Drayton Manor

This weekend we took a trip to Drayton Manor.  It's been a couple of years since we've been, last time it was Thomas's 3rd Birthday and only Thomas Land was open.

We decided to print off the 2-for-1 voucher,  so the cost for 2 adults and a 4 year old was £57.  Me and Adrian visited Alton Towers a few weeks ago, childless and paid £35 for the 2 of us.

I would however say that Drayton Manor is better value for money for a family.  Afterall you have the thrill rides, the height restrictions are 1.2/1.4 meters for these.  You also have the family type rides like Splash Canyon (rapids) and the new Ben 10 Roller Coaster.  My son absolutely loved this and we had to ride it 3 times.   I would say that it's not quite got the 'thrill' of a normal coaster but for a little kid he thought it was great.



The zoo is also part of the admission price, this is pretty well maintained and even has some gorgeous tigers!

As for eating in the park, we decided to picnic, there are plenty of green spaces and benches.  For those who want to purchase food at the park, there are plenty of restaurant choices, this is fairly new as historically Drayton Manor was pretty poor for choice.

Overall I prefer Drayton Manor to Alton Towers for a child, not so much walking, queues are pretty reasonable and the rides for kids are pretty good.  On the negative, Alton Towers do have better coasters and thrill rides, this is mainly due to the planning restrictions for Drayton Manor as they are situation on the edge of a residential area in Tamworth.  Some of the rides at Drayton Manor also need updating.   The Pirate Adventure is pretty run down, most of the animatronics no longer work and after a fire the hologram at the end of the ride is boarded up.

We also had a peek at the new hotel, which is due to open any day... hopfully this will attract more visitors to the park and encourage expansion which I feel it neeeds.