Drayton Manor is a theme park and zoo in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK. The park covers 280 acres of which about 113 acres are in use and hosts about 1.5 million people each year. The park's maximum daily capacity is 15,000 guests, which is set with guest experience and traffic congestion in mind. It is the fourth largest amusement park in the UK by land area at 280 acres. The park is also home to Thomas Land and Drayton Manor Zoo, home to over 100 animals, including Red pandas, Eurasian lynx, Sumatran tigers and variety of monkeys and gibbons.
History
The land on which the theme park was built on once belonged to the Peel family. Drayton Manor mansion, built for Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet in 1835, had been reduced to ruins by 1926. The British Army requisitioned it as a training post during World War II. After the war, entrepreneurs George and Vera Bryan borrowed £6,000 and bought the land. In 1950, they opened a small amusement park with just a handful of children's rides. In 1954, Mrs Molly Badham, who later opened the nearby Twycross Zoo, joined forces with the Bryans and opened a small zoo to complement the amusement park. The amusement park grew slowly in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, but in the late 1980s, the park began to install bigger and more thrilling rides to attract customers from all over the United Kingdom. Drayton Manor Theme Park is today the fifth most popular theme park in the UK and is still managed by Colin Bryan, though his two sons do the majority of his job now, as Colin suffers from Dementia. In 2019, a website was created named "Drayton Talk", where people can talk about the park's rides, zoo and hotels.
Rides and attractions
Family rides
Thrill rides
Thomas Land rides
Other rides and attractions
Past rides
Zoo
Drayton Manor is also home to a zoo. It contains over 100 species from all over the world.
Accommodation
Drayton Manor Hotel
In 2009, plans for a hotel at Drayton Manor were submitted to Lichfield District Council. Planning permission for the hotel was granted in 2007, though the applicants felt that the scheme could benefit from further improvements without increasing the site area required. The 4-star hotel with 150 well-appointed contemporary guest rooms including 15 Thomas & Friends themed bedrooms is designed to primarily meet the demand from park visitors as the park is attracting families from all over the UK, especially since the arrival of Thomas Land.
The Camping and Caravan Club have a site at Drayton Manor. On the site there is 90 pitches, Glamping tents and a children's playground.
Events
February Half Term
The park opens for 1 week during February, this includes Thomas Land, the Zoo and selected rides. During this period, maintenance is still taking place which means that none of the thrill rides are open.
Eggs-ellent Easter
The park hosts an event in April where they hold Easter-related events, for example, an egg hunt along the course of the Polperro Express. All of the rides are open.
May Half Term
Fireworks
The park host a fireworks event each year. This also includes night time rides as people wait for the fireworks to be set off.
Drayton's Magical Christmas
The park opens in November to celebrate Christmas and also New Years. Only Thomas Land and selected rides are open during this period. Castle of Dreams also opens for this event in the old Excalibur building and houses a visit to Father Christmas.
Incidents
There have been a small number of incidents at the park over the years.
In 1988, a woman died after her sari got caught in the wheels on the original Rio Grande Polperro Express.
In 1995, 9 people were injured after a carriage of the Snake Train overturned.
In 2000, an electrician who was preparing Apocalypse for its launch 2 days later, fell 30ft from the top of the tower onto a safety hatch. He sustained a broken leg and back, and the particular incident was reconstructed in 2001 for the BBC programme 999
In 2012, a woman died from a heart attack after riding Maelstrom.
In 2017, an 11-year-old girl died from her injuries after she fell from the Splash Canyon ride and into the water.
In 2020, the February half-term opening was cancelled due to flooding related to Storm Dennis.
