To counterpoint Ciall's report from last week of Drayton, I'll come from the other angle and show that it's possible to have a good day - but probably not as an enthusiast 
First up, I do have to say that I didn't have any issues with the staff. It may be the rides we went on, but some staff were certainly very friendly and upbeat. Others morose and bored looking - but none actually rude.
As I say, it may be particular rides that attract the poor staff, but we have no complaints about general attitude problems on that front.
This is going to be a PTR (hurrah) and may actually contain photos of rides! Excuse the quality, my current image resizer is pretty shoddy
The day started upbeat and happy. Long queue to get to the park, but they've made a real improvement over last year. The new car park and entrance area has really helped to alleviate the traffic and queue issues. We crawled the last mile to the park in a large traffic jam, but it moved at a constant crawl. Compared to last year where it was over thirty minutes for the same distance, this year it was about half that.
It was to be expected for a sunny Sunday in the summer holidays.
The day started off pretty lazy heading for the entrance
You wouldn't think he'd just spent an hour sat in the car would you? Lazy toad!
That's father-of_furie with Maxi-Minor_Furie, the rest of the famiyl_furie are bringing up the rear.
No queues for the entrance (as father-of_furie had pre-booked tickets ) so MMF ran straight for Thomas Land. It was heaving, massive queues spilling out all over the place for everything. I wasn't clowning around:
So I suggested we headed for something else.
I've noticed with Drayton that people do seem to enter the park and just go on the stuff by the entrance, so for hours the front of the park is packed solid, yet the rest is quiet.
I sent Madame_Furie and Minor_Furie off to Maelstrom (their favourite ride here)
(nobody in the world has this shot)
while I took MMF onto his favourite - Pirate Adventure! Yaaar!
Not sure about this shot of him in the queue LOL!
Pirate Adventure was truly piratical though!
No real problems so far with the day. Maelstrom queue was long, so MMF got another run on Pirate Adventure. Sadly, the ride (which was supposed to get a tarting up) is still very shabby. Lots of it is still not working the same way it wasn't working last year. This year more seems to have fallen apart too with bits of scenery (and pirates) missing.
The decay at Drayton is probably the thing you notice most year after year visiting. I'll come to this at the end I'm sure, but will mention it as I go along
We headed for the new 4D cinema next. It's good fun, but not ground breaking. Certainly going to head back for the new Haunted House show due to be shown in September. Family_Furie really enjoyed it. This is kind of the difference between my visit and Ciall's. We're off for a fun day out at a park, he was out after a thrilling day.
So far we've not hit any real queues and everything is bumbling along nicely. Everyone is happy and enjoying themselves.
Excalibur next because MMF loves it. Again, the same stuff that was broken/dirty last year is still the same this year. The ride isn't very good anyway, so having everything working is really a must! If stuff is broke or can't work under those conditions, then replace those bits with something else that does?
It's funny, we had people in the boat behind us talking about how poor it was. They were talking about CATCF at Alton and going on about how incredible that is. Excalibur was actually not too bad its first couple of seasons (for a kiddy boat ride), but now it's just very poor.
Again, we're still having an okay time though. And it's lunch and some lovely fish and chips. I like the fish and chips at Drayton, it's very edible and always go there after once trying other food outlets :lol:
We stopped in jail on the way
Gah! Drayton do have some really nice, shiny theming. What's the betting this is filthy and torn and in a bad state by this time next year though?
After lunch, we went on another favourite, the Chuff Nuggets! Always a fair queue, always a lot of moaning by people coming off "my gun didn't work", "those targets were broken", etc.
Same for us, the guns only worked intermittently and a lot of the targets are damaged/gone. This gets worse and worse every year we did it. Shock of shocks though, MMF came off saying "that was rubbish". He's never, ever said that of a ride before - especially not a ride like this which he absolutely adores (and will forgive a multitude of sins). When you lose a very easy to please fan, you're getting it badly wrong.
We took him on the drunken barrels to cheer him up (again, top class theming on this). The tilt table wasn't working though, but it was okay.
Met up with Minor_Furie and Madame_Furie who had been off on Apocalypse - showing Minor_F that the stand up side makes the ride good
MMF took over the camera for a bit while we waited for The Haunting
He also stood on a stone being a statue, making very comical faces!
We enjoyed the ride and it all worked! The rectory front looks rough now, but inside was okay. Bat on a Stick has been replaced with... BATS ON STICKS! There's a nest of bats now!
Time for a rest before we split again as Madame_F took MMF on the Big Wheel and I took Minor_F on Pandemonium. We like this ride, it gives Pandemonium face!
Back to Thomas land now as this end of the park is getting very busy. MMF wanted his 15 minutes of Play Barn action, so I left him there with the others while Minor_F and me hit Maelstrom. Not a big queue at all, about fifteen minutes. Time for some pictures of G-Force
Such a great coaster to photograph, but not one to ride.
