Divv3k Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) Last weekend a small portion of the Brit Crew visited Drayton Manor and West Midlands Safari Park (with a night out drinking in Birmingham thrown in for fun!). UPDATES: DRAYTON MANOR (BELOW) WEST MIDLANDS SAFARI PARK REFLEX: THE 80s BAR! This was my first visit to Drayton Manor since 2005. I have to say that I think the park has improved a lot since then, well part of it at least! Thomas Land looks fantastic, far better than the one I visited at Six Flags New England in 2007. If you were a Thomas fan as a kid (and I was a huge one!) then Drayton's new area will be a great nostalgia trip for you! The rest of the park was looking nice and lines weren't long, which is quite good going for a sunny Saturday in July. Still some of the rides could do with a bit of a rehab. Hopefully with the income from Thomas Land the rest of the park can be brought up to par. Anyways, here's some photos... We had a good day at Drayton Manor, it's amazing the difference a good kiddie area and a bit of sun can make to a park! West Midlands Safari Park will be up soon! Here's the group next to Henry. Sadly no one has built a wall in front of them yet so we can still see them. Dave didn't fare too much better against THE BORG. Brad didn't realise it was his junk that would be assimilated by this machine. Another Stacker for Steve and yet another EPIC fail. Dave says "Hi Erik!" (That's Erik Penders, the Vekoma employee aka Erik_73. Apologies to Electerik, Erik Johnson and any other Erik's who may be reading this TR, Dave is NOT saying hi to you) Dave, it's not a lamp post. She WON'T satisfy you! Though they weren't operating when we went to ride. I was SO disappointed by this. Another addition since my last visit was the Drunken Barrels. Steve clearly did well. It's the Wickie, Wickie Wild West Shoot Out! I think Lou quite likes it. Dave and Steve prepare to taste their junk. For me it's the best Intamin drop ride there is. At last - the best ride in Drayton Manor! Why do these glasses always look normal sized on Dave? Sadly for Lou the new 3D movie is NOT Panda-fudging-Vision. I pity the fool who misses this STAR STUDDED preshow! Drayton's new for 2009 attraction is this 4D Cinema. Hot, and not so hot. Oh no, the tumour's getting worse! Brad believes he can fly. OMG, that Indian has a Lou tumour AND a Scottish Steve tumour! The Mountain Buffalo Coaster was our next stop. It's always good to break into a little dancey dance in the middle of a park. Success!!! Dave tries his best to win me a Toad. Rodents for dinner, anyone? This is stealth dragon, you will not hear him or any other thing in his lair. (Because the sound system wasn't working). Dragon Manor, like Drayton Manor, except with Dragons! Get it? Steve didn't. Here's a shot right out the Shawn Goode school of photography. Hi Shawn! "When God made the arse, he didn't say, 'Hey, it's just your basic hinge, let's knock off early.' He said, 'Behold ye angels, I have created the arse. Throughout the ages to come, men and women shall grab hold of these, and shout my name! " Damn, I packed my jousting stick for nothing. Look, we found Southern Steve and Rob! Sadly almost all the animatronics in this ride weren't working. It needs a rehab badly. Now for the best ride in the world: Pirates of the European!!! The Thomas Town employees were great and danced away the whole journey. Southern Steve would have loved them. Oh God, Lou's gonna kill us all! Time to ride the star of the show. I love looking at model railways. Whilst this wasn't quite finished yet it looked quite cool. What's with the new characters? Harvey? He sucks. I'm all about the original Thomas Crew. Yay, more Thomas!!! Inside is a cool little model railway. Brad is still in Drayton Manor Zoo trying to work out this puzzler. Hey Scandi people, we found the retarded brother of Pena Puu! (and I should probably point out that it's not Lou) This was the HIGHLIGHT of Lou's day. Lou LOVED the cow meet and greet! Lou thought it'd be funny to point out that the seven year old who drew this picture added a leg too many. Teacher Dave explains to us all how an owl works: "The batteries go in here". This is the closest Scottish Steve's hand has ever been to a boob. It says Scottish and we're both Scottish! See the connection? There was a lot of beating going on in this cage. Is everyone ready to Beat the Monkey? "Don't even sound same!" Hmm, what's going on here? Now, Drayton Manor Zoo. Home to the Green Faced Tiger! I'm not quite sure if Dave is pretending to be a puppet or is just a bit special, so special. See? Brad has assumed the optimal riding position. The ride swings right over the lamp post. That's why Dave loves it so much. You must flick your legs out sidey ways on Maelstrom or you don't get the best ride experience at all. It's a shark and a number 3. If only there was an