It has recently been announced that the UK’s only Stand up roller coaster, Shock Wave, located at Drayton Manor Theme Park is undergoing big changes in preparation for the 2024 season.
Shockwave opened at Drayton Manor in 1994 and was Europe’s first Intamin stand-up roller coaster. It reaches speeds of 53mph, delivers up to 4 G and includes a zero-gravity roll.
Image: Drayton ManorAccording to Managing Director, Victoria Lynn as seen in the video posted to YouTube by Theme Park Worldwide which is embedded below, the track will remain the same but changes are necessary. These changes will include Shockwave getting a new theme, name and launch but the big change is that it will be getting new trains and it will no longer be “stand up” with new sit down trains being installed.
There will be new elements to entertain guests whilst riding and the minimum height requirement will decrease from 1.4m to 1.2m so more people will be able to ride it but is still promised to be a thrilling ride.
Image: Drayton ManorShockwave will continue to operate as it currently is until the end of October half term and then will close along with the theme park for the winter when the reimagining will take place.
It was revealed back in July that a brand new family roller coaster is coming to Drayton Manor in 2024 which is described by Lynn in the video above as a “lift and launch” coaster with “some of UK’s firsts coming along”. It is set to have extensive theming and will be a unique addition which will have different programmes based on the time of day it is.
We will follow the construction of this new roller coaster coming to Drayton Manor in 2024 as well as the reimagining of the iconic Shockwave.
Are you pleased to see Shockwave being reimagined and becoming a sit down coaster? Are you excited about the new family roller coaster for 2024? Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.
