supersion
Mega Poster
Agreed. Something along the lines of the Disko at Plopsaland would be fantastic, but I imagine unlikely.
Drayton Manor 2022 - New Vikings Area
- Thread starter CrashCoaster
- Start date
Jared
Hyper Poster
I’m hoping this is similar to how Tripsdrill and Hansa Park work. Get the rides in, basic theming etc and then add to it for the following season. I agree it needs more rock work. Planting too seems quite bare.
Solid investment overall though. Can’t wait to see what they do next!
Solid investment overall though. Can’t wait to see what they do next!
It looks good and its definitely in the right direction for the park. I'd never expect world class themed rides and area, in a park that not long ago the only properly themed area was Thomas land. Although even Blackpool covered the base with flat artwork on a flashback, so something could be done. But it is definitely a positive step for the park!
TPoseOnTantrum
Giga Poster
Joelpagett
Mega Poster
Great little video but the music sounds very Universal Halloween Horror Nights - a bit extreme!
Lori Marie Loud
Giga Poster
I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but Coaster Chall (@Coaster Chall YouTube on here) recently posted a very interesting video about what Drayton could be receiving in 2022, as well as what could be coming in 2023:
If you don't want to watch, Chall's inside source is suggesting that:
- Drayton Manor's 2022 addition will be a Viking-themed area on the triangular plot of land near to where Vertigo and Buffalo are located named Viking Village. The addition is set to be fully revealed in March 2022
, with an opening apparently set for 1st April.
The rides installed will be a Zamperla Disk'O Coaster, a Zamperla Nebulaz and a pony ride-style attraction (think George's Dinosaur Adventure at Paultons) themed to Viking battle horses.
- As well as this, Vertigo will apparently be kept, rethemed into the area and included in park admission, and Buffalo is also being rethemed
Isn't this all very exciting? Take this with a pinch of salt, of course, but Chall's inside source within Drayton Manor has been incredibly reliable so far, correctly predicting nearly all of what happened with Adventure Cove in 2021. So for that reason, I'd say that what Chall is saying has a high chance of being true, personally!
- Away from Viking Village, markings are already being taken for a new roller coaster, and Looping Group are currently scouring for different manufacturers to build it. However, the ride is said to have 800m of track, forwards and backwards sections, and a swing launch somewhere within the ride. In terms of a location, the combined location of Apocalypse, Pandemonium and Test Track is apparently being eyed up for this coaster, and it's rumoured to be a 2023 addition, functioning as a phase 2 expansion to Viking Village. Possibly
P.S. I know you're a member on here, Chall, so if you don't want me promoting your content on your behalf, then I apologise, and I will happily remove my post.
It is apparently for sale though.Sorry, but the major rumor is 2022 will be Apocalypse's last.
JoshC.
Strata Poster
First thing first: Viking area looks great. And it seems Loki opened too, after there being some concerns it might be delayed due to nesting birds? Woo.
As for Apocalypse...
Honest opinion: I've never got the fan-hype over Apocalypse. It's not as forceful as some "smaller" towers, so it loses points there for me.
But equally, it's not "big" enough to have that intimidating height novelty. It's 'just' a drop tower with different seating configurations.
Don't get me wrong, it's a decent ride that I like. But in the context of drop towers, it's never felt like anything special to me, and I've never quite understood the pedestal it's put on by goons?
In any case, a shame that it will go, albeit not wholly surprising. I know it's almost definitely making way for the new coaster, but I wonder if the park would ever reconsider a drop tower in the future for the park..
As for Apocalypse...
Honest opinion: I've never got the fan-hype over Apocalypse. It's not as forceful as some "smaller" towers, so it loses points there for me.
But equally, it's not "big" enough to have that intimidating height novelty. It's 'just' a drop tower with different seating configurations.
Don't get me wrong, it's a decent ride that I like. But in the context of drop towers, it's never felt like anything special to me, and I've never quite understood the pedestal it's put on by goons?
In any case, a shame that it will go, albeit not wholly surprising. I know it's almost definitely making way for the new coaster, but I wonder if the park would ever reconsider a drop tower in the future for the park..
Ethan
Strata Poster
Luckily I got on Apocalypse last year, a shame it's going though. I agree that it's overhyped though, and the operations on it were terrible on my visit. No fault of the staff, they were just running one sitting side and one standing side.
The ride looks pretty shabby though I'd say, needed a lick of paint. Do we know if it was sold or if it's getting scrapped?