attack in here somewhere, then it would be the best ride sign ever. Dave and Brad, not so lucky. Divv and Lou = Dry. This is another one of those "you might get moist like chocolate sponge cake, if you're really, really lucky" type rapids. Splash Canyon is Drayton's rapids ride. Because you love them so much here's one more geeky coaster photo for all of you... "Make sure your feet aren't touching the floor, Steve. It's a better ride experience." LOL! Brad's giving Steve advice on the "best" way to ride. It's Europe's only stand-up coaster. Probably a good thing really. The other big coaster at Drayton Manor is THE (don't forget the 'THE') SHOCKWAVE! How about Lou catching an apple coming seemingly from nowhere halfway round the ride! Huh?! What surprises await the Brit Crew on this ride? It's a shame Drayton didn't end up with something more like Formule X. The best part of the queue; the electrode thingys that made lightning unsurprisingly no longer function. The colour's the only thing that's changed. It's still pretty pointless I'm afraid. Okay enough Thomas, for now. Here's a slightly-pinker-than-last-time-I-was-here G Force. Does anyone remember the time when Percy was hit by a falling crate of treacle? This is James. Does anyone remember the time he had a leak in his brake pipe and bootlaces and newspaper had to be used to hold it together? I'm super excited to be riding another Gerstlauer. They make good kiddie coasters too! Lou is SUPER excited to be getting a new kiddie credit! Beware the rebels of the railway! Every wise engine knows that you cannot trust trucks. Yay, a new credit for us! Lou finds that there's no better way to fit in at Thomas Land than by sucking up some chocolate milk. Thomas Land was added here last year and by all accounts has done wonders for the park's attendance. Steve's delighted about today's ride closures! We're at Drayton Manor and it's sunny. This is a new experience for me! A Double Decker for Dave!!! Another road trip means MORE SNACK TIME!!! Edited February 6, 2010 by Divv3k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Wow, that drop tower brings back some unpleasant memories of another kinda of like it lol Just goes to show, even a portion of the Brit Crew still can rock the world! Nice TR Divv, glad you all had a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster_dude2002 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Looks like another awesome day, although I'm slightly terrified by the Pena Puu knock off. Now what is this about "Double Decker, DUO!"? Looking forward to Safari park. I hear you visited Mike while he was working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Disneylander Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I loved all the Thomas references! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny In England Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Ah, awesome. You made Drayton look like a really good day out, congrats on that. Nice work with the "don't even sound same" reference, I actually laughed out loud and with the tiger drawing with five legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyuk200523 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Nice TR guys, will have to get to some more parks this year hopefully, haven't been to Drayton for about 6 years now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Looks like you guys had way too much fun without me! I'll have to do a Birmingham run on my lonesome at some point. Divv, if any pictures were taken on the night out, I request that they be posted IMMEDIATELY! Also: For meerkats, go to www.comparethemeerkat.com For easy way to save on car insurance, go to www.comparethemarket.com SIMPLES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyoverlord71 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Coaster_dude, double decker duo is two tiny double decker's in one pack. Always love your captions Divv. I remember Drayton Manir from when I went as a little kid. I remember the pirate boat ride, the buffalo coaster and the golden nugget shooting ride. Also I remember Stormforce 10 is that still there? It was an awesome Intamin flume with a backwards drop. Yay for Scottish wildcats, better than any other nationality of wild cat. Can't wait for more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillerman1 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Always great to see the Brit Crew living it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I have to say that drayton looks nice, and I would still love to go...after all, they have some Intamin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share Posted July 24, 2009 The next day we went to West Midlands Safari Park. I have to say I was quite impressed with this place. Despite me not being hugely into animals in general I was really impressed by all the safari stuff. The