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Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Family Time at Drayton Manor Park

I spent many a happy hour at Drayton Manor Park when I was younger, I remember my first time having the life scared out of me on the Shockwave and getting soaked on Storm Force 10, I remember when the Haunting opened and probably one of my favourites, beating my mates on the Wild West Shoot Out.

But now with children, going back isn't just about the thrills, its about having a fun day out with my family with rides that everyone can enjoy.  We've been a few times with them, my daughter was a about 2 last time we visited, it was then she fell in love with Rosie and Thomas. Her excitement to go back meant we were being asked if it was time to go to Thomas Land pretty much every day leading up to our visit.




With both of them now old enough and tall enough to go on everything it meant we could have a proper family day out with everyone going on the rides.  Thomas Land is ideally aimed at younger children, my son who is almost eight still thoroughly enjoyed the rides and me at a mere 21 plus a few years had equally as much fun. My 5 year old daughter absolutely loved all of it, although she was reluctant to go on the Troublesome Trucks ride to start with, after she had seen how much fun it was she was on them and enjoying them immensely.

Each of the rides offer something different, whether it is the Captains Sea Adventure which is kind of like a static river rapids, to Rocking Bulstrode who was in his own way was a bit like the pirate ship, there was something for everyone big and small.



We popped in for a bit of a blogger catch up in the VIP suites in Sodor Airport, the perfect way to warm up and have a cuppa, the VIP  rooms are really well laid out and are available for private parties. I can't imagine anything better for a child who loves Thomas and his friends than a party at Thomas Land. a day there with food, rides and an incredible view over Thomas Land.


After this we headed over to the zoo, you can take the train over to the zoo however we thought a walk would be good and we'd catch the train back. I think this is one of the reasons why we have loved Drayton Manor so much, both of our children have always loved animals and it really breaks the day up from just being all about the rides It also offers an element of calm amongst the mayhem.


As we wandered around the many enclosures it was difficult to choose a favourite animal, but I think mine has to be the endearing meerkats, my son chose everything as he is a proper animal lover, my daughter loved the parrots and my husband liked the black leopard best. There is a wonderful selection of animals for children of all ages, from the exotic, like flamingos and tigers, to more domestic animals like guinea pigs, with plenty in between.



A trip to Drayton Manor wouldn't be complete without a trip through the Dino Trail, my son was five the last time we went and he loved it then, nothing has changed and he still loved it now, he was even a little bit scared of running through them alone. It is the perfect place for a photo op and although we probably looked a little crazy we all got into the spirit and did what any normal person would do when faced with the fearsome T-Rex....run!


The children had a good half an hour play on Spencer's Outdoor Activity Park which is located next to the Dino Trail, there are a lot of picnic benches in this area so a great place to stop for some lunch. Next to the farm area of the park is the Discover Thomas Exhibition and Terence's Driving School, the kids were brilliant at the driving and there wasn't a huge queue so they had lots of fun learning to drive round the track.



After we finished walking round the zoo, we headed back on Thomas to Thomas land, a highlight for my daughter, as we chugged along back through the trees it was a welcome treat for my feet which by this point were aching. Once we arrived back at Thomas Land, we managed to squeeze in a few more rides as well as a chat with the Fat Controller, the perfect ending to the day before we headed through the gift shop and home.


Although only Thomas land was open during our visit, once the season starts properly on March the 12th, there will be plenty of thrills and spills to enjoy, with many rides for the young and old,  including the monochrome big wheel and the old faithful pirate ship.


Whatever you look for in a family day out, Drayton Manor Park is sure to have it, I shall leave you with one final momento of our day, a little video my son and husband made on the Troublesome Trucks, we all thoroughly enjoyed this ride.


NB: Thank you to Drayton Manor for inviting us to visit the park, all opinions and pictures are my own.

21 comments :

  1. Looks like you had a brilliant day out - Thomasland is great for family time x

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    1. It really is, even as an adult I loved the ride and even got a little scared on some ;)

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  2. Sounds like it was a really lovely day. The dinosaurs look fab!

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    1. We love the dinosaurs, my son has always like them and loved running away from them.

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  3. Beautiful photos! It certainly lookalike you all had a ball!

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    1. It was most definitely a fun day out, not sure who had more fun to be honest ;)

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  4. Looks like you all had a really fun day out . It seems there is lots to do for everyone.

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    1. Definitely, I have been as a child, young adult and parent and not one time have I been disappointed.

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  5. We had such a lovely day on Saturday too, I think that Drayton Manor is the perfect place for a family day out and we will definitely be going back. I love your Dino trail photo, very funny

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    1. It's not too big that you feel you spent the whole day walking and there is something to do in every corner. Thank you, we do love those dinosaurs.

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  6. You can't beat Drayton Manor for a day out with Thomas fans

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    1. I know it's great, even just the Thomas train is the thing of dreams for the kids.

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  7. My boys LOVED Thomas Land when they were younger. It is perfectly pitched at that age group and so much fun. I love that there is so much for kids to do and then the trill rides in Drayton Manor

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    1. Even the big kids (me and hubby) enjoyed the rides in Thomas Land, great for families with older and younger children.

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  8. Wow, You look as if you had a fabulous time! I love it when adults have as much fun as the children!

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    1. Makes it much easier I think, nice to be able to go on the rides with them too, there will be a time when they want to go on their own!

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  9. We were there too - it is such a great day out isn't it. Good Luck x

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    1. It really is, I am such a huge fan of Drayton Manor and always have been. So much to fit in, I think we'd need a few days there at the rate we got on :)

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  10. Love the picture of you running away from the dinosaur! Such fabulous pictures :) x

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    1. Thank you, I think that is my favourite too the kids were well into it and to be fair he was pretty scary!

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  11. We still love going and my son is 8. There's a lot to keep kids happy.

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