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Drayton Manor Park

I don't think enthusiasts are praising Drayton the same way as they are with Paultons, there are several issues there as well as some lingering heartbreak if Apocalypse is anything to go by as they are a park that is though finally finding its footing again and honestly at this rate I'd rate them better than any of the Merlin parks of resolving their issues much sooner which isn't hard to do admittedly but there we go.
 
I was there a few weeks ago and overall I feel the park is looking the best it has for a long time and is well presented. While yes the theming is fairly basic, it's all done to a good standard and I would say the park looks the best it ever has done. While there are area for improvement, one of which is a new coaster, which has been addressed with Gold Rush and some other areas that could do with work Ie accelerator and Flying Dutchman. The investment over the past few years compared to the previous 10 years has been excellent and helped the park get back on its feet. TAlso a few years ago even after the looping group had taken over if anyone had said they would install and Intamin coaster I wouldn't have believed them. I fully expected something from a c healer manufacture such as a Zamperla coaster.

Hopefully they can now build on what they have done over the last few years as they develop their plan for the next 5 years and that the Looping group have/are seeing a return on their investment and continue investments going forward.
 
I have to admit after going to Paulton’s park last weekend for the 1st time since 2021. I do have to admit Paulton’s is the uk’s no1 park for theming and presentation.
From the moment you get out your car you notice the big difference with smiling staff and how clean and tidy it looks.,
I didn’t see any litter anywhere or bins overflowing and the main thing no names scratched or written in the queue lines.
Everything looked fresh and clean. The dinosaur area you wouldn’t think it opened 8 years ago with all the dinosaurs moving and building/walls looking brand new.
The gardens were beautiful, with the animal enclosures big enough for the animals and well presented.
For the selection of rides I do think currently Drayton has the better collection of rides.
Peppa pig vs Thomas land now if your under 3 the rides at Peppa pig is more sorted but any older than Thomas land wins hands down as there rides suit the 4-5 year range.
Water rides now Paulton’s have got there new log flume which is way better than Thomas lands log flume but Drayton got 3 in Thomas land which can get you wet and Paulton’s have currently still got there log flume but it’s no where as good as storm force 10
Dark rides yet again to Paulton’s new dark ride opens next year Drayton got the Haunting and Sheriff showdown and Pirate adventure replacement could put Drayton manor into the top 5 uk theme parks
Flat rides im basing this on rides that kids over 1m can go on. Drayton got the wave swinger, Maelstrom, Air race, The Bounty, Cranky, Jolly Buccaneer, Dodgems, Thor, Loki and Blasting Barrels where at Paulton’s Cyclonator, Edge, Magma and the Sky swinger. Now Cyclonator is excellent and I thought was better than Maelstrom and Magma was 10 times better than Cranky. I find both the wave swinger and Thor a lot better than there sky swinger and Edge and having more thrill flat rides Drayton wins that again.
And now onto the coasters and I’m again basing on the coasters 1m+ now Drayton got the Wave, Troublesome trucks, Jormungandr, Gold Rush and Accelerator where at Paulton’s you got Cobra, Storm
Chaser, the flight of the pterosaur and velociraptor.
Now I found Accelerator to be better than Velociraptor as it felt quicker and more forceful but flight of the pterosaur is better than troublesome trucks and Jormungandr combined. I loved both Storm chaser and Gold rush and I can’t decide which is better and cobra I use to enjoy but it so rough now and ended on with a few bruises but again overall Drayton wins this as they offer a coaster that goes upside down.
So over all if you care just for rides for me Drayton wins hands down but for theming and presentation of the park not 1 uk theme park can touch Paulton’s.
 
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Legoland Windsor got insane theming if you think about it too (but it's more spread out and a little worse for ware in places, while Paultons' is more focused).

I'm thinking about going to Drayton Manor and Chessington World of Adventures this September...
 
Relife said:
I'm pretty sure the general public don't care about themed toilets. Nobody's going in there thinking ' nah I can't have a dump because I'm not immersed enough'
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Of course not, but it would have been better to leave the toilets unthemed rather than slapping cheap vinyls on the doors which just look ridiculous.
 
KolonelKlink said:
Of course not, but it would have been better to leave the toilets unthemed rather than slapping cheap vinyls on the doors which just look ridiculous.
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I agree I was just shocked that the amount of money they spent on replacing the roof and theming the outside to fit into surrounding building they just left the inside untouched. They even left the weight checking machine in there. I know they just toilets but even just putting a wooden frame round the mirror would have been better as they did a great job in the Thomas land toilets.
 
benpicko said:
Can't wait for Pirate Adventure 2.0 with AI generated posters and completely static props because they clearly can't afford anything else
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That’s a bit harsh. The looping group spend this year has got to be 20 million plus when you think they:
Brought back Terence’s driving school to Thomas land.
The looney Tunes ip for the 4D cinema.
Frontier falls with the theatre, Cafe, Haunting entrance, Sheriff showdown and Drunken Barrels all been re-themed to the new area and I don’t think it’s finished yet.

IMG_4470.png
Looking at the art work there’s cactus’s and telephone lines with lights attached. There is a random post been installed just outside gold rush shop which I do think with be for area lighting.
Then we had shockwave new train (which is awful I timed it yesterday and took 15-20 mins from the train leaving the station to going out again) also with the queue line been repainted and outside the queue line been re-themed.
Then we had this excellent coaster open which the park has been dying out for years.
 
Cheap and rather "floaty" looking (I can somehow just tell with AI content), but not as naff and obvious as all those reams of AI slop by that maniac who did that Willy Wonka "attraction" earlier this year (LOL).

Looping Group are investing an appreciable amount of money into the Drayton Manor establishment (which seemed even more mismanaged & moribund than Alton Towers by the turn of the 2020s) but with their slew of big projects in the past year or so it looks like they abruptly run out of cash/time at awkward sections....
 
Visited the park today, I'd previously only visited for the first time in October 2020 when the place was really at deaths door, thankful I went then as I got all the different Apocalypse drops. Then in 2022 when the Loopings group had definitely begun to turn things round.

So today's visit for me is again great to see the park moving forwards again with the Frontier Falls section and a very busy park.

Gold Rush I thought was loads of fun, a queue line low on cattle pens, and more importantly for the UK lots of it under cover (probably more for rain, but a real bonus with the sun today).

Got 4 rides in, 1 were it went over the first drop, and 3 were it stopped and went backwards down the first drop. The second option for me was the better one, felt a more thrilling option.

Great it's just 1 metre height limit so perfect for the park and everyone seemed to be enjoying it.

Also had time for The Wave, definitely an improvement over Shockwave. However the loading process was so slow.

Finally all the posters in the Gold Rush queue line and this one really jumped out at me as it's quite clearly the Liverpool goal keeper Alisson Becker.

IMG_20240729_121552.jpg
 
Either it's been manually traced digitally (or an AI generated image, which is known to throw up obvious celebrity faces from time to time).
 
The turnaround for Drayton is impressive given where the park was just a few years ago. The park has been busy as well and I think Thier pricing has been spot on. The park offer good value and with the new coaster they have a really solid offering.

Frontier Falls still needs a bit of work. Would like a new food offering in the area next season. Hopefully a new flat ride to finish off the area along with the complete retheme of accelerator. Regardless of AI posters the park is heading in the right direction
 
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