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Drayton Manor Park
- Thread starter Matty
- Start date
DistortAMG
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- POTC Disneyland Paris
As soon as I have some free time this week, I am going to draw a layout of the ride to the best of my knowledge. Watch this space.
DiogoJ42
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Metropolitan Line
It's not the best page on there. Hence it needs work.That was a... Very interesting read..
Themeparksandy1981
TS Member
It's been replaced by a kids £1 go kart track which has to many cars on it. Parents were always moving the other karts out of the way. I was gonna take a pic of it 3 weeks ago but kids were on it every time I tried to get a picture. It's been ran by HB leisure.
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Unfortuntely I think it is safe to say that the Rapids won't be returning this season, as I discovered that it is not marked on this season's park map.
https://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/media/upload/files/Map_2018_ONLINE.jpg
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https://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/media/upload/files/Map_2018_ONLINE.jpg
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Rick
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Crux
@skyscraper that's the half term map with many major rides missing?
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Oops, so it is
. That is the one on the web site though. EDIT: got the right one now, no idea where the half term one came from.
Been watching this tread for a while, just never posted.
Not been to Drayton since around 2011 not sure why as I always enjoyed the park from when my parents took me as a small child. I remember riding the Snake Train and loving it (and at the time not realising how dangerous it actually was).
I might be in the minority, while I liked Pirates Adventure, I wasn't too bothered if it was closed on a visit. I suppose I saw it as a ride to relax on after lunch or something.
In some ways I miss the original log flume even though I know Stormforce 10 is a far better ride. Perhaps I'm looking back with rose tinted glasses, but I liked the theming of the original flume ride.
Should re-visit this Summer if I get the chance.
Does anyone have any insider information on G-force status? Hopefully it won't be closed all season.
Not been to Drayton since around 2011 not sure why as I always enjoyed the park from when my parents took me as a small child. I remember riding the Snake Train and loving it (and at the time not realising how dangerous it actually was).
I might be in the minority, while I liked Pirates Adventure, I wasn't too bothered if it was closed on a visit. I suppose I saw it as a ride to relax on after lunch or something.
In some ways I miss the original log flume even though I know Stormforce 10 is a far better ride. Perhaps I'm looking back with rose tinted glasses, but I liked the theming of the original flume ride.
Should re-visit this Summer if I get the chance.
Does anyone have any insider information on G-force status? Hopefully it won't be closed all season.
Sauron97
TS Member
The original log flume was great, and fitted well in to the area after 1995 when Klondike was there, but they'd tried to keep it alive for so long and by the end of the 90s it was getting dated. As some may know, the original plans were to either replace it with an extremely large/long Log Flume with a very large number of drops or a Grand Flume with 3 more major and intense drops. They chose the latter and SF10 was born in mid 1999. It's a favorite of mine, as I love the unique theme, excellent ride layout, and fantastic structures that surround the ride.
Photo from the now broken up BEAR rides that captures Steps opening the ride.
Apparently something rather major is happening to G-force. From what I hear, it may be getting new restraints. This could improve the ride experience massively, which if done right could win over enthusiasts that look at it rather disdainfully. Theming G-force a little more and adding a second X-car train would help it a lot too.
As for the wider park the new short term priorities have become clear.
Give Shockwave a new station building. The 1994 shack station is dated and doesn't match the theme of the wider area anymore. Same goes for Splash Canyon.
Finish the job on Apocalypse. Paint the station exterior and the tower, and give it a nice silver appearance. Bring back the satellite dishes and net, and bring back the entrance structure and add some desolate, apocalyptic theming in the area at the entrance. The new soundtrack that replaced the radio in the station is good, but they could put this outside as well.
Finish painting SF10 including station. Add more theming and animatronics where possible. After the waterfalls, a small indoor section inside an oil station would suit this well.
If all of this is out the way, then focus on relaunching Pirate Adventure, with consultancy from Space Leisure.
Then, focus on creating a main street area where Vertigo is, and in the remaining space, build a highly themed family thrill coaster . Use this opportunity to re do accelerator to fit the 50s theme of that area too.
After this, focus on making a splash battle or cruise to replace Excalibur. This time, make sure you don't run out of cash, maintain the ride and find a solution to the lake water issue, and have more indoor sections!
Photo from the now broken up BEAR rides that captures Steps opening the ride.
