Ride the legendary serpent from Norse mythology...
Ride the legendary serpent from Norse mythology...
| Theme Park | Drayton Manor |
|---|---|
| Park Area | Vikings |
| Type | Powered Rollercoaster |
| Audience | Families |
| Opened | 28 May 2022 (replaced Buffalo Coaster) |
| Manufacturer | Zamperla |
| Model | Powered Coaster |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Extras | On-Ride Photos |
Jormungandr beside the lake
Taking families of thrillseekers on their first voyage into history, Jormungandr is a family powered coaster in Drayton Manor's Vikings area.
Jormungandr is Old Norse for "huge monster", and was also the Midgard Serpent in Norse mythology. The rollercoaster's train is themed as a wooden representation of the sea monster, with riders sitting in its 18 rows of 2 seats as it powers around its track.
The sea monster climbs out of the ride's station, then up and over the Vikings area's main entrance to make its way alongside Drayton's main lake. Up until this point the pace is pretty slow (to the point it feels more like a monorail than a rollercoaster), but it picks up somewhat as the train accelerates through a downward spiralling helix over the water. Things slow down again for the return journey back over the entrance, but speed up for the final section that races close to the ground and back into the station.
Far from being a new ride at Drayton, Jormungandr is a retheming of the park's classic Buffalo Coaster which was originally installed in 1987. Sadly, aside from the new theming on the train and a spruce-up of the station, little else about the ride seems to have been refurbished and it really sounds like it is stuggling to get around the circuit and at points can only muster a slow crawl. The park can clearly see its on its last legs too: while Buffalo Coaster used to make multiple laps of the circuit, in its Jormungandr-guise riders only get a single trip around the track.
Usually a rollercoaster would be the headline attraction in a new park area, but unfortunately Jormungandr is found wanting. It is a ride way past its prime, which struggles to haul itself around what would be a largely less-than-exciting track even if it was up to trundling along at full speed. It feels especially misplaced in the otherwise excellent Vikings area.
New ride entrance
Jormungandr station
Queueline
Train in the station
Heading for the lake
The "monorail" section
Head of the refurbished train
Jormungandr's ride exit
