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Depends how little your little one and what rides you're looking at doing, but some general thoughts... -Flight of the Sky Lion has a horrible queue (especially if it's warm), and it does move quite slow -Ninjago and Dragon queue times often are inflated / over stated -Log flume gets you wetter than you'd expect -There's lots of play areas about; most of them are pretty decent! -Food is expensive (even by Merlin standards) -The duelling coasters have a quick moving queue, even when the queue is full

I’m off to Legoland very soon with my little one, mid week thankfully. First time I’ve been since I was a kid - back before we had phones etc! So it’ll be interesting to see it all! Any advice and tips at all?

I'd imagine it's something that could happen, but given that at the moment they've made no big deal about the new audio, and no one is really commenting on it, it's a low priority. The new stuff is fine. I can't lie, I barely hear it because it's pretty quiet. I went to the park today and heard no music outside the entrance, a little on the bridge and nothing on the Dome or balcony. The more parks I've gone to, the more I realised plenty of parks don't have a signature piece of music at the entrance or their main plaza area. So I guess I've placed less care or notice on it. But it's one of those things that if the park had one, and if it was really good, it would elevate things so much. And they haven't had that really since the track used in the 00s.

Hopefully it's released soon. I recorded the full Dome soundtrack they currently use a couple months ago so I'm glad that's online now.

I agree, I think I prefer the previous ones as well. It felt like they were only there for a short time, and even then some of them didn’t last long before being replaced with the stuff from before that in places. However I saw some social media replies a while ago from the park hinting that they could release them soon. I expect the people dealing with that have probably since been made redundant though.

No idea, but TBH I'm not a fan of any of it anyway. Nowhere near as good or memorable as the previous stuff!

As some may be aware, I visited Paultons and rode Ghostly Manor for the first time yesterday. Overall, I have to say that I think it’s a really cool addition! To start things off, first impressions are very good! The facade is lovely, as is the outdoor queue line; every time I walked through it, I was noticing new details, and there are some cool pieces of theming! I particularly liked the swing that moved on its own and the painting; I thought these were cool items! The indoor queue line is also really nice! There are some nice smell pods (I think they emit a lavender-type smell?), and there are lots more nice thematic details! I thought the tubes with ghosts captured and moving around in them were a nice touch in particular! In terms of the ride itself, I’ll keep it spoiler-free and say that I think it’s overall really good fun. I had 5 rides in total, and in terms of a few good points, I’d say the following: For the Paultons Park audience, I think it strikes the perfect balance between cartoony fun and scares. There are some moments of what I would call mild scariness that might scare a young child, but it’s not an all-out horror fest and the cartoony visual style keeps things fun and jovial! Some of the scenes are really nicely executed, with a good blend of screens and physical set pieces. There are a couple of nice animatronics in the ride, and things like projection mapping are also used effectively. While the ride is more shooting gallery-like in style, I think it works here, and the scenes aren’t long enough for it to feel monotonous. Each mini game isn’t particularly long (maybe 30 seconds at most?), so you do quickly get moving rather than feeling like you’re shooting at the same scene for ages on end. I found the gun system relatively comfortable to hold and easy to use. It did take a bit of getting used to and learning, but I think that is more down to my dreadfulness at interactive dark rides rather than any issue with the software! The Gameplay Theatre ride system is very clever, and it gets a lot of ride duration out of very little space. When you consider that Ghostly Manor replaced a 4D cinema, I think Paultons have done tremendously well! I do have a couple of small critiques and points for improvement, however. These are: I think some of the screen-based scenes (namely the ones facing outwards) lack physical scenery or any kind of bounding to try and hide the screen edges. I know that they are constrained with what they can do to some extent in these scenes, and you aren’t going to see physical scenery as elaborate as that in the inner scenes, but I think something to try and keep the immersion going would be nice, even if it was just some themed bounding for the screen edges. As it stands, these scenes basically just consist of a screen and some black floors and black walls; there’s no physical theming there at all. For the ride to flow seamlessly, it is very reliant on there being no hold-ups at the boarding and exiting stages. The mini games in each scene run for a predetermined duration, so if the boarding or exiting process is held up in any way, the mini game just ends and the ride sits still in a scene for a while with “the ride has stopped and will resume shortly” projected on the scene or onto the screen. To make the ride more flexible against disruptions in boarding and exiting flow, I think it would be nice if they were able to make the mini games continue running for the entire length of time the ride was stopped in a scene for, regardless of how long it is, for so that people’s attention isn’t drawn to the delay. If I’m being really picky, I think it would be nice if they were able to make the transition between scenes a bit more dramatic in some way and distract from visibility of some of the other scenes while you transition. Maybe a blast of smoke or something would work? But overall, I think Ghostly Manor is great fun and a brilliant addition to Paultons Park! It’s not the world’s most elaborate dark ride, but given that it replaced a 4D cinema, I think they’ve done very well with the space, and as a first dark ride for the park, I think it works excellently. They’re onto a winner with it, in my view, and it plugs a gap in their lineup! If you’re interested, here are a few photos I took: In terms of the rest of the park, I had an excellent, and very quiet, day! If you’d like to read more about it, my trip report is here:

