless side to fix the problem but as it lifted up to the top it wouldn’t release the car so they lowered it back down and they didn’t want to spend any more money on the ride.

I was told last summer the park had their best summer season since 2005 and with the park open.
Also with the park open to 21:15 Fri, Sat and Sun tickets are selling fast.
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Slightly poor operations today with a number of rides not at their best:

- Loki, Harold and the fire engine ride closed all day
- Only one train running from Thomas Land
- Troublesome trucks had a fair few break downs that I saw
- Drunken Barrels closed
- Scoring and targets not working in Sheriff Showdown

For such a popular weekend, it wasn’t the best.
 
ozziechef said:
Slightly poor operations today with a number of rides not at their best:

- Loki, Harold and the fire engine ride closed all day
- Only one train running from Thomas Land
- Troublesome trucks had a fair few break downs that I saw
- Drunken Barrels closed
- Scoring and targets not working in Sheriff Showdown

For such a popular weekend, it wasn’t the best.
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From the videos I’ve seen it also looked as if the square around the stage was quite empty too.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I think unless your annual pass holder if you only go the park once or twice a year you not gonna watch entertainment for 2 hours 6pm to 8pm. I think tomorrow more will be round that stage as it’s 20/21 degrees and it’s a dry day.
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Definitely agree with you. It’s hard for any park to do events because of this reason. Enthusiasts demand more stage shows yet 99% of the attendance is the general public. Families are tired and children are grumpy by the the time I want to break free is busted out.
 
The park had lots of angry guests yesterday on social media. They were selling tickets for the event as soon as they announced them but only announced the timing for the event on Thursday.
Many families had booked the evening ticket cause of school and working and they wouldn’t have if they had known Thomas land was closing at half 5.
 
Busy on park today. Had my first ride on Submarine Splash waited about 40min. Nice addition to Thomas Land though still looks a bit unfinished. Shame Thomas land shut so early and rides shut an hour before fireworks. I get they need to be stopped at fireworks start but couldn't they stagger it based on how big a queue is for a ride so maybe staggered closing between 8-8.30
 
The Coronation Street Party fireworks we're really good. Drayton Manor are really knocking the socks off the competition with events this year with late rides, live music and really well choreographed fireworks. Let's hope they have a good return on this to see more of this kind of thing from them and fireworks outside of end of season. Park was busy today so think they did well.
 
Was talking to park managerment after the fireworks event.
I asked about the new coaster and they want to keep it a secret as long as possible (brand and type) but he told me that ground work and footers for the station and coaster will be done during the season and supports and track will start to go up as soon as the main season is over but guests visiting during the Christmas event will see the coaster getting installed.
 
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rob666 said:
Maybe I'm jaded because I believed what I was told twenty years ago about what stunning new rides were coming to Drayton over the next couple of years...still waiting!
And I am not at all sure that the park has become "high flying again".
Too early to tell if the park is doing well...lots of recent very quiet days apparently, and as the parks attendance had dropped considerably after the accident, we don't really know how they are doing economically.
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They do have quiet days yes. But they also have lots of busy days. Very busy days. This is reflected in the parks accounts over the last few years.

I would say they are flying high again. The park is very popular among it's market. Lots of investment has happened in the last few years, lots of refreshing the park and lots more investment coming. The public have responded very well to this, which again is reflected in their bottom line.

The final year of the Bryan's ownership saw a loss of £2 million for the park, the year before that was a £3.8 million loss. The year before that a £1.2 million loss.

Compare that to the last two financial years. A £2.8 million after tax profit for the financial year just gone, then a £4.5 million after tax profit for the financial year before.

That is money made, in the bank, after tax, the heavy cost of recent investments and all other outgoings such as wages and maintenance accounted for. They are making money and lots of it, even when capital expenditure has been relatively high recently. Which has both taken from potential higher profits but also helped make the profits higher by bringing more people through the gates.

It is quite remarkable how quickly they have turned the park around in terms of profitability. A complete u turn in what is a short space of time. I suppose loopings are far more experienced at this than the Bryan's were, so they could work out what needed doing and where, to get the park back to a money maker pretty quickly.
 
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The end of the Bryan ownership coincided with a drop in visitors due to the mass media focus on the death of a young customer.
Following that, the new operators hit the covid boost, if BPB can make a profit in those times, any operator can.
Covid gave a massive boost to all parks attendance wise, there was nowhere else to go!
The loss of teenage thrill rides may still bite them in the bum, but time will tell.
I suppose targeting younger punters is a way of dealing with the competitive market in a highly populated area.
Not been in over a decade now, just not enough grown up "stuff" to attract me back without small kids.
 
Yesterday the park was busy. The main car park was packed and cause of the evening ticket deal they had even more coming for the evening event so they opened the Vikings car park.
Having the live entertainment the Elton tribute was excellent and it was packed round the stage and they were selling a lot of alcohol and food.
You can feel a that happy vibe at the park again and if they keep making profits year on year they will keep on investing in new rides, bigger events and longer opening hours.
9pm close is a excellent time and they gonna be doing them again on Saturday nights in July and August.
The only complaints like Fridays was guests who brought evening tickets before they announced the timings with Thomas land closing at 6.
 
As I was talking about the coaster I did ask about the pirate adventure building and the sad news they currently got no plans for the building to be used as an attraction again but they have repaired the roof so it won’t leak.
The ride system is all still in place but the 2 reasons it was closed in the 1st place was the fire risk there isn’t a water sprinkler system fitted in the building and it needed more fire exits installed. So even if they totally stripped the whole building they will need to add more exit doors (shouldn’t be a problem) but it’s the sprinkler system with a building that size that would cost a lot before they can think about building a indoor coaster or any other dark ride.
 
DistortAMG said:
They do have quiet days yes. But they also have lots of busy days. Very busy days. This is reflected in the parks accounts over the last few years.

I would say they are flying high again. The park is very popular among it's market. Lots of investment has happened in the last few years, lots of refreshing the park and lots more investment coming. The public have responded very well to this, which again is reflected in their bottom line.

The final year of the Bryan's ownership saw a loss of £2 million for the park, the year before that was a £3.8 million loss. The year before that a £1.2 million loss.

Compare that to the last two financial years. A £2.8 million after tax profit for the financial year just gone, then a £4.5 million after tax profit for the financial year before.

That is money made, in the bank, after tax, the heavy cost of recent investments and all other outgoings such as wages and maintenance accounted for. They are making money and lots of it, even when capital expenditure has been relatively high recently. Which has both taken from potential higher profits but also helped make the profits higher by bringing more people through the gates.

It is quite remarkable how quickly they have turned the park around in terms of profitability. A complete u turn in what is a short space of time. I suppose loopings are far more experienced at this than the Bryan's were, so they could work out what needed doing and where, to get the park back to a money maker pretty quickly.
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While I have not read the accounts, I assume part of the reason for the turn around in profits is that they no longer have the huge debt repayments that ultimately led to the bankruptcy. I might be wrong but was led to believe that if it wasn't for the £20m debt and they didn't have the loan repayments then actually the park would have been very profitable. However some poor decisions with investment and then the drop in attendance and then finally Covid meant they could no longer service that Debt leading to bankruptcy.

Obviously removing that debt has also meant that Looping group are investing back into the park which is also having a positive impact. The good news is it appears this investment is working so should encourage Looping to continue the investment into the future.
 
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