Draytonmanor Reviews 

We Went To Drayton Manor ( Tamworth) For My Partners Birthday. Went To Get On The Shockwave Just To Be Told There Having "Technical Difficulties" Will Be Open Later, Went Back To That Ride Over 2 Hours Later, Waited In The Queue For Over And Hour Just To Be Told " Technical Difficulties" AGAIN, So We Had To Wait Longer. 3 Times We Were Told "Technical Difficulties" Ridiculous, Waste Of Time. Then We Queued Again On Storm Force To Be Told "Technical Difficulties " On That Ride To, My Partners Birthday Was Ruined, He Was Fed Up And Wanted To Go Home. The Main 2 Rides He Wanted To Go On Just To Be Told Technical Difficulties" After Making People Wait For Over An Hour, We Left Drayton Manor After That, I Brought 3 Tickets To Have Fun, Instead Left Angry, Fed Up, And Waste Of Money. NEVER Will We Return There, NEVER Will We Talk Anyone To Go Either, Will Tell People To Go To Alton Towers.

Got on 3 rides. Viking land rides all closed , the wave, closed , waited an hour for 4d cinema, no one operating the venue. Gold rush kept breaking down, queued 3 times. £32 for 2 burger meals , took over half an hour to get my meal . Queued for 2 hours for storm force 10 as it kept breaking down and sometimes 3 or 5 riders were allowed on an 8 man boat of which there were only 4. Restaurants and drink stations closed. Children operating rides. All for £72 for 2 .
Please don't waste your time and money, you have been warned.

Where do I start?

The unprofessional, poorly trained staff? The dirty, dusty, cobweb covered rides and attractions, assuming that they are actually working (1/3 of the "Thrill Rides" weren't)? The serious lack of ride signage (both directions to and wait times once queuing)?

Had the option to go here or to other nearby attractions, and made the ENORMOUS mistake of choosing here. NEVER AGAIN! You now couldn't pay me to return!

Then, when I complained to "Guest Services" was told "sorry no refunds!" Surely, if something is faulty, and not up to standard, you should be able to claim a refund???

Was told to fill in the complaints form on their website, only to discover that there isn't one, just a link that opens a blank email! Seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up! This place makes Faulty Towers seem well run!

As my 1* Trip Advisor says "American Adventure in the making".....

Overpriced tickets long wait for rides expensive food and drinks won’t come again

Drayton Manor is the biggest scam. I warn you all NOT TO BOOK. First of all, the only way to efficiently enjoy rides is to buy an overpriced dissatisfactory fast pass that ONLY caters to the rich. A pass to go on unlimited rides is £100+?! I may as well could have sold my limbs to buy the food there. Secondly, the map is a literal labyrinth of mayhem. The signs for the toilet were far too ambiguous!! I almost urinated in my own garments!!!!!!!!!!!! The lines deliberately deceive you to appear shorter, this is consumer fraud. All the thrill ride lines take over an hour to get on to. This greedy company only wants your money, for your own happiness, DO NOT BOOK. I'm deeply ashamed to have to make this review, but I wish somebody warned me of the terrible service.

Went to Drayton Manor for afternoon tea with family and friends on Wednesday and any sister was very poorly on the Wednesday evening my sister in law and my Self had very upset stomach ache.l will never go there again

This is the worst theme park ever. They have good rides but the service is so slow you can only ride 2 a day,the queues go on and on and on. Coming from Paulton's it was a big downfall

I visited Drayton Manor for the Halloween event in October 2023. As a theme park enthusiast, I came to Drayton Manor to ride Shockwave before it would ultimately become a sit-down coaster for the 2024 season. However, there had been a problem with the lift the other night and riders had to be evacuated. Me, not knowing this, came to the park buzzing to ride Shockwave (which would be my first stand up coaster). Sadly though, they could not open it until a few days later so I never got to experience it in it's stand-up form, very disappointed. But I do understand that the park have worked really well to maintain this ride.