The ride looks pretty shabby though I'd say, needed a lick of paint. Do we know if it was sold or if it's getting scrapped?
I think in the context of "best we have in the UK", it makes sense. Coupled with a lot of nostalgia.
Matt N
CF Legend
I’m sad to be seeing Apocalypse go, as I did think it was a really good ride, but I’ll admit I join the club of those who didn’t think it entirely lived up to the hype. It was perfectly great in its own right, but even within the UK, I’ve ridden towers I liked more. I certainly like the Fabbri duo (Venom & Detonator, particularly Venom) more, from memory, and I’d also put HangOver at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland higher, even though that isn’t really a UK tower (that had the perfect storm of being both huge and forceful!).
My last and only ride was in 2018, though, and I am riding it again next week, so that might well change!
It will be missed, but I understand why it’s going. To be honest, I look forward to seeing what’s replacing it, particularly given the high likelihood of it being a cred! I think it could be something really awesome, myself!
My last and only ride was in 2018, though, and I am riding it again next week, so that might well change!
It will be missed, but I understand why it’s going. To be honest, I look forward to seeing what’s replacing it, particularly given the high likelihood of it being a cred! I think it could be something really awesome, myself!
Matt N
CF Legend
Apologies for getting around to this so late, but as some of you might know, I went to visit Drayton Manor last Thursday for a first look at the Vikings area. And I’ve got to say, it’s really nice! Let me break down each element of it individually…
The Area
The area looks really nice. The whole thing has a really nice wooden look to it, and considering that this area of the park was mostly unused land before, I think they’ve tarted it up very well! It all looks very neat, there’s lots of nice little touches around the area, and on the whole, it just looks really nice; good work, Drayton Manor! There have been a lot of comparisons with Tornado Springs at Paultons Park thrown around about this area. Do I think Vikings is as heavily themed and detailed as Tornado Springs? No. But I think it works really well as it is, and arbitrary comparisons with Tornado Springs don’t really do it justice; all of the wooden buildings, the rocks and the landscaping look lovely, and make for a very nice overall effect, and I do quite like the area soundtrack as well! I should also add that I think the new pedestrian entrance, which enters into the area, looks really nice; it’s been finished off very nicely, fits into the Vikings aesthetic surprisingly well, and I also think that it is more centrally located than Drayton’s old one, which works well. All in all, I think the area has been done very well, and works very nicely:
The Rides
During my visit, I was able to ride Thor once, Loki once, and Jormungandr four times. I’ll talk about each one individually in a short paragraph…
Thor
I was a little bit skeptical about riding my first Zamperla Disk’O, as I have quite a low spin tolerance, but I’ve got to say that it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, and I did quite enjoy it! Riding up the ends was quite fun, and even though the airtime hill in the middle didn’t really give any airtime, it was still a fun element! As I said, the ride was not as nauseating as I’d feared, and the riding position felt less weird on ride than I thought it would, as well! Theming-wise; there’s not loads going on, but the ride looks nice enough, with a nice wooden aesthetic throughout the queue line and the area, some nice shields, and a nice Viking helmet on the ride vehicle as well! Overall, I thought Thor was a fun ride, and nicely themed too:
Loki
I was intrigued to ride Loki, as it’s the UK’s first Zamperla Nebulaz, and a rather unique ride. I’ve got to say, it’s a brilliant visual centrepiece, with all the arms interacting with each other making for a very captivating display! In terms of how it rides; I thought it was… strange. It’s not the most nauseating flat ride I’ve done by any means, but I’m sorry to say that that repeated lurching sensation did make me feel a bit odd, and unlike Thor, I’d argue that this ride is perhaps more intense than it looks. It does look really cool, though, and the fact I’m not generally a flat ride person isn’t something that it can help! It’s quite nicely themed as well, with some nice shields and patterns and a generally nice wooden aesthetic to it:
Jormungandr
Unlike the other two rides, Jormungandr was not new to me; I had done it in its previous incarnation in 2018, and it’s safe to say that 2018 me would have been very surprised that I was riding it in a new Viking-themed form in 2022, as I remember making special effort to ride it in 2018 on the pretence that it was being “removed imminently”. In terms of the ride itself, I’d remembered it being a perfectly fine, if not overly remarkable, powered coaster, and my rides in 2022 very much reinforced this view; I rode it in various different rows, and while it’s no Runaway Mine Train or Alpenexpress, it does its job perfectly well, in my opinion. There are actually some moments where it gains fair speed; those helixes are good fun, as is the s-bend sequence towards the end! The ride does very much blow hot and cold pacing-wise, however, more so than I’d remembered; it feels like it’s nearly going to stall going up some of the inclines, and there’s other bits where it just sort of meanders aimlessly along straight bits of track at a speed that I dare say feels more monorail than coaster. Overall, though, I think it’s a perfectly adequate coaster for what it is; it’s perhaps showing its age a tad, but that doesn’t really matter given its role within the area and Drayton Manor at large. Also, I have got to say that I think they’ve spruced the ride up very well; the new train design is great, I love the way that the track is now framed within the entrance to the Vikings area, and I think they’ve made the queue and station look very nice, with a really nice Viking soundtrack added:
So overall, I think Vikings is a lovely area, and I think it bodes very well for Drayton Manor’s future in themed attractions! The overall finish is very nice, and there are some really nice details; I’d thoroughly recommend a visit!
