We love visiting Drayton Manor Theme Park as it is only 20 minutes away from our home. It is well signposted and easy to access. Last week, we went in quite late in the morning and we were parked on the other side of the park. We hadn’t parked over the other entrance before but it is great that no matter how far we seemed to park our car, we are still very near to the park.
As we are frequent visitors to the park, both my children knew what rides they wanted to go on. We went to the newly expanded Thomas Land area where there are four recently added rides: Captain’s Sea Adventure, Flynn’s Fire Rescue, Toby’s Tram Express and Blue Mountain.
We love their new rides and there is the added excitement of getting wet if you are playing Captain’s Sea Adventure or Flynn’s Fire Rescue or even just walking by! Last time when we went, I was unable to bring Mr K along to the Captain’s Sea Adventure, so this time he insisted to go. This is suitable for 1 metre and above and if you are below 1.2 metres you have to be accompanied by an adult. You have to be prepared to get wet even if you are in the queue! Do prepare to bring your rain coat along if you don’t want to get wet. The ride was fantastic for us but if get dizzy or nauseous on rides that spin around and around, you may want to avoid this one. Also if you have younger children, they will need your help to pump up the water cannon! We enjoyed the new Thomas Land expansion rides and as usual it was really packed with young children.
Next Mr K and Mr C ventured on the bumper car ride as Mr K is finally 1.2 metres in height. They both had so much fun going around bumping people. Later, we went into The Haunting. From the name, you can probably guess that it is like a haunted house. This was our first time going in there with both of them. We didn’t want to bring them before as we were worried that it might scare them and give them nightmares. The overall experience was great and both children enjoyed it.
Then we all headed off to the 4D cinema to watch Yogi Bear. It has standard show times, so it is best to check the times so you can plan ahead. We were lucky to get inside the cinema as the queue was extremely long by the time we joined it. However, the auditorium was large enough to accommodate us and also for the few people joining just as we were all seated too! The movie is a selection of clips taken from the 2011 film. The effects are great and the surround sounds was just perfect. There were a few younger children in tears as can be expected but both of my children loved it!
Later, we went on other rides and ended the day with a walk through the zoo. This was our first time visiting the zoo as usually both children wanted to stay in Thomas Land. While walking along the path, we saw many animals and we came across this cute yet sad looking chimpanzee. On the notice, they mentioned that his partner had passed away a few years ago and after much consideration, it is best for him to spend the rest of his time (he is very old) alone and that they won’t be keeping any large primates in the near future. I think they have a difficult but good decision and it’s nice that they have taken the opportunity to inform the visitors too.
Overall, we had a great day, which was made all the better by the lovely weather and we look forward to visiting Drayton Manor theme park again in the future.
Disclosure: We were provided free entrance to write about our experience.
