Drayton Manor Theme Park is riding high after a record breaking 65th Anniversary season!

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Abi

Drayton Manor Theme Park is celebrating the end of a record breaking 65th anniversary season, with its biggest ever attendance numbers recorded for 2015. As an Ambassador for the park my family was there for all the big events and we had a fabulous time!

The award winning attraction based in Tamworth, Staffordshire has seen more guests visit during 2015 than any other year, with a 10 per cent increase on the previous season in 2014.

The action packed anniversary year kicked off with a £2.5 million expansion of Europe’s only Thomas Land™ back in April 2015. The park welcomed a host of new rides and attractions including Captain’s Sea Adventure, Flynn’s Fire Rescue and Toby’s Tram Express, which increased the overall rider capacity in Thomas Land to 5,130 people per hour. The exciting new Thomas Land also saw the arrival of the brand new two-storey Sodor Airport, in a traditional terminal style it has a top level balcony for VIP ‘travellers’ with not-to-be-missed views of Thomas Land and a ground level café for guests to relax during their visit.

Following a successful summer, the much loved family attraction hit a record attendance for its Fireworks Spectacular weekend, welcoming nearly 33,000 visitors over three days at the end of October. It was a whopping 28% increase in the number of visitors compared to the previous largest fireworks attendance and also the largest firework display the park has seen in 25 years. Set to the critically acclaimed soundtrack from The War of the Worlds, visitors were dazzled by a fantastic, colourful array of explosive rockets and lights.

To top it all off, the 65th anniversary season ended with another record breaking attendance during its Magical Christmas event with a 34% increase in guests from 2014. On Sunday 20th December, the park welcomed 45% more people than on its previous biggest day in 2014, smashing its biggest selling Magical Christmas day six times over!

Despite the park’s momentous success in 2015, it is looking forward to the coming year and there is plenty to keep existing and new visitors excited. In spring 2016, the Staffordshire based theme park will see the opening of its brand new Tamarin Trail. Guests will have the opportunity to walk through the beautiful planted gardens in the attraction, getting up close and personal with the cute and inquisitive monkeys. It will have eight new enclosures that will be housing a variety of tamarins and marmosets. There are five species so far, including the white lipped tamarin, red handed tamarin, emperor tamarin, cotton top tamarin and the common marmoset.

2016 will also mark the five year anniversary of the opening of the hugely popular onsite four-star Drayton Manor Hotel, which has featured Thomas & Friends™ themed rooms since its opening in 2011. The park’s onsite restaurant the Grill Inn will also celebrate its fifth anniversary this year.

CEO of Drayton Manor Theme Park, Colin Bryan, said: “Our 65th anniversary year has been a truly momentous year for the Bryan family and all of the staff here and we’re so pleased to have been able to provide so many families with lasting memories.

“We always want to go above and beyond to make sure every season is better than the last for our visitors and this year we did just that, we’re really looking forward to another fantastic year in 2016.”

To book tickets, or for more information about the park, visit www.draytonmanor.co.uk or call 0844 472 1950. Reduced prices are available for tickets bought in advance. For regular updates and news about Drayton Manor Theme Park join it on Twitter www.twitter.com/Draytonmanor and Facebook www.facebook.com/DraytonManorPark

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Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas extravaganza

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Abi

Helping to launch the Big Bloggers Christmas Giveaway last week has left me feeling remarkably festive and I’m really looking forward to all the upcoming events. One activity in particular has been marked on the calendar in big bold letters and that’s Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas extravaganza!

The park closed its doors earlier this month with its awe inspiring War of the Worlds firework display. But we only have to wait until Sat 21st November for it to re-open as a magical winter wonderland.

Thomas Land is due to be draped in decorations, fairy lights and Christmas music, there’s even going to be a snow shower three times a day!!

As you might expect the whole theme park will not be open, but there will be over 25 rides and attractions still to enjoy in Thomas Land and beyond. Here are some of the highlights:

The zoo is always a must see for me and I’m told that the Reindeer are already getting excited to help Father Christmas prepare for the big-day ahead.
The Ben 10: Ultimate Mission Coaster is due to run as long as the weather doesn’t drop beneath 5 degrees Celsius.
A wondrous outdoor ice rink (there is a £2 charge for 15 minutes)
30 foot lightshow Christmas tree set to music
The Apocalypse tower drop is being turned into a 54 metre high Christmas tree (with star on top!)
The 4d cinema will be showing a special 15 minute movie experience from the Polar Express

Not forgetting the main event… a visit to the enchanted Castle of Dreams! Cheerful Christmas elves will take visitors through to see Father Christmas and each child will receive a free gift and golden ticket to return for the new season in 2016* Drayton's Magical Christmas1

At the end of each day there will be a dazzling firework display bound to leave you bursting with festive cheer.

Drayton Manor recently celebrated winning ‘Best UK Attraction for Children’ award at this year’s Group Leisure Awards – for the eighth time and the second consecutive year! So that alone should be enough reason to visit.

If your children are a little too young or old to visit Santa, you can buy park tickets only, without the Father Christmas visit, with tickets priced at £15 for 12 years and over, and 4 – 11 at £10.

Drayton’s Magical Christmas will be open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays** from Saturday 21st November to Monday 14th December, then every day from Thursday 17th December to Wednesday 23rd December and Sunday 27th December to Thursday 31st December. Pre booking Christmas tickets is essential due to demand.

Please check the website for more information and a complete list of dates and to book your tickets.

* Golden Ticket terms and conditions. The Golden Ticket admits one free child during the 2016 season when accompanied by a paying adult.

**The park will be closed on Monday 23rd November.

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Drayton Manor’s War of the Worlds Fireworks Spectacular Review

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Abi

Last night I took my family along to the best firework display I’ve ever seen! Full of atmosphere, drama and sparkle it’s an event you really shouldn’t miss. But if that isn’t enough to convince you then read on for sneak peaks in today’s Drayton Manor’s War of the Worlds Fireworks Spectacular review.

We arrived shortly before 4pm and delighted at the Halloween decorations strewn around the park (nothing overtly scary for the little ones either 🙂 ).

As the sun went down, the lights came on and a wonderful sense of atmosphere flowed thoughout. Some areas (like the zoo) shut at 5pm, but most of the rides have been covered with lights and can be enjoyed right up until 9pm. The carousel is always a firm favourite and creates a magical blur of lights and sounds in the evening.

Shortly after 7pm we made our way to the lake to wait for the firework display. The show started at 8pm but if you want a front place view you have to get there reasonably early. Although I should add that the fireworks are huge so you can actually see them from most of the park. There’s also a screen provided from one of the lawns which is great if you’re taking smaller children.

At 8pm Liam Neeson’s voice came over the speaker and we knew that the Fireworks were about to start. For those unfamiliar with the War of the Worlds musical, Liam provided the narration.

The fireworks began in stunning style as they shot high above the lake. All perfectly timed to the music it made for a truly breath-taking display.

Complementing this was a kind of smoke cloud set upon the lake showing images from the critically acclaimed musical, plus an alien spaceship to one side which was shooting lasers!

I’ve seen many fireworks over the years and certainly some very impressive displays but never such a perfectly choreographed event that utilises images, lasers, music and the most stunning and gigantic fireworks! I would wholeheartedly recommend a visit if you can get there.

The fireworks close out the 65th Anniversary season at Drayton in epic style and they continue tonight and tomorrow (31st Oct, 1st Nov, but fireworks at 7pm) so there’s still time to get tickets and book a visit to the event.

For more information and to book your tickets (you know you want too!) then pop over to Drayton Manor’s website here.