Draytonmanor Reviews 

Been in Thomas park couple of times, first one seven year ago and just currently, to be fare nothing much has changed.. lots of children tracks are outdated and looked very old, compared with entry ticket prices back then and now had grown more then twice, but obviously not much was invested in the park it self. Toilets are horrible, cause my toddler is potty trained now and he needs toilet ofter, so every time we went there situation was getting worsed, blocked toilets, pee on the floor and smell on the hot day was breath taking.
For lunch visited Burger place ( can't even call them a restaurants) was just unbelievable. Medium burger £10.90, I mean just burger. Meal deal wich includes same burger with fries and drinking it's from £16. Place its self was filthy, rubbish on the floor, bins over loaded, tables not cleaned ( my hands were sticking on the table surface) after wiping 3 times, the dirt was still going of that table..
Game stol prices are just amazing as everything else. To throw ball once through the hoop to win a toy will cost you £4 per ball or £10 per 3 throws.
Gift shops are the same, fisher price Thomas pull down train with handle will cost you £50, yet same one on Argos you can get for £15 and the worse part that you can't avoid this shop because some track exists are going through the shop...
And in the end park is over loaded with people, no control of the flow because you can get tickets at any time.. so queues are massive, at some rides for small children you have to wait 45min for 2min ride. Todler high measurement line is not accurate at the entry, so after waiting 50min with TODLER you been told that you can't ride with him because he's 2mm to short. I do understand health and safety, but how about you stand and measure children before they join the queue, not after they waited for so long and eventually been told that they can go because they miss 2mm, its just beyond ridiculous.

DON'T GO HERE!

We all went yesterday as a family of 8 and almost all the rides kept having break downs. This is where they stop the rides for 20-30 minutes (bear in mind you have already qued for roughly 30 minutes). The issue is Safety and while they want to ensure safety the real concern is why they are always breaking down. Does it feel like only a matter of time before something disastrous happens. Most likely. If you are looking for a better day out spend £1.50 more and go to Alton Towers for example. It will be a much better experience and why more to do there with little que times. I wont even bother trying to claim back any refund it will only be denied. Better I just know that this place does not exist as a destination for a day out with the family in my mind. I paid for that as a consolation to the day!

We Went To Drayton Manor ( Tamworth) For My Partners Birthday. Went To Get On The Shockwave Just To Be Told There Having "Technical Difficulties" Will Be Open Later, Went Back To That Ride Over 2 Hours Later, Waited In The Queue For Over And Hour Just To Be Told " Technical Difficulties" AGAIN, So We Had To Wait Longer. 3 Times We Were Told "Technical Difficulties" Ridiculous, Waste Of Time. Then We Queued Again On Storm Force To Be Told "Technical Difficulties " On That Ride To, My Partners Birthday Was Ruined, He Was Fed Up And Wanted To Go Home. The Main 2 Rides He Wanted To Go On Just To Be Told Technical Difficulties" After Making People Wait For Over An Hour, We Left Drayton Manor After That, I Brought 3 Tickets To Have Fun, Instead Left Angry, Fed Up, And Waste Of Money. NEVER Will We Return There, NEVER Will We Talk Anyone To Go Either, Will Tell People To Go To Alton Towers.

Got on 3 rides. Viking land rides all closed , the wave, closed , waited an hour for 4d cinema, no one operating the venue. Gold rush kept breaking down, queued 3 times. £32 for 2 burger meals , took over half an hour to get my meal . Queued for 2 hours for storm force 10 as it kept breaking down and sometimes 3 or 5 riders were allowed on an 8 man boat of which there were only 4. Restaurants and drink stations closed. Children operating rides. All for £72 for 2 .
Please don't waste your time and money, you have been warned.

Where do I start?

The unprofessional, poorly trained staff? The dirty, dusty, cobweb covered rides and attractions, assuming that they are actually working (1/3 of the "Thrill Rides" weren't)? The serious lack of ride signage (both directions to and wait times once queuing)?