Does anybody have any idea whether Thorpe Park plan on releasing their new soundtracks for the Dome, Admissions and the Bridge

5th June 2025: Paultons Park Hi guys. Today was an exciting day; in the words of our former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, “I went, as we all must, to Peppa Pig World”… yes, I returned to Paultons Park in Hampshire! I hadn’t been to the park since 2021, but I felt that the addition of Ghostly Manor, a unique new interactive dark ride, was the perfect excuse for me to return! The day started at around 6:45am, with a 30 minute drive across the Welsh border to Severn Tunnel Junction railway station in Wales to catch my train. I took a Great Western Railway service down to Romsey, and it was a journey of two distinct sections. Up to Bristol Temple Meads, the train was hideously overcrowded like few I’d ever seen before (the only comparable trains I’ve seen were trains to Cheltenham during Cheltenham Festival week… I was stood rubbing shoulder to shoulder with people in the foyer!). However, there was a mass exodus at Temple Meads and I managed to bag a window seat for the remaining trek down to Romsey, and the remainder of the journey was a wonderfully quiet, pleasant and scenic train ride down through the West Country. The journey time was roughly 2 hours, and I ended up reaching Romsey on time at just before 10am: After getting off the train, I took a taxi from the station to Paultons Park. This was prompt, and allowed me to make good time for entry at around 10:10am: If it isn’t apparent from the pictures, it was raining a fair amount when I entered the park, and as none of the rides on the Lost Kingdom side were open, I initially decided to head to Ghostly Manor to take refuge from the rain. I waited in the indoor queue for around 5 minutes ahead of a terribly irritating Year 6 school group who would not stop shouting and screaming, but unfortunately, the ride went down and the queue was evacuated: As such, I decided to start my day on a coaster… Storm Chaser Storm Chaser was open and completely deserted, so I went for a spin on there. I was the first rider of the day, apparently, despite the park having been open for at least 20 minutes at this point! I was swiftly joined by 1 or 2 other people, and then the train was sent. So, how was the ride? Well, I was seated in the front row, and my memories from 2021 of it being a fun and enjoyable family coaster were reaffirmed. It was a fun ride; it packs a surprising amount of speed, is smooth, and also has some pretty intense and thrilling moments for a family coaster. That low helix in particular is surprisingly forceful! As someone who isn’t a huge lover of things that spin excessively, I also find that the ride offers a good spin without being excessive; I found the spin level tolerable and fun! Overall, then, I thoroughly enjoyed my first ride of the day on Storm Chaser; it was a really good way to start off the day: After my ride on Storm Chaser, there was no one waiting to get on, so as was encouraged by the ride staff I decided to stay on and go around for another highly enjoyable lap (although technically, my row had reverted to row 2 due to the car switching direction)! After my second ride on Storm Chaser, I scouted out Tornado Springs to see what was open. I was, rather eerily, the only person I could see in the area, so it was hard to tell! As it turned out, Farmyard Flyer and Cyclonator did not open until 12pm, but despite it being deserted, a Tornado Springs ride I hadn’t previously tried was open, so I decided to give that a try… Windmill Towers Windmill Towers was open despite its deserted appearance, so as I hadn’t previously done it, I decided to give it a try. I’d been told that these towers were “more forceful than Magma” before trying them, so as someone who loves a good drop tower, I was naturally curious! So, how was the ride? Well, I have to say that it was really good fun! Don’t get me wrong, it is not some intense, world-beating drop tower extravaganza by any means, but there were some very fun tickles of airtime that really made me chuckle! It has a surprisingly long cycle as well, so you get plenty of giggly airtime pops for your money! All in all, then, I thought Windmill Towers was a good, fun drop tower; I definitely enjoyed giving it a go: After my ride on Windmill Towers, I was unsure whether the Lost Kingdom side coasters had opened yet and I wanted to give Ghostly Manor a little time to reopen, so I firstly decided to reride Storm Chaser while in Tornado Springs. I was the only person in the area, so I bagged not one, but two consecutive back row rides! These were once again very good fun; it felt like the ride packed a bit more speed at the back! After my rerides on Storm Chaser, I decided to head to another coaster in the near(ish) vicinity… Cat-O-Pillar Cat-O-Pillar was open and, like pretty much everything else I’d encountered so far, walk-on, so I decided to take a ride while I was in the area. Unlike Windmill Towers and the previous two rides on Storm Chaser, however, there were people on the train, so I waltzed into row 4 to take my ride. So, how was it? Well, as smaller family coasters go, I do often quite like a Zierer Tivoli, and Cat-O-Pillar wasn’t riding badly! I always find it really quirky how you seem to speed up going uphill when you sit towards the front of these coasters, and Cat-O-Pillar was showing this off quite nicely, with some fun helixes! The ride was also smooth, which I