I would love for the crazy golf course to be themed to the rides like Alton Towers.
Pirate Adventure
- Thread starter Harry
- Start date
The problem with attempting to bring the ride system back in a new form (from a marketing POV) is that the Pirate Adventure is so embedded in to people's memories,imo, that for any replacement to be worth its value in money to the park, it would ideally have to stand at least closely to the original in terms of quality, to be an effective marketing pull for the park. Otherwise I suspect it would forever be known as "the not so good replacement of pirate adventure". People still (bear in mind that it has been almost 10 years since Pirate Adventure has closed) bring up the "pirate ride at Drayton manor" and how good they think it was on social media, or when speaking to staff who work at the park. If a replacement dark ride of that size/scale didn't live up to expectations, I actually think it would possibly even put people off going to Drayton.
When we talk about using that space, we are essentially talking about a large signature ride. A ride that used to be on the parks logo in fact. And signature rides are often a lot like 'strong magnets' ( best analogy I can think of) for guests, in that they have the power of either attracting or repelling visitors to the wider park, depending on how good they are perceived as. People often judge a park based off of how good the signature rides are. One of the reasons why it was wise of Drayton to be very quiet about the ride's closure in the mid 2010s. And a reason for them to now be cautious about doing stuff with the space.
The optimism some people have about the ride returning is great, but we have to ground things in reality . It's extraordinarily expensive to operate a dark ride of that size. Let alone design and fabricate theming for it from scratch, or develop new lighting/sound/show control systems for everything inside it. And given the current state of the building, It's easy to imagine the planning costs and surveying costs for doing work inside the building being a huge issue for the park. I just can't see Looping wanting to build a ride of that scale, even if they can fix up the existing ride system.
To put it in to context; in the early 90s, the dark ride market was far more lucrative for theme parks. Hand built prop making was more cost effective in labour terms back then than it is nowadays, and it was easier to assemble large teams of ride designers (and for a ride like this, you would need a large group of people in a number of different disciplines). Raw materials costs were lower then too, and dark rides like Pirate Adventure are extremely dependent on these kinds of things. It's one of the reasons why opting for coasters is often a safer bet for parks nowadays. You don't need as much in the way of theming or effects built/maintained, and the risk to reward ratio is lower. The ghost train at thorpe park is a good demonstration of the risks of building a dark ride that doesn't pay off (and ends up being a huge cash sink for the park). It's why I can see why Gold Rush has been chosen (over adding a dark ride) in the former Apocalypse area. Coasters can rely on quick thrills, whereas dark rides have to be done extremely well for them to work effectively.
Think I may have said it before, but the best thing for Pirate Adventure is to let it sit there as a kind of 'shrine', and a reminder of the rides former glory, for all of the above reasons. Unless something can be built which lives up to the original Pirate Adventure, leave it as it is.
When we talk about using that space, we are essentially talking about a large signature ride. A ride that used to be on the parks logo in fact. And signature rides are often a lot like 'strong magnets' ( best analogy I can think of) for guests, in that they have the power of either attracting or repelling visitors to the wider park, depending on how good they are perceived as. People often judge a park based off of how good the signature rides are. One of the reasons why it was wise of Drayton to be very quiet about the ride's closure in the mid 2010s. And a reason for them to now be cautious about doing stuff with the space.
The optimism some people have about the ride returning is great, but we have to ground things in reality . It's extraordinarily expensive to operate a dark ride of that size. Let alone design and fabricate theming for it from scratch, or develop new lighting/sound/show control systems for everything inside it. And given the current state of the building, It's easy to imagine the planning costs and surveying costs for doing work inside the building being a huge issue for the park. I just can't see Looping wanting to build a ride of that scale, even if they can fix up the existing ride system.
To put it in to context; in the early 90s, the dark ride market was far more lucrative for theme parks. Hand built prop making was more cost effective in labour terms back then than it is nowadays, and it was easier to assemble large teams of ride designers (and for a ride like this, you would need a large group of people in a number of different disciplines). Raw materials costs were lower then too, and dark rides like Pirate Adventure are extremely dependent on these kinds of things. It's one of the reasons why opting for coasters is often a safer bet for parks nowadays. You don't need as much in the way of theming or effects built/maintained, and the risk to reward ratio is lower. The ghost train at thorpe park is a good demonstration of the risks of building a dark ride that doesn't pay off (and ends up being a huge cash sink for the park). It's why I can see why Gold Rush has been chosen (over adding a dark ride) in the former Apocalypse area. Coasters can rely on quick thrills, whereas dark rides have to be done extremely well for them to work effectively.
Think I may have said it before, but the best thing for Pirate Adventure is to let it sit there as a kind of 'shrine', and a reminder of the rides former glory, for all of the above reasons. Unless something can be built which lives up to the original Pirate Adventure, leave it as it is.
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I hear what you’re saying but it’s a big building that can be seen from every area of the park. Nearly every social media post gets at least 1 comment about bringing the ride back. They been repairing the roof over the past year and now with the storm damage they started the process of repairing the outer walls. The boats have been sent to be repaired.
