As a family we’re big theme park fans. My hubby and I went on honeymoon to Orlando. He has visited Walt Disney World more times than he can count despite the transatlantic flights involved, and we’ve both travelled to multiple Disney parks around the world. Whilst we’re big Disney fans, living in the UK means visiting those parks isn’t financially viable much of the time, so we tend to visit more local parks. Last week our family had the chance to visit Drayton Manor, one of the UK’s many theme parks.
Drayton Manor is billed as a family park and is the UK home of Thomas Land (another Thomas-themed park is located in Japan). With a train-obsessed two-year-old boy in our house this was obviously the park to go for this time.
Let’s start by saying this, I really loved Drayton Manor. It’s by far the best theme park I have visited in this country. The whole place is clean, freshly-painted and spacious without feeling sparse. The balance of rides was perfect for our group, with a handful of extreme thrill-rides that included some of the most innovative rides in the country and a good selection of rides for little kids but the majority of attractions were suitable for everyone to ride together. It had that vibe that Walt Disney discussed when he talked about Disneyland: a place "where parents and children could have fun -- together."
We began our day in Thomas Land, which is naturally home to all the little kid rides. Nearly all the rides in this area are suitable for any age and height provided an adult rides too. My son has a tendency to be very nervous for the first hour or so at a theme park and it did take us a while (and some bribery) to convince him to try out the first few rides, but once he got into the swing of things he wanted to give nearly everything a try. We flew in Jeremy the Jet, spun around with Diesel and (later on in the day) even rode the Troublesome Trucks roller coaster, an incredibly fast mini coaster especially considering the tiny 90 cm height restriction. On my first try of it (without my son as I was proving to him that it was OK) I found myself wondering “This is for kids, really?!” But when he took a trip later he was totally non-plussed by the experience. The centerpiece of Thomas Land is Knapford Station, where an almost full-scale train takes you on a trip to another section of the park. We rode to this section which is home to part of the Drayton Manor Zoo and the Dino Trail with Rosie -- a small pink engine. My only negative about the train ride is the limited amount of space for strollers and wheelchairs, which surprised us in an area aimed at pre-schoolers and their families. After returning on board Thomas (Rosie and Thomas alternate their trips) we had lunch at the chicken restaurant located in the main thrill ride section of the park. The food was KFC style but much, much nicer. We were all highly impressed by the quality of the chicken strips which were not at all greasy or wet- - in fact between three adults and a two year old we polished off the full 12-strip meal deal, not bad considering we all admit to having tiny appetites.
After lunch my husband and a friend who had joined us for the day went off to rideG-Force, a unique coaster which holds riders in not with a traditional over-the-shoulder restraint but with a hip restraint that allows the rider to dangle loosely when going upside down. The coaster begins with a loop which it traverses very slowly to allow the full effect of this restraint to come into play, I was very happy to keep my feet on the ground and babysit. The other ride that makes Drayton stand out is Shockwave, the only stand-up roller coaster in Europe. Our party didn’t get a chance to try that one out, but I’m sure my husband will be giving it a try next time we visit. We spent the afternoon checking out the rest of the park, which is mostly family attractions. The Pirate Adventure boat ride reminded us very strongly of a certain Disney attraction, the Wild West Shoot Out was a dark ride where you shot at various targets using a vehicle mounted gun and the Drayton Queen was an enjoyable faux paddle boat ride around the park’s central lake. After, while my friend took my son on someflying pirate ships that he wanted to ride my husband and I rode the Ben 10 Ultimate Mission coaster (I had ridden with my friend earlier). Although supposedly little more than a baby coaster -- it has a 1.2 m height restriction and is age four-plus only -- it’s faintly terrifying. After being strapped in, the car is pulled backwards up a lift hill that although small looking from the ground seems endlessly high when you’re going backwards up it and the ground is dropping further and further away. We all found ourselves saying “OK, stop now... no really, that’s high enough, stop... stop!” It is a great ride though and even as a thrill ride wimp I was happy to ride it twice.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl-iwKlMOdk[/youtube]
As the day drew to a close we went for a look around the zoo. This was my least favorite part of the day and not only because of the reptile house (I am terrified of snakes but determined to try and keep my son from developing this phobia so I take him to see them when I can -- he thinks it’s hilarious when they stick their tongues out at him.)
The animal enclosures all seemed very small for what they contained and we didn’t stick around very long. However, we did manage to catch the zoo’s resident tiger roaring, which is more activity than I’ve ever seen from a big cat despite countless rides on Disney’s Animal Kingdom safari (does that lion ever do anything other than sleep on the rock? I swear it’s actually an animatronic...) Also, there was a baby meercat. BABY. MEERCAT. The cuteness was almost unbearable. Before heading home we let the kiddo have a run around the indoor play park while hubby and I checked out the Thomas Land gift shop, which is the largest in the world and surprisingly well priced; we may have snuck back for one last back seat ride on the Troublesome Trucks coaster too -- it’s good enough that adults want to ride without kids.
We all had a fantastic day at Drayton Manor and despite being there for over six hours we still didn’t have time to experience everything in the park. I know we will definitely be returning for another visit; in fact, my son has asked every day since we got home when we’re going back to “Thomas’ house” and has asked to take his friend next time as well. I’m looking forward to going back too, and what could be better than an experience that both me and my son are looking forward to with equal delight?
Entry to Drayton Manor was provided for my family free of charge.
