Drayton Manor

[ste193]

Drayton Manor trip reportI would give the park 4out of fiveRide countShock wave x2G- Force x1Apocalypse x1The Bounty x1Splash Canyon x2Mealstrom x1Storm force 10 x1exaclibur x1pirate x1Golden Nuggets shoot out x1Big Wheel x1Drunkern Barrels x2Buffalo coaster x1After an agonizingly long drive where we feel asleep partially but waking up because we where buzzing from our excitement of goin to the park when we arrived however in the car park we had an encounter with a women who was trying to leave and was nearly hitting all the cars around her and after that we where unsure what to expect from the rest of our day.I thought the parks theming for fishermans Wharf was on a par or slightly higher than the standard of Amity cove, it was an excellent area which really set the scene and the theming was brilliant, the area looked just as it should however storm force 10 was looking like it needed quite a tidy up with the building queline and people banging on the windows and such didn't help the ride was excellent however painful at times, however the rapids where very nice and relaxing and the theming was also to a good standard.G- Force is cracking ride which seems to have improved since my last visit with its downtime and such however lacked the such high theming levels of the rides around it, the ride itself is great but there could have been more down with it interms of the theme.The rides where all great and the theming parkwide with the rides and buildings was on a good level and really created a nice atmosphere apart from the temporary chain link fencing with large footers which regularly caused my self and some many others to trip over was rather unsightly and irratting.I thought that the theming of such a tame sounding and looking ride and drunkern barrels was really nice as they had clearly put alot into the ride.The parks theming as a whole again was great however there where effects and such that needed touching up upon, like the mechanical figures of some rides and the fire breathing dragon( which breathed no fire) on excalibur.I found most of the staff to be friendly and polite tho some seemed to have attitudes, on the whole they where polite and entertaining however the guests in the park where awful.Because we went when there where school trips sadly there where all the chavish thug brutes around who could only entertain themselves by shouting at each other, barging each other into other people and in the process nearly pushing me and my friends down the stairs, punch and hitting the buildings the theming and windows for now reason other than they are bored and being completely irratting, this can not be helped but it really brought down the day.The level of rubbish around the park from the school children was astounding they just dropped and threw things everywhere as they had no respect.The rides where great the theming of storm force 10 blew me away just as before along with the pirate adventure and the thrills from G- Force, Shock wave and Apolalypse where such a rush of intensity and made the day.There is such a variety of rides that the park really is peferct for the whole family along with the zoo which we visited, the Dino Trail was a nice little addition and was great for all the families and entertained us well along with all the animals.Again I have to comment on the theming of the park being such a good level such as the buildings looking brillaint and fresh and bright.We visited the new Thomas Land which was a very nice addition to the park being well themed and bright and there where so many families that thoroughly enjoyed the area.The prices of food where a fresh change as it didn't have to be expensive meals that you don't really want such as with the chain theme parks.If it weren't for all the annoyance the guests caused which ultimately are not the parks fault the day would have been perfect, the park is a beautiful little cracker with a vast array of some very well themed areas and excellent rides.For what the park is a small family run buisness it is done incredibly well and should recieve in my eyes far more recognition than it currently does as many of the rides beat those from the well established parks such as:Apocalypse: I have not seen a taller or such a thrilling drop tower ride in the whole country, this ride was amazing and was truly terrifying in the hieght and speed of the drop.Storm Force 10: Such a unique and marvelous water ride with so much to offer in terms of the great scale of theming and the backwards drop unique effect in the country as far as I have seen, the ride is marvelous and does so much for the RNLI charity unlike other rides and far better than many of the water rides I have encountered.Shock Wave: The only stand up roller coaster in Europe, this ride is rather painful at times but it is a very thrilling and exiting and unique ride none the less.We had a lovely day out at this little gem of a park and we are very excited about returning to the park at some stage and I even heard several groups of people throught the day say they prefered it to some of the chain theme parks such as Thorpe Park and Alton towers.

[Garry Williams]

I have never been to this park in my entire life