Paultons Park

[PP2021]

On 3/23/2019 at 10:18 AM, JoshC. said:

I'm loving this campaign they've got going.

 

They can tease the fans as much or as little as they like. They can 'reveal' names (this appears to be the Cyclonator), but if there's a negative reaction, they can change it. Plus the general style and theme is fab.

 

Going to be fantastic for the park. And with this and likely a major investment at Flamingo Land, there's potential that 2020 will be a great year for the UK.

Oh if only 2020 had been a great year for the UK .... and the world!

[Matt N]

It looks as though Paultons Park received an inadvertent publicity boost the other day when Boris Johnson praised his recent visit to the park in a speech to British business leaders: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59373237

 

Let’s hope that this translates to some additional ticket sales for Paultons! If nothing else, it will certainly make the park quite an infamous place within political circles…

[jom222]

I went to Paultons Park on Friday for the first time in a few years and it really makes you realise how strong they are as competition to Chessington.

 

We started over at Cobra and then gradually moved our way around to the right hand side of the park. Doing this you could see so easily how the park has evolved over time to get more and more detailed with their theming going from Cobra and Edge which are essentially completely plain, to Lost Kingdom and finally Tornado Springs.

 

It’s not just themeing though that’s impressive for a relatively small park, it’s the fact that everything is immaculate that stood out the most. You could tell they work hard on repainting, cleaning, gardening, etc. It’s probably this that makes the biggest difference between here and some of the Merlin parks, like Chessington, where many elements just look tired now.

 

I’m looking forward to see what Paultons have to bring in the future as they’ve got so much potential. I think Chessington have started to see them as a threat and have been gradually improving over the past couple of years but I still feel that if I was recommending a park to a family with younger children then Paultons would be the top suggestion.

[Mattgwise]

Yep its a great park and agree so much potential given their efforts in the last few developments. It also helps that they care for and continue to touch up and clean the place so well. Also even when busy outside of Peppa Pig World queues rarely get above 20/30 mins which makes a more enjoyable day. 

[Matt 236]

It is definitely a park with much charm and potential. 
 

The way they have developed in the last 10+ years is simply incredible. Building new rides and areas that perhaps would not look out of place at a European theme park. 
 

They also seem to be one of the few uk parks to keep their values and deliver top quality customer service for their consumer. No surprises they come towards the top of attractions on Tripadvisor. 

[MattyMoo]

What with Thorpe, Legoland, Towers and the new Jewel in the Merlin Crown, CWoA having all new investments in the works - I wonder if Paulton's have anything up their sleeve soon? 

[Glitch]

4 hours ago, MattyMoo said:

What with Thorpe, Legoland, Towers and the new Jewel in the Merlin Crown, CWoA having all new investments in the works - I wonder if Paulton's have anything up their sleeve soon? 

Paulton's have Peppa Pig that's all they need.

[Benin]

You'd suspect they have something planned, especially in the Cobra and T'Edge area looking more out of place with every other addition.

[Mark9]

B&M dive machine please.

[MattyMoo]

7 hours ago, Benin said:

You'd suspect they have something planned, especially in the Cobra and T'Edge area looking more out of place with every other addition.

 

Yes, that's the area that screams to me in need of some Towers Loving Care. 

[Benin]

Paultons sent out a survey today to get some ideas about their future:

 

https://paultonsparknews.com/p/4QI7...qLgLWJYbvVT9PXr22kRHzhDw6HFGlqvHJTBedZH3uaRQo

 

Good to see they're looking ahead, especially if Merlin turn a corner in investing in Chessie and Lego.

 

Thrill coaster, water ride and indoor are certainly the next logical steps. Especially if they retheme the more tired areas to fit into the standard they've hit recently. 

[JoshC.]

Water ride and dark ride (and indoor attractions more generally) should be the park's next logical steps. They have enough coasters, and enough variety in coasters, to cope without adding a new one for a few years.

 

In terms of next coaster, a woodie is a really obvious next step. Or even one of the family friendly RMCs the manufacturer has touted as possible could do the trick.

 

An out and out thrill coaster would be an interesting and bold development for the park. But certainly can work - look at Plopsaland with their addition first of Anubis, then of Ride to Happiness. I could very much see Paultons becoming the Plopsaland of the UK, and that is no bad thing.

[Paultons Parkway]

As somebody with a keen interest in the history and development of the UK’s major theme parks, I thought I’d give a reflection on one of the very first theme parks I visited, and from my own opinion how it has risen to become a significant player in the UK’s theme park lineup with major investments in the past decade. I can see potential for Paultons to become a premier destination for the London and South East regions, putting it in the same league as Legoland, Chessington and Thorpe.

