What's new

2026: General Discussion

So when exactly did the management change? Haven't been here for a few months, so learning new stuff.

Did the new cashconverters payment plan have anything to do with it?

Victoria's new job.
:)

NORTHSHACK PERFORMANCE LTD people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

NORTHSHACK PERFORMANCE LTD - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
 
I hate to say it, but has Drayton Manor become a terrible Theme Park this season, with all the issues, areas looking tired, poor ops.

It needs a big change
 
It’s like the looping group has totally cut funding.
With the Vikings, Frontier falls and Adventure Cove all closed from the 2nd November to Easter 2027 they got a lot of time for maintenance and up keep of the park.
 
Wasnt there a similar situation at pleasure wood hills before it was sold where they made very little investment after the first five years of them operating the park?
 
Strikes me the previous park leadership had a policy of "fake it till you make it."

However it turned into "fake it even if we break it"

The park has painted itself into a corner and I am not sure there is the vision or the monies required to turn it around

The issue with Family Thrill is that families get older and there isn't enough to encourage travel to DMP over other parks. So you require strong local support and there just hasn't been enough. Reducing hours, reducing days, reducing operations whilst increasing prices?

We've had annual passes for the last ten years. May have visited over 50 times in some seasons. Less than ten this year. Not going to renew. The Grotto Photos which have seen one of us grow taller, and one of us go greyer year on year won't be added to. Ah well.
 
We're exactly the same. Got a 9 and 7 year old who loved going on the Wave which was great, but now they've done that they would much rather go Towers or Chessington at the moment who have a better variety of bigger rides. I'm still not really sure what family thrill means, but the only thrilling rides are Wave and Maelstrom at the moment. 10 years of passes but going Merlin now.
 
They know they can’t complete with the Merlin parks and most kids over 1.4 would go there. My daughter is at the Thorpe park age where the park is more aimed for teenagers. My son on the other hand is stuck as his now over 1.2 and he did enjoy Alton Towers 4 weeks ago for the 1st time but I won’t take him again to his 1.4 as his too old for CBeebies but there not enough else for him to do but at Drayton he can go on everything except Maelstrom and Stormforce 10 and Chessington to far to travel just to go for a day.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
They know they can’t complete with the Merlin parks and most kids over 1.4 would go there. My daughter is at the Thorpe park age where the park is more aimed for teenagers. My son on the other hand is stuck as his now over 1.2 and he did enjoy Alton Towers 4 weeks ago for the 1st time but I won’t take him again to his 1.4 as his too old for CBeebies but there not enough else for him to do but at Drayton he can go on everything except Maelstrom and Stormforce 10 and Chessington to far to travel just to go for a day.
Click to expand...
I do wonder if it was Looping Group choice to go full family, or whether it was solely Victoria.

Thrill Rides are require in a family park to, Drayton should be aiming for a mixture don't expect anything more thrilling than Wave but maybe equal
 
Joe said:
I do wonder if it was Looping Group choice to go full family, or whether it was solely Victoria.

Thrill Rides are require in a family park to, Drayton should be aiming for a mixture don't expect anything more thrilling than Wave but maybe equal
Click to expand...
I think that Looping took a bit of a gamble with a focus on family thrill (some people may say family) rather than thrill by the fact that the more thrilling rides are older or close to the end of their life, in the case of shockwave, pandemonium and apolcolypse. There was work done in keeping with the Bryans in Viking and these may or may not meet the family thril definition. It will be difficult to build ne thrill rides with the Looping group budget which I understand was £5 million pound per year. Most thrill rides would be well in excess of that.

Looping group in my opinion had the option of family thrill, which they could install more rides or thrill rides which could have meant the ride budget for say three years for one ride, and I think that the £5 million was for a few short years and may not be correct.

I think the park has had a lot of negativity given the issues this year. Lets hope they can pull it back next year, hopefully with a new ride, looking doubtful or at least announce a major ride for 2028 and build up to it next year. Some of its competitors have big investments in the next couple of years (Paultons, Chessington and Legoland). Personally I think they are aiming for a different market to the towers and Thorpe park.

Heres to a good end of year (haloween) and possibly magical christmas (we are doing the panto only this year after not going last year)!
 
The hotel guests may not like that! Last season was a bit of a farce. The first half of the season it was taking over 20+ minutes for them to enter the park, by which time they'd lost the main perk of staying in the hotel (ie 30 minutes early access)

Mid season they changed it so hotel guests were given paper tickets to speed up entrance. It worked. The rest of us in the other queue either waited until 10:30 to gain entrance, OR, depending on who was manning the gates, we were let in straight after the hotel guests.
 
BigCraig said:
The hotel guests may not like that! Last season was a bit of a farce. The first half of the season it was taking over 20+ minutes for them to enter the park, by which time they'd lost the main perk of staying in the hotel (ie 30 minutes early access)

Mid season they changed it so hotel guests were given paper tickets to speed up entrance. It worked. The rest of us in the other queue either waited until 10:30 to gain entrance, OR, depending on who was manning the gates, we were let in straight after the hotel guests.
Click to expand...
early entry for hotel guests hasnt been available all season. It was taken away end of last season.
 
Back in the day the park use to open at 9am with the zoo open from 9:30 with rides open from 10:30. Back before I had kids I only went to Drayton Manor once a year and that was for the fireworks. We get to the park for 9 and at the top of the park use to be a cafe which is now the unused restaurant and they served a very good price breakfast with a hot drink. Anyways after eating that we would go round the Zoo for a hour and go on the rides to mid afternoon. Then they use to open up the 2 entertainment venues and we go in there for a pint and go back out to go more rides. Then around 5ish we go for something to eat in the cafe they would have different types of homemade foods and in 1 of the function room they usually had the offer of a curry, rice etc with the other room been used for now a halloween disco.
We usually stayed in here to around half 6 then we have a slow walk round to the lake area to watch tbe fireworks which back then was a 30 min display and afterwards the rides would stay open to 9. We get into a queue before 9 and if the queues was still long to get out we would go back to where the disco was for another pint and a dance and when leave around 10ish.
I feel now as soon as rides close they just close everything and want you all out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top