Drayton Manor Family Theme Park, Tamworth

I visited on April 29th for my son's 1st birthday but also to avoid the royal wedding... I visited with my husband, 1 year old son, 12 year old neice and her friend. On arrival there were lots of attendants directing you to park and where to get tickets. I think we used a side entrance as there was nothing there apart from ticket offices and some grass until we reached the rides after a short walk. What I liked about Drayton Manor is that there was something for everyone. My 12 year old neice had plenty of thrill seeking rides to keep her busy but there was equally enough to keep my son occupied. We hit Thomas land first and took him on harold the helicopter which he loved! We didn't have to queue for long but my son was easily kept busy by watching the ride in motion. The continuous music and nursery rhymes that was played into this area really added to the fun and child-like atmosphere. After a short nap, cuppa for us and lunch for him we visited the zoo. We used the baby change next to the zoo and was pleasantly suprised to find a large well heated area that was clean. The countertop isn't the most comfortable of changing areas but having an overhead heater there made the area warm enough that he didn't mind the hardness. Also for his lunch we went into the rainforest cafe which again he was fascinated by as it is decorated lovely inside. They have several high chairs available as do the majority of indoor seated food outlets. We didn't ask to heat his food up however half way through a worker advised us they would've done it if asked. The zoo was well laid out with plenty to see although we had to get him out of his pushchair at several exhibits as there wasn't always a low viewing area. Whilst in the zoo we visited the play area which seems to be a well kept secret. Even though it wasn't necessarily aimed at babies as there were no baby swings, he enjoyed crawling through the tunnels and going down the wide slides. We took him on the big wheel which again he loved, again there was no queue. We went on the indoor pirate adventure but didn't realise there is quite a steep drop just after you get on but he didn't seem bothered by it. The ride is a little tired looking now but my son was still fascinated by the lights. We also went on the outdoor medieval boat ride which again is a little tired looking, it really could do with a refurbishment. But to a baby, anything that moved interested him. We took him back to Thomas land where we watched one of the many shows that is put on throughout the day featuring the fat controller and friends which is fun for children of all ages. The characters regularily mingle in the crowds and were more than willing to pose for photos. Small touches such as these really make the day more memorable. We took him on several more rides including the Thomas train ride and we visited the Thomas gift shop which has everything you could ever want Thomas related! For our lunch we had fish and chips which was lovely but we had to queue for over 40mins for it and this wasn't even on a busy day. The food outlets are fairly priced compared with other attractions of this level, about £5-£7 per person on average. There are plenty of outdoor areas if you prefer to take a picnic and plenty of snack bars dotted around the park. Overall staff were friendly and helpful although some of the food outlets seemed to be running a bit slower than was necessary. There are some lovely new looking areas but there are several out-dated rides that are badly in need of a refurb. The entrance fee if you don't pre-book seemed a little steep for what there is however if you book online you can benefit from 2-1 vouchers at the moment or much lower internet prices. Children under 2 are free and if they are under 3 its only £2.50 but after that they more or less pay an adults price. But a good day out for all the family, plenty to see and do, I'd definately go back and reccommend this place.

Our little boy is a massive Thomas the Tank Engine fan so we naturally had to take him to visit all his favourite engines. We were made to feel very welcome on arrival and all the staff were dressed up as characters, the best one being the Fat Controller. There are plenty of rides in Thomas Land but when you get bored of those there are the rides within Drayton Manor too. They cater for all ages and some are for all the family. If in a group you will have lots of fun. The zoo was a bit depressing as the animals didn't look clean or happy. Food wise there is something for all tastes or you could take a picnic. Lots of icecream stands and snack shops. Some of the park is up steep hills but all in all a very enjoyable day out.

Drayton Manor is in direct competition with the infamous Alton Towers, being not too far away from each other. Although they are both theme parks, Drayton Manor is a totally different kettle of fish. Despite having some thrill rides for older children/teenagers, such as G-Force and Apocalypse, Drayton Manor is mainly aimed at the younger market and their carers rather than trying to pull in young groups of thrill-seeking adults. The main area for younger children is the Thomas the Tank Engine Land. Children are able to ride on Thomas as well as other characters which have been developed into rollercoasters or flying aeroplane rides, for example. Quite a large area, not tons and tons to do but it definitely keeps the children entertained. The theme park is also attached to a well kept zoo, with a wide array of animals which are well looked after and their living areas well maintained. As well as being wheelchair accessible, Drayton Manor also hires out wheelchairs, buggies and electric scooters as well as offering a guest services consultation before visiting the park for disabled customers. There are plenty of little shops, toilets, baby changing areas and nursing facilities. Other facilities include medical and lost property centres are also set up in the park. I would suggest staying near Drayton Manor for more than one day and spending a day or two in the park to get the best out of what is on offer. To try and experience everything in a day would surely mean that you would be missing out on some of the attractions. Children under the age of 2 enter the park for free, 2-3 is £11.50 (£10.50 with an online discount) and 4+ is £16.50 (or £12.90 with an online buying dicount). Well worth the money. There are also events and additional attractions on throughout the year, so it's best to keep checking the website for updates.

