Rooey

Absolutely, we were in the Nemesis Inferno Queue, and this group of Chav Trash decided to cut in line and join their mates. When we got into the station, this group proceeded to get onto the train, when the operator told them to get out. A bit of an argument ensued, in the end he left the people in the group who had already queued, but threw off the jumpers with great calm and efficiency, one poor attendant had two of these idiots screaming in his face and he just stood there calmly. I didn't think Slammer would open that day i went, it was testing a lot of the day, but every time we walked up to it, the guy said he was doubtful it would be. Ten minutes later we walk up and we get straight to the front of the line. When we finished our ride the line was huge.

I finally got on this 2 weeks ago, it was closed most of the day but opened up about 3pm, and i throughly enjoyed it, was a different experience, and i hink a good addition to the park. Now if only it were more reliable.

I was planning my trip to the states and actually googled "theme park reviews" and BINGO. It was immediately added to my "Favourites" list. I've never googled "Bingo" though.

Mariah Carey :? She's always taking kids to amusement parks and the "Fantasy" video is filmed on a rollercoaster

I shall indeed, i am quite intrigued by it to be honest, and i haven't been to Drayton Manor for an age. On an unrelated note we are planning a trip to California for next year, so i may be asking some advice at some point!

Hey everybody! This thread is simple! Rather than having a million little threads about everything that goes on at Drayton Manor, this thread is designed to consolidate it all into one user-friendly thread. Feel free to use it to post updates, trip reports, questions, comments, and of course, general discussion. For pictures and videos of the park as well as past updates, see TPR's Park Index Page. Official Park Website Below are some links to past updates from the park, you may be interested in. Enjoy! --Robb _____________________________________________________ 2005 July 26th, 2005 - G-Force open 2008 March 22nd, 2008 - Photos of the new Thomas Town 2010 February 25th, 2010 - Happy Feet 4D movie coming to Drayton Manor Mar. 22nd, 2010 - Plan to relieve Drayton Manor traffic in place soon 2011 February 25th, 2011 - Update on new 2011 coaster April 21st, 2011 - Ben 10 Alien Encounter opens 2013 July 6th, 2013 - New 85-room Hotel Hamilton coming to Drayton Manor! 2014 January 19th, 2014 - Drayton posts a teaser about a new thrill ride! January 26, 2014 - Zamperla Air Race announced on Facebook 2020 August 2nd, 2020 - The Looping Group buys Drayton Manor 2022 March 16th, 2022 - Vikings-themed land announced! May 12th, 2022 - Drayton Manor unveils family-oriented brand identity _____________________________________________________ Original Post: G Force, the Maurer Sohne "X Car Coaster" was officially opened by G4 (trust the UK to get the really big celebs to open a ride - they are a piss poor opera "boy band" who came second in X Factor Talent Show) Looking at the test video here http://www.xtremecoasters.com/ the ride, to me, seems quite unimpressive. I'm sure the sensation of an inversion taken quite slow with just lap bars is intriguing, but it doesn't look like its packing that much of a punch. I shall find out for myself with my forthcoming trip to Drayton in a few weeks. Terrible name too. PS: Could someone please add a "D" to opened in the title..sorry!

Indeed, it was made a point that the girl had been drinking.

I saw this on the front page of The SUn today, very sad and disturbing news.

It's a ride that i have always been curious about, because it seems quite unusual. Was it any good?

Great report and photos, i so cannot wait to get back there!

I dont think Thorpe can build a woodie because of the foundations in the grounds, as it is built on a quarry. SOmething like that anyway.

I've always been interested in Loudoun Castle as it is basically the same park as Dreamland used to be , years ago, before it turned into a wasteland. I was really happy when we got the Silver Arrow a few years ago, but in my opinion, the original Looping Star we had in the 80's and early 90's was much better - i think Loudoun had this ride for a time too. The Black Pearl is the old Mary Rose from Margate, my favourite flat ride as a kid - with those painful restraints. The Plough! LOL! Little trivia fact that no one probably cares about, when it was orignally at Dreamland, from 1984, it used to have pods that would go up the side and rotate, then they refurbished it and painted it orange, theming it as a chairswing that orbits the sun, called "Heatwave" - i was the first member of the public to ride that, 1991 i think it was! Tho back then the chairs were all so close together and you used to smash your legs into the chair in front of you. And don't get me started on that Wild Mouse! I hope they have given it some attention, because i took my nephew on it last year and it was the closes i've ever come to a near death experience! By the way, just in case people didn't know, Dreamland has been leased for 2 years and a travelling fair operator has taken it over - it looks the best it has in years, but it is still nothing great. As well as the Scenic Railway (which i went on a few weeks ago and got slightly unnerved as we were in the queue and i heard an attendant mention something about "wheels" then he ran up the track with a hammer), it has a Fabbri Booster and a Mega Drop Tower, which holds you up the top for like a minute, and then a slection of travelling fair rides.

