UK: Drayton Manor Expands Thomas Land by 40 Percent
This year England’s Drayton Manor Theme Park celebrates its 65th anniversary. Opened on April 1st, 1950, the theme park surprised its visitors with a 2.5 million British pounds expansion that increases its “Thomas Land” theme area by 40 percent this spring. Thomas Land, which was originally opened in 2008, now boasts itself with three brand-new rides: “Flynn’s Fire Rescue” (Fire Brigade), “Captain’s Sea Adventure” (Watermania) and “Toby’s Tram Express” (Barnyard), all supplied from Italian manufacturer Zamperla. As a consequence, the rider capacity of Thomas Land has surged by 23 percent to 5,130 people per hour. In addition to the three rides, “Sodor Airport”, a two-storey building in a traditional terminal style, was erected. The airport complex invites guests to five themed rooms that will be available for private hire as of summer 2015. The ground level will feature a café. The attraction “Jeremy Jet’s Flying Academy” can now be found in its new location outside the Sodor Airport complex and “Merrick the Crane” has been added to the “Blue Mountain Engines” ride. The expansion also includes a fountain, four Victorian fairground games (from HB Leisure) as well as a bandstand for live performances. (eap)
