Draytonmanor Reviews 

Pros: The pizza at Safari Pizza & Pasta
Cons: The wasps

Arrived just after opening, collected our tickets and went straight in.

Park was a lot smaller than I remembered but everything was in walking distance.

Lots of fairground style games with lots of shouts from staff which was a little off putting at times.

We were there to visit Thomas land and noticed that storm force 10 and shockwave wasn't operational until early afternoon.

Thomas land was lots of fun for our little one and she really enjoy her day.

The big positive for us was the food at Safari Pizza & Pasta. Would recommend as very good for theme park food.

The big con was the number of wasps and full bins around.

In addition, there was very odd height requirements for some rides and would suggest that Drayton Manor perhaps make clear to guests why a little person could go on one of the bigger rides such as Accelerator but not on a smaller, slower coaster like Jormungandr? Really odd.

Overall, a fairly nice day out let down by untidy park, wasps and poor/lack of information.

We paid £107 to come and visit today. Unfortunately our experience was most definitely not as expected. We predominantly came today to visit Thomas Land, unfortunately when we arrived about 11:30 4 rides was closed there. Meaning that the little one couldn’t do a lot of the other rides due to the queues being longer as rides were shut.
 Don’t bother buying food there you will be wasting your money. £14.50 for a burger meal to be served cold.
It was very obvious you was short staffed and the staff you did have on today were teenagers who clearly did not want to be there. All the money that people spend on tickets, food etc is clearly not going back into the park itself as the toilets was disgusting and not clean. The stall games are rigged so you can’t win and overpriced. For it to be a bank holiday weekend and to have the amount of rides shut as you did you would expect a better level of service. As a whole the day was shocking and will DEFINITELY NOT be returning again!!

Paid £66 for two adults and a 9 year old, Inc parking, for the Summer Nights over the bank holiday weekend. Arrived at around 4pm, no queue to get in. Maximum queue time was about 30 minutes, we managed to get on about 6 rides whilst we were there. The rides last about a minute each, I wouldn't say any were worth queuing for. Expect to do lots of walking.

Some tips if you go:
- Avoid the "throw a ball in the bucket to win" carnival games that are dotted about the place. They are rigged to not let anyone win (unless you find a way to defy the laws of physics) and are extortionately priced
- Take a pack-up. The food is expencive and really not very good, cold and small portions.
- Don't waste your time with the zoo, a couple of poor sad animals in tiny cages just came away making me feel sorry for them.
- If you want to go on stormforce 10, take a change of clothes with you. You don't just get a bit wet, you get drenched. Like someone had tipped a bath over you.

Overall an okay ish evening, my 9 year old had fun. Its just expencive and feels a bit tatty and unloved. The staff are mainly kids who couldn't care less. It doesn't feel very clean, clearly no money is being spent on essentials like toilets, seating areas, etc. I'd probably recommend Altern Towers over Drayton Manor.

Last Sunday, both Shockwave and Stormforce 10 were closed all day. Seems incredible that they are willing to close two massive attractions on an August weekend. As a result, the queues for other rides were long. We decided against a one-hour wait for Accelerator. But the most irritating things were the fairground-style stalls, one charging £3 for two balls to knock over clearly weighted tin cans. The prizes were knock-off stuffed Minecraft characters. They were dirty, saggy and poorly made. Same with all the other stalls. It was the worst kind of shoddy rubbish you'd expect at a travelling fair, not a supposedly major theme park charging £45 for a ticket. If your kid is a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan (ours isn't), it may just be worth it for the large Thomasland section. Otherwise, avoid. P.S. There are wasps EVERYWHERE.

I don't even know where to start but we had the most amazing day. My 4 yr old grandson is autistic so days out are few as he doesn't cope well socially and quickly becomes over stimulated but we planned a family day 8 adults 10 kids, enough of us to keep him occupied outside the park or take him home if needed. We hadn't been there long when a lion and Viking walked by as we were sat on a bench. My grandson showed some interest as the lion waved and this lion was remarkable whoever was in that costume approached him they high fived, that brought tears to my eyes and then the lion knelt down and eventually sat beside him and sat with him for a good 5 minutes or more. The interaction was beautiful for us as a family to see. After this our day was everything we hoped for the kids enjoyed all the rides. My only gripe would be the new layout for the rapids the shower at the end is not necessary but it was a rare hot day! We will be returning in a couple of wks and if our next visit is as successful we will purchase annual passes as we all felt we have found the ideal place for my grandson to be able to enjoy himself and have experiences he shouldn't miss out on. Thank you to ALL the staff we encountered for their patience, understanding we had a brilliant day. See you all again very soon

Literally the worst day we have experienced at a theme park!!