Apparently there are reports that Al Quaida have claimed responsibility 4 bombs on the underground system and the bus explosion Harrowing picutures London sealed off, many of my friends are in their offices and arent allowed to leave...it seems paranoia has also hitt he city with suspect packages found in many streets, and controlled explosions being carried out Tony Blair has released 2 statements

When i was there i remember a post you had made about the Captain America Coaster, it think thats a cool idea. I think that would sit very well. You know i have never been to Blackpool, to my eternal shame, but we are finally going this summer, doing a sort of mini trip to there and Alton Towers, Drayton Manor etc.

Forgive me for being ignorant. I visited this park a month ago and i fell in love with the place. A friend of mine had been a few years before and from the sound of it, they haven't added any new rides. Is this a space issue, because from what i can see it does seem pretty packed. Are there any news or rumours about a potential new coaster/ride for the next couple of years?

Oh it was just that one woman, to be honest i didnt take any notice of her whatsoever. I've always loved America, hell, half of my family live there now.

Well, here is my trip report from Orlando, forgive me if its not up to the standard of other people's, but i think i got most of what i wanted to say. Well, we arrived in Orlando on Wednesday 27th April, went throught the (rather scary since last time i went) immigration section, and made our way to our hotel, which was located in Little Lake Bryan, nice and near to Disney and local to I-Drive etc. On the Thursday, our first port of call was Islands Of Adventure. Last time i went to Orlando, in 1998, they were constructing this park, so this was the first time i had been there, and i was not disappointed. What a beautiful place this is, great rides, theming etc, i was very impressed. It was quite a busy day, lots of school trips there, but on the course of our two week holiday, we returned to IOA another 4 times - yes, we thought it was that good! Our first stop was The Hulk. We had a little trouble in our 40 minute queue for this ride, with a large group of schol kids queue jumping - the final straw came when they barged past a girl who was wheeling her mother in a wheelchair, causing the lady to get rather emotional. I called out a security guard and informed them, and to her credit, the guard rounded up the culprits and ejected them from the line. Hmm, not a great start i thought. Anyway, we decided as we had queued enough as it was, we would go for front row. My friend who i was with likes rollercoasters and rides, but unlike me, doesnt read up about them, and he had no idea that it launches up the tunnel. It was a nice suprise for him. I thought this was a great coaster, and towards the late afternoon, when the crowds had died down, we got another 3 rides on this, at the back this time. Dr Doom's Fear Fall was next - now i am not a fan of these types of rides, well, the only one i have ever been on is Detonator at Thorpe Park, but acually, i found this quite tame. I like the way you go in sections through elevator type doors and you have no idea when it is going to blast off. Erm, i guess all i can say is..nice views. Spiderman next - i really didn't know what to expect here, but when i came out i was grinning insanely - what a thoroughly enjoyable ride this is, the sensation, especially at the end as you "plummet" into the spider web. Awesome. As you can probably tell, i am going through the rides in the order we walked through them, as i said, we went there a few times on our trip, so this is a summary of what i thought of each ride. Next up, Dudley Do Right's Rip-Saw Falls - now i did enjoy this, i kept getting the giggles when the horse would make his "neiggghhh" sound. On one ride on this, we got stuck on the small lift as you go round the mountain, and caused a logjam, we were stuck there for about ten minutes, then we got stuck again on the big lift hill - all good fun. Moving on to another favourite of mine (isn't it strange how much more fun you find water rides when you aren't in chilly England), Popeye and Blutos Bilge Rat barges. I would have to say that this is one of the best rapids type rides i have been on, i thoroughly enjoyed it. We were on a barge with another group of English people and an American family, who were hysterical - the large girl in the white top should SO have been wearing a bra, however)! Naturally, as what happens when i am on these rides, i got soaked the most, and those damn kids with their coin operated water pistol machine things always got me! Onto Jurassic Park next - there was the inner child inside of me that desperately wanted to go on those Pteranodon Flyer things - shame! Tho it shakes a hell of a lot when its going it seems. So it was off to the River Adventure - i had been on the one years ago at US Hollywood, but all i can recall from that was getting soaked and then going to see the Backdraft show after to dry off. It was an enjoyable ride, it seemed that most rides we went on, we were seated with real 'characters', three girls who had the loudest, most piercing screams ever! Having gone on this a few times during the course of our trips, the first time was the only time the man waved at us in the control box near the top, and the T Rex appeared. Ho hum. We didnt get to go on the Flying Unicorn, on the grounds that my friend felt embarrassed for me wanting to go on " A bloody kids ride" - such rudeness. So it was onto Duelling Dragons. Is it me or is the queue for this like a ride in itself - it was like being in a maze. Anyway, first time we rode, front row, the "Fire" side first, then straight on to "Ice" after. In my opinion, overall, i preffered "Ice" - probably the bit that got me was flying up towards the castle wall. Also on this ride, it seemed every time we went on it, the other train would do something, and we would be chugging up the chain lift ever so slowly - all adds to the fun i guess. We didnt do much in