Had the option to go here or to other nearby attractions, and made the ENORMOUS mistake of choosing here. NEVER AGAIN! You now couldn't pay me to return!

Then, when I complained to "Guest Services" was told "sorry no refunds!" Surely, if something is faulty, and not up to standard, you should be able to claim a refund???

Was told to fill in the complaints form on their website, only to discover that there isn't one, just a link that opens a blank email! Seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up! This place makes Faulty Towers seem well run!

As my 1* Trip Advisor says "American Adventure in the making".....

Overpriced tickets long wait for rides expensive food and drinks won’t come again

Drayton Manor is the biggest scam. I warn you all NOT TO BOOK. First of all, the only way to efficiently enjoy rides is to buy an overpriced dissatisfactory fast pass that ONLY caters to the rich. A pass to go on unlimited rides is £100+?! I may as well could have sold my limbs to buy the food there. Secondly, the map is a literal labyrinth of mayhem. The signs for the toilet were far too ambiguous!! I almost urinated in my own garments!!!!!!!!!!!! The lines deliberately deceive you to appear shorter, this is consumer fraud. All the thrill ride lines take over an hour to get on to. This greedy company only wants your money, for your own happiness, DO NOT BOOK. I'm deeply ashamed to have to make this review, but I wish somebody warned me of the terrible service.

Went to Drayton Manor for afternoon tea with family and friends on Wednesday and any sister was very poorly on the Wednesday evening my sister in law and my Self had very upset stomach ache.l will never go there again

This is the worst theme park ever. They have good rides but the service is so slow you can only ride 2 a day,the queues go on and on and on. Coming from Paulton's it was a big downfall

I visited Drayton Manor for the Halloween event in October 2023. As a theme park enthusiast, I came to Drayton Manor to ride Shockwave before it would ultimately become a sit-down coaster for the 2024 season. However, there had been a problem with the lift the other night and riders had to be evacuated. Me, not knowing this, came to the park buzzing to ride Shockwave (which would be my first stand up coaster). Sadly though, they could not open it until a few days later so I never got to experience it in it's stand-up form, very disappointed. But I do understand that the park have worked really well to maintain this ride.

I though that the park had some great themed rides (Accelerator, River Rapids) and the best flat rides in the country (Maelstrom, Thor, Loki). As it was cold (Typical English Autumn Weather), when I rode StormForce 10 I was drenched in freezing water - the most hilarious (and un-hilarious) thing ever. My overall expectations of this park was exceeded! I am dying to go back to Brave the Wave and explore frontier falls.

Before I end this review I want to mention the pricing (the day ticket is pretty cheap for such an awesome place). I bought a Gold fast-pass (5 rides) for £35. I used it on Loki, Thor, Maelstrom and Accelerator twice. I think it is a really good system as you get a wristband with the colour of the fast-pass (i.e. 3 ride fast-pass would be silver). Then, when you would get to the front of the fast queue, the ride operator would take a tab off. This review however would be 5 stars if it were not for Shockwave's unfortunate closure.

So, today, brought my grandson from the south coast for Thomas Land , 2 rides out of commission, another broke down, the whole pace is very grubby, and every way they could grab extra money, they did, extra £3 each as it’s half term,£6 to park extra to fast track rides and then the kids queue for 45 minutes and 3 people from the queue get on and 10 fast track people which is really unfair on the little ones, £3.60for a black coffee in a cardboard cup and the food at all the outlets was exorbitant ( eg. a small plain burger £9.90 ). One good thing was the lady running the Emily’s play adventure soft play area was Brilliant.
Compared to Paultons Park with Peppa Pig Land , Paultons was superb - spotless , fixed prices free parking and very reasonable food prices.Go there instead

DO NOT BUY THE FASS PASS!
We went as a family of 4 for my son’s birthday in April. As we were planning on going on a Saturday we thought it would be a good idea to buy 2 gold fass passes as we were taking 2 pre teen boys so we didn’t want them to be waiting longer than necessary.
The park is not really aimed at teenagers or adults but it was ok for what we wanted for the day. We got there early so we didn’t need to use the passes until the afternoon when the bigger rides started to get queues.
To use the fast passes we were told to go to go to the exit of the ride. The first ride we tried we were ignored for the first 2 go around when my husband talked to the attendant, he was told that it didn’t matter as the normal queue has been waiting longer. The 2nd ride we were told the same thing. The third ride we were completed ignored for 15 minutes before the boys just decided to join the normal queue. Considering we paid £50 each for these passes and you can’t get on any rides?

