On July 26, 2024, Intamin’s esteemed partner Drayton Manor opened their new ride “Gold Rush”, one of the most innovative family coasters in Europe.
The ride itself is Intamin’s first lift and launch coaster with a multi-experience layout configuration meaning riders can have 2 unique rides set at random before dispatch.
Gold Rush at Drayton Manor offers a dynamic ride which will take you on a wild adventure through the history of the gold mining era. In one of the two ride sequences, you will experience the lift hill both in the classic forward way but will, after a separate backwards friction wheel launch section, reverse the backside of the lift hill, stall, and launch forwards back down the lift hill again.
A dynamic tire launch will then propel you through close-to-ground manoeuvres along the rest of the exciting layout. The layout includes many low-to-the-ground elements that create a surprising and dynamic ride experience for the whole family.
Gold Rush is a very smooth ride and at the flick of a switch, the ride experience can be changed which I love, unfortunately, on the press night someone pressed the E-Stop button instead of the switch which changed the experience and the ride was evacuated as a result.
Doh!
That little hiccup aside I thought the ride was fun but certainly not as amazing as everyone was making out when they stepped off the ride. It didn’t help to have a camera crew instructing press night guests to say ‘It’s great’ and ‘It’s amazing’ before clicking record on their camera that’s for sure!
Honesty is always best policy.
Gold Rush is beautifully designed and is an incredible feat of engineering but the ride experience to me whilst unique was overhyped by a theme park adamant on calling it the UK’s best family thrill rollercoaster.
It’s not.
The theming of the area is rather lovely but sparse in places and the station building itself seemed very basic. The Intamin train design is wonderful but there was just something lacking in certain areas that seemed like a budget cut such as a sudden drop in theming in the queue line where it was just wooden fencing and baron land.
It’s crazy how Stormforce 10 a ride that opened in 1999 still has the best queue line and station theming of any ride on park.
The seats are comfy but the ride experience was just not the perfect combo of theming and experience for me with Paultons Park having multiple rides catered to family thrill that for me all exceed that of Drayton’s latest offering.
Having the ride with a 1M height requirement is such a brilliant idea to thrill even the youngest and bravest of children but for me Gold Rush just didn’t hit home for me.
An overhyped campaign already set the bar too high and after that, it was just never reaching those heights.
No matter how many people you get to stand in front of a camera and reel off what a producer is telling you to say the only way you’re going to know for sure what you feel about Gold Rush, is by riding it yourself!
Thanks to Intamin for providing us with the PR and images for the honest review.
