We visit Drayton Manor every year, it’s amazing how much they grow each year and how much more the kiddies can go on. Last year the children enjoyed the smaller rides and they looked so little too. This year the children could go on a lot more and we had fun going on the big kid rides.
We got to Drayton Manor around about 11:30am, we left at 6pm on the dot and in that time we managed to squeeze in 8 rides. There was only one ride that had a really long queue and that was the Buffalo Coaster, where we queued for about an hour. We took a picnic and we ate it in the queues, it helped to pass the time. The children were really patient throughout the day, which was great. Some of the rides had lots to see, for example the Accelerator ride.
Drayton Manor
The rides we went on as a family, these are the rides that Isla and Noah could go on (due to height restrictions of 1.05m): Accelerator, Buffalo Coaster, Jolly Buccaneer, James and the red balloon, Troublesome Trucks, Polperro Express and the Carousel. After we had done those 7 rides, we went back and jumped on the Accelerator as that was the children’s favourite ride. Then Mummy ran over to the pirate ship just before 6pm as that is her favourite ride and I managed to walk right on which was fabulous. 
It was lovely seeing the children having so much fun, they really enjoyed the thrill rides and so did us grown ups. There is something to be said for seeing them so happy. I loved hearing Isla squeak with excitement on the Accelerator ride. She had the biggest grin the entire time. The ride goes quite high up and then zooms you round a bend. Once you zoomed around the bend it returns, backwards, and you go backwards to the start. It’s fast and great fun. She had the same happy face around the Buffalo Coaster too. It made me feel so happy.
Thomasland
We went over to Thomasland to see the new ride: James and the red balloon. The baskets can fit one adult and 2 children in them and they go round and round, but the basket also spins too. The children loved it, especially as they could spin Daddy around. Daddy did look quite sea sick when he got off the ride, but they had a lot of fun.
We had a little walk around Thomasland, Noah loves his trains but they were very happy to go on the big kid rides today. So we had a balance of both parts of the theme park. Isla had her first time on Troublesome Trucks, she loved it. Noah and Isla both loved it. I love Noah’s face from his go on the rollercoaster:
You can check the rides on the Drayton Manor website, where you can see the details for the rides and work out what your children are OK to ride on whilst you are there. They have a fabulous offer on for bank holiday if you book now, see the Drayton Manor website: www.draytonmanor.co.uk.
Disclaimer – we received free tickets for Drayton Manor in exchange for our opinions.
Please note – The water rides were all closed due to them being updated/upgraded. It’s a shame but safety is far more important to us than going on the rides.
