We enjoyed a lovely visit to Thomas Land and Drayton Manor while we were on our staycation (I love that word). We’ve been before when Master Frugal was three and going through his OBSESSED with Thomas the Tank Engine stage but now that everything is Ben 10 this and Superheroes that, we weren’t sure if we would have as much fun. We knew as soon as we walked through the main gates from the look on the kids faces that we were going to have a brilliant day and we weren’t disppointed.
I could tell you about all the cute rides in Thomas Land or the more grown up rides in Drayton Manor, or I could tell you about the zoo or the Dino trail but I always think it’s hard to do that without sounding like a holiday brochure so I’ll just let you look at my smiley pictures.


The Frugal Family’s Top Tips for a good day at Drayton Manor
- Try not to leave your carefully prepared picnic on the kitchen counter at home. There are plenty of fast food places to eat in the park but they can work out expensive.
- Do not believe that a ride can’t be scary just because you don’t need to be belted in! I fell for that one and ended up on some sort of water slide in the dark, which the kids thought was hilarious!!!
- Buy the re-usable drink cups so you can re-fill them around the park cheaply rather than keep buying drinks. Why is it that the more expensive the drinks are, the more thirst the kids are.
- On a sunny day don’t stand somewhere where the floor is wet – it’s a pretty good indication that you’re going to get soaked from the nearby waterslide.
- Pre warn your child that the 4D cinema film is quite loud and can be a bit scary. Master Frugal was quite scared at one point and we were on the verge of having to ask if we could leave.
We had a great day and I’d really recommend a visit, especially if your kids love Thomas the Tank Engine.
Thank you to the lovely people at Drayton Manor for offering us tickets so we could visit




























I grew up near Drayton Manor and can't wait to take my son to Thomas Land. I keep telling him it's where Grandma lives, well she lives sort of next door!
Lucky Grandma!
I'd have to get a seasons pass if we lived nearer to it. x
It looks brilliant! We will have to go at some point but in the meantime we made do with one of the Days Out With Thomas which was only about 45mins away http://www.thomasandfriends.com/uk/parents/dowt/r… – my two year old was so excited I nearly cried.
Thats exactly how I felt when my little boy saw Thomas for the first time – he was amazed!
Those days out look great! Thanks x
Lol – you'll love it, especially now we know you can use your Tesco vouchers…. all you need now is a picnic and you've got a free day out!
Even if he does go off Thomas a bit by the time you go, as soon as he sees him it'll all come flooding back – that's what happened with us x
Kieran is 4yrs old, and now moving onto the (evil in my opinion) Ben 10 etc too, but Thomas is still a firm favourite in our household and we would love to go to go to Thomasland! Looking at your review and the fab pics, I think it's a foregone conclusion that we are just going to have to go next year- baby 2 will be 6months-ish in the summer, and I can't see Kieran having lost the love by then….. thats it – we are decided. Thomasland watch out – the Cawoods are coming!
Great post!
Lol – you'll love it, especially now we know you can use your Tesco vouchers…. all you need now is a picnic and you've got a free day out!
Even if he does go off Thomas a bit by the time you go, as soon as he sees him it'll all come flooding back – that's what happened with us x