In terms of my visit to Drayton Manor as a whole; it was only my second ever visit to the park, with my first being in 2018, and it was an absolute stonker of a day, with 30 rides being completed in 6 hours on park! That’s a new personal best for me ride count-wise; the park was dead, with nothing on more than a 1 or 2 cycle wait all day!
I did do a longer trip report of my whole day, but in terms of some key pointers from the day:
The Area
The area looks really nice. The whole thing has a really nice wooden look to it, and considering that this area of the park was mostly unused land before, I think they’ve tarted it up very well! It all looks very neat, there’s lots of nice little touches around the area, and on the whole, it just looks really nice; good work, Drayton Manor! There have been a lot of comparisons with Tornado Springs at Paultons Park thrown around about this area. Do I think Vikings is as heavily themed and detailed as Tornado Springs? No. But I think it works really well as it is, and arbitrary comparisons with Tornado Springs don’t really do it justice; all of the wooden buildings, the rocks and the landscaping look lovely, and make for a very nice overall effect, and I do quite like the area soundtrack as well! I should also add that I think the new pedestrian entrance, which enters into the area, looks really nice; it’s been finished off very nicely, fits into the Vikings aesthetic surprisingly well, and I also think that it is more centrally located than Drayton’s old one, which works well. All in all, I think the area has been done very well, and works very nicely:
The Rides
During my visit, I was able to ride Thor once, Loki once, and Jormungandr four times. I’ll talk about each one individually in a short paragraph…
Thor
I was a little bit skeptical about riding my first Zamperla Disk’O, as I have quite a low spin tolerance, but I’ve got to say that it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, and I did quite enjoy it! Riding up the ends was quite fun, and even though the airtime hill in the middle didn’t really give any airtime, it was still a fun element! As I said, the ride was not as nauseating as I’d feared, and the riding position felt less weird on ride than I thought it would, as well! Theming-wise; there’s not loads going on, but the ride looks nice enough, with a nice wooden aesthetic throughout the queue line and the area, some nice shields, and a nice Viking helmet on the ride vehicle as well! Overall, I thought Thor was a fun ride, and nicely themed too:
Loki
I was intrigued to ride Loki, as it’s the UK’s first Zamperla Nebulaz, and a rather unique ride. I’ve got to say, it’s a brilliant visual centrepiece, with all the arms interacting with each other making for a very captivating display! In terms of how it rides; I thought it was… strange. It’s not the most nauseating flat ride I’ve done by any means, but I’m sorry to say that that repeated lurching sensation did make me feel a bit odd, and unlike Thor, I’d argue that this ride is perhaps more intense than it looks. It does look really cool, though, and the fact I’m not generally a flat ride person isn’t something that it can help! It’s quite nicely themed as well, with some nice shields and patterns and a generally nice wooden aesthetic to it:
Jormungandr
Unlike the other two rides, Jormungandr was not new to me; I had done it in its previous incarnation in 2018, and it’s safe to say that 2018 me would have been very surprised that I was riding it in a new Viking-themed form in 2022, as I remember making special effort to ride it in 2018 on the pretence that it was being “removed imminently”. In terms of the ride itself, I’d remembered it being a perfectly fine, if not overly remarkable, powered coaster, and my rides in 2022 very much reinforced this view; I rode it in various different rows, and while it’s no Runaway Mine Train or Alpenexpress, it does its job perfectly well, in my opinion. There are actually some moments where it gains fair speed; those helixes are good fun, as is the s-bend sequence towards the end! The ride does very much blow hot and cold pacing-wise, however, more so than I’d remembered; it feels like it’s nearly going to stall going up some of the inclines, and there’s other bits where it just sort of meanders aimlessly along straight bits of track at a speed that I dare say feels more monorail than coaster. Overall, though, I think it’s a perfectly adequate coaster for what it is; it’s perhaps showing its age a tad, but that doesn’t really matter given its role within the area and Drayton Manor at large. Also, I have got to say that I think they’ve spruced the ride up very well; the new train design is great, I love the way that the track is now framed within the entrance to the Vikings area, and I think they’ve made the queue and station look very nice, with a really nice Viking soundtrack added:
So overall, I think Vikings is a lovely area, and I think it bodes very well for Drayton Manor’s future in themed attractions! The overall finish is very nice, and there are some really nice details; I’d thoroughly recommend a visit!
