Drayton Manor – Celebrating Bank Holiday with a Bang!
On Sunday, Drayton Manor celebrated the Bank Holiday with fireworks show. This mini event led to live music, late night riding and of course, a fireworks finale. I went down to experience the event offerings and experience our first fireworks of 2024.
During the event, rides were open from 10.30 through til 9pm (with some areas closing earlier to prepare for the fireworks). All rides were open for this event including Thomas Land and new for 2024, The Wave! The ride selection on offer meant that there was something for everyone – however the park was also a little busy with the park’s rollercoasters generating rather large queues. For example, we waited an hour and fifteen minutes for The Wave (With 30 minutes being on the ground floor) – this was our longest wait all day. It was great to see The Wave operating however we noticed it was slow to dispatch and the back row was still unavailable following the Media Preview Night.
This event was also the first time for guests to meet Rory and his sister Lory in their new looks (and first-time appearance for Lory in 2024). During the event the pair, along with their friend, put on a fantastic show twice during the day. The show was great fun with lots of jokes and dancing to popular songs with a Drayton Manor twist. After the show, guests could meet the siblings and get photos with them.
We know that the changes to Rory were met with criticism (much like most changes Drayton have made this year), however it was nice to see the positive response to Rory from the public. The group had quite a queue of excited guests and we personally loved the interactions we had with them too! We absoloutely love the Drayton Manor entertainment team, everyone does an incredible job from Thomas Land, to Frontier Falls too!
After 4pm, the DJ took to the stage alongside a live singer. Admittedly, we didn’t catch much of her performance’s however she looked to be having a great time on stage. The DJ and live performer led from 4 through til 9 when the fireworks began.
The fireworks unfortunately felt like the part where the event was lacking. The main issue for us was that it was far too light out at 9. Starting at 9.30 or 10 would have allowed the sky to get dark enough for a fully effective show. We also noticed that the audio was a little difficult to hear at the lake causing the countdown to be a bit jumbled with the fireworks starting at 2 instead of 1… Leading to the music to lose sync and totally be lost for a period. The show lasted around 6 minutes and whilst it was nice, there could have been a few improvements made for sure.
Our other concern with the event was around leaving. We wanted to get a drink on the way out, but the outlets (bar one) were all closed – this could have been an opportunity with lots of people wanting to grab something on their way out. But our biggest problem was leaving. The car parks were absolute carnage. Cars here there and everywhere with no real traffic control in place. We heard that this led to some foul behaviour as a result which could have been reduced should better traffic control measures be in place for the events finish.
As a Gold passholder, this event was included on my pass however there was a range of tickets available including “Evening only” tickets, where guests could visit for the evening at a reduced price. The event was good in value with plenty to do and glorious weather made it even better. Would we like Drayton Manor to continue with these midyear fireworks? Yes. But we would recommend a later time for them next time so there is the full effect of the fireworks.
We also want to say a huge thank you to all the staff who worked on making the day run smoothly. Without you, there would be no event, so thank you!
Thanks for reading,
Elise