UK’s best value theme park drops prices to £10pp for January
KEEPING the kids entertained this January can cost as little as £10 if you head to this top UK attraction.
Drayton Manor in Tamworth picked up the top prize when it came to the ‘Best Value Theme Park’ last year – and now you can enjoy a day out for a fraction of the usual price.
For just £10 per person, you can get access to the soft play, trains and on-site zoo.
The ticket includes time at Spencer’s Outdoor Play Area, and a train ride with Thomas, Rosie & Percy.
Visitors can also explore the Dino Trail with faces from the prehistoric past like towering T-Rexes.
You can see over 500 animals at Drayton Manor Zoo too, like Andean bear, red pandas and capybaras.
Also included is a 45-minute slot in Emily’s Adventure Play which has ball pits, slides and a soft climbing frame.
For the adults, you can pick up hot and soft drinks at the coffee cart outside Emily’s Adventure Play and from Mrs Kyndley’s Café in the zoo.
You can buy a £10 ticket for entry to these parts of the theme park on weekends from January 24 to February 1, 2026.
Operating hours during this event are between 10am – 3pm only.
If you fancy time around the whole park where you can try out the 50 rides and attractions, then you’ll need to buy day pass instead.
Day passes for visitors aged between four and 65 cost £27.50 per person, it’s £15 for little ones between two and three years old and free for 0-23 months.
There’s an upcoming offer for tickets in February half-term (February 14-15) as well, with tickets costing £24.90.
With a day pass, you can go on all the rides, like Gold Rush, which is in the new Frontier Falls Wild West themed-land.
Head onto The Wave coaster, the swinging Bounty Pirate Ship or the Lady’s Carousel.
Last year, Drayton Manor was crowned ‘Best Value Theme Park’ by ThemeParks-UK.com and winners were announced after a series of votes made by 330,000 members of British public along with scores from expert judges.
It also came in second place for ‘Best (Large) Theme Park for Families’ and for ‘Best Theme Park for Toddlers’.
Drayton Manor came in first place for ‘Best New Accessibility Initiative’ and third for ‘Best Use of IP’ in an Attraction.
And its 75th Anniversary Fireworks won ‘Best New Event’.
My Five Tips For Doing Drayton Manor On a Budget
Catherine Lofthouse has been going to Drayton Manor for years – here are her tips on making it even more affordable…
If you’ve got a Tesco Clubcard, you can double up your Clubcard vouchers and use them to pay for entrance on the gate.
You can’t book in advance online or use the vouchers towards car parking or season passes though, so it’s worth comparing to some of the other offers out there to see which is best for your family.
Using a discount scheme like Blue Light Card for public sector workers or Kids Pass can offer savings all year round and also access to special member days, when the park is not open to the public and parking is included in the entry price.
The Blue Light Card member day at Drayton Manor in March 2025 offered tickets for £26 per person, with toddlers aged 2 and 3 costing £15 and babies under 2 free.
It’s worth keeping an eye out over Black Friday to see what offers pop up – last November, you could buy four tickets for £75 and they were valid until the end of May this year, which covered Easter and half-term holidays.
Keep an eye out for flash sales for season passes. On its anniversary year, the best value I’ve seen reduced was the gold pass, which normally costs £99 and dropped to £75.
We usually bring a picnic as we all know that theme park prices can quickly add up, especially if you’ve got hungry hordes to feed and water.
But on my recent visit at the end of September 2025, I spotted a deal for unlimited hot drinks for £8.90, which could be the way forward for tired parents who need a caffeine hit trailing after excited children.
For more on theme parks, this one in Europe is less than three hours from the UK named the best in the world – beating Disney and Universal.
Plus, check out the top six UK theme parks you can easily reach by train this summer – and how to find the cheapest family fares.