Pirates Adventure Rumour
- Thread starter tim
- Start date
With a site been open it’s hard to hid a coaster construction site but a dark ride you will only really see construction prices if you go on Thomas train as they will be using the maintenance shed doors and round the back. They may have stripped the rest of the building and they currently working on the ride system as if they can’t get that working again then it be pointless theming a building if the ride system don’t work. Also I know the ride system is 35 years old but Disney land pirate ride open in 1967, WDW in 1973 and Tokyo in 1983.
@Themeparksandy1981 your correct in what you’re saying. It’s definitely harder if not impossible to conceal work on a Rollercoaster,than it is to refurbish Pirate Adventure. Your second point is also true. Much of the work being undertaken on Pirate Adventure has been seen from the Thomas Railway. The Mack ride boxes were seen just outside of the back doors of the Pirate Adventure building. People in high visibility jackets have also been sighted by passengers on the Railway as it goes past the back of the Pirate Adventure building. To be extra discrete most of the restoration and installation of new theming could be done out of hours. When Duel at Alton Towers was being rethemed to Alton Manor most of the work wasn’t publicly visible. Even people who used drones to film the retheme didn’t pick up any of the new theming or construction work.
Just because visitors can’t see the full extent of the work being undertaken on Pirate Adventure it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. As Pirate Adventure is such a beloved Ride at Drayton Manor the work is probably being carried out as discrete as possible. I imagine Drayton Manor want Pirate Adventure to reopen next year (2026) with the least amount of spoilers possible,until Drayton Manor sees fit. I imagine that if Pirate Adventure is returning next year we’ll start to get spoilers and drips of information from September onwards.
Have I missed something? Because I’m 99% sure this isn’t true?
@Themeparksandy1981 I think we can all agree that with the sighted maintenance work,barrage of rumours from an array of sources, the Mack ride box being seen outside of the back entrance of the Pirate Adventure building and boats being sent away for a spruce up it looks like Pirate Adventure will return next year. If Pirate Adventure is returning I’m expecting it to be similar to Piraten In Batavia at Europa Park.
Going by the time it took to reopen Piraten In Batavia I think Pirate Adventure returning next year is feesable. Piraten In Batavia took 24 months to open. This was due to the ride having to be built from scratch,the Boats being made and finally The Global Coronavirus Pandemic. None of these factors are applicable to Pirate Adventure so a reopening should be much quicker. I think the Boats being sent away for a spruce up is a good indicator that Pirate Adventure is returning. I don’t think Drayton Manor would refurbish the Boats if the ride wasn’t reopening. From a financial perspective it would be a waste of finances to have the Boats overhauled only to scrap them upon their return.
I was speaking to some maintenance guys and they said the motors and the lift hill chains are back up and been running but there’s no water in it or boats back on site yet.
If Drayton were going through all this effort to reconstruct the ride out of opening hours to make it discrete, I don't think they would do something as silly as leave Mack ride boxes outside of the building, which would very obviously prove they are working on the ride. If you can find any proof of these boxes being there then you can prove me wrong but until then I believe this is, simply put, a rumour.
I don't think they are trying to hide it. The staff will tell you the park is working on re opening it. They just are just not advertising the fact.
The park would be stupid to leave a massive show building like that unused. Especially when they don't have many other dark rides
I think some of you are forgetting that there is literally a Mack ride opposite to the PA entrance, Jolly Buccaneer. if and i doubt there was a box sighted then it would ultimately be for that as the building is presumably used for storage and maintenance, because as some of you have said it would be stupid to leave it unused.
The boats being taken away for a refurbishment can be easily disproven. they are in plain sight in a certain area on site, the fact the park was trying to flog them off at the auction in 2020 says enough about their condition.
I hate to be like this but there is zero solid evidence that this is happening in the slightest.
The boats being taken away for a refurbishment can be easily disproven. they are in plain sight in a certain area on site, the fact the park was trying to flog them off at the auction in 2020 says enough about their condition.
Difference is Disney is a Billion Dollar company and Drayton is a small park in Staffordshire owned by a company who run the place on the bare minimum.
The array of sources is Engineers who'd risk their job telling enthusiasts that a dark ride is being refurbished?, and Shawn Sanbrooke who told a big group of enthusiasts that its happening which he said to Victoria Lynn he wouldn't say anything about it? sorry but im not sure this array of sources is the most trustworthy bunch in the world.
I hate to be like this but there is zero solid evidence that this is happening in the slightest.
Last edited:
Them gates were replaced and blocked off at the back of the pirate adventure building for a reason. There’s big skips in there and sticking out of them looks like the final bits of pirate adventure.
The pictures I taken proves the maintenance area has been cleared.
Many staff I known from over have been honest and none have done anything to risk there jobs.
Last April when the Wave was closed and staff were out the front was telling they were just ride hosts/ops involved in removing the scenes from the pirate adventure. Stuff that was rotten just thrown away, stuff was tested like the pirates and if it worked was kept by the park and the broken stuff was sold at the auction.
They also said as of last summer nothing had been touched in the building since 2020. Fast forward to the Feb half term got chatting to a staff member about how they not bothered working on the outside of the building yet and he said u didn’t get this from me and said there is work taking place inside the building. Not 1 member of staff have said no there’s nothing going on inside that building and for maintenance to say that everything to basically gets the boats to the station building and up to the drop and the exit platform now all works. They really just need new pumps as the original were knackered and they got the basics for the ride to work. Now if that all works and there is a boat still inside to test then there could be new boats coming from Mack and then they got a shell of a building to use to theme it how they like.
The pictures I taken proves the maintenance area has been cleared.
Many staff I known from over have been honest and none have done anything to risk there jobs.
