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Drayton Manor Park

Parade, show AND fireworks!?

That's how you do it. Take notes Towers (and look at your own history of parades etc.)

I must say for a Christmas day out/break, there are so many places that outdo Towers in every single way possible, and often smaller places too. Drayton's looks pretty eye catching for those who are looking for something to do with the kids.
 
skyscraper said:
to be honest, as Drayton haven't announced their 2018 coaster yet i don't think it will be a major one.
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I would say the best plan of action is to delay the time for the next project and put more investment in to a bigger area. If pirates goes, this creates a huge area where between it and excalibur. Drayton Manor were relatively small and unknown until rides like shockwave came in to the fold, so I thing building a roller coaster here would be a great plan to give the park some new appeal beyond thomas land. Britain needs an el toro style coaster or a 4th dimension pretty badly, so if Drayton wants to become big, I'd suggest building these. And just in general, the park could do with a nice clean-up. Get rid of the huge tarmac area by the arcade and create some nice foliage to give it a cleaner feel. And make the zoo smaller so the theme park can be extended out. What do you think?
 
I'm not defending Alton Towers that much, but I understand why this year they are offering Christmas to guests with hotel stays only. Even if you live close it is at least 40 minutes to get to AT. This Christmas will only have CBeebies and Sea Life open, which is perhaps disappointing after a long drive. But at the hotel there is also a panto and other activities. It also keeps the number of guests to a manageable level so nobody queues too long in the cold.

But Drayton Manor is slightly closer to Birmingham so not as far to go for a day visit, Thomas Land is bigger than CBeebies Land and TL offers a wider range of rides, I think 6yr olds would be OK but there isn't as mud for them at CBeebies.

Now part of the problem is that AT have closed their other family attractions such as driving school, Charlie etc.

My guess is Drayton are offering the better day option but AT probably have the better package including a hotel stay.
 
While YouTube comments are by no means the most reliable source of all time. I have just read the following comment:
"As a member of the RCCGB, I can confirm that Drayton Manor is getting a new coaster in 2018. Its an S&S LIM Launch coaster with a 1.0 metre height restriction. (To replace the Buffalo.)"

Now we already now it will replace the Buffalo and be from S&S. So could be a new family launch coaster?
 
I'd actually lean more towards the S&S suspended coaster mentioned as a possibility in the IAAPA thread more given that Drayton's coaster is rumored to be a new model of coasters for S&S. wouldn't rule out any family coaster at the moment, but as said above, youtube comments are probably the least reliable sources out there.

1m is quite a low height restriction though, isn't it? I know they're going for the family market, but I don't think I've seen launch coasters with that low of a restriction. Anyone know what the height restriction on similar rides are?
 
Leah said:
I'd actually lean more towards the S&S suspended coaster mentioned as a possibility in the IAAPA thread more given that Drayton's coaster is rumored to be a new model of coasters for S&S. wouldn't rule out any family coaster at the moment, but as said above, youtube comments are probably the least reliable sources out there.

1m is quite a low height restriction though, isn't it? I know they're going for the family market, but I don't think I've seen launch coasters with that low of a restriction. Anyone know what the height restriction on similar rides are?
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Yes. But didn't management claim it would be a first of its kind?
The Suspended Coaster is going to Dutch Wonderland in 2017.

http://fox43.com/2016/11/01/dutch-wonderland-unveils-plans-for-new-ride/

Still I would hope it is a Family Suspended Coaster. They seem to be very popular.
 
The plans for the coaster at Dutch wonderland seem to be unveiled a little after Drayton announced that theirs would be first of it kind. Plans can change, and maybe Drayton would rather let another park deal with the teething issues that may arise with a first of its kind ride.

Still, this is all speculation. Anything is possible with this really, and I doubt everything was fully confirmed when Drayton announced it earlier this year.
 
Agreed, let's see how it plays out and make a clearer consensus when we can see an actual plan.

