Drayton Manor's NEW Coaster is TESTING!
Over the last week, Drayton Manor has started to speed up on the construction of their new Intamin Lift & Launch Rollercoaster which is set to open later this year.
Ground works and theming have been coming together over the last few weeks with newly painted boards, some familiar looking pieces which may have been used previously around Shockwave and even a water feature! The queue line is also starting to come together with a route that runs behind the station and looks like it will potentially resemble a mine (if it gets an enclosed cover) which will be an interesting queue to suit the Frontier Falls theme.
The mention of the water feature does make me wonder. Will we see Drayton Manor reintroduce “panning for gold” as an upcharge activity? This has been something that has seemed to lose popularity across the UK (though some parks still have them – e.g Legoland Windsor) and I think it would really suit Frontier Falls as an extra thing to do during the day. I say reintroduce as I am sure they’ve had these years before. (Do correct me if I am wrong)
On top of the work around the site, we managed to see the coaster testing during our visit on the weekend which was great to see. This coaster has been a bit of a strange one leaving us wondering how it would work and get around the track. After watching it, we can confirm that we understand and couldn’t be more excited to get on and experience it for ourselves. I don’t want to spoil too much for you in writing, but the random element to the ride is quite interesting and will surprise a lot of people, I’m sure. One thing we realised was just how quiet it was, often not even noticing it was testing until we turned around (Unlike the much louder coaster, The Wave which can be heard ascending it’s lift hill from across the water). The new coaster will take guests backwards, forwards all over the place as they experience the wildest ride Frontier Falls has to offer!
One of the main questions I have been asked is “What will the height restriction be?” and to that I cannot confirm right now. However, looking at it compared to other coasters in the park, I believe it will be in the range of 1m to 1.2m, this is something that will be confirmed by the park in the coming weeks along with the name and opening date. As for the opening date, we believe an announcement will be coming very soon which will confirm the name at the same time.
With the park ramping up tests of the new coaster and the work continuing at quite a strong pace. It’s a matter of time before we hear the news, we’ve all been waiting for.
Are you excited to ride this coaster? Let us know!