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2026: General Discussion

Was at the park this afternoon and I noticed something different with the park today.
The Haunting was been loaded every 7-8 mins so they were finishing the main library room and then was loading the 1st pre show room again.
Goldrush was been loaded that quick it was dispatching trains as soon as the other train hit the break run.
Troublesome Trucks was only doing 1 lap to keep the queue down
The Wave had extra members of staff so was been loaded and dispatched quicker.

Anyway at the end of the day I spoke to a few members of staff asking why everyone was making sure they were getting the rides out quickly and they told me the looping group management have been over since the beginning of the month monitoring the park operations and management and they sacked Victoria Lynn and her management team and they managing the park themselves.
 
Noticed Sunday the dispatches on The Wave were a lot faster. Haunting was still on standard 15 min cycles and Gold Rush was slow as heck (mostly because people can’t follow instructions to be fair)
 
I was there yesterday too and on Gold Rush it was stacking on the brake run all afternoon.

It’s an easy fix and when it first opened they were able to dispatch trains much faster.

Did t they bring in an operations person from Chessington? What happened to them?
 
Good to see changes to improve the operations but one lap on troublesome trucks seems a bit dissapointing

The person who joined from Chessington left last year I believe. (We saw them once personally)
 
Drayton Manor really is in a poor state 4 Rides out of action, multiple on low capacity, theming elements starting to look neglected particularly StormForce 10.

Percy missing a side rod.

2 abonded sites in the middle of the park.

And poor ops

No wonder the last director was sacked.
 
RustyShackleford said:
Whilst it is never nice to see someone lose their job its an opportunity to significantly improve the experience for visitors - and not just influencers.
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Victorias strategy was definitely to cater mainly to influencers, I remember thinking this when Theme Park Worldwide posted an on-site interview with her during Gold Rush's construction. It's a great way to advertise considering how big of a grasp social media has over people these days, but when the actual visitor experience isn't there to match with their expectations, they instead resort to complaining on Facebook.

What I think Drayton really need is TLC. Paulton's Park is held in such a high regard because each year they consistently go around doing landscaping, painting, and fixing even the smallest of faults which your average visitor wouldn't notice. Tornado Springs opened 3 years earlier than Gold Rush, and yet it still looks significantly better as time has passed. Drayton at the minute feels like a weird mix of different rides and themes which do not blend together well and just overall look to be poor condition. If we do see a new managing director come into power I think this is what they should focus on first - there's no point in opening new rides if the rest of the park simply isn't there to match their quality.
 
alfie8 said:
Victorias strategy was definitely to cater mainly to influencers, I remember thinking this when Theme Park Worldwide posted an on-site interview with her during Gold Rush's construction. It's a great way to advertise considering how big of a grasp social media has over people these days, but when the actual visitor experience isn't there to match with their expectations, they instead resort to complaining on Facebook.

What I think Drayton really need is TLC. Paulton's Park is held in such a high regard because each year they consistently go around doing landscaping, painting, and fixing even the smallest of faults which your average visitor wouldn't notice. Tornado Springs opened 3 years earlier than Gold Rush, and yet it still looks significantly better as time has passed. Drayton at the minute feels like a weird mix of different rides and themes which do not blend together well and just overall look to be poor condition. If we do see a new managing director come into power I think this is what they should focus on first - there's no point in opening new rides if the rest of the park simply isn't there to match their quality.
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I would disagree with one point Adventure Cove does work as a cohesive area given all the rides have a nautical Seaside feel to them.

But yeah they need to give the park a good lick of paint, jet wash and many other things.

The pathways are hideously ugly and all need redoing.

Get all the rides back on multi train service if they can like Wild West Shootout on 7 Cars, Get Wave on 2, StormForce 10 and River Rapids get as many boats as they can manage on.

As for rides fix up Pirate Adventure and Excalibur bring both back they fit the family demographic and would fix the middle park issue
 
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