I was never taken to a theme park for a school trip, we always had to do something atleast vaguely learning based, like the theatre or goape, so I'm a bit biased, but I don't think school trips should go to theme parks, Can a school really ever sufficiently supervise 100 kids in a theme park? Plus the last time I was at Thorpe it was school trip day and most of the kids got on 2 rides the whole day because it was so busy, we were fine because the rides were walk on first thing and for the last few hours.

Eh, I see your point. I think the reason our school takes us to Towers is because they can trust us and they know what we are like. We all know the consequences of actions we take. Teachers kept telling us the week before about following all the rules and things that can get you ejected from the park etc

The only reason I started to become obsessed with theme park is because we were taken on an "educational" trip to Alton Towers, so I deffinatley agree with school trips!

My school always ran a school trip to AT near the end of the summer term and we were always told where the teachers would be hanging around and to follow the rules of the park. We generally went around in groups of 4-6 without a teacher escorting us, if you think of the size of most theme parks and the fact that the average school will take 2-3 coaches full of kids just think how many teachers you would have to take along to make sure all the kids were supervised all the time. These trips are usually run by High Schools and at that age the kids are trusted to get themselves to and from school on their own so why shouldn't they be able to go around a theme park on their own. The parents will have had to sign a permission slip to say they are happy for their kids to go on the trip and that letter will most likely explain how they will be planning to supervise them, it's not like the school can just take them.

I think its a good thing for schools to take kids to these places, they get massively reduced tickets and for some kids these trips are their only opportunity to go to these places.

I think we have to accept this is a tragic accident and I dont think the school should be criticized for not having a teacher on the boat, like a lot of you have already said they were above the height restriction to go on unsupervised.

I like the idea of doors or netting to offer a little more protection where the steps are but I hate the idea of lap belts. It might keep some people seated but to be honest I think that would be the people who are likely to stay sat anyway. People who want to move will undo the seat belts and move anyway. Also if the boat was to capsize I think the lap belts would be more of a hazard. I have had to do training where I had to undo a seat belt under water and its not easy, and that was when I already had my hand on the buckle before going into the water and I knew what was coming. I would think most people when suddenly found upside down in fast flowing water would struggle to undo a belt.

http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/16/family-of ... r-6641896/

Evha's family are apparently seeking to sue Drayton Manor.

Im really not sure why as (I hate to sound awful here) it was their child's fault for not following the rules which are there for a reason: to keep you safe. She says that the staff were too slow to react, so she is essentially saying "The staff should have gone in and risked their life earlier".

Liam.W wrote:

http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/16/family-of-schoolgirl-who-died-on-splash-canyon-to-sue-drayton-manor-6641896/

Evha's family are apparently seeking to sue Drayton Manor.

Im really not sure why as (I hate to sound awful here) it was their child's fault for not following the rules which are there for a reason: to keep you safe. She says that the staff were too slow to react, so she is essentially saying "The staff should have gone in and risked their life earlier".

I guess they will have to assess wether any more safety protocols could have been implemented on the ride to prevent an accident like this. It's only the child's fault if they were not made properly aware of the rules. I'm also quite surprised how little scrutiny the park have faced, compared to AT in 2015, where the story of the crash seemed to be on TV forever.

Looks like Drayton Manor
Planning big things over the next 5 years.

1) Orangery Restaurant
2) Entertainment Pavilion
3) Multi-storey Car park 4 levels
4) Veranda
5) Hotel Hamilton
6) Additional lodges to existing camping and caravan site
7) Car Parking Expansion
8) Zoo refit
9) Staff housing
10) Family care/Crèche facilities
11) Expansion of the Theme park on the land next to the Buffalo coaster
12) New Thomas land Expansion
13) New means of Transport to farmer McCall's farm
14) Park lodges
15) Possible solar farm and solar farm car park
16) Possible lodge expansion

Just hope the current accident don't put a stop to any of theses future projects

Sounds better than the Merlin resorts.

With the expansion next to buffalo will we see the launched S&S concept become reality?

2nd hotel AND lodges?...they can hardly fill the original hotel as it is! why are a lot of parks doing this recently, building loads of hotels with no reason to stay in them (Hello Merlin) unless they get 3-4 truly world class rides, I personally can't see this being a sound investment.
What crowd pullers do they have? Thomas Land, Apocalypse, and 2 decent at best coasters...am I missing something or is this a just...utterly senseless?

What do they think will attract That many people for a day, let alone 2+ days?

I wonder which one of the developments above will be replacing the rapids?!

Robert W wrote:

I wonder which one of the developments above will be replacing the rapids?!

What's to say that anything will be replacing the Rapids?

At this stage it would be premature to predict what the outcome of the investigation into the incident on Splash Canyon will be.

If the ride was at fault then yes I believe it'll be removed (or simply left SBNO) but if it wasn't then I think it will operate again, albeit with some modifications.

I can't believe that they see more places for people to stay as a priority. This is the definition of a one day park!

On a side note what is their height limit for new rides? I'm trying to predict their inevitable next cosster but without their limit it's quite hard.

I'd go as far as saying it's a half a day park. There is just extremely little to do or see.

Robert W wrote:

I'd go as far as saying it's a half a day park. There is just extremely little to do or see.

I think the number of families who spend the full day in Thomas Land may disagree with you.

While the main park itself doesn't have the level of attractions that Alton has there is more than enough there to keep people entertained for a whole day.

When I went with family, we did pretty much most of Thomas Land in a couple of hours and then a few of the better attractions in the rest of the park. The place was a bit of a dump really, so we didn't want to walk around all day with little things left to do, so drove all the way home instead! The place doesn't give the same urge to stay and re-ride rides or have a nice meal that other parks do, so overall, takes less time than other parks to experience.

Have to admit the only reason I go to Drayton Manor is simply for Apocalypse (stand-up), Air Race, Maelstrom & Pandemonium. I would be more than happy to re-ride them all day

It's a nice junior park imo a good place for family's to start after places like Chessington etc.

PS: Oh and another reason, I'm getting old and walking less distance to attractions is an attraction in itself. My poor legs at Alton Towers..

Stormforce 10 had water on and testing today. After being shut for maintenance since the beginning of the season.

Any news about Stormforce 10? As the main summer season is almost done I have a feeling that it won't now reopen until next year. A shame as I'm there the end of September and with the rapids currently SBNO that leaves no water rides at the park.

Also what are the restraints like on Shockwave? I'm tall (1.93M) and rather large. I sometimes need the big seats on B&M coasters, sometimes not.  Do they have any bigger seats/[font=-apple-system, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif]restraints?[/font]

Has anybody heard of Drayton's New offering for this season as I can only see of a new (second hand) film for the 4D cinema. Or, is this the anticipated calm before a major investment next year?

After last year's events, I expect the park will look to offer a full line-up after all the closures, therefore, nothing new will be added this year.