Also an obligatory shot of Maelstrom
Still like the ride, but not as much as previously. Either my tastes are changing, or the ride is getting weaker or... It's because I stupidly pinned myself in
:roll:
Met up with Family_Furie again, and it's getting late. We've got just over an hour left and MMF wants to do Troublesome Trucks. No worries on this one, with about a twenty minute queue. Still a great little coaster. Staff around Thomas Land still being smiley and interacting well with the kids.
This made me laugh oddly
Off then and another split. Father-of_Furie, MMF and I went to the Rapids while the others did the cable cars.
I would have liked to have had a go on Shockwave (I think two trains, they seemed to be eating the queue). These people are about to have some Zero-G of love!
I love that bit, I really enjoy Shockwave actually, but it's a bit poo and not worth the queue in the nasty shed!
At some point we developed a shark
Drayton has a major wasp problem, there's a reason for this! Open bins!
(Another artistic shot by MMF).
Father-of_Furie enjoying the ride because he isn't wet yet!
These rapids irritate me actually, they spend a lot of time milling about in large open sections. Bit of a chore really...
Then, it's time for home and some last shots of the last rides of the day! I like this one of G-Force
MMF played in the splash zone of StormForce 10 for a while too, as were lots of people determined to get soaked.
Then, time for home, which ended pretty much as we entered. Tired, lazy and with a bit of a traffic jam!
Now, I do think it's easier to enjoy a park you go to quite a lot (Drayton we probably do three times a year usually). Yuo don't worry about queues, as you skip the rides with the big/unpleasant queues - you're going to do them again after all.
So a regular visitor will always have a better, more relaxed, day at the park.
Also, just going for family fun, you glean a bit more from the day - it's not as disappointing as you're just going for fun. Certainly everyone there we saw seemed relatively happy. I think that it attracts a slightly younger audience than Thorpe/Alton, so it passes the test for interesting/thrilling rides for that kind of 13 and under bracket (particularly locals).
So, it's an okay place, but, I agree with Ciall on some points.
The park is a disgrace. It's nothing that it too obvious from a distance. All of the rides are actually really well themed. A lot of effort has gone into each ride when they've been built - a seriously huge amount of effort.
It's odd, but I talked to Minor_Furie a lot about America while we queued for things. We talked particularly about SFNE and GAdv. I didn't realise until we got home why - the park is actually very much like a Six Flags park.
Okay, the scale isn't the same, but the way the park is, it's very much like a Six Flags park. The basic park is themed at each "attraction", but the themes don't interact with each other, and start and stop at the entrance/exit to the rides. The rest of the park is just paths to get from one place to another.
However, (I can't speak for Six Flags America though that every moans about :lol: ), there's a lack of professional pride SFNE and GAdv seemed to have.
I've already covered the broken Pirate Adventure, Excalibur and Chuff Nugget rides. It really does make you feel the place is unloved. If it was just a one off, you'd forgive, but it's every time I go - the same things are broken, and I suspect they haven't been fixed between times.
Like Thorpe has maintenance issues that close rides too much, Drayton has maintenance issues that means the rides are never at their best - they're shabby.
G-Force is pink now, the Maelstrom queue is old and faded - it's lovely, and just needs a bit of paint. As Ciall said in his report, the whole park just needs somebody to go around touching up places with some paint. Every bit of the park over two years old is in dire need of a touch up.
Then they could get out a duster and a bit of polish? The queues are filthy (expect for the new ones). It seems that they just put the stuff there, then wait for it to age and fall apart - replace when it's too late rather than look after it.
If you keep on top of things, then it doesn't become such a major job.
Alton is also guilty of this, but they do seem to do up areas of the park every few years - Drayton, most of it looks untouched since it was installed (and I suspect the cobwebs in the rapids queue line have been there for 15 years)!
It doesn't ruin the day, but it does make you feel the place is unloved - which contradicts the amount they spend on attractions and theming them initially. It seems that money is no object getting rides in, but there's no budget for upkeep.
The park is what it is, it's a minor thrill park and a great family park. However, the poor upkeep seriously stops it from being anything other than "okay". If there wasn't so much great stuff there, I'd say the park was only two years from being as dire as Camelot, and that's saying something!
We had a great day anyway, but there was a general feeling of "it should be better". Not "could", but "should". Drayton have the opportunity to be a brilliant park, but they're let down time and again by shoddiness. It's just a lake of effort or budget somewhere along the lines - or somebody isn't seeing the little things that set a park outside of being one of the best.
Obviously they're making a lot of money now from Thomas Land, and well done to them - but it's now they should jump on the smaller issues. I know my parent's are thinking about not running a trip next year because of it, a little disappointment on a good day casts a shadow over it - it makes you less keen to return the next time.
