Drayton Manor's Christmas experience - review with pictures

There’s no fighting it these days, Christmas does start earlier and earlier each year, but when you’ve got young children it is great to get into the spirit whenever you can.

Thomas Land at Drayton Manor is always transformed into a winter wonderland this time of year and the attraction really does go above and beyond to make it magical experience.

I went with my three-year-old daughter Annabelle, wife Kelly, my sister and her three children, aged eight to two-weeks, and my mum.

As soon as you go through the gates after a warm welcome there are little shops sprinkled with snow, decorations lined up as far as your eyes can see and seasonal songs filling the air.

As well as all the rides and rollercoasters, which are all pretty much suitable for children of any age, there’s also train rides, a really good playground , a 4D cinema experience, the zoo – and of course the chance to meet Santa.

The day just flies by too – well, it does when you’re having so much fun – but we still managed to squeeze in a lot before the trip ended with a parade and fireworks display.

First up was Diesel’s Locomotive Mayhem, Harold’s Helicopters Tours, Flynn’s Fire Rescue and Captain’s Sea Adventure.

Because of the time of year the queues were not too big either, so we pretty much either walked straight on or waited for 15 minutes at the most.

After a quick bite to eat – we were lucky enough to get some complementary food and drink, which included some of the best turkey, bacon and cranberry sandwiches I’ve ever tasted, but the food in general isn’t ridiculously over-priced and a lot is locally-sourced and handmade – it was back to rides, this time Lady’s Carousel, Troublesome Trucks rollercoaster and Terrance’s Driving School.

We then caught the Thomas Land Balcony Show, which is a lovely touch and introduces the children to wishing fairy, the engineer and other characters while snow is pumped into the air, which makes for a fantastically festive scene.

Before we knew it, it was time to make our way to meet Father Christmas for our 3pm slot. Four hours had passed within the blink of an eye.

Father Christmas in the Castle of Dreams has been really well thought out. It starts with a walk through a wooden tunnel, which overlooks a lake. Of course, everything has been sprinkled with snow and then you’re greeted by a cheerful elf.

He chatted away to the three girls – Annabelle, Lucy and Olivia – asking them if they’d been good, what they wanted for Christmas (Annabelle dropped the bombshell she’s hoping for a pony) and then it’s into a smaller room and finally through a big wooden door to see Santa.

As well as the obligatory photos, Santa chatted merrily with the girls, produced their presents with touch of magic and then told them three important things to make sure they got what they wanted on December 25 – be good, eat all your food and, most importantly, listen to your parents. That went down very well the older members of the party.

There were more crafts and face-painting after seeing Santa and then it was onwards to see the animals before stopping at Spenser’s Outdoor Adventure Playground. That deserves special mention because it’s large, has been very well put together and let the children blow off even more steam.

When it came to returning to Thomas Land on the Thomas, Percy and Emily Engine Tours – we got Thomas, much to my delight – the friendly driver wished us all a merry Christmas before we alighted. You could tell he genuinely enjoyed transporting the passengers.

Finally there was time for the Bertie Bus tour, which is a slow moving car journey on rails above the roof tops. Definitely worth a go, particularly when night time comes and Thomas Land is all lit with Christmas lights.

After a little stop off in the soft play, we settled with some chips to catch the parade and finally watch the fireworks over the lake.

It was an action-packed day even though we didn’t have time to squeeze in the Ice Age: A Mammoth Experience in the 4D cinema, send a letter to Santa in Percy’s post box, catch any of the zoo keeper talks or try out the slide and glide ice skating, but we’ll try them out next time we visit.

Drayton’s Magical Christmas runs until December 31 and I would highly recommend popping along. For prices and further information go to www.draytonmanor.co.uk