Last April when the Wave was closed and staff were out the front was telling they were just ride hosts/ops involved in removing the scenes from the pirate adventure. Stuff that was rotten just thrown away, stuff was tested like the pirates and if it worked was kept by the park and the broken stuff was sold at the auction.
They also said as of last summer nothing had been touched in the building since 2020. Fast forward to the Feb half term got chatting to a staff member about how they not bothered working on the outside of the building yet and he said u didn’t get this from me and said there is work taking place inside the building. Not 1 member of staff have said no there’s nothing going on inside that building and for maintenance to say that everything to basically gets the boats to the station building and up to the drop and the exit platform now all works. They really just need new pumps as the original were knackered and they got the basics for the ride to work. Now if that all works and there is a boat still inside to test then there could be new boats coming from Mack and then they got a shell of a building to use to theme it how they like.
What one ride host told me was the upper management are aware of Pirates Adventure Popularity, Drayton Manor know the popularity of Pjrate Adventue and Looping Group know the popularity of it also why would you cut down trees around the building especially if its not being used.
I see mostly pros and cons to it returning but more leaning to pro due to the fact the Ride system very much lines with Drayton new family target audience
I see mostly pros and cons to it returning but more leaning to pro due to the fact the Ride system very much lines with Drayton new family target audience
You only got to look at the History of the looping group. They got a History of bringing rides back to life. They spend millions on the rapids. Even the Buffalo retheme would have been a 6 figure sum.
Pirate Adventure cost £3 million back in 1990 and a big chuck of that was for the building and ride system.
Pirate Adventure cost £3 million back in 1990 and a big chuck of that was for the building and ride system.
Even if Drayton wanted to invest 1 billion into the park the 3 biggest problems are:
1) Space now they already built rides on areas which didn’t have space before but space is the major problem but they got a big warehouse that’s been repaired and a ride system that been partly tested and works.
Victoria Lynn has also said that they can partly fill in the lake and add rides to the right side of the pirate adventure building.
2) Green belt land they can build on it but need to apply for planning permission 1st and it took the Bryan’s to 2020 to get permission to built on the Vikings area.
3) Housing with 3 villages around the edges of the park they won’t be able to install rides that guests will scream on nearby. That’s why the buildings in Frontier falls are all enclosed as there’s houses not far behind them.
1) Space now they already built rides on areas which didn’t have space before but space is the major problem but they got a big warehouse that’s been repaired and a ride system that been partly tested and works.
Victoria Lynn has also said that they can partly fill in the lake and add rides to the right side of the pirate adventure building.
2) Green belt land they can build on it but need to apply for planning permission 1st and it took the Bryan’s to 2020 to get permission to built on the Vikings area.
3) Housing with 3 villages around the edges of the park they won’t be able to install rides that guests will scream on nearby. That’s why the buildings in Frontier falls are all enclosed as there’s houses not far behind them.
This is the proof they are working on the ride.
In the skip it looks like scenes from the pirate adventure
In the skip it looks like scenes from the pirate adventure
If you look on google maps mate, you can clearly see that is just in the general workshop area. The workshop is around / under the old building I have heard, you can see this on google maps. That skip has been there for years and years.
The workshop area stretches from where the dodgems are, to the back of the trainshed. I am not saying they are not planning to reopen it but this BY NO MEANS proves that there is currently work done inside that building.
The workshop area stretches from where the dodgems are, to the back of the trainshed. I am not saying they are not planning to reopen it but this BY NO MEANS proves that there is currently work done inside that building.
Look even Shawn said he saw the plans for gold rush back in early 2023 and in his latest vlog he mentioned pirate adventure so many times which he confirmed to me on the preview day in March that there is work going on in the building but he can’t say nothing to Victoria Lynn announces it but said to keep a eye on the channel/social media for a construction update sometime in the late summer.
Just because someone online has said something, doesn't mean all of it is true. All of your things you have said do show hints towards the ride opening, but do not confirm that stuff is happening at this moment in time.
If we look at the 5 year plan, it says nothing about a ride opening from 2025 to the end of the document. So they still have the best part of 2 years if this ride was planned for a 2027 opening. Like I have said, this doesn't mean that they are not going to open it, as I really think that they will, but we don't have any real evidence of this going ahead. Nothing at all is telling us that there is work going on inside the building at this current time. Drayton manor know how big this ride was, could be and how much love it has, I am sure that they want to take their time and do it right. They have no need to rush into it.
By knowing that building has been pretty much untouched for years and years, I can almost guarantee that before anyone is permitted to work inside PA building on a big scale the roof will need to be redone.
You said Shawn had seems some plans for gold rush, back in 2023, but that doesn't mean actual ride plans, or anything of the sort. It could of been small things like area theme plans, landscaping plans etc.
I do think myself this ride will definitely reopen but wouldn't be getting too ahead of yourself, as nothing at all is pointing to work being carried out inside the building.
If we look at the 5 year plan, it says nothing about a ride opening from 2025 to the end of the document. So they still have the best part of 2 years if this ride was planned for a 2027 opening. Like I have said, this doesn't mean that they are not going to open it, as I really think that they will, but we don't have any real evidence of this going ahead. Nothing at all is telling us that there is work going on inside the building at this current time. Drayton manor know how big this ride was, could be and how much love it has, I am sure that they want to take their time and do it right. They have no need to rush into it.
By knowing that building has been pretty much untouched for years and years, I can almost guarantee that before anyone is permitted to work inside PA building on a big scale the roof will need to be redone.
You said Shawn had seems some plans for gold rush, back in 2023, but that doesn't mean actual ride plans, or anything of the sort. It could of been small things like area theme plans, landscaping plans etc.
I do think myself this ride will definitely reopen but wouldn't be getting too ahead of yourself, as nothing at all is pointing to work being carried out inside the building.