was glad of after the surprisingly jolty Egg-Spress at Pleasurewood Hills last year; this was certainly more enjoyable! Overall, then, I enjoyed my ride on Cat-O-Pillar, and thought it provided a perfectly fine Tivoli experience: After my ride on Cat-O-Pillar, the new ride had reopened, so I decided to head to… Ghostly Manor Ghostly Manor was on an advertised 5 minute queue, so I decided to give it a go. This queue time was if anything overstated, as only one group were ahead of me and I got on very promptly! So, how was the ride? Well, I have to say that it was really good fun! There’s some really cool theming on there, with some of the scenes having a really nice blend of screens and physical set pieces and animatronics! The queue line also has some really nice theming, and while the ride is more “shooting gallery” like in style, I think it works without feeling monotonous. I’ll do a longer review, as I do have some minor nitpicky critiques to suggest, but overall, I think it’s a really cool addition to the park and works well! Incidentally, my score on the first ride was 43,600; given that I'm not typically very good at shooting dark rides, I wasn't displeased with this: After Ghostly Manor, some of the Lost Kingdom side coasters had opened, so I headed for my first ride of the day on… Flight of the Pterosaur Flight of the Pterosaur was walk on, so I decided to hop on there and take a ride. The station was very quiet, with only one other group up front, so I hopped on the back. But how was the ride? Well, I’d remembered Pterosaur being great fun in 2021, and the ride was if anything better than I’d remembered; this thing is such good fun! I like a good inverted coaster, and while this is more of a family ride, it still packs a good sense of speed for its intended scale, with some of the drops feeling good and fast! There are also some surprisingly forceful moments; that ending helix in particular is absolutely awesome, and almost reminds me of a family version of Nemesis’ helix! It’s also really smooth and comfortable (those restraints are wonderful!), and all in all, I just find it really enjoyable! If I were to rank, I’d say that this is probably my favourite coaster in the park; as fun as Storm Chaser is, Pterosaur is a little more my thing. Simply put, I think I’d take an inverted coaster over a spinning coaster 9 times out of 10: After I got off Pterosaur, I headed for the other coaster in the area… Velociraptor Velociraptor was absolutely deserted, so I decided to give it a go. I was the only person in the queue or the station, and the host looked somewhat surprised to see me, so as with some of the other rides I’d done today, I ended up having the ride entirely to myself! So, how was it? Well, it had been a few years since I’d ridden Velociraptor, but I remembered it being a relatively strong example of a family shuttle coaster, and that view was reaffirmed; if anything, it was slightly better than I’d remembered! The forward portion of the layout is smooth, fun, and keeps quite a good sense of speed, even packing a mild pop of airtime! I’ll admit that I don’t like the backwards portion as much, and family shuttle coasters aren’t a ride style I tend to go nuts for in general, but I think Velociraptor is probably the strongest I’ve ridden, narrowly beating Accelerator and the two sides of Minifigure Speedway. It was a fun ride overall: After my ride on Velociraptor, I decided to bring out my slightly more shameless side and grab a new credit… Dino Chase Some of you may know that I often don’t ride kiddie coasters, but as there was no one in the queue or on the ride and I had just seen a group of 3 who definitely weren’t children get off it, I decided to put aside my kiddie coaster reservations and nab a credit that I didn’t get in 2021 on Dino Chase. The host was friendly and didn’t draw any attention to me not being a child, I sat discreetly in the front row, and there was no one in the area; it was possibly the least embarrassing kiddie coaster ride I’ve ever had, and I got a solo ride to boot! So, how was the ride itself? Well, Dino Chase is what it is, really. The ride did pack surprising vigour in places for something so small, but it is ultimately an oval-shaped layout designed for children, so it’s not ever going to hit any top coaster lists. I was glad to tick off the credit (#136 in the count!) and overcome my kiddie coaster embarrassment with such an inoffensive experience, though: After Dino Chase, I headed for two back-to-back rerides on Flight of the Pterosaur. I had one in the front and one in the back, and they were once again great fun with some great forces. And I also had the whole train to myself on both rides! I then had two back-to-back rerides on Velociraptor. Both of these were on the back row, and were good fun; I think I preferred the back to the front, as the ride packed more speed through the fun forwards portion! This was then followed by two further back-to-back Flight of the Pterosaur rerides on the back row. Once again, these were great fun! I then headed onto another attraction I’d never done before… Dinosaur Tour Co Dinosaur Tour Co was absolutely deserted, so I decided to give it a go. I hadn’t done this on my 2021 visit and it looked as though it might have some nice animatronics (and I honestly wondered if I should pace myself with something slower given that this was my 17th ride and it wasn’t even 12pm…). I walked straight onto the ride and was off in no time at all! But how was