Thomas Land (Drayton Manor) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thomas Land |
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| General statistics | |||||||||
| Attraction type | Themed area | ||||||||
| Theme | Thomas and Friends | ||||||||
| Rides | 18 | ||||||||
Thomas Land is a themed area at Drayton Manor Theme Park in Staffordshire, England, based on the children's television series Thomas and Friends. It stands on the former site of Robinsons Land, a themed area sponsored by the soft drinks brand of the same name. The construction began while the park was still open in September 2007, and many of the Robinsons Land rides were moved to other areas of the park for the remainder of the season. Many of the rides housed in Robinsons Land except the Veteran Cars (now Sodor's Classic Cars) were sold to Funland in Hayling Island. Thomas Land officially opened to the public on 10 June 2008. An expansion of Thomas Land with additional attractions and private party rooms opened on 8 April 2015.
Rides
Thomas Land is set in 3 acres (12,000 m2) of parkland and features many themed rides, alongside outdoor and indoor play areas and the "Discover Thomas & Friends Exhibition".
| # | Name | Opened | Manufacturer | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bertie Bus | 2008 | Zamperla | A Bertie themed crazy bus ride, formerly known as Crazy Bertie Bus. In partnership with Arriva. |
| 2 | Blue Mountain Engines | 2011 | Zamperla | A junior regetta ride with cars resembling Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel and Peter Sam. The ride was originally located in space where Terrence's Driving School once stood, but was moved to the Thomas Land expansion in 2015, where Merrick was added to the middle of the ride. |
| 3 | Captain's Sea Adventure | 2015 | Zamperla | A watermania ride with Captain themed vichicles. |
| 4 | Cranky's Drop Tower | 2008 | Zamperla | A Cranky themed 8m high sky drop ride. |
| 5 | Diesel's Locomotive Mayhem | 2008 | Zamperla | A demolition derby ride featuring themed cars based on Diesel, Rusty, Dennis and Bert |
| 6 | Flynn's Fire Rescue | 2015 | Zamperla | A fire brigade ride with Flynn-themed cars. In partnership with West Midlands Fire Service. |
| 7 | Harold's Helicopter Tours | 2008 | Zamperla | A Harold-themed samba tower ride. |
| 8 | James and the Red Balloon | 2017 | Zamperla | A samba balloon ride. |
| 9 | Jeremy Jet's Flying Academy | 2008 | Zamperla | An aero top jet ride with Jeremy the Jet Plane themed cars. Was formerly known as Jeremy's Flying Academy until relocating to the expansion in 2015. |
| 10 | Lady's Carousel | 2008 | Zamperla | A junior carousel ride with engines instead of horses. |
| 11 | Rocking Bulstrode | 2008 | Zamperla | A rockin' tug ride. |
| 12 | Sodor Classic Cars | 1958 | Supercar | A car ride. This is the only ride in the area not themed to Thomas and Friends, and was left over from the Robinsons Land area. |
| 13 | Toby's Tram Express | 2015 | Zamperla | A Toby-themed barnyard ride. |
| 14 | Troublesome Trucks Runaway Rollercoaster | 2008 | Gerstlauer | A junior roller coaster located in Thomas Land with Troublesome Truck themed cars. The height limit is 1m with an adult and 1.2m alone. |
| 15 | Winston's Whistle-Stop Tours | 2013 | Zamperla | An aerial ride with Winston themed cars. |
| 16 | Thomas, Rosie and Percy Engine Tours | 2008 | Metallbau Emmeln | A themed train ride. The Ride first included Thomas and Percy engines, while Rosie was added in 2009.
A CGI face was added to Thomas in 2014, while CGI faces were added to Percy and Rosie in 2015. Rosie was later repainted red in 2019. |
| 17 | Terence's Driving School | 2008 | SB International | A driving school ride. Relocated in 2011 to the Farmer McColl's Farm area. |
| 18 | Spencer's Outdoor Adventure | 2008 | Unknown | An outdoor adventure play area. |
| 19 | Emily's Adventure Play | 2008 | Unknown | An indoor soft play area. |
| 20 | Discover Thomas & Friends Exhibition | 2009 | HIT Entertainment | An indoor miniature model railway exhibition with the original models from the first twelve series of the TV series. |
Train rides
Models of Thomas, Percy and Rosie are used on a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that takes visitors through the park. The line features Tidmouth Sheds with stationary facades of other engines, Knapford Station, which serves as the main station and a refreshment stand, Dryaw and Tidmouth Hault. It also has many sidings and sheds along the way, one of which used to feature a "sleeping" model of James, which was moved to where the James and the Red Balloon ride is in 2017, akin to the ride's opening.
Discover Thomas & Friends
In early 2009, HIT Entertainment announced that models from the live-action television series would be put on display at Thomas Land in an exhibit called "Discover Thomas & Friends", as production was to move to Canada, now that the series was to be animated with CG animation. The exhibit opened in July 2009. They added small plastic parts between the rolling stock and the engines so that the buffers would not be damaged.
Various props from the show are on display, including brass operating models of Thomas, Edward (removed from the layout in 2020 for possible restoration), Toby (stolen in 2011) Stepney (removed for possible restoration or returned to Hit Entertainment in 2018), Harvey (returned to Hit Entertainment in 2011), Rosie, Terence, Trevor (removed in July 2018), Bulgy(send to Japan in July 2020), Butch, Elizabeth The Horrid, Lorries (Faceless Models But Lorry 1 was given back his face in 2020), The Post Van (removed in early 2020), and Taxi 2 (removed in early 2020) along was a dark red car, a green car, a blue tractor, a rusty tractor, Bulstrode The Barge with Two boats and Two canal boats.
2020 later brought in Daisy, D261,(aka Class 40), Cranky, The Fire Engine The Sodor Bakery Van Thumper Old Slow Coach, Tiger Moth Molly, Mighty Mac, Rocky George and Hank along.
