Attractions

Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas Review

Drayton ManorDrayton Manor’s
Magical Christmas

www.draytonmanor.co.uk

Reviewed by Jane Hunt M.B.E

As a theme park, Drayton Manor is great. Family owned, it has grown year on year and although it’s not as big as the likes of Alton Towers it really does compete very well.

A few years ago, the children’s area was totally revamped, the old rides were dismantled and replaced by a superb collection of Thomas themed rides and attractions known as Thomas Land which has delighted thousands of kids, including my own son who has grown up visiting here.

He’s now 9 and has started to build his confidence on the bigger, more thrilling rides so our summertime’s are often spent waiting in countless queues to try all the rides he’s tall enough to go on.

But at Christmas, down at Drayton Manor something magical happens. The main park isn’t open during the winter, but Thomas Land comes to life in a magical and unique way.

These are my tips to making the best of your day at Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas.

Rides open at 10.30am, but don’t worry about getting there too early as there’s plenty of parking and there won’t be crowds to battle through. If you don’t already have your Santa’s grotto booked, go straight to guest services located by the amusement arcade to get a time slot.

Quick tip: Hopefully you won’t need it but this is a good, centrally placed designated lost child point, encourage your little ones to know how to get here should they get lost, as all lost kids will be looked after here anyway.

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Even if they’re fully booked you could get lucky with a Grotto cancelation as we did. It costs £5 per person (adults included) and the children get a present from Santa. It’s quite a nice present too, my son was pleased with his, and it came with a Golden Ticket – a free entry voucher for kids in 2015 so I would recommend this. I must add that it’s more than a Santa’s grotto, it’s a real Santa experience, when queuing to meet the man himself, you’re met by various elves who chat away to the kids with lots of enthusiasm about what they want for Christmas. My son, bless him said all he wanted was snow for Christmas and the elves and Santa seemed a little stumped at this but Santa promised he’d do his best so we’ll see! Leaving Santa you can buy a photo, we chose a bauble with the photo of my son and Santa. It costs £10 and made a lovely memento, plus it comes with a digital download so you can keep the photo forever more too. After picking up your photo gift, the kids can then make Christmas decorations with the help of some in-character princesses. Lovely.

So back to the park… once you have your grotto time slot sorted, it’s time for the rides. Really you should just start at the entrance and work your way around, my son LOVES the troublesome trucks so we spent some considerable time getting off and running round to go on again, the great thing about the main park being closed is that you don’t get the crowds so you don’t have to wait long for the rides. On a few rides – especially towards the end of the day there were no queues at all so we were able to stay on without getting off. This was great!

Once you’ve exhausted the rides in Thomas Land you can venture out, although the main park isn’t open there is plenty more to keep you entertained. You do have some other rides; the dodgems, the flying Dutchman, the big wheel and of course Ben 10 which is the big thriller for kids, they love it. In the summer we have queued for over an hour but at Christmas we were practically straight on!

Once you’ve done these rides you can check the times for the 4D cinema which is an abridged version of the Polar Express, 4D is amazing and well worth the experience for all ages. By this time you might want to consider the zoo before it gets dark, you have plenty to see in there and it’s all lit up too, so grab a hot chocolate with marshmallows or even better, the hot apple and cinnamon drink and take a walk in through the gates. After meeting the tigers, black panther, reptile house and more you’ll eventually reach the other end where the Dino trail lives, and the adventure playground, which is one of the biggest in the area and you’ll have to prise your kids off it.

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In this area there’s Mrs Kindley’s tea room along with some rides for the smaller kids, and a Thomas Museum tucked away at the back too which is worth a look. You can then hop on a train and be sat in Annie or Clarabel and be pulled by Thomas or Percy back to Knapford Station which is back in the heart of Thomas Land. It’s lovely to do this when after dusk when the lights show up, all snuggled up in the carriage watching the lights is marvellous. If you time it right you can arrive back just before the hour in time to watch the show at the station where the Fat Controller appears with elves and his station master to provide a 10 minute show of songs, finished off with snow – yes we know it’s fake snow but it all makes for a fabulous festive atmosphere.

If you have time after all that pop over to the ice skating rink. It costs £2 for 15 minutes which includes skate hire and the kids can have a whizz around. It’s not real ice – it’s a clever plastic that looks and feels like ice but isn’t so cold and hard, and although there was lots of tumbling, the kids clearly had lots of fun.

At the end of the day you’ll be treated to a firework display from the castle (where the grotto is) but you can see it from all over, but I’d recommend making your way over to the castle for the best view before heading home.

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There’s loads of places to grab lunch, a snack or drinks. Whatever you want it really is catered for. Staff are always friendly and helpful and often dressed in character, this year we met Santa surrounded by elves and helpers, my son was delighted to get a hi-five from him. That in itself really makes Christmas magical let alone the whole experience and even in November it’s given our Christmas season a great start.

Rating: 5/5 thumbs_up

Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas runs until 31 December 2014. Tickets cost from £5 to £20 (if booked online). For more details or to book tickets click here or call 0844 472 1950. Ice Skating is charged extra on the day.

Drayton Manor Park, Near Tamworth, Staffordshire, B78 3TW | 0844 472 1950

5Star

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