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Drayton Manor Park

DistortAMG said:
Well our passes had actually expired a few weeks ago, so I would have had to pay full price.
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You get 30days after it’s expired to get it at the renewal price.
Quote from the website:
The Annual Pass renewal window opens 2 weeks before your pass is due to expire and will end 30 days after the expiry date. To renew your pass and receive a 10% discount, use the prefix "R" followed by your current annual pass barcode
That’s why pass holders are moaning if new pass holders pay the say price as renewals.
 
I get that, but the 10% is only a special offer to new pass holders, so it will not be there all the time.

Re purchased my son and I's passes, looking forward to some lovely evening spring rides and whatnot this weekend.

Very pleased they are keeping the place open until 8PM on Saturday and Sunday. I'm guessing it is going to be busy though.
 
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DistortAMG said:
I get that, but the 10% is only a special offer to new pass holders, so it will not be there all the time.

Re purchased my son and I's passes, looking forward to some lovely evening spring rides and whatnot this weekend.

Very pleased they are keeping the place open until 8PM on Saturday and Sunday. I'm guessing it is going to be busy though.
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I don’t mind if we just get on a couple of rides as my kids are happy running around the play ground areas and going round the zoo. They always adding different animals to the Reptile house and around the zoo.
I do wonder with the Zoo licence up in 2025 if the looping group will apply to renew it as the number of guests (non annual pass holders) who visit the zoo is decreasing every year. They could decide to move some of the animals to the Safari park as I can see the next Thomas land Expansion going into this area
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As the Thomas Exhibition is been moved to the main park
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Even on the days Terence has been open it’s hardly had a queue so can neither see it totally removed at the end of the season or it will be installed back in the area it use to be in.
 
I’ve always been very sceptical about their zoo and it’s enclosures, sometimes makes me feel rather sad for the animals. I’d love to see them close it one day and move the to WMSP for a better life. The area would be much better used for future developments, but I don’t think they should use is for Thomas land! I’d much rather another area on the level of Vikings with a thrill ride or coaster in there too.
 
Couldn't agree more...I must say I hate all zoos, but Draytons on my last few visits was getting to the bottom end of acceptable.
Mingo was poor on my last visit as well, lots of broken concrete and glass, and sad animals showing cage behaviour.
If I wanted to see a moody, pacing, fretting primate, I would hide the wife's Stella.
 
Definitely lose the zoo from 2025 and concentrate on the theme park. It would be a natural progression I think to use it as an opportunity to reconfigure things at the park work towards the eventual opening of a new themed area and leave the animal side of things to WMSP.

It would make a lot of sense for Loopings to promote DM and WMSP in the public consciousness as twin parks in their estate in the same way that Merlin present their attractions as being of a group with a shared pass.
 
I'd actually be really against them removing the zoo, at least the main section of it. Not many parks worldwide hold a zoo of Draytons size, and its nice for the lark to offer something that isn't a restaurant or attraction. I'd like them to remove the back of the zoo where the Thomas train railways ends, I'd like them to convert that into a themed area.
 
Trooper Looper said:
I'd actually be really against them removing the zoo, at least the main section of it. Not many parks worldwide hold a zoo of Draytons size, and its nice for the lark to offer something that isn't a restaurant or attraction. I'd like them to remove the back of the zoo where the Thomas train railways ends, I'd like them to convert that into a themed area.
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How would you say Drayton’s zoo compares to the ones at Chessington and Flamingo Land in terms of size, the visitor experience, and also quality of enclosures?
 
Haven't been to Flamingo Land but Chessington's zoo is WAY bigger in size although both have the same problem with small enclosures in the older areas.
 
Trooper Looper said:
I'd actually be really against them removing the zoo, at least the main section of it. Not many parks worldwide hold a zoo of Draytons size, and its nice for the lark to offer something that isn't a restaurant or attraction. I'd like them to remove the back of the zoo where the Thomas train railways ends, I'd like them to convert that into a themed area.
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Sorry, just no.
Chessington, Chester, Knowlsley and WMSP are far superior zoos, then there are probably a thousand or so zoos worldwide that offer a better experience, for animals as well as humans, than Draytons shoddy zoo.
It needs scrapping now.
 
rob666 said:
Sorry, just no.
Chessington, Chester, Knowlsley and WMSP are far superior zoos, then there are probably a thousand or so zoos worldwide that offer a better experience, for animals as well as humans, than Draytons shoddy zoo.
It needs scrapping now.
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Agreed. Last year the larger animals looked so miserable in enclosures that just didn’t look large enough. It put a bit of a crimp in my day to see the lynx in such a small space.
 
Last time I went into DMP's zoo, which was a few years ago now, one of the enclosures had a sign on it that basically said "yes, we know this is too small but the animal is too old to be relocated so it's staying in this shoe box until it dies, at which point we'll put something smaller in here".

It was a pretty miserable experience really. It's possible things have improved since but of the 3 large theme park/zoo hybrids in the UK, Drayton's was comfortably the worst based on my last visit to each.
 
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