I think it's possible to bring back the ride but like Kam said it would have to be done incredibly well and live up to standards. I do believe with the Looping Group in charge they could certainly make it happen, but it's just if the park actually want to do it. Sure - it would stop people nagging on social media but if just stopping a few comments could potentially put people off coming to the park then I'm not sure it's really worth it.
Well put Kam!!! I wouldn't just rule out about the theming being high quality, but for me, another thing that made the ride so memorable and enjoyable was that it had a certain flair, if you could call it that. The very cartoon-like look it had gave the ride a lovely british charm, which looping would go down a more realistic looking approach with Pirate adventure 2.0 and completely miss the mark on what made it special I'm the first and stuck out from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Looping couldn't just build a generic Pirate Boat ride and call it a day, they'd have to build PIRATE ADVENTURE in some form. With a ride this beloved and missed, they'd have to get it right in almost every aspect.
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I do think a big dark water ride could really give Drayton the edge as the best non merlin park.
Hello!
I am new here but was looking for the original audio files for the pirate adventure. I am currently doing a recreation on planet coaster and would love to add the audio to it. I worked here for around ten years on the rides and used to operate it back in my early days. Would bring back a lot of memories ha!
I am new here but was looking for the original audio files for the pirate adventure. I am currently doing a recreation on planet coaster and would love to add the audio to it. I worked here for around ten years on the rides and used to operate it back in my early days. Would bring back a lot of memories ha!
Elise
Administrator
Hey hey! Welcome
That sounds like an awesome project.
I don't personally - but may be worth asking here too if nothing is in this thread already: https://www.draytontalk.co.uk/threads/drayton-ride-music.329/page-2
Would love to see the recreation when you've got it finished too so please share that with us all
This.
Little lad has just turned 9. We've had annual passes pretty much since he was toddler and we have no idea what all the fuss is about.
I do feel sorry for all the visitors who don’t remember the park before the year 2000 as the park was so much different. Pirate adventure I went on this in July or August 1990 and the queue was outside the main entrance all day. I went on this 3 years before I went on Disney Worlds version and to it got its Pirate of the Caribbean movie make over pirate adventure in its 1st 10 years was on par with it.
Can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I was rode it.
Can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I was rode it.
Agreed. I've never been to the park those years prior since i wasn't even born then, but looking at videos online, there is a stark difference to the park currently, especially in Pirates.
The park back then seemed to value theming and quality more so than the park does currently. Excalibur looked great in its first few years with the fake market stalls near the entrance and the funky medieval parody-like music.
On Pirates, it looked great in its early years with what Dan Has shown us on this thread a while back. I might have to agree with Themeparksandy1981 that it did rival Disneyland Paris' Pirates of the Caribbean when it was still relatively new and properly looked after. Sure it was heavily inspired by it, but it was never a 1 on 1 copy. It had its own style, music, tone, and set pieces that were different from Disneys, like the Tavern, the Band playing in the hut, the blacksmith, the iconic woman hitting the man with the broom, etc. Heck, even the queue was quite different. Instead of a cave or a dungeon, it started off as what seemed like a supply room with sails, flags, ammunition and cannons stocked everywhere, there were even figures in the queue, the pirate reading the manual and the drunk pirate sleeping in the haddock above us. Then there was the upstairs part of the queue with the blue brickwork and the many doors and windows with retail signage above them, as well as the flickering lanterns.
What I think made Pirate Adventure stick out from the rest of the other non Disney Pirate boat rides was its music, same with Los Pirates, which was coincidently made by the same people who made Pirate Adventure. It never tried to copy Pirates of The Caribbeans music or sound similar (from what I can remember anyway). While other Pirate rides mostly went for the heavily orchestral/cinematic type of music, Pirates stayed quite simple yet was still well made and memorable. Everyone remembers the chanting in the first scene before the drop. Not every piece of music needs to be on Hollywood levels in terms of awesomeness and as grand. Sometimes, simplicity is just as effective.
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When we went on the train yesterday evening I noticed the lights were on in the pirate adventure building
Nearly 10 years since we lost it...
The fact people still bring the ride up after all those years really does emphasise how much it meant and still does mean to people.
The fact people still bring the ride up after all those years really does emphasise how much it meant and still does mean to people.
I last went on it with my Wife and my 2 year old daughter during the firework event 2014.
I only want on it when I was merely 6 years old, but it left a big impression on me. I was absolutely terrified of the drop, yet I absolutely loved it. I can still remember the music when queueing for it. I nearly went on it again during the War of the World's fireworks display (anyone remember that?), but we didn't. I really regret not riding it back then...
Can't believe it's been nearly 14 years since I last rode it. I really do miss it as it feels like Drayton has lost a part of itself ever since it shut. Drayton just doesn't feel completed without Pirate Adventure.
Can't believe it's been nearly 14 years since I last rode it. I really do miss it as it feels like Drayton has lost a part of itself ever since it shut. Drayton just doesn't feel completed without Pirate Adventure.
My son who is OBSESSED with drayton manor asked me what ride I'd bring back to the park and without hesitation I said Pirate Adventure.
It is ICONIC.
It is ICONIC.