I though that the park had some great themed rides (Accelerator, River Rapids) and the best flat rides in the country (Maelstrom, Thor, Loki). As it was cold (Typical English Autumn Weather), when I rode StormForce 10 I was drenched in freezing water - the most hilarious (and un-hilarious) thing ever. My overall expectations of this park was exceeded! I am dying to go back to Brave the Wave and explore frontier falls.

Before I end this review I want to mention the pricing (the day ticket is pretty cheap for such an awesome place). I bought a Gold fast-pass (5 rides) for £35. I used it on Loki, Thor, Maelstrom and Accelerator twice. I think it is a really good system as you get a wristband with the colour of the fast-pass (i.e. 3 ride fast-pass would be silver). Then, when you would get to the front of the fast queue, the ride operator would take a tab off. This review however would be 5 stars if it were not for Shockwave's unfortunate closure.

So, today, brought my grandson from the south coast for Thomas Land , 2 rides out of commission, another broke down, the whole pace is very grubby, and every way they could grab extra money, they did, extra £3 each as it’s half term,£6 to park extra to fast track rides and then the kids queue for 45 minutes and 3 people from the queue get on and 10 fast track people which is really unfair on the little ones, £3.60for a black coffee in a cardboard cup and the food at all the outlets was exorbitant ( eg. a small plain burger £9.90 ). One good thing was the lady running the Emily’s play adventure soft play area was Brilliant.
Compared to Paultons Park with Peppa Pig Land , Paultons was superb - spotless , fixed prices free parking and very reasonable food prices.Go there instead

DO NOT BUY THE FASS PASS!
We went as a family of 4 for my son’s birthday in April. As we were planning on going on a Saturday we thought it would be a good idea to buy 2 gold fass passes as we were taking 2 pre teen boys so we didn’t want them to be waiting longer than necessary.
The park is not really aimed at teenagers or adults but it was ok for what we wanted for the day. We got there early so we didn’t need to use the passes until the afternoon when the bigger rides started to get queues.
To use the fast passes we were told to go to go to the exit of the ride. The first ride we tried we were ignored for the first 2 go around when my husband talked to the attendant, he was told that it didn’t matter as the normal queue has been waiting longer. The 2nd ride we were told the same thing. The third ride we were completed ignored for 15 minutes before the boys just decided to join the normal queue. Considering we paid £50 each for these passes and you can’t get on any rides?

After putting in a complain this is what we got back:

((Thank you for taking the time to contact us, I would like to apologise for the upset caused to you.

I am saddened to read the conventional queue line were being prioritised over the fast track and easy access queue line; our ride attendants do have the responsibility of queue management. As part of this they do have to ensure they’re loading the conventional, fast track and easy access queue fairly. We do state in the terms and conditions under the fast pass that the service does not guarantee access on to the attraction instantly and delays may be possible.

The Park Operations manager will however, speak with his team collectively and further training will be offered to ensure that the queue lines are being loaded fairly. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

It’s never the intention of the resort to leave our guests feeling disappointed by any aspect of their visit and I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for the upset caused to you ))

I understand that we wouldn’t get instant access but surly they were meant to be faster than the normal queue? And in one case we didn’t get access at all?? False advertising so don’t waste your money on the fast pass system as it doesn’t work. Will be taking this further

We went as a family of 4 with kids being 8 and 10 years, had a fantastic time !!! The rides were all operational and the longest queue was about 30 minutes. We stayed overnight and the hotel was clean and food reasonably priced.
The staff on the rides were friendly and made you feel welcome. A great short break.

Got here today an no older rides are in operation for a teenager an adults £146
No refunds offered despite being here hardley any time an realising just how bad it is. Unless you physically hunt on the website no warnings are shown on paying AVOID UNLESS YOUNG KIDS RIP OFF

Stood here in the queue at 9.30..Opened gates at 9.50 to be told hotel customers are allowed in at 10am everyone else who has paid not allowed in until 10.30, got two young children absolutely disgraceful. On our last visit we were allowed in at 9.30 to go to the zoo then the rides afterwards...Will not be returning.