In terms of my visit to Drayton Manor as a whole; it was only my second ever visit to the park, with my first being in 2018, and it was an absolute stonker of a day, with 30 rides being completed in 6 hours on park! That’s a new personal best for me ride count-wise; the park was dead, with nothing on more than a 1 or 2 cycle wait all day!
I did do a longer trip report of my whole day, but in terms of some key pointers from the day:
- Apocalypse is a great ride, but very much gives off the impression that it’s limping to the finish line. Only one sit-down tower was operating; the other 4 looked completely broken, and as though they hadn’t operated in some time. It is a really great tower, though; I’ve never quite gotten the hype for it, but it does still provide an awesome gut punch, and it will certainly be missed!
- Adventure Cove, the other recent area, also looks lovely, with some very vibrant colours throughout and a nice soundtrack that feels almost like WWTP Radio from Amity Cove at Thorpe Park! I was somewhat disappointed with Adventure Cove River Rapids, however; I came off it absolutely bone dry, and while I accept that I could have ridden it on an off-day, the opportunities for wetness were minimal. It was drier than both Congo River Rapids and Rumba Rapids, by my reckoning, which surprised me. It is a nice relaxing ride to sit down on, though, and it looks very nice, so I probably shouldn’t be so harsh!
- The Haunting is very impressive! The story is very well told, and the attraction has a surprisingly dark, foreboding tone throughout; as someone who is quite easily scared, I was legitimately somewhat unnerved by it!
- Shockwave seems to have gotten a fair bit rougher, with some nasty ear bashing present in quite a few sections; I had a sore ear for a good few days after my visit. I maintain that I don’t find the standup riding position that bad, however, and that zero-g roll is a truly epic inversion!
- Stormforce 10’s backwards drop is a real soaker! The initial drop and the final drop aren’t too bad, but the backwards drop got me fairly drenched! I have no idea why that second drop is such a soaker compared to the other two…
Tonkso
Hyper Poster
I visited yesterday, which was my first visit since the takeover by Looping.
The new Vikings area is quite good, the theming isn't as high standard as what they achieved in previous lands but is nice and will bed in well once the plants grow over the next couple of seasons.
I'd like to have seen the disk-o themed more on the ends like in other parks, but I appreciate what the park has done with the funds available (maybe if things go well they can revisit it?). The ride itself is one of the more forceful of its kind, I got the impression they'd turned it up to 11, no complaints from me.
The Nebulaz is a strange ride, but actually really forceful. I found myself wanting Merlin to bring one into each of their parks as a cheap filler attraction, I imagined one themed to some loose tentacles the Nemesis monster managed to get free or something. Anyway, a solid addition to their line up, genuinely a really good investment on their part.
Buffalo is on its last legs, I felt as if the retheme was more of a temporary thing whilst the park saves up for something new, but it drew a decent queue so maybe they'll keep it going a bit longer?
I didn't do the Horse thing, but it had a decent queue of family groups so it's doing the job.
We had a hot dog and a jacket potato from this area. The hot dogs on the fire pit were a nice thematic addition to the land, and actually quite tasty. The secondary spend is more expensive than it used to be however, so be warned about that.
Outside of the Vikings area, the park is looking an odd mix of tidy (adventure cove, recently redone) and tired. I think they're planning on refreshing the whole park eventually, with Adventure Cove and Vikings forming phases 1 and 2 of those plans. I'd like to see a coaster for the 2024 season, but let's wait and see. We skipped Thomas Land on this visit but it looked in good shape.
Stormforce is still exceptional, the rapids has been nerfed to nothingness (okay, I do understand why), and unfortunately sits in the 'crapids' category now, Maelstrom is exceptional and Air Race is still a good laugh. Drunken Barrels is still the best teacups ride out there and I'm willing to die on that hill.