the Seuss part of the park, tho i am guessing once my sister and her family move to Orlando later this year, i will get an opportunity to go on some of the rides here, and finally get the novelty of going on the Jurassic Park flying thingy. All in all, Islands of Adventure was just a fantastic place. And upon reading such good things on here, we thoroughly enjoyed out meal at Mythos. Gorgeous. Next stop - Universal Studios. Another pleasant day, and this time it wasn't so crowded. Revenge of the Mummy was superb - excellent theming, and again, my friend didnt know what to expect, and quite frankly, neither did I, all i knew is it had a launch element to it. An excellent ride, lovely and smooth, and full of suprises, especially the "false ending" part. We spent the rest of the day doing the usual things, like Twister, Back to the Future, Earthquake and Terminator. Onto - SeaWorld. We went here on a Sunday, and it was very quiet, not dead, but not exactly bustling. First we went on Atlantis, and got absolutely soaked, our boat got flooded! Again, i had the pleasure of my friend afterwards tellling me "you didnt tell me it turns into a rollercoaster" - its times like this i wish i wasnt so into theme parks and rides, so you still get that suprise element. Well, i hadnt told him about Kraken being a "floorless" either. This was my first time on a floorless coaster, and we rode the front first, but all our re rides were at the back. I must say, its a good novelty, but most of the time you dont even notice. I thought this was a great coaster, the first drop especially, though i love the bit when you go into the cave part with the waterfall. On the whole i relaly enjoyed SeaWorld, apart fromt the incident when we were watching the Shamu show, i was in a world of my own, writing a text message to home on my phone, and the ad came on regarding "Supporting our troops", and people started clapping - because i was a little late clapping, and wasnt shouting and cheering, i got a nudge from some obese woman behind me calling me an "ignorant FFing English faggot" and other things - totally unprovoked and she was quite nasty. My friend then snapped and said "The whale show is about to start love, hadn't you best get your costume on". THAT shut her up. So apart from that blip, we had a great day. DISNEY MGM STUDIOS - this was the first time i had been here, and i was anxious to get on the Tower of terror and the Rock n Rollercoaster. First off, the Tower of Terror was a great ride, we went on a couple of times, as the queues weren't that big. The whole feeling of not knowing what is going to happen, and the shutters opening and closing, and the feeling that, hell, we actually are in an elevator was great. Next up the Aerosmith Coaster. Hmm, well i wasnt that keen on this to be honest, i dont know if i am in a minority here, but it didnt really do much for me, except nearly make me deaf. After this we went on other things, like Star Tours, and the Backlot Tour, which was superb, especially the water part. So again, another enjoyable day out, apart from the embarrassment of posing next to a large Desperate Housewives poster for a photo. BUSCH GARDENS - We were supposed to go here on a friday, we rang up the hotline like you we were told and reserved our seats, got there half an hour before, hoards of people there, one coach turns up and the lady says "Only got room for 14" so people just rushed in - no other coach came, so that was our plans ruined (we compensated by going back to IOA). We eventually got there on on the Saturday. The ride there wasnt so bad, as we got to see The Lion King 2, which i found quite fun, but the ride back was awful - some mad english woman requested the John Travolta film "Michael" - hideous. Anyways, the park. Well again, i had been here before, in 98, and had fond memories of Kumba and especially Montu. I was not disappointed. We saw Sheikra towering above everything, and it looks an impressive height, bt quite compact to what i was expecting. After a drenching on the Tidal Wave ride, we went on Python (oh dear) and then headed onto Kumba. It was a virtual walk on, so we went for the back. What a great ride, all my memories of it came flooding back. Absolutely superb. Next off we went into Timbuktoo, where my friend wanted to go on Cheetah Chase for some reason. After a dreadful experience last year at my local park, Dreamland in Margate, on the Wild Mouse, i wasnt so keen, but this was ok for what it was, basically a kids ride. We then queued up for The Phoenix, but just as we were being allowed on, a girl on the last ride had thrown up so they had to hose it down and give it a good spin drying. We eventually got on it later, i dont know why, i just have a thing for these inverter type rides. Moving on to the Scorpion, which i haave a soft spot (most probably cos, again, my local park used to have a Schwarzcoft Looping Star then replaced it with a Silver Arrow) - there is just something cool about a Schwarzy looper i think. We then made our way over to Rhino Rally, and again, just as we got to the front of the queue an announcement was made about "technical difficulties) and for the rest of the day they werent operating the water section. Which was a shame, cos again, i wanted it to suprise my friend. Oh well. Montu next - a great ride, it seemed to slow down a lot on some sections, but nonetheless, this still ranks up high in my opinion. And then finally , we rode Gwazi -hmm, well it was good, but my god did my neck get a battering! We had an excellent day here. As well as the theme parks, we also had some great nights out at Pleasure Island and Universal CitiWalk. At first i was flattered to be ID'd all the time, but after a while it gets a bit annoying. So, that is that. On the whole i had a fantastic time, the weather was, on the whole, great, except for one day when it rained for hours and the temperature dropped, i thought i was back home, and am now looking forward to my trip to California at the latter part of the year (supposedly to see family, but that's just an excuse to go there).

