Easter Break in the UK – Thomas Land

Day two of our holiday was a whole day in Drayton Manor Park. I would really advice to  buy the tickets in advanced because you can save so much. An adult ticket on the day at the park is £39 whereas when you pay online it’s only £25. For kids from four years it’s £20 and on the day it would be £29. We did experience both ways because on our last day Matthew really wanted to go to Thomasland with daddy again which meant he had to pay the full price.

The original plan was to explore the park first and then head to Thomasland. Matthew had other plans and really wanted to go to Thomasland first. We couldn’t say “no” of course and headed straight down to it. On the map, the park looks massive but when you are in it, the walking distance from hotel to Thomasland is actually not far at all.

The first ride Matthew wanted to do was Winston’s Whistle-Stop Tours. He went on it with daddy while me and Chloe stayed down and waited for them. It’s basically a rail track where you can overlook Thomasland. Queue times were not too bad. We were in the park just after 10am. I think they both waited around 15 to 20 minutes. Any popular ride was around that time.

After that we explored Thomasland a bit more. Next on the list was Captain’s Sea adventure. This time he went on it with mammy while daddy could wait with Chloe. It’s a ride that goes round and round in circles. I am probably getting too old for this stuff but I couldn’t wait until it was over to be honest. I was certainly dizzy. Matthew was loving it.

The park recently launched a new section called “James and the Red Balloon”. When I say recent it was actually opened in April this year. There was James at the station with the people around him. We spent a good bit of time there with Matthew getting his picture taken with James and running around following the train tracks. Shortly after it was time for another ride. I enjoyed this one. It was called “Blue Mountain Engines”. Queue time for it wasn’t bad at all. It was time to grab some lunch.

But first we wanted to go on a train ride. They had different trains going around the park. Three we know of were Rosie, Thomas and Percy. Luckily we got to go on Thomas. Matthew was super excited. Chloe wasn’t too impressed and cried for most of the time. She is only two and doesn’t really know what’s going on. They had an extra carriage for buggies which was very handy. The train brought us to a tea house where we had lunch.

Beside the tea house was Spencer’s Outdoor Adventure Play. Daddy treated the kids to some ice cream and then it was off to burn off some energy in the playground.

Right next to it was a Dino Trail. We walked around it for a bit and then entered the zoo. Matthew is fascinated by snakes for whatever reason so we both went into the tropical house to see them and some crocodiles and tortoises.  Through the zoo we also met some tigers, owls and birds.

Back in Thomasland we did two more rides. First one was “Sodor Classic Cars”. Matthew sat in the front pretending to be the driver and I was in the back taking a video of him. The man who was guiding the cars was really interactive with the visitors. He high fived every child and parent before entering and said “Don’t do any speeding”. Chloe and daddy were gone somewhere so Matthew and I decided to queue for the “Lady’s Carousel”. That was it for all the rides.

After all this driving,  Matthew deserved getting his own Thomasland driver licence. He stood against the wall to get his picture taken and then could choose from the different characters he wants on his driver licence. I thought he would go for Thomas, Percy or James… but no, he wanted Winston the car. The driver licence was £8. You can pay £2 extra to get a key chain holder. I bought one because I know for a fact if it’s not kept safe, he will lose it. It’s now proudly hanging in his playroom.

As it was the holiday and the long Easter weekend, we went to the sweet shop and both kids were allowed to get a lollipop each. Mammy got some Jelly Beans for herself. When I say for myself, it’s not really is it, when you have kids? I had to share some with my two lot. It was around 3.30pm and the German that I am, it means tea and cake time. Daddy bought us a slice of rainbow cake and a cappuccino.

We got so lucky with the weather. It was cloudy but never raining. Back in the hotel room, we relaxed for a bit until it was off to dinner to American Diner “Grill Inn” which is across the road from the hotel right beside the entrance of the park. The food was delicious. Then it was off to bed.

Don’t forget to check back and find out what we got up to the next few days.