Speaking of plans, does anyone remember when Drayton were creating concepts for a giant waterpark ? Would be amazing if they actually made one and added a few water based attractions inside it. I think it was meant to be around the area where the hotel is. I remember reading about it back in 2007 and seeing the plan was in 2021 or something and being amazed at how much time that would be, but now... not so far away :eek:
 
Benzin said:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/blind-boy-who-uses-wheelchair-9411533

Yay for customer complaints over the park implementing rules to ensure that all riders are safe!
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Leah said:
Could you quote it? Besides the fact that I don't want to click a mirror link, I've just received the dreaded "you've just used up 75% of your data" text and I think the mirror may push it over the edge.
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From Benzin's Post...

A theme park has been accused of making a blind three-year-old boy get up from his wheelchair so he could be measured before getting on a ride.

Cameron Alderman visited Drayton Manor, in Staffordshire, with his family for a Christmas party trip organised by the charity Blind Children UK last Sunday.

But after they queued for 20 minutes to use the popular Jolly Buccaneer ride, a female staff member said Cameron needed to stand up to make sure he met the one-metre height requirement, reports the Bristol Post.

Mum Carla Golledge, 26, from Bradley Stoke, told the woman about Cameron's disability and explained he is well above one metre tall, but after a 'rude' exchange was sent to the park's Guest Services.

It was there that a team leader then asked dad Adam Alderman, 31, to hold Cameron's legs straight and his head up while he was measured.

The youngster became increasingly distressed and Cameron's family eventually left after the team leader told them he couldn't be measured properly – but that he 'looks under a metre'.

Mum-of-three Carla said she was disgusted by the way her family was treated.

Drayton Manor has since offered the family a free day out, but Carla fears without the right training, other people with disabilities could face the same experience.

Cameron suffers from Norrie disease, a disorder which means he is totally blind, and the youngster uses a wheelchair because of mobility issues.

Carla said: "We were queuing for that ride and it said the minimum height, and Cameron is well over a metre high.

"He finds it difficult to stand up and uses a wheelchair to get around outside, and when we got to the front of the queue the staff member said she needs to measure him. I explained he probably would not stand up.

"She was just really rude, saying 'at the end of the day he will have to stand up to be measured or there's nothing else we can do'.

"She would not measure him any other way and she refused him access to the ride.

Carla said the queue for the ride was growing and the family began to feel embarrassed by how staff were treating them.

"She was saying you need to hold him to stand up and I said he can't physically stand up on his own," Carla said.

"I said it's too busy, he's really nervous and you're forcing him to try and do something. He's going to get upset.


"We went to guest services where I explained the situation. The woman in there gave us a queue jump pass but said Cameron would still have to be measured at every single ride."

A team leader was called and Adam went into the Guest services while Carla watched the couple's other children, seven-year-old Indie and seven-week-old baby Morgan.

Carla said: "The team leader came inside and offered to measure Cameron and asked Adam to hold his legs straight onto the floor whilst trying to hold Cameron's legs up.

"By this point Cameron was getting really distressed and upset, because he doesn't understand what's going on and in a way, they were trying to force him to stand straight and keep still."


But after forcing little Cameron to try and stand, the team leader eventually said he couldn't be measured properly so wouldn't be allowed on some rides.

Carla added: "I think it's disgusting how you can force a child with mobility issues to do something he doesn't understand and make him really upset.

"It was meant to be relaxing family day out. By this stage my partner was getting really frustrated and angry for trying to force us to do something like that.

"In the end my partner just picked up Cameron and walked out of Guest Services. We were really upset. We had only just arrived and we wanted to go home already."

The youngster's condition means he is severely delayed and only feels comfortable enough walking at home.

His mum said: "He will cruise around the furniture. He still needs support holding on to us or the furniture, and because he's not got any visibility it's quite scary when he's outside in a big open space with nothing to hold onto. That's why he can't stand outside."

Drayton Manor has invited the family back for a free day out, including lunch, but Carla wants staff to be trained in helping people with disabilities.

She said: "I didn't just complain for free access. I don't want this happening again to other families. It's really stressful having a disabled child as it is and it just added to the stress and it didn't start the day well.