Half the rides we went for were closed. The zoo is more of a farm. My son has autism and lives in supported living. So had to pay full whack. Not worth £74.

Stayed at the hotel on site. Food prices extortionate and horrific service. Were not let early into the park as meant to be part of the price. Then none of the big rides were open. Half the shops and food places shut in the park. Very bored kids. Waste of time and waste of money. Massive disappointment and fraudulent as their Facebook page is still stating today that all rides except the shockwave are open. LIARS

NOT FOR DISABLED
Although informing you of having partnered with whatever to provide service for the disabled, they put you through a lengthy and embarrassing questionnaire.
These people have forgotten the basics; disabled people shouldn't be put through screening and else. Their questionnaire ended up being a breach of the Equality ACT. 2010; it is far too personal and embarrassing.
If you are disabled, avoid going there until they are back to the proper legal system.

I loved the warm welcome by the receptions who checked us in but the room was dated with the pull out bed being very lumpy which having driven for hours was not appreciated. The hotel was clean. The food totally lovely. However the toast took so long for a picky eater that our breakfast table had been cleaned before we got back to carry on eating. I'd even said please don't clear this we are still eating which was disappointing. The staff were lovely though and the lady apologied and was clearly embarrassed. The overall experience was good but Drayton needs a bit of paint and the maintenance is still ongoing. Basically we were told to come back at the end of March. Most things were not open and not one ride open in the viking section. Overall having paid £90 for 2 of us the zoo was the best part and even my daughter was saying I would ask for your money back. Somewhat disappointed. The hotel was clean. Definitely security conscious and a good visit. The room had all that we needed. The dinner at the restaurant and the room service was definitely a winner. The main bed was fine.

jack m from burger was really nice and polite thank you for making my day and cheering up my son x

What an absolute s**t show. Pre booked tickets for 6 adults and 3 children which I'm surprised didn't force Wonga payday loans to come back into buisness.
We qued to get into the carpark due to 3 lanes turning into 1 at the barriers and it turning into an absolute free for all. We finally parked up and then had to queue for an hour just to get into the park. There was no organisation or any sign of a member of staff in sight. At the gates it was once again a s**t show with people in front of us having tickets scanned twice because no one knew what was going on? We also saw a family that decided to walk the entire length of the queue push straight to the ticket office and be allowed to scan their tickets straight away without being stuck in the queue...
Went on 2 rides and all was well. Then we made our way to see Santa in his grotto for our allocated time of 14.48. HOLY MINCE PIE was there a massive queue. We waited for around 30 mins untill we decided to take the kids out as they didn't deserve to wait around. We then spoke to people who had been waiting around for 2 hours... That's outrageous and we decided to sack it off. Drayton Manor are trying to pass this off as a technical difficulty now but that is lies as it's just rediculously poor organisation.
The girl on the hook (net) a duck was aweful. Clearly could not interact appropriately with children. She was rude, moody and clearly didn't want to be there. Our kids felt very rushed to choose a prize and we pretty much paid £6 a go just to make the children upset. I don't wish anyone to lose their jobs ever. But this one doesn't deserve to be there.
A lovely lady that was running a ride had to tell people she was shutting the ride for 5 mins whilst she went to the toilet. She had been waiting for over 45 mins to be covered for a toilet break but no one came. No one should be having to resort to closing a ride while they run to the toilet and this brings Amazon staff treatment vibes with it.
Went to Rory's show and it was fine and FINALLY a bit of fun for the kids.
We went to get onto the Thomas train and the gate got shut on my 9 year old niece after her mom, dad and sister were let through. She burst into tears and then was told she would come back and let her in soon. I couldn't believe this actually happened. We eventually got let on and continued to wait an awful long time for the train to actually set off with several kids getting on board and wanting to get off.
Went to Santa's grotto finally at about 6.30pm as we thought the queue had gone down. Turns out we would still be inside queing for about an hour. Putting a shop in the middle of the queue is outrageous and definitely won't of helped the problems. In the write a letter to Santa room the elves were stood in a huddle not interacting with anyone. Instead they were just talking about personal lives and where they like going out to drink. What was the point on them being there? We finally got to the grotto after more queing and the elves that directed us to Santa were great! Finally something good. They were a credit to you and must of had a really really hard day with people moaning. Santa was also great and must be outsourced because I have no hope for any Drayton manor staff after this day. Turns out after all this the children get a bulk order Santa lollipop... Imagine queing for 3 hours for that. How underwhelming.
The end of show was underwhelming. There was a very small crowd left at this point and everyone looked fed up. The whole show was about Santa promising he was going to show up... Then he didn't... Unbelievable. Mrs Clause was trying to point out that he was flying in the sky but everyone was looking up confused. Apparently there was a little sleigh light that you could only see if you were in the right position. Luckily an airplane was in the sky so some children spotted that and the parents got away with an awkward conversation.

