Thomas Land at Drayton Manor │Review

For my son’s 2nd birthday we decided to treat him to a day out at Thomas Land, Drayton Manor. We bought our tickets online, and as we visited during term time (end of June) we were able to take advantage of their Adult & Toddler tickets - £22 for one 18 and over, and one 4 and under. That meant my husband and I, our (almost) 4 year old and our 2 year old, visited for £44. 

On the day we visited we were so lucky with the weather, in fact it probably was a little too hot to be out in the sun all day. We took the usual - sun hats, sun cream and water bottles which we just refilled - and were fine despite there not being too much shade in the park. 

I don’t know whether we were just particularly lucky during our visit but the queues were really very short. We didn’t have to wait long at all for any of the rides, and we had the chance to go on our favourites multiple times throughout the day. 

Most of the rides my 2 year old was able to go on, but he was just too short for Captain’s Sea Adventure and Troublesome Trucks. He was quite happy not to go on Captain’s Sea Adventure; my husband and daughter were spraying us from the boats they were riding on, but there were also water guns at the side of the ride so we could still spray them back. Troublesome Trucks was the first “proper” rollercoaster my daughter had been on and she absolutely loved it - I think we have a little adrenalin junkie on our hands!

After our picnic lunch we decided to let the little tummies settle before going on any more rides, so chose to get the train (Thomas, Rosie and Percy Engine Tours) over to the Zoo and Dino Trail. Seems that a lot of people had the same idea as this was the only time during the day we actually did have to queue. Still, the children seemed happy enough to watch the world go by as we waited. Earlier in the day a member of staff told us to make sure we told the driver that it was our son’s birthday. We did just that and he got a giant birthday sticker, and the driver gave an announcement wishing him a happy birthday, which both he and his sister were delighted by.

The Zoo and the nearby Dino Trail were ok. Nothing really to shout about, but it was nice to have a little break away from the main hubbub of Thomas Land where the kids could have a little walk (ok, run) around without me grabbing their hands every 2 seconds with words of warning about not wanting to lose them.

We bought some ice creams from a kiosk near the zoo and ate them as we walked back over to the Thomas Land area for a final turn on a few rides before heading home. Thomas Land was even quieter at this point, and I think we sat on the Bertie the Bus ride whilst it went around three times without getting of, or anyone else joining us. Definitely worth popping back that way towards the end of the day if you get chance.

I really thought that Thomas Land was a lovely day out and, most importantly, the kids had a fantastic time. We didn’t explore much of the rest of Drayton Manor, mostly because what we needed was in one area. I would certainly consider heading back when the children are a bit older and are able to try out a few of the bigger rides elsewhere in the park.

***

Have you been to Drayton Manor before? How did you find it? Worth it for older children, or once they’ve outgrown Thomas Land is there not much else to keep them busy?