The Wave (Drayton Manor)

The Wave is a steel roller coaster, located at Drayton Manor Resort in Tamworth in the United Kingdom. It was manufactured by Intamin and originally opened in 1994 as The 7up Shockwave, later simply The Shockwave, featuring stand-up trains. For the 2024 season, it was renamed The Wave and given sit-down trains.

The Wave
Drayton Manor Resort
Location	Drayton Manor Resort
Park section	Adventure Cove
Coordinates	52°36′45″N 1°42′58″W
Status	Operating
Opening date	1994
Cost	£4.2 million
The Wave at Drayton Manor Resort at RCDB
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Intamin
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Sit-Down/Looping
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	120 ft (37 m)
Drop	105 ft (32 m)
Length	1,640.4 ft (500.0 m)
Speed	56 mph (90 km/h)
Inversions	4
Duration	1:40
G-force	4
Height restriction	120 cm (3 ft 11 in)
Trains	Single train with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train.
Fast Pass (Platinum only) & Easy Pass available

History

The Wave was originally manufactured by Intamin, opening in 1994 as a stand-up roller coaster called The 7up Shockwave, later renamed simply The Shockwave. It was the only stand-up roller coaster with a zero-g roll.

Shockwave was retired as a stand-up coaster on 5 November 2023 to have a new sit down train manufactured by ART Engineering for the 2024 season, and the height limit was lowered from 1.4m to 1.2m to allow a younger audience experience the ride.^[1][2][3]

Ride Experience

Once riders are seated and secured, the train exits the station where kicker wheels slowly takes the train down a straight section of track. The train then makes a small dip into the 37-metre-tall (120 ft) lift hill. Once riders are at the top the train gradually descends down to the left and drops into the first inversion, a vertical loop. After completing the loop riders immediately enter a zero-g roll. Riders then bend slightly to the left onto a straight section of track where the left hand side on ride photo is taken before entering the final two inversions, a double left hand corkscrew. Immediately after the corkscrews, the train turns right towards where the right hand on ride photo is taken. Trains then travel down another straight section before entering the ride's final brake run.