Drayton Manor Theme Park

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Drayton Manor Resort

Location	Drayton Bassett, Tamworth, Staffordshire, England
Coordinates	52°36′39″N 1°42′48″W / 52.61083°N 1.71333°W / 52.61083; -1.71333Coordinates: 52°36′39″N 1°42′48″W / 52.61083°N 1.71333°W / 52.61083; -1.71333
Status	Operating
Opened	1 April 1950
Owner	Looping Group
Slogan	Creating Fun Family Memories
Operating season	Theme Park Main season: March – November Drayton's Magical Christmas: late November to December February Half Term: selected days in February Drayton Manor Zoo Same Times As The Theme Park Drayton Manor Hotel Year-round Conference Centre Year-round
Area	180 acres (73 ha)
Attractions
Total	43 (exc the zoo attractions)
Roller coasters	4
Water rides	2
Website	draytonmanor.co.uk

Drayton Manor Theme Park is a family theme park, zoo and accommodation in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK. It covers 180 acres (73 hectares), of which about 113 acres (46 hectares) are in use, and hosts about 1.5 million people each year. It is the fourth-largest amusement park in the UK by land area at 280 acres (110 hectares). The park is also home to Thomas Land and Drayton Manor Zoo, home to over 100 animals, including Red pandas, Eurasian lynx, Sumatran tigers and a variety of monkeys and gibbons.

On 3 August 2020, Drayton Manor Park was sold^[1] to Looping Group,^[2] who own two other attractions in the UK, West Midland Safari Park and Pleasurewood Hills.^[3]

History[]

The land on which the theme park was built on once belonged to the Peel family. Drayton Manor mansion, built for Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet in 1835, had been reduced to ruins by 1926, with only the clocktower surviving at the park entrance. The British Army requisitioned it as a training post during World War II. After the war, entrepreneurs George and Vera Bryan borrowed £6,000 and bought the land (and the 17 huts that the army had constructed during their stay). In 1950, they opened a small amusement park with just a handful of children's rides. In 1954, Mrs. Molly Badham, who later opened the nearby Twycross Zoo, partnered with the Bryans and opened a zoo to complement the amusement park. The amusement park grew slowly in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, but in the late 1980s, the park began to install bigger and more thrilling rides to attract customers from all over the United Kingdom and to compete with rival theme parks. In 1992 Colin Bryan, George Bryan’s son, became Managing director of the park.

George Bryan is the grandson of the founders of Drayton Manor Park. Along with his brother and cousins, he grew up in the family business, working – albeit unofficially – from the age of 12 or 13. This career began with menial tasks, before progressing to more complex aspects of operations. George Bryan went on to develop expertise throughout the whole business. In 2013 George’s brother, William Bryan, became managing director while George moved out of operations to work at board level

In February 2020, the park suffered flood damage from Storm Dennis.^[4] Following this, the park was required to remain shut until July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 3rd August 2020, the park entered administration and was bought by the Looping Group who own various parks, zoos and aquariums around Europe such as Pleasurewood Hills and West Midlands Safari Park. However the Bryan family still play a key part in running the business, with William Bryan’s role being managing director, even though under new ownership.

In December 2020, the park suffered a fire^[5] within the Thomas Land area of the park. The blaze started in a toilet block and was deemed accidental by investigators.^[6]

In April 2021, the park announced something big was coming and this was called Adventure Cove (a new themed area with new attractions wave swinger and tidal towers), and phase one of the area opened the 30th July 2021 and the New river rapids opened on the 11th August 2021.

At the end of 2021 the park announced something big is soming with the teaser Invading 2022 in a nortic viking style hinting at the fact there may be a new area for 2022

Rides and attractions[]

Thrill Rides[]

Family Attractions[]

Thomas Land Attractions[]

Other Attractions[]

Past Rides & Attractions[]

Zoo[]

Drayton Manor is also home to a 15-acre (6 ha) zoo. It contains over 100 species from all over the world.

Accommodation[]

Drayton Manor Hotel[]

In 2009, plans for a hotel at Drayton Manor were submitted to Lichfield District Council. Planning permission for the hotel was granted in 2007, though the applicants felt that the scheme could benefit from further improvements without increasing the site area required.

The 4-star hotel with 150 well-appointed contemporary guest rooms including 15 Thomas & Friends themed bedrooms is designed to primarily meet the demand from park visitors as the park is attracting families from all over the UK, especially since the arrival of Thomas Land.

The Camping and Caravanning Club[]

The Camping and Caravan Club have a site at Drayton Manor. On the site there is 90 pitches, Glamping tents (available through Ready Camp) and a children's playground.

References[]

External links[]

• Official website

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