Apparently something rather major is happening to G-force. From what I hear, it may be getting new restraints. This could improve the ride experience massively, which if done right could win over enthusiasts that look at it rather disdainfully. Theming G-force a little more and adding a second X-car train would help it a lot too.
As for the wider park the new short term priorities have become clear.
Give Shockwave a new station building. The 1994 shack station is dated and doesn't match the theme of the wider area anymore. Same goes for Splash Canyon.
Finish the job on Apocalypse. Paint the station exterior and the tower, and give it a nice silver appearance. Bring back the satellite dishes and net, and bring back the entrance structure and add some desolate, apocalyptic theming in the area at the entrance. The new soundtrack that replaced the radio in the station is good, but they could put this outside as well.
Finish painting SF10 including station. Add more theming and animatronics where possible. After the waterfalls, a small indoor section inside an oil station would suit this well.
If all of this is out the way, then focus on relaunching Pirate Adventure, with consultancy from Space Leisure.
Then, focus on creating a main street area where Vertigo is, and in the remaining space, build a highly themed family thrill coaster . Use this opportunity to re do accelerator to fit the 50s theme of that area too.
After this, focus on making a splash battle or cruise to replace Excalibur. This time, make sure you don't run out of cash, maintain the ride and find a solution to the lake water issue, and have more indoor sections!
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
What sort of new restraints could G-Force potentially be getting? Could it receive OTSRs, or possibly even Icon-esque lap bars, if Maurer would be willing?
Out of interest, what sort of restraints does it currently have? Are they the same as Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Orlando's restraints, or are they different? The HRRR restraints weren't too bad, actually. They gave you quite a bit of freedom, and they made the ejector airtime over the non-inverted loop better! I do remember HRRR having a bit of a rattle, though, even though I don't think the restraints necessarily caused that.
Out of interest, what sort of restraints does it currently have? Are they the same as Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Orlando's restraints, or are they different? The HRRR restraints weren't too bad, actually. They gave you quite a bit of freedom, and they made the ejector airtime over the non-inverted loop better! I do remember HRRR having a bit of a rattle, though, even though I don't think the restraints necessarily caused that.
Plastic Person
TS Member
Cool ideas, but I think "running out of cash" is even more of an issue for DMP now than it was in the nineties! Storm Force 10 was/is a great ride with a killer theme, save for the ridiculous drenching recieved on the backwards drop. However, Excalibur and G-Force, the former in particular, were terrible, tedious investments for the park. On the other hand, Thomas Land did buck the trend, and I can see why they don't want to revert back to investing in thrill rides, or renovating Pirate Adventure. The Bryans scored a timeless IP at the right time.
I would like to think it, but logistically I don't see it working as those restraints are the "selling factor" of the ride, which makes it different to other rides, for better or worse. But perhaps those are being removed and swapped, or maybe just tweaked in some way to make it more comfortable.
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit are visually the same, although G-Force does not have the "notch" that HRRR has. I think most peoples complaint with G-Force restraints is the fact that they appear to tighten as the ride goes on, whether they actually do or not I'm not sure, but they can be uncomfortable on the inverted lift hill which G-Force has.
Might be worth noting that G-Force has a "Big Boy Seat", not sure where that is or how it works, but this might make conversion difficult - unless they remove it totally. I'm also hoping they're giving the track a bit of a clean up, last time I was there it wasn't in the best state.
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
The big boy seats are basically just larger seats with slightly wider restraints. It will be very interesting in the coming weeks/months to see what they do with the ride.
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speedy
TS Member
Sauron97
TS Member
G-force would look a lot nicer if it was themed, and the forces can be good if you're not suffocating under the lap bar.
Excalibur was great when it first opened. The theming dried up a little between the waterfalland the finale, and this was down to a shorter than expected budget, but certain parts of it were excellent and beautifully themed, most notably the fire breathing finale. If there was a cave section in the middle, and if the castle apartment scene at the beginning was larger and built upwards, and walls that enclosed the area more existed, and also some of the audio was from speakers hidden in some of the scenes, rather than being solely from the infrared sensors on the boat, then I think the ride could be excellent. Alternatively, the ride system could be turned in to a watercoaster with the outside segments being like a cruise and indoor segments and tunnels being where the drops could be (solving the noise problem for the zoo and nearby residents) which could make Excalbur the ride it was always supposed to be! Much of the theming still exists remember, and is stored in the Christmas area.