Phew, I think that's it
First up, I do have to say that I didn't have any issues with the staff. It may be the rides we went on, but some staff were certainly very friendly and upbeat. Others morose and bored looking - but none actually rude.
As I say, it may be particular rides that attract the poor staff, but we have no complaints about general attitude problems on that front.
This is going to be a PTR (hurrah) and may actually contain photos of rides! Excuse the quality, my current image resizer is pretty shoddy
The day started upbeat and happy. Long queue to get to the park, but they've made a real improvement over last year. The new car park and entrance area has really helped to alleviate the traffic and queue issues. We crawled the last mile to the park in a large traffic jam, but it moved at a constant crawl. Compared to last year where it was over thirty minutes for the same distance, this year it was about half that.
It was to be expected for a sunny Sunday in the summer holidays.
The day started off pretty lazy heading for the entrance
You wouldn't think he'd just spent an hour sat in the car would you? Lazy toad!
That's father-of_furie with Maxi-Minor_Furie, the rest of the famiyl_furie are bringing up the rear.
No queues for the entrance (as father-of_furie had pre-booked tickets
) so MMF ran straight for Thomas Land. It was heaving, massive queues spilling out all over the place for everything. I wasn't clowning around:
So I suggested we headed for something else.
I've noticed with Drayton that people do seem to enter the park and just go on the stuff by the entrance, so for hours the front of the park is packed solid, yet the rest is quiet.
I sent Madame_Furie and Minor_Furie off to Maelstrom (their favourite ride here)
(nobody in the world has this shot)
while I took MMF onto his favourite - Pirate Adventure! Yaaar!
Not sure about this shot of him in the queue LOL!
Pirate Adventure was truly piratical though!
No real problems so far with the day. Maelstrom queue was long, so MMF got another run on Pirate Adventure. Sadly, the ride (which was supposed to get a tarting up) is still very shabby. Lots of it is still not working the same way it wasn't working last year. This year more seems to have fallen apart too with bits of scenery (and pirates) missing.
The decay at Drayton is probably the thing you notice most year after year visiting. I'll come to this at the end I'm sure, but will mention it as I go along
We headed for the new 4D cinema next. It's good fun, but not ground breaking. Certainly going to head back for the new Haunted House show due to be shown in September. Family_Furie really enjoyed it. This is kind of the difference between my visit and Ciall's. We're off for a fun day out at a park, he was out after a thrilling day.
So far we've not hit any real queues and everything is bumbling along nicely. Everyone is happy and enjoying themselves.
Excalibur next because MMF loves it. Again, the same stuff that was broken/dirty last year is still the same this year. The ride isn't very good anyway, so having everything working is really a must! If stuff is broke or can't work under those conditions, then replace those bits with something else that does?
It's funny, we had people in the boat behind us talking about how poor it was. They were talking about CATCF at Alton and going on about how incredible that is. Excalibur was actually not too bad its first couple of seasons (for a kiddy boat ride), but now it's just very poor.
Again, we're still having an okay time though. And it's lunch and some lovely fish and chips. I like the fish and chips at Drayton, it's very edible and always go there after once trying other food outlets :lol:
We stopped in jail on the way
Gah! Drayton do have some really nice, shiny theming. What's the betting this is filthy and torn and in a bad state by this time next year though?
After lunch, we went on another favourite, the Chuff Nuggets! Always a fair queue, always a lot of moaning by people coming off "my gun didn't work", "those targets were broken", etc.
Same for us, the guns only worked intermittently and a lot of the targets are damaged/gone. This gets worse and worse every year we did it. Shock of shocks though, MMF came off saying "that was rubbish". He's never, ever said that of a ride before - especially not a ride like this which he absolutely adores (and will forgive a multitude of sins). When you lose a very easy to please fan, you're getting it badly wrong.
We took him on the drunken barrels to cheer him up (again, top class theming on this). The tilt table wasn't working though, but it was okay.
Met up with Minor_Furie and Madame_Furie who had been off on Apocalypse - showing Minor_F that the stand up side makes the ride good
MMF took over the camera for a bit while we waited for The Haunting
He also stood on a stone being a statue, making very comical faces!
We enjoyed the ride and it all worked! The rectory front looks rough now, but inside was okay. Bat on a Stick has been replaced with... BATS ON STICKS! There's a nest of bats now!
Time for a rest before we split again as Madame_F took MMF on the Big Wheel and I took Minor_F on Pandemonium. We like this ride, it gives Pandemonium face!
Back to Thomas land now as this end of the park is getting very busy. MMF wanted his 15 minutes of Play Barn action, so I left him there with the others while Minor_F and me hit Maelstrom. Not a big queue at all, about fifteen minutes. Time for some pictures of G-Force
Such a great coaster to photograph, but not one to ride.
