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Drusillas Park is a zoo and amusement park located in East Sussex, United Kingdom. From 31 March 2007 to 8 January 2017, it had a Thomas & Friends-themed railway line running through it.

History

Drusillas Park's Thomas & Friends railway line was a popular element of the Drusillas Park experience, where Thomas, Annie and Clarabel provide a daily service throughout the day, 362 days a year. Visitors could clamber aboard at Tidmouth Hault and take a ride on Thomas the Tank Engine through the Llama Paddock to see the Fat Controller at Dryaw Halt. En route, visitors can look out for James resting at Tidmouth Sheds, try to spot Diesel around the track and point out Cranky in the Sodor Dockyard. On certain days of the year, the Fat Controller would also visit the park on special Fat Controller Days.

During the attraction, they played songs from the music videos (originally they played the HIT era theme song on loop). The attraction also had symbols that encouraged children to find them. Later on, they would add Thomas The Tank Engine trivia questions.

The owners of Drusillas Park's contract with HiT Entertainment to use the Thomas & Friends name on their attraction continued for 10 years, when on 8 January 2017, the contract expired. The next day, the ride was craned out of the park.[1] On 31 March 2017, the attraction was reopened as Go Safari!, without the Thomas & Friends branding.

Thomas line

Active:

Static:

Locations

Trivia

  • This ride replaced the original narrow gauge railway that was operating from the 1940s-2007
  • The ride was manufactured by Metallbau Emmeln, and is part of their Park Express Train Ride type.
    • In contrast to similar attractions made for Six Flags and Drayton Manor Resort, the Thomas train ride has a 0-4-2 wheel arrangement as opposed to the usual 0-6-0.
  • The bus representing Bulgy was at the park before the Thomas brand moved in and was there since 1983. It would later be-rebranded into the "Drusillas Park Zoo lab" and was donated to The West of England Transport Collection in 2021.
  • Following the loss of the Thomas & Friends license, several changes were made to the railway line:
    • All characters lost their faces, and all (save for Diesel) were repainted.
      • The bus that was formerly Bulgy would be sold to a private owner by 2021.
    • Cranky was repainted yellow and a giraffe silhouette was placed where his face formerly was.
    • Tidmouth Sheds was renamed to "Mungo's Loco Shed".
    • Tidmouth Hault was renamed to "Mungo's Central Station".
    • Dryaw was renamed to "Kifaru Junction".
    • The trivia questions were renamed to "Safari Sniggles" and now features safari-related jokes.
    • The music was replaced with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".
  • Sodor Dock Yard featured a Skarloey Railway water tower, which managed to remain unchanged after the loss of the license.
  • During both Halloween and Christmas, they would theme the attraction to a Halloween/Christmas theme, especially with the tunnel at the end. (They still do it to this day.)
    • During Christmas, Drusillas park would give Thomas earmuffs and a scarf as well as some extra theming.
  • Bulgy had photos of Thomas, Diesel and James inside his driver's cab.
  • The repainted Go Safari! engine still retains Thomas' whistle sound.
  • Although most of the symbols were removed, one of them (beside the Tidmouth Sheds scene) remained after the re-theme for approximately 5 years.
  • Specially made pin badges and stickers would be given out at certain areas and days (e.g. Fat controller days)
  • The original Thomas face is still in possession of the park and is currently stored in a maintenance shed.

Gallery

2007-2017

2017-Present (Go Safari!)

Other

References


External Links

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