Twisted Manners

Drayton Manor is a complete mishmash of themes ideas and styles, rather than sitting neatly in orderly lands the theme concepts are everywhere in some eclectic explosion

Pirates, knights, cowboys and lifeboat rescues all sit next to each other making each ride stand out more as an individual

You can't accuse Drayton Manor of being lazy, its not every park that spends £4m on a pirate dark boat ride for a start, but with every new attraction they've always tried to come up with a slightly different idea, get the latest most innovative contraption available first, often before the corporation owned UK parks

You have to admire Drayton's commitment to not stand still, the park is always renewing and refreshing its ride line-up often replacing older attractions with more modern exciting versions, for example replacing the parachute tower with Apocalypse, Klondike with G Force, Jungle Cruise with Excalibur and log flume with StormForce 10 a truly fabulous quirky themed water ride

Perhaps they don't always make the right choice, upgrading Skyfler for the uncomfortable Pandemonium for just one example, however you can't fault their effort and intentions, sometimes picking the best product available, Maelstrom is certainly a premium gyro swing ride delivering a full throttle adrenaline fuelled rush right from the word go

Unfortunately the dated Zoo lets Drayton Manor down, the depressing small cages don't seem to provide the best habitats for the animals to be happy in, the zoo is quite a surprise and extensive in size however it is in great need of much improvement

Back to the rides everything is rather dandy, Drunken Barrels has to be the most over the top themeing of a tea cup ride ever, Apocalypse has a few more tricks up its sleeve than the standard drop tower with the choice of alternative riding positions, stand-up tilting definitely inducing the most fear with an agonisingly slow climb to the top of its 180ft chrome crown

G Force is the newest buzz, overshadowed somewhat by the unfathomable reason the hip restraints continuously ratchet tighter throughout the coaster, spoiling what visually is one of the most interesting coasters in years

Shockwave is still the star of the show, with its hunky chunky track, gianormous loops, corkscrews and unique thrill tickling barrel roll. It may seem this sweet stand-up coaster lacks length, but it contains just the inversion goodness without any filler, definitely a good thing when you're saddled in the standing position

How refreshing to have a significant theme park with substantial rides that does its own thing, thanks to its brave innovative investments Drayton Manor Park delivers a fine alternative to the other major UK parks

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