A few times when we want on Duelling Dragons, something happened with the other train and we were VERY SLOWLY climbing the lift hill, though it was fun to "BOO" the slow train when it eventually caught up. Absolutely super ride, really loved it. Gwazi however, *shudder*, i did not enjoy at all. I have written a Florida Trip report but i'm a tad scared of posting it, as it seems to be quite long.

Erm, well heres me..im currently scanning some on ride ones from my Florida trip. However, i NEVER get the knack of remembering where the camera is, unlike my friend who Strikes a Pose on every ride

Oh my it looks terribly tame. Unfortunately when i went a few weeks ago i didnt get to see any testing, it looks quite impressive height wise, but a very compact looking ride. I guess it doesn't have the "oblivion" element of facing into a gaping whole surrounded by mist.

I recently went to Florida, and one of my friends is terrified of dark rides..when we were in the queue line, he was getting a bit put off with the signs saying "this is a high speed rollercoaster" but by the end of it, he was grinning madly and we were re riding like nobodys business. SO i say, GO RIDE THE MUMMY, ELISSA'S MUMMY

I've just come back from my vacation there and i love the sound of a Captain America Intamin Hyper coaster!

Florida for two weeks as of next wednesday. California in August/September time to visit relatives and to go to Magic mOuntain and Knotts for the first time since 1997, and we also want to go to Cedar Point at some stage too. UK wise, Blackpool (first time ever) May 20th for the weekend, then hopefully trips to Alton Towers, Drayton Manor, Thorpe Park and Chessington. And my local park (Dreamland, in Margate, Kent, UK) is opening in a few weeks, and at the moment they are giving the Scenic Railway some TLC and adding in about 12 new thrill rides for the season, so that should get some regular visits.

I should get my glamourous lesbian friend to post here, just so she can be the first

Marvellous!