Drayton Manor 1st Visit (September 2016)
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Upon arriving at the park, we were both very impressed with the location of the park, all the rides around the lake
looked stunning as we were driving to the car park. Excited to see what this park had to offer, we head for the park
entrance. The park opens and 09:30 and the rides open at 10:30, we turned up around 09:15 and there were already loads
of staff at the ticket booths which was great to see, this meant we could buy our tickets ready to enter the park when
it opened. As it happens we were the first to enter the park! we took the first hour to explore the parks zoo which we
found to be hit and miss really, you could tell which were the new parts and which were the old. Some of the enclosures
were great and some were really dirty and small, but we loved the Tamarin trail!
Anyway, we didn't really come here for the animals (although we do love a good zoo!) the park was starting to fill up so
around 10:15 we joined the queue for Ben 10 as there was already a hefty queue waiting to enter the queue, we gathered
that this ride would probably get the biggest queues due to it's a popularity with the kids. when the queue opened however,
we must of only waited around 10 minutes, we skipped most of it as they were looking for groups of two :P. The queue for
this ride is very well themed and includes lots of good lighting and objects themed to the kids show. The ride itself is
good fun! the restraints are nice making you feel very open and exposed, it's quite fast and intense for a family coaster
and it is glass smooth! I'm not a fan of going backwards on coasters but these family vekoma boomerangs are proving popular
and I can see why! We both came off smiling 8/10.
Next up it was time for the Wild West shootout ride thing, now this ride wasn't very long and it had a very DIY feel about
it but we loved it! I'm not quite sure what is was, I just came off loving it, I think it's just more fun than other
shooters I have done. it was very interactive like when you hit a can it fell over etc and got to love them bonus'! In my
opinion I thought it was a fun little ride and we even did it again later in the day! 6.5/10
Already quite impressed with the park we wondered down to the Buffalo coaster. This coaster could be heard from a distance
as this thing is quite noisy, but the trains looked like the had been refurbished recently? and the layout seemed half
decent! It was just as I expected really, bit rough and jolty but there are a couple of Helix's and you get some good
views of the rest of the park! 6/10
Now we both had quite high expectations of this next ride as it has recently gone through a refurb and some of our friends
really rate it highly: it was time for the Haunting. all I knew of this ride is that it was a madhouse so I didn't really
know what to expect. The lighting was excellent, the ride had some great effects which weren't scary as such but this
attraction is aimed at the whole family so we took that into consideration. the scenes are great in the attraction
especially the big hall, I loved this part of the attraction as there is mist, projections, lights and floor movements -
it all seemed to work really well! The finale is the ride itself which I felt was good but nothing more really, all I all
it is a great attraction but hex is still my favourite madhouse I'm afraid. 8/10
We headed over to the other end of the park to try out the parks rapids 'Splash Canyon', probably my 2nd favourite rapids
in the country, not as good as Congo River Rapids at AT but much better than Thorpe's Rumba Rapids! The Queue line for this
is a horrible cattle-pen which is a shame, I can imagine it being horrible during a very busy day! and also they didn't seem
to have many boats on which didn't help the queue. Apart from that you get some good interaction with Shockwave and there are
some good water effects! 7/10
At this point is was gone Midday so we were getting quite hungry but as Shockwave had no queue we thought we would squeeze it
in before lunch, There was no queue for the front so we went straight on, unfortunately no Go Pros allowed which was a shame.
The restraints on this were not as comfortable as Riddler's Revenge over at SFMM but I understand that this was a Intamin and
B&M combo. The ride was surprisingly smooth at the front and I came off instantly thinking that it was my favourite coasters
in the UK, the loop is intense, the zero-g was a bit uncomfortable but I enjoyed getting thrown out of my seat. Yes the ride
is quite short but it packs a punch. Now on the front row I would put it in my top 5 in the UK but later on in the day I gave
it a ride near the back and boy was it rough! Gave me a headache for the rest of the day, but still I find it a good coaster so
I rate it a solid 7.5/10
Burger Kitchen was our choice of eatery, food was quite pricey as you can imagine but not too bad. Quality off food was okay,
nothing more than standard theme park food.
After lunch, we walked around Thomas Land for a bit, the theming in this area is great and has a lovely atmosphere! This area
had the longest queues of the park so unfortunately we didn't get to do much which was a shame but we could see why the kids
loved it! We took a ride on Toby's tram thing, never seen a flat ride like this before and it was good fun, quite intense for
little kids ride. To let our lunch digest we took a ride on the parks Ferris Wheel which seemed the same as Chessington's
version, we got some good views of Ben 10 from this. Yogi Bear was now about to start so we thought we would go and give it a
try, The film is just small clips of the actual film put together but it was alright I guess, we mainly went in to have a break
from the rides but it was okay, not as good as Angry Birds.
Next up was the other thrill coaster at the park 'G Force' there was only a 5 minute wait which was a bonus. I Wasn't expecting
much from this ride due to the amount of bad reviews it gets but I remained positive, but I was wrong. The restraints have got
to be the most painful restraints I have experienced! the lift hill is just horrible, not a fun experience, you are literally
just hanging upside down with your body being crushed by your restraint. The coaster section was meh, it was jolty, no speed
or flow to the ride and it is very short! Thank god it was a short ride though I don't think my body could endure any more pain! 3/10
Unfortunately Storm Force 10 was closed for the day so we didn't get to ride it 
oh well more reason to go back next year! As
Maelstrom was nearby we decided to give that a go next. Wow! this ride is really intense and is probably one of my favourite
flats in the UK! It delivers so much airtime, we loved it! 9/10
Pandemonium and The flying Dutchman were also closed but no biggie, I'm not too keen on flats anyway and Pandemonium didn't
interest me. The Flying Dutchman was in pieces and the was a crane on the Pandemonium site so whether they will be removed or
just being refurbished I'm not too sure. Anyway we headed to the barrels! The theming on this ride is great, yet so out of place
haha! Not complaining though as we loved the German theme and the ride was really fun too!
It was time for Apocalypse, now drop towers are the only type of ride where I get nervous due to the height of them and of
course, the anticipation of the drop. To date Atmosfear at Liseberg is the tallest drop tower I've done (around 400ft I think)
and is probably the scariest ride I've done due to the height! the sit down had a longer queue than stand up so I went straight
for the standup, now I would be lying if I told you I wasn't a tad nervous. I had never done a standup drop tower before so
this was new to me. At first it was too bad but then it tilted you, you don't tilt that much but you really notice it when all
of your body weight is pushing against the retraint, let's just say if that restraint failed you would be a gonner! At
the top you are only given a brief moment to appreciate the view and then you drop. The drop is so forceful it's amazing! by
far the best drop tower I have done and one of my favourite rides in the country! 10/10
We did a few other small flat rides then we headed for our last ride of the day - Troublesome Trucks! This had the longest queue
all day but the cred had to be done, I believe we waiting 30 minutes or something. It is a great little coaster though! the
theming is really nice and it has to be one of the best tiny coasters I have done, it's so smooth!
Oh yeah, The Bounty has to be the best Pirate Ship I have been on too!
To summarise then, Drayton Manor exceeded our expectations and is one of my favourite parks in the UK. The have some really
unique rides, including loads of family and kids rides! some of the theming is in need of refurb but the newer rides look great!
What this park really needs now is another thrill coaster, hopefully something will be announced in the next few years! Shame
about the staff though as rarely did we see a smile - very Grumpy! All in all it's a great park and look forward to returning
next year!
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