rides section whilst not huge is very well kept. The buildings are well themed for the most part and the staff were great (except one ride op on the frisbee who almost ruined our day, but I'll get to him later). This is a great place to visit for half a day and if you love animals you could easily do a whole day here. It's definitely a lot more than just the credit run that I expected it to be! That was our day at West Midlands Safari Park. A surprisingly cool place that's well worth a visit! Now, does anyone have any interest in seeing any of these people getting drunk in an 80s bar? No? Lou says "Hi" to Erik 99 times! Note to all West Coast trip people: Whenever you see a fudge sign you MUST take a photo of Dave next to it. He LOVES it. Thanks. Turns out they can jump too! After the dolphin show in Finland I was quite excited to see what the Sea Lions of the West Midlands could accomplish. Lou insisted that I actually participate in a group photo for a change. We finished off our trip by checking out the Sea Lion Show. Okay, okay, Mike you were a GREAT ride op. In fact the best ride op of all time. I am not being sarcastic AT ALL. Finally the nazi ride op scores cool points by hosing the Brit Crew! Swingy, swing, swing, swing, swing, swing. I think he's saying "Wickie, wickie welcome to Blackfly!" The Brit Crew can no longer breathe. SQUISH! The nazi ride op lays down the law. At least he does a wee dancey dance for the riders. Here he is. Can't you tell that he just LOVES his job?! Blackfly is the park's frisbee. Sadly this ride was home to the worst ride op any of us have ever encountered. Next year this wood will be infested with sharks! Look Dave, it's SHARK ISLAND! It was pretty good! It offered some nice views too. I think this was my first drop tower that used a chain lift. Though I probably have ridden one before and just never realised it. The park's drop tower is called Venom. Bet you're shocked, right? And here's the corresponding random flat ride photo. Random flat ride sign. Campest dodgems ever. Now, the most intense and fastest dodgems you'll ever drive! Everyone enjoys their extra spinny ride. Despite being over ten years old this was one of the better spinning mice I've done. Someone get me an ice lolly. Now! Yes, that car IS spinning on the lift hill! One ride was enough for me! Anyone hungry for a Reverchon Spinning Mouse? Still, they managed to get one scare out of Steve! Dr Umboto's Catacombs weren't quite as cataclysmic as you might expect. Nothing like a good old Wacky Worm to mark a moment like this! This is a MILESTONE WACKY WORM! Photoshop a 400 sign for Divv and a 200 for Steve here! Woo, Wacky Worm! Not just any Wacky Worm though. To feed the HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS! Brad and Steve have their lettuce at the ready. Why? How the hell did we end up back in Flamingo Land? Eekum Bokum! Look, more zeeeebras! Dave and Brad got near drowned. It was very amusing. Yeah, it's one of those portable Fabbri rapids. Quite good! WMSP has a rapids ride. Believe it or not it's called Wild River Rafting! Apparently the rhino train cost a lot of money. I think it's good that the park have tried to do a little more than just plonk it down on a piece of grass. Rhino POV! Erik, we love rollerskaters! Make more! Best rollerskater train ever! Hey Larry, a ride sign! Turtle power! Dave likes goats. I LIKE FISH. Phew, we survived the safari. Just. Let's see what the rest of the park has to offer. Sound advice! And we never saw Lou's jewelery again. Say hi to the G-Raf! Trunky, trunk, trunk, trunk, trunk, trunk. Stop encouraging them to stick their heads through the window, Lou! Hey look, zeeeeeeeeebras!!! FEED ME!!! Now I'm scared. Damn it! At least Lou's happy! Oh God, please don't come over to our car! Hey Mr Rhino, please keep your horns away from me. Driving us through the wilderness is none other than teacher extraordinaire Sir Campsalot! I'd say we are! I really hope we're on the safari right now. Leading you through the safari day will be Jungle skipper B-rad McG. Need to make an enquiry? Then Wet Midland Safari & Leisure Park is the place for you! Brad's on the light snack diet today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Loving the Mike pictures, it looks like you had a wicky wicky wild wild time at WMSP, now all I can say is: REFLEX PHOTOS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyoverlord71 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 It looks better than I thought it would be! Now BAR PHOTOS!!!! Also I was bored so.... ....SIGNS!