I could go on but instead I'm just going to say I won't be going back next year or again. If you have purchased tickets then I highly recommend you get refunds and go elsewhere before you have really disappointed children.

What a s**tshow!

We visited yesterday 25th Nov for the first Santa's enchanted grotto experience. We were a group of 9, with 3 children age 9, 8 and 5. The whole day was disappointing from the start. We waited an hour in a huge queue to get in the park, children becoming restless and upset, the car park was disorganised with 3 lanes quickly diverting into 1 lane which was chaos. I didn't see any staff helping in the car park or the queue to get in e.g. Keeping people updated or helping the queue flow faster. At the enterence gate staff had no organisation at all for scanning tickets with some people having tickets scanned twice as staff were not communicating. People were also observed skipping the queue if they were buying tickets at the box office so they were able to get in faster.... whats the point in having pre paid tickets if we have to wait in the huge queue! The queue for santas grotto was horrendous with comments from other people stating they were waiting 2 hours to get in. How can you expect small children to wait that long in the queue in the freezing cold with no sight of a member of staff to help. What's the point in having an allocated time for santa as our slot was 14.48 and we didn't even get to see santa until 7.20pm as the queues were awful. The layout of santas grotto didn't help the queues as they have placed a giftshop at the start which clearly disrupted the queue for santa, as people were holding the queue up if they were purchasing things and then the letters to santa again disrupted the queue flow. We waited an hour when in this area before reaching santa! Surely it makes sense to have these activities and the shop after santa or completely seperate. The whole day was a queue after queue with us adults becoming frustrated nevermind our children who had enough of the queues very quickly. We didn't even have time for a meal or a rest. We had to get dinner after leaving the park at 8.30pm at McDonald's as there was simply no time in between queuing for the very few experiences we manged to fit in. We missed out on rides and the zoo which we were upset about.
Also the staff in the grotto who were dressed as elves near the santa letter writing area were standing around in a group talking to each other about their personal lives and it definitely seemed like they couldn't be bothered to be there or interact with the children. Also a young girl on the hook a duck activity opposite the Christmas tree was very blunt, rude and tried to rush our children to choose their winning prize. This was very disappointing and upset one of our girls. It seemed some some of the decorations were not finished e.g. Star on top of the tree was missing with huge gaps of lights and the small Christmas tree lights near the Thomas train ride were not switched on. There were even shop labels left on some in the grotto! One of our children found a large nail on the floor in the park which we moved incase a small child picked it up. Also it was sad to hear one of the members of staff having to shut a ride for 5 mins and run to the toilet as she had previously called for cover 45 mins ago for said toilet break. Clearly speaks volumes about how they treat staff! We tried to discuss our concerns on the day but again there was a massive queue for guest services which highlights how bad the day was yesterday. No way was this a technical issue Drayton Manor! - more like terrible organisation!! Very disappointing start to our Christmas! We definitely will not be returning and recommend families to go elsewhere!