Ride Guide >> Fisherman's Wharf >> Storm Force 10

dy

Be prepared to wrestle the waves and rough waters out at sea during the storm. Hundreds are trapped out at sea in a horrible storm and you must navigate the treturous waters in your lifeboat to rescue them.

Storm Force 10 is Drayton's latest water attraction, entering the line-up in 1999 and replacing the log flume. It is sponsored by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and is suprisingly a source of information about the institution with a lot of information about it in the queue. To go with the sponser, the ride is themed as though you are the crew members of the rescue mission to save many citezens of the Fisherman's Wharf that are trapped out in a storm at sea. The ride's theme is possibly the best in the park.

The Experience

Near the entrance you will notice the hissing of the waterfalls in which the ride passes through with the Drayton Manor logo painted behind the water. This is a nice addition to the area, and is very noticeable from most places in Fisherman's Wharf and Action Park. The queue starts by enterring the first of many mazes of queuelines as you wind around these paths surrounded by netting and fish etc. You will next pass into a corridor which you will queue through beside a workshop kind of area. There are tools and broken boats etc, but it is very cramped. Following the corridor, you are back in the open air again, despite being covered by nets and surrounded by walls, so it may not seem like it. In this section of the queue there are

many seagul sound effects that can get quite irritating, but still goos for the theme. At this point there are also a few signs dotting around reading "Stormforce 10 crew members, this way" which starts to give away the idea of the theme, you will also meet a fake man (with very realistic eyes) who tells you his story of his experience in the storm. After this maze of queues is complete you will reach a starcase which leads up toan outside bridge providing nice views of Maelstrom and G Force in action. The outside air is soon over though as you pass through into the lighthouse. In itself, the lighthouse is a monumental piece of theming to the area, and inside also manages to impress. From the old cup of tea at the start of the spiral starcase, to the piled up books about to fall at the top, it is very atmospheric. After reaching the top you will once again take a right out onto a bridge, this time it is a bit longer though.

After passing over the final part of the ride before it returns to the station, you will take a few steps down and take another right and continue untill enterring the station. This section of the queue will provide excellent views of the boats as they hit the final splashdown. The atmosphere will once again change as you enter the station with the opening and closing black and yellow wall which moves up and down to let the boats through. The queue may have been long so far, but luckily there is vertually no queueing involved whilst you are in the station.

Climbing aboard into your wet seat you will notice that there is no restraint just a handle bar to hold onto. If you don't want to get too wet, the best row is normally the second, but it is

still likely to get you soaked. You will get wettest on the back row, where you will literally get dranched from head to toe, this is because of the backwards drop, and although it isn't particulaily big, the back of the boats are not designed to push the water outwards, so all the water will just come in on the back and partly the second to back row. The front row obviously provides the best views, so if that's what floats your boat, try and get there.

The ride begins by slowly moving forwards to the edge of the first drop out of the station (as it is raised of the ground) until it stops and the screen closes behind you, all you can see is the water rushing down the drop before you and another fake man to your left. When you're not expecting it the track you are sat on will lift up to nearly the same angle as the drop and

release you, sending you to start your mission with a action-packed start. After recieving your helping of water (which is quite unexpected from such a small drop) you will enter the watersfalls. As the trough is much narrower than that of a rapids, you will get a spraying off the jets of water. The waterfall section will take you around a near 180 dgree bend before it is behind you and you continue steadily along your path surround by nice greenery and the odd seagul/ship-wrecked boat. After snaking through a few bends you will find yourself in the next lifthill, which odly just goes straight into the "Jet" radio tower building. At the top, you will find yourself facing the wall, until you start to turn to the right on aturntable. After coming to a halt you will still be facing the wall, but the wall will soon start drifting away from you as you fall backwards down the next drop. The resulting splash will send gallons of water over you and

your boat.

Still shocked from the previous splash (especially back row riders), you will enter another turntable and be re-directed back in the correct direction. From there you will navigate your way through a nicely themed tunnel and another right turn preceeding the largest lift hill, which will take you up to the height of sixty feet. One slow and long bend is now all that stands between you and the final double drop. You edge closer towards the edge until, without a warning, you drop. The double drop means that about half way down you will flatten out slightly before dropping the remaining distance, this provides a bit of air-time if you're luckily, but overall doesn't add to it that much. Following your coving of water you will find that

you are now in the lake, making your way slowly around a final bend before making your way up a lift hill back into the station. You depart the ride to your right leading outside where you can travel down a flight of steps until you end up in the photo shop, so don't forget to check your photo (taken on the final drop).

It is advisable that you bring either a towel or a raincoat with you if you are planning to ride Storm Force 10, because you wouldn't want to let the fact that you are soaked through ruin your day. Of course, it should be alright of it is sunny and you need refreshing. Overall the ride is one of the best in the park, as well as being one of the most popular, just make sure you prepare for its after-effects.

 

Ride Pictures