the ride? Well, I have to say it was quite charming! The voiceover and dinosaur animatronics were really sweet, and the indoor scene was an unexpected surprise, particularly the effect at the end! I will say, though, that this had very tight legroom; if you are somewhat on the taller side (I’m 5’10”, for reference), it might be worth keeping in mind. I bashed my knee quite hard on the steering wheel getting out of the truck! The ride was fun, though, and a nice way to have a bit of a gentle detour between coasters: After I got off Dinosaur Tour Co, it had hit 12pm, and another major coaster had opened up, so resultantly, I headed over to... Cobra Cobra was, as you've probably guessed, absolutely deserted, so as a result, I walked straight onto the ride, sat straight down in an empty car and was sent in a jiffy. It is great when that happens, and it was a continuing theme throughout the day! So, how was the ride? Well, I'd remembered quite liking Cobra in 2021, but unfortunately, I wasn't quite as much of a fan this time. It's not a terrible ride by any means; some of the turns and airtime moments are good fun! There's one key bit that really brings it down for me, though, and that's the sequence of wild mouse-style turns. I am not a fan of the harsh laterals provided by wild mouse-style coasters at all, and unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of Cobra's either. The fact that this sequence is only one part of a wider layout containing some more fun elements like helixes, turns and airtime moments puts Cobra well above any regular wild mouse I've ridden, but I still wouldn't say I rated it as highly as I did in 2021, and I dare say it's possibly my least favourite of Paultons' current 4 big coasters. I can sense that might be a controversial one, as lots of people like Gerstlauer Bobsled Coasters, but it's a little bit too wild mouse-adjacent for my personal liking, even if the harsh laterals don't make up the entire ride like they do on wild mice. Cobra was still fun overall, but it wasn't quite doing it for me today like it did in 2021, if I'm honest: After getting off Cobra, I headed back to the other side of the park, riding Ghostly Manor again en route. I once again found the experience really enjoyable; I was noticing new details that I didn't see on the first ride, and I got an improved score of 54,900 this time! After riding Ghostly Manor, I then headed into Tornado Springs to tick off another new credit that had now opened for the day... Farmyard Flyer As with everything else, Farmyard Flyer was deserted and walk-on, so as this coaster had been built since my last trip to Paultons and I therefore didn't have the credit, I decided to give it a try. The ride hadn't long opened, seeing as it was scheduled to open at 12pm like Cobra, and the only two other people in the station were two young boys who parked themselves at the front, so I promptly parked myself at the back to get on the next train. So, how was the ride? Well, I have to say that it is very well themed; the queue is absolutely lovely, with loads of little details, and the ride itself has some really nice bits of theming in it too! That is where my superlative praise ends, however, as I'd say the ride itself is average at best, if I'm honest. It's my favourite new-to-me coaster that I've ridden so far in 2025, but given that the sole competition is Dino Chase (tiny) and the leftmost side of Steeplechase (vile), that's not a particularly high bar! Similarly to Dino Chase (albeit bigger and less embarrassing for adults to ride), it is what it is; it's a children's roller coaster that's fun enough for the intended audience, but is not going to make any top coaster lists for older riders. I will say, though, that it is surprisingly jolty... it's not rough per se, but definitely not smooth for a 3 year old family coaster, and has its fair share of lumps and bumps. Overall, then, I'd say that Farmyard Flyer is beautifully themed, but is very much something that I'd say has limited appeal outside of the children's coaster demographic. It's not something I'd rush to reride on a future visit: After Farmyard Flyer, I had two back-to-back rerides on Storm Chaser in the front row. Once again, the ride was highly enjoyable, although I should say that the rain was coming down a little harder and was paired with a stiff breeze. The wind made the ride feel more exhilarating, but the rain did make the experience feel a little like being waterboarded! After the two Storm Chaser rerides, I headed for a flat ride... Cyclonator Cyclonator, as with everything else, was very quiet (that would be a good drinking game... take a shot every time I mention crowd levels in this trip report!), so I gave it a go. I had a one-cycle wait, though, which was possibly in contention for the longest wait of the day! But how was the ride? Well, unlike most, I'm not the world's biggest fan of gyroswings, and I do not remember particularly liking Cyclonator in 2021 (I seem to remember it making me feel a bit sick). However, I must admit that while still not a favourite of mine, it was not nearly as bad as I'd remembered. There was some better airtime than I'd previously remembered on there, and the spinning, while I'd still rather it wasn't there, was manageable. Gyroswings still aren't my favourite, and I would still take a non-spinning alternative like a Screamin' Swing any day of the week, but they are growing on me. The most notable aspect of this ride, however, is that the