We first went get our tickets as we had a family member who as disabled and the lady who worked there was so rude, we had all the proof we needed, we emailed Drayton manor week before to check and they confirmed all proof was correct, we stood there for over half an hour for them to finally agree that we had the right proof to get a disabled ticket.

We went in and the park was really over crowded, you literally can’t go and get a drink without standing for over an hour to get.
There isn’t enough chairs/bench’s, so my disabled family member who struggles to work, couldn’t sit down, so many people were rude and just grabbed chairs from people.

There was a lot of arguments and confrontation in queues were people have pushed in etc, swearing in front of children, security was no where to be seen.
We were there from 11am - 6pm and my 5 year old son only went on 5 rides!! Parking was ridiculous too, people were driving really fast with kids everywhere, we felt so uncomfortable all day.

We will never return to this place!!

We went here August 12th. Disgusting theme park. Rides breaking down all the time and shut without any explanation given. We went for Stormfront , queued for an hour then the fricking ride broke down whilst we were on it! We were told not to move out of our carriage and were stuck in our wet clothes for over 40 minutes ! No access to toilets, my daughter peed herself in the carriage. The staff then offered us a ticket which we could jump the queue for but this gesture is not enough compensation for the mental trauma we experienced. I have emailed them and left a review but they have not contacted us.

The reviews on here are appalling , I am just sad that they are all true.

Had a lovely meal in the hotel. The waitress Evie, was really polite, attentive and really nice. She looked after my daughter who has serious allergies as well as assuring us all about the procedure.
Thanks Evie for making our night enjoyable.

We had a brilliant day here. I went with my teen daughter n we both enjoyed it. Queues n waiting time wasnt bad at all. Never came across any rudeness from staff as pointed out in one of the reviews, we found them all pretty pleasant wherever we went. Food was good especially the fish n chip bar..my overall experience was a good one, weather was gorgeous too.

Obnoxoius and unacceptable behaviour from the park and it's staff. The park is not even worthy of the 1 rating. On 20th July 2023, the school trip to Drayton Manor was organised. Regardless of the number of students attending, the fast track passes were refused on certain rides based on their skin colour. It's Unbeliveble to think people still feel the right to behave like this.

On certain rides, people were being accused of pushing the line and told to go to the back of the queue and racist slurs were given like ' f**£ Pakis'. White people were allowed to jump the queue and nothing was said to them. The staff were using obscene language and saying "F off and to go back to where you came from you rubbish". On a one day trip consisting of 7 hours, they only got to go on 3 rides.

The park had overbooked, and if the staff can't respect the paying customer and the training provided to their employee does not cover respect, then this is not the place to ever visit.

I, for one, will never set foot here again, and nor will anyone I know.

Sort out your outlook on life.

We stayed at the hotel and had two days in the park.

No queues either day and we didn’t use any of the fast passes we had bought after reading the reviews.

Staff went above and beyond at the hotel and were quick to respond in full when we had the smallest of issues with our room, couldn’t have asked for more.

Just waiting to hear about our rainy day return visit so we can plan as it rained both days so we get a free return visit within 30 days if we receive the details on how to book in time, we honestly go again even in the rain!

Looking at review I'm not the only one disappointed.
I understand that educational trips are an important part of the park's offerings, but the sheer volume of students made it unbearable for regular paying ticket customers like myself. The park was packed to the brim, leading to excessively long queues, an upsetting lack of personal space, and an overall chaotic atmosphere.

Furthermore, I believe that the park was ill-equipped to handle the influx of visitors, particularly considering the unfavorable weather conditions. It was lightly raining, which naturally discouraged many visitors from enjoying outdoor rides. However, rides such as Shockwave were only operating at half capacity, exacerbating the already significant wait times. Waiting in line for an extended period, only to find out that the ride capacity is limited, was both frustrating and disheartening.

Moreover, it was particularly disappointing that Storm Force 10 was closed for the majority of the day. This closure severely limited the variety of rides available to guests and left us with fewer options to enjoy during our visit. Given that Storm Force 10 is one of the park's flagship attractions, its closure was highly disconcerting and affected our overall experience negatively.

It is disheartening to spend our hard-earned money on admission tickets, only to face such difficulties and disappointments throughout the day. As customers, we expect to have a fair and enjoyable experience at Drayton Manor Theme Park, regardless of whether there are school groups or inclement weather.

