• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Drayton Manor Park

DistortAMG said:
Lowering the height won't broaden it's appeal though. People who are scared to ride will still be scared to ride. Sure, it will allow more people to ride it, but people will not suddenly want to ride it who otherwise would have not rode it based on a restraint height change.

If the ride scares the living daylights out of you, it scares the living day lightsout out of you. No amount of height restriction change will change that fact.
Click to expand...
I agree in general, but sitting down is less scary than standing up.
 
DistortAMG said:
Lowering the height won't broaden it's appeal though. People who are scared to ride will still be scared to ride. Sure, it will allow more people to ride it, but people will not suddenly want to ride it who otherwise would have not rode it based on a restraint height change.

If the ride scares the living daylights out of you, it scares the living day lightsout out of you. No amount of height restriction change will change that fact.
Click to expand...
Also, the standing position is what makes the layout interesting. It wouldn't be as exciting with a sit-down train in my opinion.
 
Slightly changing the subject. But Drayton Manor have dropped me an email with 10x extra family and friends vouchers. Allowing £20 entry all summer..... I already have loads from my season passes. So if anyone on here is planning a visit this summer and wants entry for £20 for you, your friends and or family, feel free to drop me a message and I will glady send you some vouchers across. They can be used individually too it is worth pointing out.

The second thing they dropped on the email is this.
Screenshot_20230719_173833.jpg

Considering the price of food, I think this is a great offer. Even IF it is a very small portion size. It is a quid! Bargain.
 
Last edited:
At what point do alarm bells start sounding when a Park keeps promoting 'offers'. They recently did a 4 for X promo and now offering more cheap tickets to ST holders.

Ahead of a summer season when they should be at their busiest anyway it means either:
a) they aren't quite getting the attendances they hoped
b) hoping to pack the Park out thus selling more fast tracks etc.

Sadly, I think it's probably the latter. This would be a real shame if Drayton head down the Merlin £££ over customer satisfaction route.
 
It is worth ponting out that they have extended the above mentioned offer.
Screenshot_20230719_181158.jpg

When I have visited this year the park has been average on visitors. I do not think the lack of any major new ride this year helps. Especially with titans like The Curse Of Alton Manor opening up the road. But I have admittedly picked quiet times to go.
 
Last edited:

From: https://youtu.be/evpRnST_PpQ

I think it’s all down to money like I wonder what the % of visitors are annual pass holders?
Like cause I go after dinner my kids have their lunch or dinner at home before they go so they usually only got £2 out of me per visit when they visit the sweet shop. Only the Kings Coronation weekend when the park was open to 9pm we had brought food from the park.
Can understand then offering kids for a £1 deal as we had friends and there kids come with us to the park with our vouchers and they brought there own food.
On Saturday at Alton Towers I thought it was the quietest it’s been in years with only the Smiler we never managed to get on not sure how other uk parks have been this season compared to the previous 3 years.
 
Themepark-newbie said:
At what point do alarm bells start sounding when a Park keeps promoting 'offers'. They recently did a 4 for X promo and now offering more cheap tickets to ST holders.

Ahead of a summer season when they should be at their busiest anyway it means either:
a) they aren't quite getting the attendances they hoped
b) hoping to pack the Park out thus selling more fast tracks etc.

Sadly, I think it's probably the latter. This would be a real shame if Drayton head down the Merlin £££ over customer satisfaction route.
Click to expand...

The weather is shocking, it’s not that surprising all parks are pushing offers.
 
Dave said:
The weather is shocking, it’s not that surprising all parks are pushing offers.
Click to expand...
It’s shocking to believe that 12 months ago it was the hottest day in the uk since records began. Even last month it was the warmest and driest June but we had 2 awful weekends and this weekend looks no different.
 
jon81uk said:
I agree in general, but sitting down is less scary than standing up.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I think the idea of a coaster that you “stand up” in just probably sounds a bit weird to a lot of people that aren’t too sure what exactly it involves or how it works.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
It’s shocking to believe that 12 months ago it was the hottest day in the uk since records began. Even last month it was the warmest and driest June but we had 2 awful weekends and this weekend looks no different.
Click to expand...
There is nothing shocking about a few weeks of wet weather in summer!
We are in for at least another two weeks of this weather, no sign of change at all.
Might as well rain until September.
 
Considering we are in an El Nino year weatherwise, the weather is surprising, although Europe seems to be facing the brunt of our predicted El Nino weather. Although saying that, there could very well be a delay in the weather we receive here from the results of an El Nino. Meaning we may see the effects going later into the year and into next. We certainly felt the effects of the last El Nino, quite harshly too if I recall correctly.

Going back to Shockwave, I wouldn't be surprised to see that removed in the next five years. I think it is unlikely we will see new trains on it to be honest. Mechanically speaking, alot of the ride is shot and has been left to rot. If they planned on new trains, there is alot more that needs replacing too. The fact they have not done that, suggests to me, it will be going in the not too distance future. I could be wrong, it might make the third Intamin investment loopings make in DMR.
 
DistortAMG said:
Going back to Shockwave, I wouldn't be surprised to see that removed in the next five years. I think it is unlikely we will see new trains on it to be honest.
Click to expand...
Agree entirely. New trains are a significant investment and the ride needs a lot more work on it than just trains to give it significantly more operational years - nemesis style investment. I just can’t see Drayton doing that when removal and replacement with something else will be financially more viable. Coaster technology has moved on light years since Shockwave was installed and Drayton could put a far better ride in that space if they wanted to. I think at times we all get a bit fooled that it’s a B&M quality ride, which it certainly isn’t. I’ll be sad to see it go for nostalgic reasons, but if it meant we got something like a decent Mack spinner, Mack launch or modern Vekoma, then I’d be all for it to retire.
 
Johnny_5 said:
Hahaha! I did that once on an ECC trip. After park closed and Colin let us do it. Absolutely nuts - we were getting some seriously funny looks from punters as they were exiting the park! Managed a couple of front row backwards rides. Quite the experience.
Click to expand...

I've rode it backwards once too! Not at an ECC trip though. I do recall Colin letting ECC members walk Splash Canyon on cold and foggy Febuary morning at an AGM. Some brave club members were climbing up the rapids lift at the end on their hands and knees.

Pictures were on the ECC website up until recently.
 
DistortAMG said:
Pictures were on the ECC website up until recently.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the back of my head was on the ECC site until recently, too. I was trying to find it. Think it was the “nemmy nuggets” weekend, as it was originally planned to be Airpocalypse, but if I recall, neither were operational for the trip, so it ended up being Nemesis and Golden Nuggets ERT (plus backwards riding on Shockwave) which actually was a complete blast. Some of those old ECC trips were mental. Maybe I should rejoin. It’s been years.
 
pjanvil said:
Yeah Loopings asked ECC to take them down. Not quite as professional as their operation today
Click to expand...

Oh really? That's interesting. They have took all their archive stuff down recently, but given past events with that ride. It doesn't surprise me they asked for those to be removed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top