rain had started coming down harder, and this was possibly one of the wettest experiences I have ever had on a non-water ride! The rain was coming down hard enough that it felt like I was getting pierced in the face as we flew through the air; I could hardly keep my eyes open, I was getting gradually more soaked, and it was one of those experiences where you just can't help but laugh! Combine that with the fact that I'd been reunited with the aforementioned Year 6 school trip group from the morning's Ghostly Manor breakdown and they were doing their very loudest high-pitched screaming throughout the ride, and it made for quite an experience: I followed my ride on Cyclonator up with two more back-to-back rerides on Storm Chaser. Both were in the back row, I had the entire train to myself once again, and both rides were really enjoyable, although had somewhat of the same waterboarding-style effect as the prior ride on Cyclonator! After that, I took another ride on Cat-O-Pillar. I was on the front row this time, and I had the entire train to myself! The ride, as it was earlier, was a fun and quirky Zierer Tivoli, although I did notice a slightly irritating set of drive tires rumbling the train that I didn't notice the first time round. This was also another one where I was going around the ride and could not see anyone else within the vicinity! After my ride on Cat-O-Pillar, I went for another go on Ghostly Manor. My score was slightly lower than last time, at 53,700, but the ride was once again fun; I do think interactive dark rides are pretty rerideable, particularly on a wet day like today was! After my reride on Ghostly Manor, I had a brief break to eat lunch in an undercover seating area before heading for a reride on Storm Chaser. It was another back row ride, and it was once again good fun! I then headed for a reride on Cobra. Similarly to earlier, it was fun, but definitely brought down a peg by those wild mouse-style turns for me. After that, I headed for an attraction that had opened since my last foray to the Cobra end of the park... The Edge The Edge was absolutely deserted, so I decided to explore and see if it was open (I genuinely wasn't sure seeing as the ride was still and I was the only person I could immediately see in the area!). As it turned out, the ride was open, and another group swiftly joined me for a ride. So, how was The Edge? Well, I wasn't a huge fan of Thor at Drayton Manor last year, and this was, if anything, less enjoyable than that, for me. I'm not a big spinning flat ride person, and this did spin a fair amount, and I also do not like that motorbike riding position at all. I find the way it has you resting on your chest really unnatural, and this one was also strangely bumpy in a way that Thor wasn't, for some reason. Overall, then, I'm sorry to say that I wasn't a fan of The Edge; I'm glad I tried it, but I won't be rushing back on it again: After my ride on The Edge, I went for another nearby flat ride that was a little more to my liking... Magma Magma had also opened up since my last trip to this end of the park, so I decided to give it a whirl. It goes without saying at this point that the ride was walk-on, and I took my seat promptly. As common as this was today, it is still a bonus when it happens! But how was Magma? Well, I'd remembered quite liking it in 2021, and I liked it once again; although it's not the most intense tower by any stretch, there are some fun, giggly tickles of airtime that I like! It did maybe feel a tad shorter and more timid than Windmill Towers across the park, but it was still fun overall: After my ride on Magma, I had another go on Cobra while I was in the area, which was similarly fun to earlier. I then had another back row ride on Flight of the Pterosaur. Once again, this was really good fun, with some great moments of speed and force for a family coaster! This was swiftly followed by two back-to-back rides on Velociraptor. Both of these were in the front, and once again, they were good fun, with some nice speed in sections! I then did another front row ride on Flight of the Pterosaur to jazz things up a bit (fun, but I do prefer the back) before heading for another Ghostly Manor reride. I was starting to get the hang of the shooting system by this point, and I managed a new high score of 57,100! The ride was once again really good fun; I think it's a cool addition to the park, and brilliant for rainier days like today! After my reride on Ghostly Manor, I headed for something slightly more sedate... Rio Grande Railway Rio Grande Railway was quiet, so I headed to the queue and waited for the next train to arrive. But how was the ride? Well, as a sedate breather, I do quite like a train, and Rio Grande Railway was a nice one! It had some nice theming in the initial Tornado Springs part of the course before heading out into a very sedate portion near the woods and water mill and finishing up with a brief ride through Peppa Pig World. Overall, it was a nice, relaxing way to spend a few minutes, and a good way to take a breather between coasters: After my ride on Rio Grande Railway, I had not one, not two, but three back-to-back rerides on Storm Chaser. I bagged a front row ride, a back row ride and a row 7 ride, and all of these were really good fun! I then went for another ride on Windmill Towers. As with earlier, I very much enjoyed the ride, and loved some of the giggly tickles of airtime it provided! After that, I went for two more fun back-to-back rerides on