Love this place, this is our 3rd stay, 2 nights in the hotel and 3 days in the park. The hotel is fantastic, can’t fault it at all, also the staff there are amazing. Agree with comments about the park though. Large groups of teens wandering round acting ‘cool’ spoil it for the youngsters. We noticed on a couple of occasions, Kids using exit passes and acting like they owned the park being allowed onto rides before disabled people who had patiently queued in line which doesn’t seem at all fair. I wish the exit passes didn’t exist; they are unfair in my opinion to those who can’t afford them and leave a bit of a sour taste. The food is expensive but very good. Love the zoo. Will definitely keep coming back and try and pick the quiet times!

Visited on Saturday and was very disappointed. Staff was very rude and seemed as though they didn't want to be there, know warm welcome towards guests or anything. 3 different rides I watched the operators get there phones out and mess around on them while they had guest's on the rides, this then made me feel very unsafe. I brought passes at the start of the session due to a positive experience we as a family had received but unfortunately our last few visits have been very unpleasant so unfortunately I won't be renewing the passes. Guests should be made to feel welcome and warm but just don't seem to be getting that experience lately. Very disappointed

Took my daughter today gor her birthday never again all the older kids from schools pushing in abusive no respect after 3 hours in que left to complain my daughter wanted to go home customer service was no help all offered was 50% off return visit did not even care my daughter was upset younger kids with schools was amazing shame about 15 to 16 year old ones would not recommend no good for families let far to many schools in :(

My 13 year old son went on a school trip he phoned me in floods of tears it was way overcrowded people pushing, shoving and vaping in the queues with no control or organisation. In 6 hours he got to go on 1 ride and staff were extremely rude.

Went as a school trip today and we got on 2 rides all day, spent 3.5 hours queuing for shockwave and they were only allowing “small” groups of people into the building, 40 people jumped the queue and as they let people inside, I got shoved against the walls and fences and poles and could barely breath, 2 girls fainted and the staff Refused to help or let the teachers through to help, one child fell down the stairs because they were that crowded and many people had panic attacks because of how cramped it was, I had to phone my school multiple times saying that I wanted to get out but couldn’t and that I wouldn’t be able to meet them at the agreed time. Workers were threatening to kick kids out of the queue because they were being pushed forwards and couldn’t help it. I have multiple bruises, scratches and cuts all on my arms, stomach and legs from being pushed against the chains and walls and other people. The staff did nothing about the queue jumpers and said it wasn’t their problem. Most of the seats on the rides were taken up by people claiming to be disabled even though I know most of them weren’t as they were kids from mine and other people near me’s schools. We waited 5+ minutes before the ride would leave the station even though it was a 15 second long ride. Staff were constantly ignorant of what was going on and refused to let my friend on when he said he needed to meet his school to go back home. He didn’t even want to get on the ride he just wanted to get out of the queue yet the refused this and he was late back to his school. Multiple kids were shouting racist and homophobic slurs in the queues and what little staff members there were around just stood there and some of them even laughed at it. We paid £100’s to come on the trip just for me to get on 2 rides and come back hurt. There were also a lot of kids from my school who had to leave the queues due to the overcrowding and didn’t get on a single ride all day. I paid £3.30 for one drink that wasn’t even full. The queues for the food and drinks were horrendous and people were also pushing through them. Too many school were booked to come and it took us an hour just to get into the park. Staff were very rude and wouldn’t listen to any of the complaints and just said it wasn’t their problem. One of my friends was also grabbed by her boobs and pulled out the way and when she told staff they said they couldn’t do anything and it wasn’t their fault it happened. Overall it was a horrible experience and a waste of my time and money.

My son has gone on school trip here today 19th July. They have travelled all the way from York . He phoned me saying it was crowded and people pushing in to get on the rides because they didn't want to wait 2 to 3 hours, hence he hasn't done one ride while been there. This is absolutely unacceptable just thinking about how much money they can make and not about the customers.

If I could rate this a zero, I would. My daughter just returned from a school trip to Drayton Manor. Her first theme park experience, and now sadly, probably her last. Rude staff not explaining why the group were not allowed to enter the park whilst teenagers pushed past them shouting obscenities at a group of 9/10 yr olds! Overcrowding for every ride and queue jumping, meaning the poor kids stood there not moving and getting soaked in the process. The gift shop, don’t get me started. They took £10 for £6 of merchandise and offered zero change saying the shop had no change…in my retail experience, you offer the customer the chance of a full refund or give them the nearest reasonable change you have, not nothing!!!!! Please avoid for your child, especially if you are not going with them. The park have zero interest in providing value for money or an enjoyable experience. So many improvements required!