Drayton Manor Trivia Quiz

Answer: Staffordshire

The resort is about fifteen miles northeast of Birmingham, near the town of Tamworth. The much bigger Alton Towers Theme Park is also in Staffordshire, but further north, near Stoke-on-Trent.

The Midlands region also has the West Midlands Safari Park and Twycross Zoo, to name just a couple of the area's other family attractions.

Answer: Robert Peel

The Peel family bought the estate in the late eighteenth century. Robert Peel's father, who preceded his son as the Member of Parliament for Tamworth, acquired it. When the younger Robert Peel inherited the property, he had the original house demolished and built a new manor.

This was demolished in the 1920s with the land sold to entrepreneurs. Sir Robert Peel was Prime Minister from 1841 until 1846. He is best remembered for establishing the Metropolitan Police in 1829. The force was given the nicknames of 'bobbies' and 'peelers' based on Peel's names.

Answer: 1950s

The land had been requisitioned during the Second World War to provide a training ground for the army. The Bryans bought it, completed with the army huts, and developed it into an amusement park aimed at small children, which opened in 1950..

By the 1980s, the Bryans realised that they needed to cater more for the thrill seekers if they wanted to continue to expand, and set about installing new and more exciting rides.

Answer: Thomas the Tank Engine

The area is called 'Thomas Land' and has over twenty attractions for the younger visitors. They include a log flume, a roller coaster and various rides using 'Thomas the Tank Engine' themed names. Among them are 'Bertie the Bus' and 'Terence the Tractor' with several others named for the engines in the book and subsequent television series.

Included are an outdoor play area and an indoor soft play area, plus an exhibition of some of the models used in the television shows.

Answer: Gyro Swing/Pendulum

'Maelstrom' can seat up to 32 riders at a time who face outwards around the edge of a large disc. The ride is sometimes called a 'frisbee' ride due to its appearance. The ride swings riders from one side of the supporting framework to the other in a pendulum movement while the disc is turning in a full circle at the same time.

The name of the ride comes from an area of turbulent water - a whirlpool - which spins around. The most famous one is found off the coast of Norway.

Answer: Bounty

Pirate ships are a staple of many theme parks, with the more adventurous aiming for the seats at either end - the ones which have the biggest swing in each direction. Bounty replaced an earlier pirate ship which had been removed four years earlier when the park entrance was redesigned.

The name comes from HMS Bounty, which became famous for the mutiny against the captain, William Bligh, in 1789.

Answer: True

The crazy golf course has twelve holes and is close to the entrance. The zoo has been part of Drayton Manor from the very early days and has a wide variety of animals. Among them are tigers, monkeys and red pandas. The dinosaur trail includes models of various types of these prehistoric animals. The theme park also has a funfair style games arcade.

Answer: Frontier Falls

'Frontier Falls' includes a rollercoaster called 'Gold Rush', a small rollercoaster for younger riders, which is called 'Accelerator' and 'The Haunting', a ride through an old vicarage. There is also a teacup style ride and a laser shooting gallery, with a theatre showing short films.

Answer: Vikings

The 'Vikings' area has four rides, named for Norse mythology. Thor is called a Disk-O ride, with outward facing seats around the edge of a large disc Loki has arms which swing around a rotating tower while Jormungandr is a roller coaster, recycled from other areas of the park and previously named the Buffalo Coaster. The new name comes from a mythical snake owned by Loki.

Aimed at younger visitors, and named after Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir has rocking horses travelling around a track. It is said to give a realistic sense of riding a real horse.

Answer: Shockwave

In its previous version of 'Shockwave' the ride was a standing rollercoaster, but 'The Wave' is a sit down type. 'Shockwave' operated from 1994 until 2023 and 'The Wave' uses the same track. The seating arrangement means that younger passengers are allowed on as the minimum height limit was reduced.

'Maelstrom' and 'The Wave' are two of the rides in the area named 'Adventure Cove', aimed at those who want to test their nerves to the utmost. Other rides include a flume ride, called 'Stormforce 10', and 'Air Race', designed to give the rider the sensation of performing aeronautics.