Storm Chaser. Both were in the back row, and one was another solo ride where I had the ride all to myself! I then headed for a final reride on Ghostly Manor. It was fun once again, and this time, I managed my best score all day; I got 69,800 that time. I do think the point-scoring aspect makes shooting rides quite rerideable, and I was starting to get more of a knack for Ghostly Manor's shooting system by the end of the day! After that, I had two fun back-to-back rerides on the back row of Flight of the Pterosaur, followed by two fun back-to-back rerides on Velociraptor. I then had one final fun front row reride on Flight of the Pterosaur and closed out the riding with a final front row ride on Storm Chaser. All of these were really enjoyable! By this point, 5pm had arrived, so I bought a chocolate Magnum (or more accurately, Paultons' ripoff of a Magnum) and left the park, eating my Magnum while I waited for my taxi to Romsey station to arrive. My taxi to the station was once again prompt, and this time, I was driven by a very friendly and rather chatty man who asked me lots of questions about Wales (I explained that I'd travelled to Romsey from South Wales when he asked where I'd taken the train from)! He then talked a bit about Gaza, which is where I'll admit I just sort of nodded uncomfortably. I don't deny that the situation in Gaza needs to be talked about, but I'm not sure I want to talk about it in great depth with a random taxi driver I don't know. I must say, however, that the overall taxi service was excellent in both directions and worked brilliantly; the drivers were very friendly, and it was really easy to book via the app! I then took the train back to Severn Tunnel Junction from Romsey, which unlike the one there was nice, quiet and uneventful for the whole length of the journey (apart from the fact that GWR's digital announcer was having a funny 5 minutes and thought we were in Ealing Broadway and on our way to Maidenhead...). I'll close out this report with a picture I took of the White Horse in Westbury (I'm not sure if this is its actual name, but that's what I've always called it...) from out of the train window. Seeing this brought back memories of many a family holiday to Center Parcs Longleat Forest when I was a child, where seeing this horse always meant that we were nearly there!: So, that brings an end to my trip report from Paultons Park! I had an excellent day; yes, the weather was pretty dreadful for much of the day, but the ride count certainly made up for it! If you've lost track, I managed a grand total of 51 rides in the almost 7 hours I spent in Paultons Park. This is by far the most rides I have ever done in one theme park day, blowing my prior record of 31 to smithereens (I'd already beaten this figure by around 2:30pm, so it wasn't even close)! The composition of said ride count was as follows: Storm Chaser x15 (another record broken... this is the most rides I've ever managed on one individual attraction in a theme park day!) Flight of the Pterosaur x10 Velociraptor x7 Ghostly Manor x5 Cobra x3 Cat-O-Pillar x2 Windmill Towers x2 Dino Chase x1 Dinosaur Tour Co x1 Farmyard Flyer x1 Cyclonator x1 The Edge x1 Magma x1 Rio Grande Railway x1 I'm not sure I'll ever beat this... short of doing some sort of ERT, I'm not quite sure how I'd beat this! I'm not quite sure whether to be proud or appalled at having done 51 rides in just under 7 hours... The park today was quite possibly in contention with Oakwood in May 2019 for the quietest theme park I've ever been in; there were numerous points where I was the only visible person in areas, and it was actually quite eerie! Areas like Tornado Springs got a little busier later on, but Lost Kingdom and the area by Cobra et al stayed a ghost town pretty much all day... it was almost surreal! In terms of specific insights beyond ride count and crowd levels; it was great to get back to Paultons. It's a really pleasant park that's definitely on the up, they have some lovely themed areas and generally present things very well, and they do have some excellent family coasters. My personal favourite is probably Flight of the Pterosaur; that thing packs a punch for a family invert! Although Storm Chaser is also surprisingly punchy and really good fun, and follows close behind! Ghostly Manor is also a really cool addition; it's a really fun dark ride with a cool ride system and some really nice theming, and I think they're onto a winner with it! Valgard and the addition of Drakon should add an interesting additional dimension to the lineup, even if I do have my personal scepticism around the exact choice of a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter, and I definitely look forward to coming back and checking it out in 2026 (with a new thrill coaster on the way, I'll 100% be back next year!). If I'm being honest, Paultons is not currently a park I'd be looking to return to annually in the way that Alton Towers and Thorpe Park are, as I don't think it offers the larger thrill rides I crave in the way that Towers and Thorpe do, but I'm interested to see if their move into thrills with Drakon might gradually start to change that for me. It's a bright future at Paultons! Thanks for reading; I hope you've enjoyed this report! Forbidding any surprises, I think my next trip report will most likely be from Alton Towers in late July. I'm looking forward to another probable solo day at Alton when my dad heads to LIV Golf at JCB again like he did last year!