After putting in a complain this is what we got back:

((Thank you for taking the time to contact us, I would like to apologise for the upset caused to you.

I am saddened to read the conventional queue line were being prioritised over the fast track and easy access queue line; our ride attendants do have the responsibility of queue management. As part of this they do have to ensure they’re loading the conventional, fast track and easy access queue fairly. We do state in the terms and conditions under the fast pass that the service does not guarantee access on to the attraction instantly and delays may be possible.

The Park Operations manager will however, speak with his team collectively and further training will be offered to ensure that the queue lines are being loaded fairly. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

It’s never the intention of the resort to leave our guests feeling disappointed by any aspect of their visit and I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for the upset caused to you ))

I understand that we wouldn’t get instant access but surly they were meant to be faster than the normal queue? And in one case we didn’t get access at all?? False advertising so don’t waste your money on the fast pass system as it doesn’t work. Will be taking this further

We went as a family of 4 with kids being 8 and 10 years, had a fantastic time !!! The rides were all operational and the longest queue was about 30 minutes. We stayed overnight and the hotel was clean and food reasonably priced.
The staff on the rides were friendly and made you feel welcome. A great short break.

Got here today an no older rides are in operation for a teenager an adults £146
No refunds offered despite being here hardley any time an realising just how bad it is. Unless you physically hunt on the website no warnings are shown on paying AVOID UNLESS YOUNG KIDS RIP OFF

Stood here in the queue at 9.30..Opened gates at 9.50 to be told hotel customers are allowed in at 10am everyone else who has paid not allowed in until 10.30, got two young children absolutely disgraceful. On our last visit we were allowed in at 9.30 to go to the zoo then the rides afterwards...Will not be returning.

Half the rides we went for were closed. The zoo is more of a farm. My son has autism and lives in supported living. So had to pay full whack. Not worth £74.

Stayed at the hotel on site. Food prices extortionate and horrific service. Were not let early into the park as meant to be part of the price. Then none of the big rides were open. Half the shops and food places shut in the park. Very bored kids. Waste of time and waste of money. Massive disappointment and fraudulent as their Facebook page is still stating today that all rides except the shockwave are open. LIARS

NOT FOR DISABLED
Although informing you of having partnered with whatever to provide service for the disabled, they put you through a lengthy and embarrassing questionnaire.
These people have forgotten the basics; disabled people shouldn't be put through screening and else. Their questionnaire ended up being a breach of the Equality ACT. 2010; it is far too personal and embarrassing.
If you are disabled, avoid going there until they are back to the proper legal system.

I loved the warm welcome by the receptions who checked us in but the room was dated with the pull out bed being very lumpy which having driven for hours was not appreciated. The hotel was clean. The food totally lovely. However the toast took so long for a picky eater that our breakfast table had been cleaned before we got back to carry on eating. I'd even said please don't clear this we are still eating which was disappointing. The staff were lovely though and the lady apologied and was clearly embarrassed. The overall experience was good but Drayton needs a bit of paint and the maintenance is still ongoing. Basically we were told to come back at the end of March. Most things were not open and not one ride open in the viking section. Overall having paid £90 for 2 of us the zoo was the best part and even my daughter was saying I would ask for your money back. Somewhat disappointed. The hotel was clean. Definitely security conscious and a good visit. The room had all that we needed. The dinner at the restaurant and the room service was definitely a winner. The main bed was fine.

jack m from burger was really nice and polite thank you for making my day and cheering up my son x