When we got there, Baby Boy got excited as there was a Grinning Thomas over the road and even Top Ender could spare a grin or three as we could see some of the more extreme rides looping all over the place. She wouldn't even consider going on them, but she does like to look at them and listen to the people screaming! We came into the Park at the Thomas Land Entrance and knew that despite it being really busy that is where we would have to start. We went in and checked Baby Boy's height against the measurements so we could see what he could and couldn't go on. Thomas Land was everything that we expected and with a trip on the real Thomas, Baby Boy was really chuffed (did you see what I did there?!) about the day. After we had been round Thomas Land and through the Zoo we were able to then visit the rest of the park, which was great fun and we were able to go on some of the more "Grown up" rides and even went and saw Happy Feet in 4D. The 4D film was great fun, and Baby Boy and Top Ender loved that it was a condensed version of the film that they know and love. After we came out of the cinema I managed to get Top Ender to go on a "scary ride" whilst Baby Boy and Daddy went and looked in the gift shop. Being a typical man however he didn't look to see the prices of anything other than the sweets and chocolates and they were expensive. There were only two negatives to the whole day. The first was the amount of people smoking in the park, it was bad enough that they were smoking in open areas but when they were smoking in the queues for rides it was a little too much. The second negative was when having queued for fifteen minutes to go on the Pirate Adventure ride we were told by word of mouth from the people at the front of the queue that they had closed the ride. It was like some sort of horrid Chinese Whispers and not something that some of the people in the queue took well. Top Ender, Baby Boy and I went on the Jolly Buccaneer whilst Daddy queued to get us some chips. It was by far the best ride that we had been on all day as not only was it fast and seemed to go on for ages, but it was the thrill of going on a ride in the dark.

Myself and my family went to Drayton Manor/Thomas Land to review the park for Childfriendly and we are all so glad we did! There were myself, Husband our 9,8,4 & 2yr olds as well as my mother in law. We visited for the Fireworks special over Halloween as it was also the 65th Anniversary so the fireworks promised to be extra special. There were no traffic problems or queuing to get into the park nor were there charges for parking as in other large Theme Parks and the parking was only a couple of minutes from the entrance itself. We collected the tickets no problem and we went straight into Thomas Land to start having fun! The queues were short for all the rides we went on and I think the longest we waited was 40mins for the more popular water rides. There were places to leave pushchairs and all attendants were helpful and polite. We loved Drayton Manor for the simple reason that there is something for every age to enjoy so all 7 of us had a great time. While the older kids/husband went on the older rides we took the youngest 2 into the zoo and we saw plenty of wonderful creatures. My older 2 children weren't too old for Thomas Land and enjoyed the rides within this area too although I think there queues could be cut down if they filled each seat on the rides and the youngest riders can become bored while waiting for some rides. There are plenty of toilets dotted around the park and all were clean and tidy as well as plenty of cafe's/snack bars to get snacks and drinks from and I didn't find them overly expensive considering we were in a Theme Park. We chose to eat in the Burger Restaurant/Bar sitting outside in the covered heated patio. The prices were very reasonable ( £30 for 6 meals) and the food was OK although the Chicken Burgers were southern fried style not plain chicken which upset the Mother In Law. The park on this day stayed open till 9pm approx for the 65th fireworks celebrations and the kids had great fun being up past bedtime having extra rides! The fireworks were AMAZING - A 30min display to film Theme tunes while a laser show over the lake showed the scenes from the film. We all agreed it was the best display we've ever scene. We were lucky with the weather as it was warm for the time of year and dry but if it does rain there is little covered spaces so you will get wet. We will happily recommend Drayton Manor/Thomas Land too any family as it is very family friendly, staff kind and courteous and the younger children are really catered for within Thomas Land. We had the best day out and we will be rebooking next year specifically for the fireworks display.

Took the kids on my own in Summer hols. We arrived early at 10 and the queues for the car park and to get in were horrendous. As mine were 4 and 5 we stuck to Thomas Land which is what we'd come for. Admittedly the rides were charming, although the queues weren't! The little one was enthralled by the station and Thomas however this bit of the park is set over such a small plot and is so popular I'm surprised there aren't more accidents or lost children! We ate at a horrid burger style bar where the queues were again horrendous. I waited so long to get food my youngest went into meltdown. Won't be going back in a hurry! For the same money Legoland is a better bet and more suited to this age group. The only good thing about this visit was that I'd used Tesco Clubcard vouchers to pay so didn't feel too cheated.