Stand up and ride! (Drayton Manor)

Member Name: SusanLesley

Product:	Drayton Manor
Date:	19/02/01 (414 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A lot of good rides for all ages

Disadvantages: Gets busy in the high season

Just looking through some of my earlier opinions and I’ve noticed a glaring error. I’ve written about all the theme parks that I’ve been to except Drayton Manor Park! I am now rectifying the omission.

Drayton Manor Park is situated near Tamworth in Staffordshire close to junctions 9 and 10 of the M42. It costs £15 for an adult and £11 for a child, including a ride wristband, at peak times. The prices are lower at off peak times and there are numerous multi purchase discounts available such as family tickets, coach group tickets etc.

The new ride at Drayton Manor, which opened in May 2000, is Apocalypse. This is similar to the Ice Blast at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. You can either sit or stand (if you’re either very brave or raving mad!) whilst you are hauled up to the top of a 54 metre high tower and then dropped, pulling a force of 3G on the way down. I can’t comment on the sensation, as I won’t be trying this one! Heights are not my 'thing' at all.

Whilst we’re on the subject of standing up to ride Drayton Manor is home to the only stand up roller coaster in Europe, called Shockwave and it’s brilliant! It twists, turns, dips and even loops through 360 degrees.

The other big ride for me is Stormforce 10. This is the water ride to end all water rides. Up to eight people travel in an inflatable lifeboat (with modifications I hasten to add!) around a log flume sort of ride. If you think this is like any log flume you’ve ever been on – think again! There is a backward drop, and it’s steep! You hit the water at the bottom hard and get VERY wet. There are two forward drops, one of which has a bump halfway down. The ride was built in association with the RNLI and accepts donations on site. The photographs sold at this ride also carry a donation to the lifeboats.

The ride that really got hyped a few years ago is The Haunting. We queued for almost an hour fo
r this one and were very disappointed to find that it was only a haunted swing and not a very good one at that!

Drayton Manor also has a runaway train, water rapids, bumping cars, a big wheel and more for the adults. There are also many rides for the younger members of the party including the Super Dragon, a mini coaster, and the Cadbury’s Junior Pirate Ship.

The zoo at Drayton Manor is well worth tearing yourself away from the rides for. It has everything from monkeys to birds of prey and from big cats (my favourites) to insects. It is one of the better zoos I have seen, where everything is kept very clean and the animals have plenty of room to move around. It is also an excellent way to calm down between rides and learn something new in the process. There is also a cafe at the zoo where you can sit and relax before your next adventure.

There is also a shop and plant nursery on site near the zoo. We have bought some really good plants from here and at a moderate price too, and its not too far to carry them back to the car either.

This brings me neatly on to the parking at Drayton Manor. The car park is very close to the rides so it’s easy to take a picnic and just head back to the car when you’re hungry. There are plenty of seats and grassy areas where you can have your picnic. There are lots of food outlets at Drayton Manor and they’re not too expensive, but a picnic is even cheaper!

It is also worth looking out for the two for the price of one offers on admission that are often printed in the press. It makes the cost of the day out a lot more manageable.

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