Rode Hyperia 5 times on Sunday and one of the trains is very noticeably more rattly than the other. I still love it but it did give me a pretty bad headache and on Monday my neck was in agony

Apologies for bumping an over month-old thread, but I think that’s a really intriguing idea! I imagine such a park would probably have more dark rides and slow-moving attractions, a little like Epcot, rather than high-intensity coasters and flats. How do you educate effectively through the medium of, say, an RMC? I guess an example of where this was actually attempted (to a degree) was the brief opening of Britannica Park in the 1980s, before it was a failure and got turned into the American Adventure. I think its failure was more down to the fact that it opened half-finished rather than the idea of a Britain-themed park being a bad one, though. I’ve always been quite intrigued by the idea of a British history-themed park, I’ll admit!

It was definitely a seismic event for the UK theme park industry, and I often wonder what the parks would be like had it never happened. Would we have seen cuts at the likes of Alton Towers as we did? Would the likes of The Flume, Logger’s Leap and Ripsaw still be here? Would we have seen different investments? There are so many questions!

Well having it closed will do no 'arm to the line up.

Doesn’t look like it’ll open today, a couple of arms are missing!!

Genuinely frustrating. it was supposed to be open as well and then two weeks before the trip they announced it was closed for the middle two weeks in May.

No Mystic Manor is probably the most upsetting thing to read there.

It is one of those "you remember where you were when you heard about it" moments. 10 years ago is crazy though. I only ever worked for Merlin post the incident, but I've seen and heard of many of consequences, aftermath, etc that it resulted in. Some ideas have been frankly ridiculous and damaging to the parks further. Equally, some have led to Merlin being significantly safer and if an incident like that was to ever happen again at a major park, the probability of it happening at a Merlin park is surely the lowest. One does wonder though, what shape would Merlin (and Towers in particular) be in if it never happened.

