DRAYTON MANOR (Drayton Manor)

Member Name: clairemarks

Product:	Drayton Manor
Date:	04/11/08 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good fun

Disadvantages: opening times (only from march till nov)

Drayton Manor theme park is near Tamworth, Staffordshire on the A4091. It is a massive theme park for people of all ages. The park has various rides and attractions to entertain you. Drayton is famous for "Thomas land" This is a section of the park that is concentrated purely on the children's hit television show "Thomas the tank engine" Thomas land has many rides and every ride has all the characters from Thomas. My children really liked to actually ride on Thomas himself. I liked the way that he looked so very real with his moving eyes and even had it's very own "fat controller" . Some other rides included "Jeremy jet" and "Harold's Helicopter Tours" . All the rides are free once you are in the park its self. You just pay an admission charge. There are also shops in Thomas land where you can purchase Thomas goodies. This section of the park is great for children up to the age of about 6. The rides are great fun and kids will love meeting Thomas and his friends.

Drayton also has a zoo. This is really lovely and has a variety of different animals. There are over 100 different species in this zoo. I really liked that it had a zoo as you could take a break from the rides and have a nice walk around. The zoo is also included in the main admission price so there are no hidden costs to visit.

Drayton is also great for older children as it does hove some larger rides like "Apocalypse", "shockwave" and "the bounty" I never went on these rides as I only came to Drayton to take our children out for the day so I can not comment on what these were like.

Drayton is only open from 15th March until the 2nd of November which I find rather disappointing as I don't think this is really enough time. I would like to go near the end of February but it would obviously be closed. The park opens it gates at 9.30am and you can enjoy the rides from 10.30am - 5.00 or 6.00 pm depending on what time of year it is. The prices are a follows:-

* Adult (age 12+ )------------- £23.00
* Child (age 4-11)------------- £19.00
* OAP (age 60+) --------------£11.00
* Disabled Visitor & Helper (each)- £18.00
* Children under 4 --------------FREE

Drayton also except the zoo vouchers that are on various promotional offers on cereals etc so you can get buy one get one free tickets. This did save is a lot of money.

The parking is free which is good and there are plenty of parking spaces.

I think if you decide to visit "Drayton Manor park you really do need to come early as there is so much to do. It will take you a good few hours to walk around the zoo and if you are intending to get your moneys worth by letting your children ride as many rides as possible it is a good idea to get there when it opens to avoid disappointment when it is due to close.

Summary: A great family day out