 

I first visited Paultons in the summer of 2004 on an end of year school trip. Back then, it was dominated by kiddie rides (I was 6 at the time so comfortably in the target market), minimal theming and the park’s former owl mascot Percy (with the strapline “It’s a hoot hoot!”). Throughout the years, we would return annually and witness the opening of the Cobra roller coaster (2006), Sky Swinger (2008), Edge (2009) and Magma (2012). These four rides are what I would call the park’s first major “thrill rides”, which would be a centrepiece for the major developments that were to come.

 

Meanwhile, the opening of Peppa Pig World in 2011 was what I would call the first significant development for Paultons, since this became the park’s first properly themed area and the first theme park area dedicated to the universally recognised character, driving up attendance figures and really putting Paultons into competition with Chessington. Unsurprisingly, this area would become the park’s primary area for kiddie rides, and while there were still a fair few around the rest of the park, I imagined that these would eventually be redeveloped into making the park a more attractive place for people of all ages.

 

And boy was I right! 2016 saw what I would call the park’s greatest investment to date - Lost Kingdom. A brand new dinosaur-themed area with the centrepiece consisting of two coasters aimed for the more thrill-seeking end of the family market. The theming was above and beyond too, with a previously bland area of the park spruced up and emblazoned with character. At the same time, the traditionally more established parks of Thorpe and Chessington were going downhill with their investments, neither having opened a new coaster for 4 and 12 years respectively, yet Paultons were leading the way with two for the price of one in the same year.

 

A couple of years later, plans were announced to redevelop the area around the existing Wave Runner ride to an American theme. Known as Tornado Springs, this area would house a new spinning coaster and a spinning flat ride similar to Vortex at Thorpe Park, Paulton’s most intense ride to date. This area was due to open in 2020 but ended up being delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When it finally did open however, it was certainly worth the wait. Paultons now had 6 coasters and a wider variety of flat thrill rides than Chessington, the nearest comparable park for ride variety and target audience.

 

The developments at Paultons since 2011 have been highly executed and well-received, although this has made the remaining unthemed areas of the park feel dated, despite many of its rides having only opened within the past two decades. With the success of recent development, I imagine Paultons have plans to redevelop these areas, although how this might be executed remains to be seen. I expect that most of the bigger rides will remain in place with major retheming taking place, while the traditional kiddie rides will probably be removed since Peppa Pig World now caters for this market, opening up more land for future development. There is also a large chunk of undeveloped land to the south of the Edge and west of the car park, although I’m not sure if this would be suitable for building rides on, and I doubt Paultons would want to risk a retrospective planning application again after the furore with the Cobra and Edge shortly after they opened. Even so, there appears to be plenty of land within the existing park ripe for development, and with the track record Paultons have in executing this well, I expect there will be a lot more to offer from the park in the future. 

 

Personally, I really hope we will see additional themed areas covering the entirety of Paultons, as well as a greater variety of thrilling flat rides, an inverting roller coaster and a dark water ride. This will really put the park on the map and make it a premier destination for the South Coast of England, appealing to both families and thrillseekers alike.

[MattyB]

Visited the park yesterday.  Last time I was there was around 2009/2010, and wow! What a lovely park.

 

Park General - Entrance well planned, looks amazing.  Restaurant was closed all day, but I could see it is a large capacity restaurant.  Exit shop is impressive, kind of reminded me of the Disney shop outside Disney Paris (theming hanging off the ceiling etc).  Park very clean and well presented.  Immaculate landscaping. Queue times averaged around 10-15 mins.

 

Flight of the Pterosaur - very impressed with this.  This is my first new gen Vekoma coaster, and I loved the openness of the restraints.  Layout is fun, final helix is awesome.  Theming well done.  Impressive exit shop

 

Velociraptor - also very impressed with this.  Surprisingly fast, fun layout.  Showing a bit of wear and tear on the track.

 

The whole Lost Kingdom area was very impressive.  I could see the Jurassic Park influence, however it didn't feel like a cheap knockoff.

 

Cobra - showing its age, quite a rough ride.  Not sure if this ride should have a long term future at the park.

 

Storm Chaser - probably one of my favourite coasters in the UK at the moment.  Fun, fast and the right amount of intensity.  Immaculate theming.

 

The Tornado Springs area was amazing.  I would say comparable to Disney level theming (Disney around 10 years ago).  

 

Rio Grande Train Ride - love me a train ride! Decent ride length, however towards the end it seems to go into a backstage area which didn't look great.

 

Peppa Pig World - area was rammed.  Excellent theming, I can see this probably prints the park a lot of money!

 

We ate at the Route 83 Diner.  Food was great quality and excellent VFM.  I didn't need to eat again all day! I would say the self service order point was a bit sluggish, but all in all an excellent dining experience.

 

Future - I think the park definitely needs a big water ride (water coaster, rapids or new log flume), and a dark ride (haunted or fantasy/whimsical).  Maybe a new coaster.  I could see an Intamin/Mack mega lite working really well here.  Or a woodie.  Or one of the new RMC family coasters.  Also, a Peppa Pig hotel would probably work very well.

