Victoria Lynn took up the managing director role at Drayton Manor this spring. Born in the North East of England, she forged her theme park career in the United Arab Emirates. Over a career spanning more than two decades, she held roles with, amongst others, Wild Wadi Waterpark, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and DXB Entertainments. Most recently, she served as general manager of Dubai Holding’s attractions division.
Founded by the Bryan family in 1950, Drayton Manor in the West Midlands was sold to Looping in 2020. The French group has since invested in the themed lands Adventure Cove and Vikings. And now, following Lynn’s arrival this spring, a new era really has arrived for the theme park resort and zoo.
Here, in her own words, the park’s boss shares her themed dreams for Drayton Manor.
Theme park memories
My first theme park was probably Metroland at the Metro Centre [Gateshead]. I think it was one of the largest indoor theme parks back then, in the ‘80s.
My first ever ride, as we would’ve called it, would be the ‘shuggy boat’ – or a pirate ship like we have with Bounty at Drayton Manor. I remember not wanting to go on the rollercoaster! But those were our Saturdays as kids, and I loved it. And now I get to go to Drayton Manor every day as an adult!
I think the COVID situation brought along a few home truths, and let you consider what you want to do in life. I recently had a son, and after 22 years away I thought it was time to come and put down some roots again in the UK. Right now he’s got a very neutral accent, with a little hint of Geordie [Tyneside accent] because his mum’s a Geordie! I don’t know if I’ll be in the UK forever, but I was ready for a change, and it felt like the right move.
It’s an exciting time for Drayton Manor. I saw so much potential in the owning group, in Looping. They are really committed to developing the park. We’ve got some ambitious plans for the next five years and beyond. It’s really exciting being part of a company that has a vision, and with people who understand theme parks 100%.
Multi-generational service
While we develop a new vision, mission and values for the business, one of the key things we wanted to keep were the traditions and heritage of Drayton Manor. It was 1950 when this park first opened its gates. Not many theme parks have that rich heritage or family feel.
There’s some staff who have worked here as long as 30 years, maybe more. In Dubai, if they made it to more than five years that was a massive achievement. But if I meet someone who’s been here six years, they’re like a newbie! In some cases, you’ve got employees whose children or grandchildren work at the park as well. Three generations under one roof. I’ve never experienced that before in my career; it’s fascinating to see.
I know some hospitality businesses are struggling for staff at the moment, but we’ve managed to retain a lot of people. We’ve done well compared to some stories I hear. It helps that we are quite centrally located, with good bus and train connections, and open pretty much from February to December.
Changing trends in the UK parks and attractions industry
I’ve been away from the UK since the start of the millennium. It’s always been a safe industry, but it feels like you’ve got to be a lot more proactive now in letting the public know. Because of the media, you hear stories from across the globe if things go wrong. So it’s even more important to reinforce how focused we are on safety, and that standards have to be high for people to enjoy a day out with their family.
I think another thing that is really changing is food trends. Back in the day, it was enough just to serve a burger, fries, Coke or whatever. Whereas now you’ve really got to adapt and cater to people with food allergens, vegan dishes etc. Even with the burgers, we pride ourselves on exceptional quality.
Yes, I could make more money if I served a cheaper product, but I think it is important that you give good value.
Theme parks VS amusement parks (and the role of IP at Drayton Manor)
Moving towards being more of a themed venue is what will distinguish us from the competition. You can go to any amusement park and go on a ride. However, with the opening of Vikings and Adventure Cove – two amazing lands – people are becoming a lot more immersed in the experience.
I think eventually there will be some kind of theme to most areas, although there can be exceptions. A few weeks ago, I met with local residents. There were people in their 70s who were asking me if the carousel is still here. It’s a legacy ride, without a particular theme, but it still serves a role and it’s important to have those kinds of attractions.
In Dubai, I worked with some big IPs [intellectual properties], including Mattel [owner of Thomas & Friends]. I think the Thomas IP is extremely strong. It definitely helps us build a brand at Drayton Manor, and works well for that particular demographic. But perhaps in the past, the park was too heavily focused on Thomas Land.
What is important as we develop is to have not just to have a very advanced children’s area, but also great family zones and thrills. When my friends and relatives visit, one of the things they comment on is that there are more opportunities for them to ride together as a family than they see in other parks. But I’m not ruling out more IPs.
A new era for Drayton Manor’s zoo
There’s been a lot of discussions about the zoo and how people feel about animals and conservation. We would like to move away from being a traditional zoo, where you just walk around, see some animals and leave. Instead, we want to make it a lot more immersive and engaging so people understand more about the different animals.
We actually have a massive area in the zoo, some of it is unused, so we can redefine some of that. Instead of just circling past the animal enclosures, we could have walkways through the trees so it becomes a bit more adventurous.
West Midland Safari Park is also part of the group at Looping, and I’ve just hired a general manager from over there. They obviously have a lot of expertise in this area.
How do you like your hotel room: themed or not themed?
Customer satisfaction is critical, and we are already seeing improvements in attendance, revenue and per caps. Also important is how our hotel guests feel about the overall resort.
Some guests, families in particular, want that complete escape and immersive experience. Our themed rooms at the Drayton Manor Hotel – including some new Vikings rooms – are amazing and beautiful. You won’t get them unless you book early, because they are often sold out.
But I don’t think themed accommodation is for everyone. Some people just want a room that is convenient for the park. We also get a lot of corporate events and weddings. I don’t know if you want to put an executive into a Vikings or Thomas-themed room. On the other hand, they might quite like it!
Post pandemic trends
This summer has been fantastic, one of the strongest the park has had. We have purposely not changed our pricing this season, because we are trying to push Drayton Manor as a good value day out. Part of that strategy is to have dynamic pricing.
Post-COVID, a lot of things have changed. An interesting trend is we are getting a lot of last-minute bookings. We do a discounted ticket if you book online; it’s better for us if people book in advance and I think people are used to the technology now. There are only about 5% who would show up at the gate without a ticket, but sometimes the numbers booking online can jump up by 25 to 50% in the last 24 hours.
Based on what I have seen this summer, distance [guests are prepared to travel] is not affecting us at all, in spite of fuel costs. Could it in the future? I hope not. I hope that people would still plan that weekend away once a year. Last night I saw a guest at the hotel, and it was the third night I had seen them. Normally they stay one night, two nights maximum.
Hello Halloween (and other new developments at Drayton Manor)
We are working on a Halloween programme this year, which we’ve never done before. It’s an extremely competitive area, and there’s some good quality in the market, so we’ve got to do something different.
Everyone’s done the mazes, and we’ll have those too, but we also want to turn it into a party. We’ve got people who are fans of the park, and I think would travel for it. I’m really excited about this October!
It certainly is a new era for Drayton Manor. It’s had a good facelift, and there’s more to come. We are doing a lot to bring the standard up. We’ve got the new entrance by Vikings, but we still need to look at the main entrance. It’s still a little bit, well… 1950s!
The lake is the centrepiece of the park, and I would say in the future we could see some more additions there. We have some more land and water at the back of the park, where Excalibur was shut down many years ago. That gives us further expansion opportunities. There is so much land here when you start looking.
Matching or exceeding the previous peak attendance of 1.3 million would definitely be a goal for the next three to four years. We’ve got a good strategy in place, good development plans, and everything is on track to ensure that happens.