The class of '94 legend is riding a bit rough these days, oh in a perfect world they'd buy a set of Surf Coaster trains if compatible. They were also only running one train.
One thing though, why did they get rid of the app? There's no waiting times around the park either so you're really doing the park blind now. It seems inconceivable that in 2022 a park would drop it's app and go back to paper map only, without even a queue times board or queue times at the ride entrance.
The new Vikings area is quite good, the theming isn't as high standard as what they achieved in previous lands but is nice and will bed in well once the plants grow over the next couple of seasons.
I'd like to have seen the disk-o themed more on the ends like in other parks, but I appreciate what the park has done with the funds available (maybe if things go well they can revisit it?). The ride itself is one of the more forceful of its kind, I got the impression they'd turned it up to 11, no complaints from me.
The Nebulaz is a strange ride, but actually really forceful. I found myself wanting Merlin to bring one into each of their parks as a cheap filler attraction, I imagined one themed to some loose tentacles the Nemesis monster managed to get free or something. Anyway, a solid addition to their line up, genuinely a really good investment on their part.
Buffalo is on its last legs, I felt as if the retheme was more of a temporary thing whilst the park saves up for something new, but it drew a decent queue so maybe they'll keep it going a bit longer?
I didn't do the Horse thing, but it had a decent queue of family groups so it's doing the job.
We had a hot dog and a jacket potato from this area. The hot dogs on the fire pit were a nice thematic addition to the land, and actually quite tasty. The secondary spend is more expensive than it used to be however, so be warned about that.
Outside of the Vikings area, the park is looking an odd mix of tidy (adventure cove, recently redone) and tired. I think they're planning on refreshing the whole park eventually, with Adventure Cove and Vikings forming phases 1 and 2 of those plans. I'd like to see a coaster for the 2024 season, but let's wait and see. We skipped Thomas Land on this visit but it looked in good shape.
Stormforce is still exceptional, the rapids has been nerfed to nothingness (okay, I do understand why), and unfortunately sits in the 'crapids' category now, Maelstrom is exceptional and Air Race is still a good laugh. Drunken Barrels is still the best teacups ride out there and I'm willing to die on that hill.
The class of '94 legend is riding a bit rough these days, oh in a perfect world they'd buy a set of Surf Coaster trains if compatible. They were also only running one train.
One thing though, why did they get rid of the app? There's no waiting times around the park either so you're really doing the park blind now. It seems inconceivable that in 2022 a park would drop it's app and go back to paper map only, without even a queue times board or queue times at the ride entrance.
Tonkso
Hyper Poster
Also, this is pretty much a copy-paste from something I posted elsewhere, but I felt the need to post here too.
I had to speak up at Drayton Manor yesterday, we were exploring the zoo area and found ourselves in their Tamarin enclosures, and a group of young lads were vaping in there. Vaping, in the animal enclosures. I don't claim to be an expert in Tamarin respiratory systems but I can tell you that wont be good for them (or anyone else in there, to be honest), so I spoke up.
Yeah, they didn't take it well. "Mind your own business", "What's it got to do with you?", "I do what I want" etc. Utter selfishness, you don't need to see a sign (there were signs) to know you shouldn't smoke or vape in an animal enclosure, also it IS everyone's business as everyone else around them has to breathe in their ****ty vape clouds. It begs belief that these lads has such little respect that they thought it was acceptable to vape there, and the indignation when someone calls them out on their ****ty behaviour.
The funny thing is, once the exchange was over, they kept shouting over at us some bull****, we just ignored them. That pissed them off even more.
Unfortunately there were no members of staff about to have them thrown out.
I had to speak up at Drayton Manor yesterday, we were exploring the zoo area and found ourselves in their Tamarin enclosures, and a group of young lads were vaping in there. Vaping, in the animal enclosures. I don't claim to be an expert in Tamarin respiratory systems but I can tell you that wont be good for them (or anyone else in there, to be honest), so I spoke up.
Yeah, they didn't take it well. "Mind your own business", "What's it got to do with you?", "I do what I want" etc. Utter selfishness, you don't need to see a sign (there were signs) to know you shouldn't smoke or vape in an animal enclosure, also it IS everyone's business as everyone else around them has to breathe in their ****ty vape clouds. It begs belief that these lads has such little respect that they thought it was acceptable to vape there, and the indignation when someone calls them out on their ****ty behaviour.
The funny thing is, once the exchange was over, they kept shouting over at us some bull****, we just ignored them. That pissed them off even more.
Unfortunately there were no members of staff about to have them thrown out.