Also an obligatory shot of Maelstrom
Still like the ride, but not as much as previously. Either my tastes are changing, or the ride is getting weaker or... It's because I stupidly pinned myself in
:roll: Met up with Family_Furie again, and it's getting late. We've got just over an hour left and MMF wants to do Troublesome Trucks. No worries on this one, with about a twenty minute queue. Still a great little coaster. Staff around Thomas Land still being smiley and interacting well with the kids.
This made me laugh oddly
Off then and another split. Father-of_Furie, MMF and I went to the Rapids while the others did the cable cars.
I would have liked to have had a go on Shockwave (I think two trains, they seemed to be eating the queue). These people are about to have some Zero-G of love!
I love that bit, I really enjoy Shockwave actually, but it's a bit poo and not worth the queue in the nasty shed!
At some point we developed a shark
Drayton has a major wasp problem, there's a reason for this! Open bins!
(Another artistic shot by MMF).
Father-of_Furie enjoying the ride because he isn't wet yet!
These rapids irritate me actually, they spend a lot of time milling about in large open sections. Bit of a chore really...
Then, it's time for home and some last shots of the last rides of the day! I like this one of G-Force
MMF played in the splash zone of StormForce 10 for a while too, as were lots of people determined to get soaked.
Then, time for home, which ended pretty much as we entered. Tired, lazy and with a bit of a traffic jam!
Now, I do think it's easier to enjoy a park you go to quite a lot (Drayton we probably do three times a year usually). Yuo don't worry about queues, as you skip the rides with the big/unpleasant queues - you're going to do them again after all.
So a regular visitor will always have a better, more relaxed, day at the park.
Also, just going for family fun, you glean a bit more from the day - it's not as disappointing as you're just going for fun. Certainly everyone there we saw seemed relatively happy. I think that it attracts a slightly younger audience than Thorpe/Alton, so it passes the test for interesting/thrilling rides for that kind of 13 and under bracket (particularly locals).
So, it's an okay place, but, I agree with Ciall on some points.
The park is a disgrace. It's nothing that it too obvious from a distance. All of the rides are actually really well themed. A lot of effort has gone into each ride when they've been built - a seriously huge amount of effort.
It's odd, but I talked to Minor_Furie a lot about America while we queued for things. We talked particularly about SFNE and GAdv. I didn't realise until we got home why - the park is actually very much like a Six Flags park.
Okay, the scale isn't the same, but the way the park is, it's very much like a Six Flags park. The basic park is themed at each "attraction", but the themes don't interact with each other, and start and stop at the entrance/exit to the rides. The rest of the park is just paths to get from one place to another.
However, (I can't speak for Six Flags America though that every moans about :lol: ), there's a lack of professional pride SFNE and GAdv seemed to have.
I've already covered the broken Pirate Adventure, Excalibur and Chuff Nugget rides. It really does make you feel the place is unloved. If it was just a one off, you'd forgive, but it's every time I go - the same things are broken, and I suspect they haven't been fixed between times.
Like Thorpe has maintenance issues that close rides too much, Drayton has maintenance issues that means the rides are never at their best - they're shabby.
G-Force is pink now, the Maelstrom queue is old and faded - it's lovely, and just needs a bit of paint. As Ciall said in his report, the whole park just needs somebody to go around touching up places with some paint. Every bit of the park over two years old is in dire need of a touch up.
Then they could get out a duster and a bit of polish? The queues are filthy (expect for the new ones). It seems that they just put the stuff there, then wait for it to age and fall apart - replace when it's too late rather than look after it.
If you keep on top of things, then it doesn't become such a major job.
Alton is also guilty of this, but they do seem to do up areas of the park every few years - Drayton, most of it looks untouched since it was installed (and I suspect the cobwebs in the rapids queue line have been there for 15 years)!
It doesn't ruin the day, but it does make you feel the place is unloved - which contradicts the amount they spend on attractions and theming them initially. It seems that money is no object getting rides in, but there's no budget for upkeep.
The park is what it is, it's a minor thrill park and a great family park. However, the poor upkeep seriously stops it from being anything other than "okay". If there wasn't so much great stuff there, I'd say the park was only two years from being as dire as Camelot, and that's saying something!
We had a great day anyway, but there was a general feeling of "it should be better". Not "could", but "should". Drayton have the opportunity to be a brilliant park, but they're let down time and again by shoddiness. It's just a lake of effort or budget somewhere along the lines - or somebody isn't seeing the little things that set a park outside of being one of the best.
Obviously they're making a lot of money now from Thomas Land, and well done to them - but it's now they should jump on the smaller issues. I know my parent's are thinking about not running a trip next year because of it, a little disappointment on a good day casts a shadow over it - it makes you less keen to return the next time.
Phew, I think that's it
