Park History

Drayton Manor theme park started its successful life in October of 1949 when 86 acres of Staffordshire land was purchased by the residents of the Drayton Manor house: the Peel family. With little to build a major theme park, some hand operated rides and rowing boats were installed along with a restaurant and tea room. So Drayton Manor at that time was more of a country park where locals could enjoy a family day out, indulging in the countryside scenery while the younger ones were occupied on the rides.

The next few years saw an increase of attractions, the main one being the zoo. This was the next big step towards success. It created a larger catchment area, bringing in more profits. Of course more profits lead to more rides such as the dodgems, a carousel and the next major thing in 1959 - the chairlift costing a large sum of money to build. The park's contents were forever growing and business was booming, so by 1981 it was time for the next big upgrade. Two brand new major rides were introduced into the line-up...

Jumbo Jet was the first rollercoaster to hit Drayton. It was one of many "City jet" models by Scharzkopf. Similar coasters were once brought to Cedar Point, Walibi Belgium, Six Flags Great Adventure, Alton Towers and many more. Riders were seated in single file, 6 per car with two cars joined together creating 12 riders per train. The layout of Jumbo Jet was very similar to Black Hole at Alton Towers with an electrical spiral lift, many sharp banked corners and no inversions. Also born that year was the popular Log Flume, originally with just the one drop but upgraded in 1986 to a superior three drops.

A year later, 1982, the wristband system was introduced bringing the park up to more modern standards seen elsewhere. At the end of the 1983 season Jumbo Jet gave its last ride and was then dissembled and taken away. It only stayed for a short time because it was not owned by Drayton Manor, but rented. It explains why there was always a crane beside the ride. This act was done because of Drayton's financial status at the time.

But the following year brought good news as a new major ride was coming for the 1984 season in Jumbo Jet's place, this time owned by the park. The coaster was named "The Python Looping Coaster" with one small vertical loop, the park's first inversion. It was a Pinfari ZL42 (the same as "The Gauntlet" at Camelot). It covered a small area and only reached a height of thirty-six feet; the vertical loop was thirty-one feet tall. 1984 also saw the arrival of the family coaster "The Super Dragon".

Throughout the 80s and early 90s attractions kept coming with a collection of rides such as the Pirate Ship, Cine 180, Big Wheel, Red Baron, Sky Flyer and Paratower: a ride where passengers are held in baskets with a parachute above. They are pulled to the top of the tower as they are suspended by wire. Once at the top they are held to observe the scenery, then dropped to the ground. The parachutes ensure that it isn't so intense as rides such as Apocalypse, since they bring the baskets slowly down towards the ground, but they are similar in the sense that they are both drop towers. The early 90s saw the appearance of Pirate Adventure, the indoor water ride and Splash Canyon, the short but fun rapids ride.

But it was 1994 that truly put Drayton on the theme park map with the arrival of Europe's first and only stand-up coaster, Shockwave. In 1995 the Python Looping Coaster was re-themed and re-named to "Klondike Old Mine Coaster". "The Haunting" came to the park in 1996, and in 1998 an assortment of minor attractions arrived including Sombreros, and a few rides started to leave, the main one being Paratower leaving in preparation for another major ride. It seemed a lot of things were leaving by the end of the 1998 season for a major overhaul, since the Log Flume left and made way for Stormforce 10, arriving in 1999. The new millennium began and we were blessed with Apocalypse (not the real Apocalypse but a ride). This dominated the skyline for miles. The major rides kept rolling in with Maelstrom in 2002, Excalibur and Cyclone in 2003 and Pandemonium in 2004 replacing Sky Flyer.

We're seeing better, more thrilling rides coming to Drayton and the future looks set to be a good one, with G-Force arriving in July and the next ten years including a Center Parcs style attraction with swimming pools and flumes etc, a new hotel and more major rides. This year Drayton lost its slogan "Family run for family fun" in a bid to become more of a thrill park full of white knuckle experiences.