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Looking at the parks layout is quite interesting. It manages to have a good
selection of rides, in what isn't that large an area, and most of the rides
are well themed. There is a lack of themed areas in the park though, with
most rides being individually themed instead. This gives it a feel
reminiscent of a friendly well themed amusement park, it's a cosy and
welcoming atmosphere.
Obviously with all this going for it Drayton Manor caters well for families,
don't be fooled though, it also does a great job of catering for thrill
seekers as well.
For a start it has two of the highest quality water rides in the country.
Both Storm Force 10 and the Splash Canyon rapids are excellent examples of
there type of water ride, and outshine many other similar types of ride.
It also has some good thrill rides. It has the tower drop ride, the
Apocalypse, a ride that does live up to it's claim of being one of Britain's
scariest rides. It also has a nice selection of whirl and hurl style thrill
rides, such as a floorless inverted pirate ship called
Pandemonium, and an excellent swinging discuss ride, Maelstrom.
Perhaps my only minor problem is the food on offer. Quality wise, it ranges
from reasonable to great, that isn't the problem. The trouble I found is the
lack of places you can go to get a satisfying meal. The majority of places
just seemed to sell large snacks without any side orders, and you may find
yourself having to go out your way to get to one of only a few places where
you can get what feels like a whole meal.
Food issues aside this is a great park, with some great rides, that I think
ranks as one of the countries better parks. This fact brings me to an
interesting issue, this park despite
being
one of the countries best doesn't seem to generate the same name recognition
as a lot of the other top parks get. Part of the issue is not being able to
spend on publicity what a lot of other parks do, but I think there is
another issue here as well.
This park is one in the top 3 parks in the country for scenic rides, water
rides and thrill rides, not something I can say about any other park,
however for roller coasters it ranks somewhere in the bottom half of the top
10. Don't get me wrong, the roller coaster collection here is nothing to be
ashamed of. As well as two family orientated coasters there are two good
white knuckle coasters. There's Europe's only stand up roller coaster
Shockwave, and the recently added G-Force, notorious for it's half loop hill
lift that turns you upside down. This is a good set of coasters, and there
are many parks with worse selections of roller coasters than this, but I
think it falls short of the
standards set by most other big name parks. This
is a shame, as I think this results in Drayton Manor not having the drawing
power it really deserves given the number of other great family and white
knuckle rides on offer.
My advice is don't overlook this park. I'd highly recommend making an effort
to visit this park. It's worth remembering that it's within easy reach from
Alton Towers, making a trip to both these parks a great short break for any
theme park enthusiast. It might not quite have the same drawing power as
some of the other big names, but it's still not one to miss. |