In the past Drayton Manor had not been the most reputable of British estates, what with its Pirates who freely pillage and vampireized vicar. However in 2003 Drayton Manor tried to rectify this by building Castleville, an estate for the most select of Knights. Excalibur replaced the aging ‘Jungle Cruise’, a ride that had to go due to decreasing reliability and low capacity. Atomic Kitten opened it in 2003, when it was become one of the parks major family rides.
An entrance area sets the scene with a medieval market. Will you be tempted by dried lizards or are bats heads more your thing? The queue line is fantastic; although ironically queues are also short meaning much of this is wasted. We pass over a lagoon that ominously bubbles (be there a dragon a breathin’ in them waters?). Signs advertise new castles and apartments that are being built in Castleville. Come on, go and ask for a tour of the estate. You can’t say no when you hear that you would be on the doorstep of a luxury jousting arena.
Just in case you are still not convinced heed the words of a wise old animatronics owl that perches next to a gateway. The station is an impressive affair with a revolving platform (as often found on rapid rides) surrounding a grand turret. Blimey, you may want to check your savings as a property is bound to set you back a bit.
The titled boats, some having room for wheel chairs, are powered by an under water cable. Our guide continues the plugs for properties pointing out building work on a new castle next to Pirate Adventure before…crackle…we have lost contact.
The following section of the review may spoil the adventure for first time riders…
A female voices quenches our nerves assuring us that she is a friendly Drag…never mind, that can come later. We approach a gateway barred by a waterfall. It seems that our presents is causing a bit of a rumpus above as one knight shouts “oy, what’s powering that boat”. Too late, we take a deep breath as instructed and pass on through (although our guides advice becomes a little redundant when the waterfall stop to allow our passage anyway).
Either side of us guards urge us to halt. Here could be a dramatic opportunity for them to take action against us. Maybe fire some canons in a similar effect to Pirate Adventure, perhaps some archers could fire-jumping geysers at us or maybe a trebuchet will hurl water at us. No! These knights are obviously all bark no bite, unlike the knights that shall surely be buying an apartment. We pass unabashed past the lady of the lake who gurgles a greeting to us.
A head is something sinister. No, not over there, straight in front of you. That’s right, those standing stones are the entrance to the Dragon Kingdom. We pass a Dragon to the left offering us great odds on whether a different Dragon should escape from ‘The Dragon Trap’. He does, or rather will. A Knight roars, “I didn’t know that Dragons breath fire”, unfortunately this is little more than an inspiration, the Dragon remains static.
The boat now enters Dragon Manor for the rides showdown. Having revealed her identity as, drum roll, a dragon (hopefully you won’t require the assistants of Sherlock Holmes for this one) she asks an animatronics Merlin to guide the boat for a moment. This lair really is a feast for the eyes laden with treasure and the remains of last nights dinner, or at the very least good theming. She claws her way along side the boat in a nice effect before introducing her mother. A larger Dragon that wakes with a start releasing a fire ball.
A crackle and back comes the salesman. “So, are you interested in any apartments…?”
Overall Excalibur is an enjoyable adventure particularly for small children, featuring some nice theming and effects. If you chance to busy on a peak day why not explore the local property market for a break from the queues that will be longer on most other rides.
Pros
Good theming
Enjoyable for all the family
Some nice effects
The queue line that holds often non-existent queues
Humour that can provide cheap laughs for all the family
Cons
Can be unreliable
Some dead section where there is little theming
Missed opotunities like the escape from the knights (normally caused by the rides budget than over sights)
The final revelation of our host is not so much of a revelation as it should be.
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