New for 2022 is the brand new Drayton Manor Vikings expansion and we finally got to go to the park to check it out for ourselves!
Walking through the entrance (see image above) you are greeted with an exciting new area with wonderfully themed rides and dotted elements of viking theming around the place.
Nordic themed music is playing out loud and instantly you’re lost in this little area of Viking goodness.
From the four brand new rides in the area (technically 3 as one has been rethemed) along with Walhalla, a brand new Viking-themed kitchen, open fire pits for cooking and even a lovely lake-view seating area this area is certainly a vibrant and wonderful space.
There are a few niggles with the area that will be discussed shortly but these will rectify themselves over time.
My initial impression was the bareness of the area. Many plants have been put down ready to provide foliage in the future but for the time being the area looks very empty indeed and certainly needs those plants to grow and compliment the area.
As it stands it looks very unfinished but this will rectify itself in due course as those plants come in and really spruce up this new area.
Let’s discuss all of the new attractions within the Drayton Manor Vikings expansion as I bring you my honest review of each new instalment.
Jormungandr
Introducing Jormungandr the retheme of the park’s classic Buffalo Coaster.
With a new Viking-themed station and brand new trains, this ride certainly looks the part and with a wonderful pass-over the Vikings bridge entrance the views of the area are certainly impressive.
The tracks/supports haven’t been touched nor has anything been added to the ride layout such as theming but the trains and station look very fresh indeed.
The perfect family ride to introduce you to the world of vikings.
Loki
The UK’s first Zamperla Nebulaz ride has arrived and Drayton Manor has absolutely smashed it out of the park with a rustic wooden design perfectly slotting in wonderfully to the new area.
The ride experience is rather tame with a forward and backwards movement but it certainly creates that heaving motion in your stomach that never gets old.
It’s certainly not the most intense ride in the world but more of a relaxing one and a great addition not only to Drayton Manor but to the UK flat ride scene.
Thor
This Disk’O coaster from Zamperla is theming goals. Just look at that Viking helmet standing majestically in the middle of the spinning saucer there.
With a little water feature (just off to the right of this photo) on the go, the mood is set, it’s just a case of waiting for the plants to grow that will really improve the aesthetic of not just Thor but all of the rides in this area.
The ride experience is quite a tame one, more of a floaty feeling or a feeling of flying but once again for families you just can’t go wrong.
Sleipnir
Barren, inaccurate and a little dull are just three words that I can use to describe Sleipnir.
Kids won’t care less as you sit on a 4 legged horse and ride around a rather empty landscape but I have to be honest, it’s poor.
Mounds have no theming (even temporary) on them until the plants grow in, there’s gravel all over the place and the horses themselves have 4 legs, unlike Sleipnir which in Norse mythology had 8.
If you’re naming a ride after an 8-legged horse at least make some effort to resemble that.
It’s like having a Dumbo ride where the elephant has no ears or little ones at that!
Once the plants come in it’ll be much more improved but with such a barren landscape at the moment it really is like a 4 legged horse tour of a construction site.
This particular ride feels months behind being what you’d even consider ‘worth opening’.
Walhalla
From jacket potatoes to chicken wings this little kitchen serves up some tasty if albeit expensive treats.
Costing over £7 for 5 chicken wings is very steep, don’t get me wrong they’re tasty but you’re certainly paying for it!
My Chilli con Carne Jacket Potato was around the same price but lacked flavour and the potato was a little hard.
Both dishes were still better than 99% of UK theme park food but in all honesty, that really doesn’t take much.
Check out our VLOG below from the new Drayton Manor Vikings area:
