mwm1444 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 So last Wednesday, myself and Neil (rctneil) headed up (down, in Neil's case) to Drayton Manor, to check out the new Ben 10 Ultimate Mission, and generally have a good time in TPR-y company. I make no secret of my general disdain for DMP, but this was probably one of my favourite days at the park - and I'll let the photos - a mixture of mine and Neil's - explain why: The hotel construction looks to be coming on well. This is the entrance. Clearly. And here's the queue building for Ben 10 (photo by Neil)... ...and here's the pre-opening queue. Ride sign! (Photo by Neil) Some decent theming in the queue. (Neil) (Neil) The pretty cool-looking train in the station. (Neil) Whooosh! I'll post some more non-Ben 10 photos later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerstlauer1 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Nice TR! Â I really like the new addition, Ben 10 Ultimate Mission! It looks pretty cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerCoasterSmi Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Is it a good ride though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwm1444 Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 ^ I'll talk about my opinion of the ride when I post the next set of photos - and Neil can chime in at anytime - but suffice to say for now, I really enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I can't quite make out the height restriction. Do you remember what it was? Or should I look on the website? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyuk200523 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Nice TR so far bud, looking forward to the rest of it. Â Elissa - 1 metre accompanied / 1.2 metres unaccompanied, Kidtums should be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rctneil Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I thoroughly enjoyed Ben 10, great kiddie ride, much better than I expected it to be. The reverse journey is much slower but I guess that's to be expected. Sliding down the first hill is pretty awesome and through the station.  Thanks for putting the report up Mike and yes it was an excellent day at Drayton. It always surprises me how you can visit on a busy day and then about 3pm - 3.30pm all the bigger rides only have a 5-10 minute wait compared with a few hours earlier with huge long queues.  Larry and park index peeps: Feel free to use any of my photos in the Park Index. If you want more then just send me a message and I'm sure I can send a bulk load over for you  Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwm1444 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 I enjoyed Ben 10 a LOT - I've only ever ridden one shuttle (Revolution at BPB) and that put me off going through inversions backwards, so I've never experienced a full-sized Boomerang - but the Junior model is fantastic. Nice middle-ground in terms of speed, decent forces (but not too much for myself or any kids, I expect) - just generally good fun. Â Anyway, after Ben 10, Neil and I headed into the Zoo... ROOAAARGH! - I mean, welcome to the Dino Trail at Drayton Manor. (Neil) These guys are having a bit of a disagreement about the rent, they've been butting heads over it all week. (Neil) 'Just casually ignoring the bin-liner wall behind me...' (Neil) After visiting the cool exhibition of original sets and trains from the Thomas series (yes, that's THE windmill)... ...we took Percy... (Neil) ...back to Thomas Land, which I still maintain is the best of any that have existed. (Neil) We rode the two rides featured in this photo, Shockwave and Splash Canyon - I think this is a pretty nice view from the SC queue. From r to l (Neil): Â 'Oh, the pain....' 'Sheesh, you'd think this would be flagged in the Geneva Convention or something!' 'I dunno what you guys are complaining about, that was AWESOME!' 'I don't quite know what happened, but I am LOVING how my voice is like two octaves higher, and the extra space there seems to be in my underwear...' And we rode this. It spins, goes high, and makes me feel a little woozy afterwards. Then it was time for my favourite of the bunch. (Neil) NOTTED! (Neil) Dark ride boat vehicle station propulsion system nerds REJOICE! 'No fear of evil curses, says you...properly warned ye be, says I...' - Pirate Adventure was pretty much as normal, only with even fewer effects working. Still a nostalgic favourite of mine. Following PA, we rode this... ...and were very pleasantly surprised to find it running well, with almost-complete 2002 audio. (Neil) For those not in the know, Excalibur, a medeival-themed towboat ride, has been the victim of even worse neglect than Pirate Adventure, over the years. I hadn't heard some of the audio in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Huss Giant Frisbee....COOOOOOOL..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwm1444 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Final set of photos! It's fun to see the leftover bits of theming from the ride that previously sat where Excalibur is now, a Jungle Cruise rip-off - there's a very simlar one still operating in Europa Park. I think this guy is in cahoots with the crossbow archer at Legoland to get unsuspecting park enthusiasts. (Neil) Luckily, we survived unscathed so we could bring you this photo that I'm sure some of you will enjoy. No idea why, though. Next I rode this, the only shooting dark ride that takes place in pretty a single room (I believe), while... (Neil) ...Neil rode this on his own, because I'm a pussy - but more on that later. (Neil) We decided to take a ride on the skyride, which had an oddly long queue, but afforded us nerdy shots like this. But also: Skloo... ...ooo... (Neil) ...ooosh! And of course a peek into the gaping maws of hell, to which, again, we'll return in a bit. (Neil) Ben 10, again. 'Mummy...I think we're going backwards...' G-Force had almost no wait, and we were feeling like getting a headache and a stomach cramp, so we rode. In fairness, it wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered. Just almost nearly. (From here, all photos are Neil's.) And yes, Neil got me to brave Apocalypse. That's...um...a long way up. Â Actually, in the end it really wasn't that bad. After I headed home, Neil took a few more fun photos of Ben 10. Intergalactic lost property. This card is worth 42 dork points. And I close this TR with a photo for Sy-Fy viewers and giant octupi everywhere. Thanks for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 G-Force: Maurer-Söhne is my current fav coaster manufacturer.  Love the trains and the X-Car series just rocks - including the hilarious Skywheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwm1444 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 I find G-Force painful, and I didn't find Rip Ride Rockit to be that much better - haven't ridden any other X-cars, seems like the concept is great, but the ride experience doesn't do it for me. Maurer's spinners, however - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerCoasterSmi Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Drayton Manor should get Mack to rehab G Force with Blue Fire restraints... NOW THAT WOULD BE FUN... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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