As I arrived at Drayton Manor, just north of Birmingham, I realized, since my last visit, they had done a lot. This is not because I knew there were two new rides, but because I saw one of them, towering above the park, a 140ft tower, silver, stunning, very tall! This is fear, why? Because Fear has a new name, "Apocalypse." This is one of Drayton Manors year 2000 attractions. Two of the drop cars, are nothing new, great air time, fast drop, but then there is two other cars, WORLD FIRST cars, STAND UP CARS!!

Yes I haven’t made a typo, there are two, four seater stand up cars,  which slowly leave the station, and start to tilt, 20 Degrees forward, so all the evil fools let you do is Look Down! After quite a long queue, you get to choose your fate! Standing or Sitting! Once you have chosen, you will go down your tunnel, into the large cone all decorated with the lovely, silver, black, and orange, with the logo. This is where the pure evil steak of the ride designer’s comes in again, they make you queue round the drop zone, seeing many other "Lambs To The Slaughter" Drop in! Before you know it, but also just enough time for you to get annoyed with the "Fear Factor" you board your module. Jumping into the standing area, you pull your harness down, and then your off. Firstly its a long slow climb out of the cone, but about half way up out of the cone, you will hear a little clink, then you start to tilt forward and all you can do is look at the floor very quickly vanishing and moving away from you as you pick up speed!

Eventually you reach the top of the tower, and the module comes to a stop, and just leaves you there in expectation and suspension! It leaves you for about 4 seconds, which is just enough time to think, "Im going to die", "Has it gone wrong", "Why aren't we dropping", "Oh God!" Then before you know it, you are hurtling down the tower, at amazing speeds, seeing the ground come towards, you, AHHHHHHHH the ground gets closer and closer, but eventually, the car comes to a smooth, but sharp stop, and you can get out, think, Oh God, and go get back in the queue!

That’s Apocalypse, really a ride, which you need to go on, again, and again! Another new ride for this year is "The Golden Nuggets Shoot Out" A UK first once again! As you board your car, and grab you gun, you get shooting! The car slowly moves around different scenes, full of targets  for you to shoot, and get your points! It really is amazing! Great fun! Try and beat 8310 my total!

Now what about the rest of the park? Well its very concretely, no really grassy areas, but although there are two other big rides, Stormforce 10 and Shockwave, and one other looping coaster, the rest of the park consists, of fairground rides, for kids rides. Which really are quite exciting, and there are lots for the kids, but these really in the whole are poor, and not really worth going on if there is a line longer than 5-10 minutes!

The Haunting, is a very poorly themed haunted swing, I won't spoil it for you, but basically, a haunted swing is an optical illusion. "The Klondike Mine Coaster" is a compact, bone shaker! You climb the lift hill, tur 90 degrees to your left, and drop, Lots of airtime! Then you go back up a hill, and drop again to your left, and you slam into a tight loop, by this point, your head is already in agony from the head banging! Then you commence another climb, and banked drop, into two really over banked helixs, before you glide into the trims, and go and take some paracetomal! Its fun yes, but its also a real headbanger...You have been warned!

If you want another head banger, but not as bad, head over to "The Shockwave" The UK'S only Stand Up Coaster. The line for this is very boring twisting and turning and on a hot day is horrible as you are stuck inside a small building. Hop on, pull the harness down, and the train climbs the hill. Then you drop smoothly to your right, and the train pushes into the loop, which goes on forever, and with the stand up sensation, it really is unique. Then the train enters a inline twist, where you can watch your feat leave the floor! Following that you have a long straight, BORING but then two corkscrews, one over the station, and a helix back into the break run. The ride doesn't last very long, but its fun. Its strange, and the stand up just makes it different. It is though quite rough, and I somehow managed to hurt my ear! I don't know how!

Hum what else, well, apart from rides such as the dodgems, Pirate Adventure (A Copy of Pirates Of The Caribbean at Disney) and a  few other fair rides there is very little, apart from Stormforce 10, there new ride for 1999. Also I managed to see the first ever showing of their new Popeye Show. Well its very pantomime like! Lodes of audience participation, but this is really for the kids, great fun for them, not so much for me!

Stormforce 10 then, well a Bear Flume ride with 3 drops, one launched, one backwards, and one humped! Its excellently themed around a Cornish fishing village, and the although a sometimes long queue line it is very interesting, and amazingly themed! Once you finally make it to the station, I advise you to wear a poncho, or a change of clothes! It’s a wet one all right!

After leaving the station, your boat is hoisted about 40 degrees, and then you drop down the first drop, sloshing water everywhere! You then continue to go along through some waterfalls, and start to climb the lift-hill for the second drop. At the top of the hill you enter a small round building, which turns your boat around, then you drop again, backwards, and the water cover you, as if someone has just emptied a bucket of water on your head! After your boat being turned around again, you go through a small building, which is nicely themed, and the start the long climb up the final lift hill, you get to the top, go round and then drop! The drop is cool, very fast, and because the boats have no restraints, lots of air time!

So Drayton, is it worth the visit? Well yes, just for Apocalypse, and Shockwave, and Stormforce, just make it a bit more worthwhile  

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