I visited this park three weeks ago and I had some thoughts. You can tell this was a Disney park on a budget and was obviously planned in the days where Disneyland Paris was seen as a failure and budgets were tight. When it opened, its major rides were Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise and at a push, The many adventure of Winnie the Pooh. Investment has come with an outer ring basically built on the left side of the park with it starting at Grizzly Bear Mountain Railroad, into Mystic Point, Toy Story Land and finally Frozen Land. The right side of the park hasn't been left behind though with the removal of Autopia in favour of the Ironman Experience, Buzz lightyear re-themed to Ant-man and a rumoured Tower of Terror ride themed to Spiderman. I will say this, it is most definitely a one day park, maybe even a half day. The queues here are minimal (which is refreshing for a Disney park) and a lot of the rides are basically filler (again, quite refreshing). The longest waits are for the Duffy and Friends characters near the park entrances. If you aren't interested in queuing an hour to meet Lina-Bell, you have a problem. Grizzly Bear Mountain is the parks Big Thunder Mountain equivalent and It's a really good family coaster, it lacks the jank of thunder Mountain and its backwards section is pretty weak but the rest of the ride is great. The bears are used for comedy, one rubbing its bum on a points changer, another two setting of the dynamite in the mountains. The launch is pretty powerful and there's great forces on the turns through the valleys of the mountain. Mystic Manor was closed. This absolutely sucked. Toy Story land is exactly the same as Paris's, just slightly bigger. Jungle Cruise is excellent. When we went you could wait for either mandarin or english skippers. Because the English was done in slightly broken English, it made it an absolutely hilarious time. The skippers were so fun and over the top. The finale is sublime and puts this as the best Jungle Cruise in the Disney parks. Frozen Land was fine. It still pains me that this Frozen Ever After is the big new hope for Disneyland Paris when at its heart, it's a very mid fantasyland reject and isn't really good enough. The Disney Sea equivalent is far superior. Onkens sleds is fine if a bit basic. Its best bit is the lift hilll animatronic. The rest of it is junior rollercoaster fluff. Small World is the best of the five and was in good condition. All figures and effects are working. Hyperspace Mountain is the same as the Disneyland version and is pretty fun if unremarkable. Its permanently hyperspace mountain so does need a proper refurbishment. Antman and the Wasp is dull. All the sets are just grey and brown as you are shrunk down to destroy micro-chips. This leaves you with a very bland experience. Iron Man experience is pretty good, a more modern version of Star Tours. I personally.. prefer star Tours as it feels more mechanical and less fluid. However there's no denying it is a fun and unique experience. When we went there was no parades or special entertainment as the trip was during the parks off-season. The only offering was the fireworks display at the end of the night, called Momentous which was fantastic and a beautiful display. I was pretty emotional towards the end.

It was a huge balls up from the staff at the time. But like with many things, the safety procedures weren't entirely up to snuff and the way it which the park was being run arguably led to the mistake being made. It changed the course of the park and Merlin a LOT. Sadly it caused a major hit for the industry that it has struggled to recover from (mostly as, in my opinion, Merlin went into damage control mode rather than focusing on getting the parks to a level of quality again). Combine that with the general state of the world in those 10 years and its no wonder we're sat here begging for Universal.

Needed new part, took a while to arrive. Just the way these things go sometimes.

I've definitely noticed it's a little rougher and a bit jolty since the wheels have been changed in my opinion. I haven't been on since the support/braces have been added to the bottom of the seats but have seen some comments saying its made it even worse which is interesting? They have recently reinstalled the splash down which indicates it could come back in the future. It hasn't been seen working again yet though since it was turned off last season.

I still remember my exact location watching it on the news for my first time too! Is an interesting thought what the park would be like now if the incident didn't happen, as it certainly was the start of Towers downfall in my opinion. 10 years later, the park continuous to have one of the worst opening hours for a major theme park worldwide, 10-4pm midweek...

It’s been 10 years today since the horrific Smiler collision. BBC News are running coverage about the accident, but for some reason are glossing over the fact that the 2 injured riders raising this are doing so to raise money for the air ambulance charity who helped save many lives that day. I still can’t get over that it actually happened to be honest. I remember seeing the footage on the news and feeling devastated that it happened at Alton Towers of all places - somewhere many people cherish as somewhere filled with joy and happy childhood memories. I also remember visiting in the week after the park re-opened, and how empty and weird it felt being there after what happened. A very sad time for everyone involved, and for all the staff. I can’t help but wonder what Alton Towers would be like today if this incident hadn’t happened. To this day, their reputation is damaged, and they certainly took a huge hit in the months and even years after the incident. Perhaps the park would have been prosperous if this hadn’t happened, or perhaps an incident was waiting to happen anyway given the shortcuts that were being taken.

So the splash might never come back?

Could it be to make them vibrate less? Some have been expressing concerns about a rattle, particularly since the wheels were changed, so I feel like adding that new support could maybe be a way of securing the seats a bit more and stopping them from vibrating as much? I haven’t ridden it since the wheels were changed, but I don’t remember it having a bad rattle when I did it last year. There was a slight one there, but it didn’t detract from the ride whatsoever for me. On a side note, I’ve heard that the new wheels are making the ride run faster than ever… I can’t wait to try it out again later this year!