"First of all I felt upset. We had been treat this way and were made to force Cameron to get out of his wheelchair which was making him upset. I was really angry.

"We were treated like that. I spoke to two different staff members and they were not helping us and I feel angry and in the end we just had to walk away from the situation.

"I feel they could use more training because when I first queued up for that ride the lady was rude and not helpful and embarrassed us in front of everybody."

Steve Lomas, head of park operations at Drayton Manor Park, said: "During a group visit to Drayton's Magical Christmas on Sunday 4 December, Cameron Golledge and his family went to ride the Jolly Buccaneer, which has a minimum height requirement of 1 metre and all children under 1.2 metres must be accompanied by an adult.

"To ensure Cameron was safe to go on the ride, the family were directed to our Guest Services department and his parents gave consent for Cameron to be measured to ensure he could demonstrate the brace position required for the ride's health and safety. During this time, he became upset.

"We have been in contact with the family directly and we value their feedback. The health and safety of our visitors is of paramount importance and riders must meet height restrictions on the Jolly Buccaneer to ensure their safety and wellbeing is in line with the ride manufacturer and HSE guidance and regulations."
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I guess implementing a system where a disabled person can be measured away from the queue and given a wristband with a specific colour based on height, would resolve the issue of having to measure them at every ride. Whether that's practical or not is another issue.
 
Am I being heartless or if he can get out of his wheelchair to get on and off the ride then another quick stand up wouldn't be that much? Imagine if the parents lied about his height and he fell out of the ride? Bet the parents would be saying that was the parks fault.
 
I'm sorry but the child is blind, not a paraplegic, asking him to get out of the chair to be measured is not an unfair thing to ask, not to mention the ride requires him to get out of his wheelchair and sit on the seat. If there was an accident, the family would be the first to sue Drayton citing negligence and breach of health and safety protocols. Pathetic really.

Drayton did the right thing but I do believe the staff would have probably said it in a rude way, the staff are not the politest or most tactful I've seen.
 
I never understand why rides are built with disable lifts (Saw, The Smiler, Cobra, Rita etc..) but yet, before you can ride you have to prove that you can walk X amount of meters and be able to climb up and down stairs etc..due to health and safety and evacuation reasons which really defeats the purpose of the lifts :rolleyes:
 
It's bad enough the poor lad has to live in Bradley Stoke (or Sadly Broke as we call it locally) with all its crap pubs and leisure centre..... with a bloody library in it!
 
matthewgcole said:
It's bad enough the poor lad has to live in Bradley Stoke (or Sadly Broke as we call it locally) with all its crap pubs and leisure centre..... with a bloody library in it!
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At least he can't see how crap it all is..

I'm with Drayton Manor on this one. Imagine the headlines if the lad had been injured on the ride as a result of being under the height limit.

The parents would be first to accuse the park of lapse safety checks.
 
It seems a bit odd that Drayton already have a woodie layout designed 6/7 years before it opened in 2022/23. Maybe this will be one of their biggest rides they worked on maybe it will be an RMC but how knows.

Reasons why it might be an RMC
  • For all we know the 2018 attraction might be a S&S 4D Free Fly, which RMC do the track for.
  • Vekoma do the power for RMC's in Europe. Drayton have a good relation with Vekoma.
  • Most wooden coaster built in 2022/23 will be some sort of an RMC design (by that I mean inversion and/or launches)

Reasons why it might not be an RMC
  • Probably an RMC would out of a price range for Drayton.
  • The park is Family Thrill based, RMC's are thrill rides.


I could be completely wrong with my 'speculation theory' and the woodie could be by GCI or GG. I just thought I would share my ideas... :)
 
I take everything Drayton say with a pinch of salt. They said a similar thing about a wooden coaster being planned 4 or 5 years ago and planned to add it in about 5 years. They had a vekoma launched coaster fully planned and ready to go for 2012/13, that never happened. The hotel was first anounced in 1998 but took until 2011 before it finally was built and opened. They also had a whole cartoon network area planned with rethemes of apocalypse and surrounding attractions again that never happened.
 
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