Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas 2016 Review
Drayton Manor’s
Magical Christmas
19 November to 31 December 2016
Reviewed by Katy Nettleton
As its now November my children are constantly talking about their ever-changing Santa Lists and are far too excited already! So, given than we are only a week (or so) away from the start of December we decided to start the festive period early this year (and also be able to see exactly what our children aged 6, 6, and 3 were going to ask for (although we know this will change again!)), but when we were looking we couldn’t decide where to go or what to do! There are plenty of garden centres offering a “magical experience” or the local farms which all looked amazing but only for a short period of time – we (hubby and I) wanted to see the smile on our children’s faces all day (selfishly we love the spirit of Christmas and want to freeze the moment each year when they see Santa and their faces light up!). So, given this we were excited to find ourselves at the last minute at Drayton Manor to experience their offerings of a Magical Christmas.
The car park was only partially full, which we welcomed as it meant that there would not be excessive queues as you normally get in theme parks when during the summer months. Once we were inside the first thing you heard was Christmas music, it was beautiful – this is what childhood memories are made of. The sound of children giggling, Christmas music playing, a crisp in the air and snow! Lots of snow flowing from the sky – words cannot explain the way in which the smile on our children’s faces just shone, the twinkle in each of their eyes – that was and still is magical and I have frozen that exact moment in my mind and thinking back now I am still getting goose bumps.
After the initial excitement and blessed feelings, we headed to the Thomas train ride to the Zoo – from experience of going to the park we knew that this ride often gets long queues and one ride that our 3 year old could not wait to go on, and he was adamant if we did not get Thomas and had Percy he would not be happy! Luckily Thomas arrived 5 minutes later, all lit up with antlers and a red nose (which our 6 year old girls’ found beyond exciting!). We took the short ride to the back of the zoo, and strangely saw the sign for the Terrence Driving School and Thomas Museum which having been to the park twice before had never been to! All 3 children loved being able to drive Terrence around, but I did feel sorry for the operator as he did spend most of his time telling our 3 year old to steer and not into him! The Thomas Museum is a little treasure, and I loved it as did all the children who were in there.
We headed then through the Zoo (which had a few decorations and lighting but I can imaging at dusk it would be magical) to the 4D cinema as we know the queue for this are normally quite long. The film was brilliant (as always) with the children in the audience screaming with delight, laughing and wincing (at the sadder parts) and one for both parents and children – make sure you don’t mind getting wet though!
After this we headed back down to Thomas Land but on the way saw the “Slide and Glide” which was free and no queue so we decided to have an impromptu stop off for a little spot of ice skating. After the safety talk, putting on boots we entered the small, covered rink however if I am honest “Glide” was a little bit of a wish, and in actual fact our 3 year old was quite able to walk around without falling and if you tried to “glide” if was near on impossible. However, our 6 year olds loved it that they could stay up on “one blade” themselves and that they were able to slide around competently (which they find hard on other ice skating rinks). So, for an adult this was disappointing but for a child I think it probably was a blessing!
After the “sliding” we headed to the pirate ride however due to height restrictions my girls were unable to go on unaccompanied as they had previously. Speaking to the attendant they explained that height restrictions have changed recently and to stay in-line with health and safety they have had to make changes to 5 rides, so please check each ride and revised boards each time prior to sending your children to queue up for a ride – it would save allot of tears! Our girls did go on, but we had to accompany them and therefore take it in turns so that there was an adult looking after our 3 year old as well!
We then headed to see the Big Jolly Man himself, after looking at lengthy waits last year I was a little apprehensive and had a bag full of goodies at the ready, but these were not needed. We got there just before our allocated time (which we were given on entry) and went straight to the front with only 4 families in front of us. The walk way to the magical castle was beautiful, sparkly and just made the experience even more perfect. The elf welcomed us to the castle and as we walked through the door to meet Santa it was beautifully decorated and use of light was brilliant. There were a few different doors to Santa, so the children had to choose one and hope it was the correct one! As they opened the door Santa was there! And they all looked so happy (well not the 3 year old as he shied behind my legs until it was time to talk to Santa about what he would like, although I am not sure if we do really need another “pretend Christmas tree” under our tree!). Santa was a jolly good and was genuinely happy to talk to my children and check they had been good all year, and also check that they would continue this up until the big night itself. We got the obligatory photo take, which was really nice of our children. The prices were not too expensive (usual prices) but they did not “imply” you should buy them which I thought was really nice. As we made our way through the grotto there was an arts and crafts area with face painting (I am not sure if this was free or not, as the queue was quite lengthy) and our children wanted to check what was in their goody bag from Santa!
Finally, we arrived back into Thomas Land, which was surprisingly quiet and we only had to wait a maximum for 5 minutes for any ride. We also had to test the hot beverages (it would be rude not to!) which was perfect, they staff in the café also made the children’s hot chocolate with half cold milk so that they could drink it without needing to wait for it to cool (however by this time the weather was becoming frostier so it wouldn’t have had to wait too long). After a few more rides it was becoming apparent the hubby needed food (and I think the children wanted to thaw out a little bit also) so we headed to the burger restaurant as we wanted something quick as it was nearly time for the parade! I thought it was quite reasonable (for a theme park) and cost £22 for 4 burgers, 4 fries and 4 drinks and they all were yummy and plenty for a family of 5! After we had thawed out we returned back to Thomas Land, and as the Parade started we had the best view from Jeremy (the flying planes), you could hear the story through the loud speaker system and see the lights from the actors and dancers from the sky! We even got to see them knock at the little door and see a familiar face answer! The parade started just after 5pm and walked up towards the lake, however our children loved it that no one was queuing for the rides so made the most of being able to go on all the rides again within 10 minutes!
We didn’t manage to the see the entertainment on Sodar Station but from afar (on the rides) we heard various stories being told and saw plenty of people surrounding the station. On each ride you could see different decorations, listen to the music and see snow topped buildings. The best view of the park at Christmas has to be from Winston!
As the rides were closing (6pm) we headed towards the lake where the true magic could be seen in the sky with the fireworks, the display was over the lake but we had a brilliant view from Thomas Land. What I loved was that the colours and display were amazing but without the loud bangs (which you normally get), this may be because we were slightly further back but we still did not miss a firework and meant there were not children covering their ears (which we normally see on bonfire night!). I would say, it is worth staying for the fireworks as for me, they completed the magical day.
The larger rides were closed and therefore I can envisage that once older children no longer believe, they may get a little bit bored of the smaller rides, however a few of the larger ones were kept open all day and I am sure that the 4d Cinema, Zoo and the larger rides in Thomas Land would make up for it!
The indoor soft play is open, but we didn’t go in as the weather was so nice we wanted to make the most of the outdoor areas and I presume we will back again and at some point go into the soft play to take shelter from the rain!
I am not sure how I can sum up this day for either me or my children as words cannot express exactly what I saw and the feelings created. But in the words of our 3 year old – “it was awesome.”
Overall, worth every penny and a definite 5 out of 5!
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £12 to £22 (pre-book online).
For more information or to book tickets visit www.draytonmanor.co.uk/magical-christmas.
Drayton Manor, Drayton Manor Drive, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B78 3TW | 01827 287979