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 The Mike pictures totally RULE. Wish I had been there, just to see Mike at work really! The place looks half decent also. Well, you crazies make it look like a lot of fun can be had there and with the No.1 ride op in the WORLD there (that is Earth BTW not some other world, for those alien TPR members who may be wondering) I may have to visit next year. Oh and Safari Brad is pretty cool too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Nice report and pictures. I can't wait to get back to the UK again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Credit whores. JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_G Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Great photo's of a really nice family park. Now bring on Reflex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster_dude2002 Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Another great update Divv! That ride op on Blackfly looked like a complete jerk Now you need to put up Reflex photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 What a charming little park. If I heard correctly the rapids are gone at the end of the season, or am I mistaking WMSP for LWV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eBen Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Glad to see you got to feed a Giraffe Lou - I want to do that now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 BAR PHOTOS! People just want to see the photos this time, so here you go... And that'll do it for this trip report. Thanks for a great weekend guys! Hope you enjoyed this, thanks for reading! We had a great night at Reflex! Everyone made it up on time the next morning too! THIS is how you play the piano! Mike can blow too! Is Lou copying a Southern Steve move by dancing with belt in hand? Mike demonstrates his piano playing skills. Oompa, oompa, oom, pa, pa. Mike is the Music Man, he comes from down your way. The Time Warp maybe? Many, many beers later. Dave blows. Yes he does. Does it get more 80s than this? Brad would have fit right in 20 years ago. Yes, the Fudgin' Fudger BITES! OMG, is he biting?! Everyone, attack Dave! Check out Lou's shiny headpiece! This is about as "normal" as it got all weekend. iPhone's disagree! Which one to believe? How will we know what song this is?! Can anyone tell what song this is? He hails from Campington, Campshire. FIXED! Divv is here! Poor Lou's belt broke, but never fear... Sir Campsalot shows us how he got his name. They're not the only ones living on that prayer. Fudges live on a prayer. Steve's party is being well and truly banged. Parties are being banged all over the place now. Yes, we drank beer. Some more than others. Do you want to be one of Mike's Just For Men friends? Let him know if you do! I spy a Fudge party being banged. Quick, let's ruin Lou's photo! This big Transformabot dude welcomes you back to the 80s! (Or welcomes you for the first time if you're Scottish Steve!) Then we hit up this joint! We took a minute to check out Birmingham's version of El Toro... Wagamama is yet again Brit Crew approved! Don't miss out on eating at one if you ever get the chance! Time for an ice lolly suck off! DONE! Orgiastic. You'd think for someone who lives in a pub Mike would be able to pour himself a better beer! Luckily Brad got his food first so he could make a start on the rest of us. Chop sticks aren't really his forté. Fudge 1 recommends the salmon something or other. Jeez Steve, that beer is bigger than your head! Wagamama! Where else?! Mike wants to EAT at EAT, but he was outvoted. Where would we go instead? I'll take a quick second to recommend City Inn Hotels where we stayed this weekend. Lou and I have stayed at a few now and can't speak highly enough about them! Now onto dinner... If you're ever in Kidderminster don't miss out on this place! The Fudgecliffe Arms caters to all your Tuck needs! Quick, whilst Dave's back is turned! Because there's a good chance that you might see this fella or his brother pulling your pints! Our first bar is this quaint little place that we like to call the Fudgecliffe Arms! Why do we call it that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster_dude2002 Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Hooray for bar photos. Pub Fudge and Reflex! I'm tempted to post the bit of singing Brad emailed me from Reflex. Was no Wild Wild West, but still amusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_G Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Andrew, don't you dare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Reflex looks like fun. At the risk of sounding like a nerd, when they enetered and were reeted by Soundwave, he's supposed to have a Decepticon label, not an Autobot...Oh well, coolest entry ever. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyoverlord71 Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 ^ I'm not sure if it's supposed to be Soundwave as it lacks several Soundwave components. It's probably just a generic transformer and not an actual character. Reflex looks awesome! coaster_dude2002 post the video, post the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts