Drayton Manor Theme Park: A Day in Pictures!

We’ve not been to Drayton Manor Theme Park since the children were in their ‘Thomas’ phase – a good 7 years ago. So when we were invited to try it out now the children are older, we jumped at the chance. Millie-Mae (12) and Toby (10) are so different to me: whereas just looking at a fast ride makes me feel queasy, they are running to join the queue to get on it! And with Toby now over 1.4m tall, it seems that my baby is good to go on even the most extreme rides. Eek! Luckily his sis can accompany him – because I definitely wasn’t going to!

We arranged to meet some friends there. In total we had children aged 4, 7, 10, 12, 12 and 13. We allowed the two oldest girls, Millie-Mae and Eve, to go off on their own – on the understanding that we all met up 90 minutes later. Toby stayed with us initially; although he was desperate to go on the really fast rides, he agreed to visit Thomas Land with the rest of us.

Thomas Land

This familiar ‘park within a park’ had some new rides since my last visit. For a start, there’s now a Toby ride! So we introduced Toby to Toby!

However, the first thing we did was queue for the train ride that takes you down to the zoo. The queue wasn’t so long – just as well with 4 children to entertain! And we were lucky enough to have Thomas pulling the carriages, much to the delight of the younger children! We went on a ride that took us to the zoo part of Drayton Manor – more of this later on.

Back in Thomas Land the queue was starting to build for the ever-popular Troublesome Truck rollercoaster … as you can see, I was the nominated photographer and bag/coat holder!

Then we had Harold’s helicopter ride …

… followed by the Bulstrode boat ride …

… Cranky Crane …

… there’s lots of other rides too, but the children were getting a bit ‘Cranky Crane’ and were demanding lunch!

Drayton Zoo

On this occasion we didn’t have enough time to give the zoo the attention it deserves. However, we took Thomas engine from Knapford Station all the way to Tidmouth Hault Station, where we stepped off the platform and into the zoo.

Drayton Zoo covers 15 acres and is home to over 100 species of animals. Each day you can attend feeding sessions of the tigers, red pandas, tamarins, reptiles, tapirs, spider monkeys and meerkats. On this visit we didn’t have time to walk through the zoo, but I remember from last time a really good outdoor play centre – the train and carriages of Spencer the engine. This is the perfect area for a picnic away from the screams and sounds of the theme park.

Food and Drink

You can bring a picnic. There are lots of lovely spots to sit and eat it too, so this is a good option in fine weather. However, there are concession stands and restaurants all over the park selling every kind of food imaginable. Our group decided to opt for foot-long hotdogs (for 2 to share), some sugared donuts, and a drink each; my friend had bought two massive punnets of strawberries for our dessert. The foot was average price, but look out for any deals to save a little. We opted for a hotdog/soft drink combo and were a little unhappy that a coffee didn’t qualify as the soft drink; the unhappiness escalated when we realised we’d paid for the combo meal AND a coffee (so we’d paid for soft drinks we never had). Not good, but to be fair, the staff serving didn’t look very happy with their lot that day … This was just our experience though.

‘Family Attractions’

By this, I mean the things I’d do – rather than stand by and watch!

There were the dodgems …

… and The Flying Dutchmen …

…. And the 4D cinema, which was really good!

The ‘FAST’ Rides

OK, well this is where I start to get queasy just remembering all the fast rides my children went on. They got thrown upside down on the G-Force …

… dropped out the sky on the Apocalypse …

… spun silly on the Maelstrom …

… and laughed on the Buffalo Coaster …

Millie-Mae and her friend Eve, while off on their own early in the day, went on Shockwave, Europe’s first stand-up rollercoaster. They said they’d never go on it again!

There were, of course, more rides to go on – but there’s only so much you can squeeze into a day. Luckily there was hardly any queuing, so everyone was satisfied it was a worthwhile visit when it came to leave at the end of the day.

Verdict

Drayton Manor is so much more than ‘just a theme park’. It’s a resort … there’s a huge hotel you can stay in within the grounds – there’s even a touring caravan park, if you fancy pitching up for a couple of nights (if not, there’s LOADS of parking spaces). The zoo is the hidden gem, being somewhat shadowed by the fast rides – but this really shouldn’t be forgotten – you must visit!

For the young ones the obvious draw is Thomas Land, and rightly so. I must say though, the Fat Controller on this recent visit had been on a diet, as he was nowhere near as rotund as he used to be!

For adrenaline junkies – especially those over 1.4m – there are lots of rides you can go on, if you really want to ? I would most definitely recommend factoring in a 2-day visit though – it’s impossible to get around it all in a day. We’ll have to return to do the log flumes, haunted house – and the zoo.

To find out more, and to plan your own visit, please check out their website here.