 

All the staff I came across were super helpful and friendly, and it looked like they were really enjoying their work.

 

All in all, a fantastic day out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Benin]

Replacement for the old 4D cinema was mentioned on the park's "Super Fan Day".

 

https://ghostlymanor.co.uk/

[JoshC.]

There was also a teaser for 2026:

 

No indication what it could be or where, although with the park planning on redeveloping the Cobra-side of the park, it could end up there.

 

There was an animation of that version of the park's logo inverting too, so some are speculating it could be an inverting coaster.

[Mark9]

B&M inverter confirmed. 

[MattyB]

THE MOST ADVANCED RIDE IN THE UK?! 👀 | Ghostly Manor Construction Update #6 👻

[Benin]

 

 

New area for next year gets an Euro-Fighter, an ART Engineering Swing ride and a new restaurant. Cobra will be rethemed. 

 

T'Edge seems to be moving and Magma going? Not seen the confirmation of either.

 

 

 

2027 teasing a water ride.

 

Surprised that it's an Euro-Fighter. But it's still a sensible addition to the park as next step up from Storm Chaser. 

[Cal]

Great day at Paultons today. I hadn’t been to the park for over 10 years, before the likes of Peppa Pig world so it was great to see how much the park has changed for the better since then. 

 

Ghostly Manor is a great addition to their lineup, fits the area perfectly and is finished to a really high standard. 

 

Seeing the coasters behind the scenes was really cool, particularly enjoyed watching Storm Chaser in the op cabin while it was being operated for the ERT. 

A little disappointed they went for a Gerst Eurofighter for their 2026 addition, but I do think it will be a great fit for the park. I think there are definitely better options out there, but think they chose this for budget reasons more than anything. 

 

Particularly disappointed that it will have OTSR’s rather than Lap Bars (the boos from the crowd were hilarious), and I do think that is a mistake. I understand their thinking, that they want it to be as accessible as possible and they feel like OTSR’s will be seen as safer by the GP, especially for their first inversion coaster. But ultimately, Lap Bars are more modern, and I think this will impact the overall guest experience and enjoyment of the coaster.

 

New water ride teased for 2027 and then the accommodation is planned for 2030+. Great to see them investing so much and I do hope the 2026 addition is a success. 

 

They made it clear they are slowly increasing the thrill level rather than big jumps, so it seems this is very much a test. They seemed to keep repeating that this is their tallest coaster ‘yet’ and ‘to date’ so will be interesting to see Paultons future.

 

58 minutes ago, Benin said:

T'Edge seems to be moving and Magma going? Not seen the confirmation of either.

 

Magma is going, they mentioned its staying in the UK so will be interesting to see what park has bought it. 

 

My understanding was that Edge will be staying where it is but just won't be part of the Vikings area.

[Coaster_Contrarian]

The Gerst would have been OK with lapbars, but it's been confirmed to have OTSRs. Can imagine it being incredibly rough with those restraints within 2-3 years.

[Benin]

Think people need to remember that not all Gerstlauers ride like Saw or Smiler.

 

For a park like Paultons, it's a great fit if maybe a decade too late. But because it's the enthusiast favourite there were very high expectations and hopeful rumours. I'd also wager that planning permission issues down that end of the park also had something to do with it.

[MattyB]

Looks good!  Been wanting to see one of those ART Swings in a UK park now for a while.  They look really fun!

[JoshC.]

What people should also remember is that every coaster Paultons currently has is a clone / stock model. This is the park's first custom layout (or, at the very least, a stock model which hasn't been purchased by any other park). That's a huge step for them.

 

The concept art shown is impressive, and if Tornado Springs' concept art is anything to go by, it'll be a reasonable reflection of the area itself. The new restaurant concept gave me Flaming Feather at Toverland vibes. 

 

I think the park have played things very safe. Vikings is a very standard theme park theme, and almost feels a little bland and against what Paultons have done in the past. A Eurofighter is a solid "my first inverting coaster" choice. I do disagree with the park that OTSRs will help make the ride more approachable. OTSRs if anything can make a ride look more intimidating and up the fear factor. I don't think people would necessarily clock or care that much about inversions with lap bars, at least not as much as the park seems to think.

 

2027 will be a water ride, which is much needed for the park. There's lots of rumours or suggestions of a water coaster, and that is not what the park need. A more traditional, large scale water ride, or one of the new Mack Rocking Boat water rides, is a much better suit to the park's needs right now. 

 

Positive future for the park though. Excited to see their continued development. 

 

Also, yesterday's event was decent, and great to see them offer things like that.

[MattyB]

Yeah I think a new gen Intamin log flume would be a good shout.  However I would like to see a water coaster at some point in the UK, which would be a UK first.  Think a water coaster would work really well at Thorpe.