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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Isabelle Bates & Laura Sharman

'Un-British' theme park full of queue jumpers revealed in scathing Tripadvisor review

A theme park fan unleashed fury on a British funfair, where they were forced to eat standing up and queue for hours, they claimed.

The visitor said that many jumped the line for the rides at Drayton Manor in a very "un-British" approach to queuing.

When it came to lunchtime, their experience appeared to be no better when they were faced with packed food stalls and nowhere to sit.

The scathing review was shared on Tripadvisor describing the theme park as a "free-for-all", reports Birmingham Live.

It read: "Don't bother! Went today and it was crazy busy with queues over an hour long.

"That was before you add in the people jumping the queue!!!! Food outlets were rammed, nowhere to sit and eat and it was a bit of a free-for-all."

Despite their furious review, the visitor empathised with hardworking staff who they said were unable to manage the apparent chaos during their trip last month.

Adventure Cove at Drayton Manor in Staffordshire (Handout)

They added: "We felt so so sorry for the staff who were trying their best but were unable to keep the park under control."

The theme park-goer also pointed out that there seemed to be twice as many people at the funfair compared to before the pandemic.

It would suggest Brits have returned to the amusement park in droves following the lifting of restrictions.

The reviewer claimed food outlets were "rammed" with nowhere to sit (Birmingham Mail /Darren Quinton)

The reviewer said that all food outlets were "rammed" at the park in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

They vowed never to return again after queues were reportedly more than an hour long with some people pushing in.

"Twice as many people there today as we have seen in the past, even before Covid," they continued.

"And turned what was always a great family day out into our last trip to Drayton Manor sadly. We loved this theme park but sadly never again."

They claimed there were twice as many people at the park compared to their experience before the pandemic (Birmingham Mail /Darren Quinton)

Another reviewer appeared to have a similar experience when visiting the amusement park a month later.

They wrote: "The queues are so long. if you're lucky you might get on two rides all day.

"You could be waiting for over an hour, and then the ride breaks down and your wait turns to over two hours. Total waste of money. Avoid at all cost."

Drayton Manor responded to the comments which came despite thousands of "excellent" reviews.

Another reviewer said the wait time for rides could be up to several hours if they break down (SWNS.com)

A park spokesperson said: "We're disappointed to hear that your visit did not meet your expectations.

"We always strive to give our guests the best day out possible. All our rides and attractions which are available on the day of your visit are advertised on our website in advance."

Drayton Manor has a four-star rating overall on TripAdvisor with more than 3,000 reviewers praising the park as "excellent" for its selection of rides and value for money.

Contrary to the negative review, other recent visitors said the park was "amazing" and "a great alternative to the bigger theme parks".

Some reviews posted a month later described the park on the contrary, where "queues were not an issue at all".

Other reviews praised Drayton Manor as being "excellent" and said it was less chaotic than bigger theme parks (Handout)

One person commented: "Unfortunately we had gloomy weather but the advantage was less crowds. Overall it definitely felt less chaotic than the bigger parks and queues were reasonable.

"The food at the burger bar was really tasty and again queues were not an issue at all. We also got warm doughnuts from a vendor which were lovely. "

Another reviewer said their children "had a fantastic time and it was well managed so we never ended up queueing very long compared to other places".

A spokesperson for Drayton Manor Resort said: "During peak summer season, we always expect to see an increase in visitor numbers, which can inevitably affect the queueing times for our most popular rides and attractions.

"Although visitor numbers increase at this time of year, we continue to welcome the same amount of guests as before the pandemic.

Splash Canyon attraction where schoolgirl Evha Jannath fell and drowned at the park in 2017 (SWNS.com)

"We have several measures in place to ensure visitors can continue to enjoy a fun-filled day out, even in busier periods.

"These include a cap on the total number of tickets available to purchase each day, increased staff resource, and a variety of food outlets and seating areas around the resort for people to enjoy.

"Customer satisfaction is of utmost importance to us and we’re always sad to hear if a guest is unhappy with their experience. It’s never our intention to leave guests disappointed by any aspect of their visit.

"Our team responds to all TripAdvisor reviews and has reached out to the guests directly to further discuss their feedback."

Last year, the park was fined £1million for safety failings that led to the death of 11-year-old Evha Jannath who fell from a water ride and drowned in 2017.

But a judge in the case said there was "no prospect" the theme park would pay, as the company that owned the site at the time of her death had gone into administration.

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