Paultons Park: General Discussion

[Hid]

On a slightly more positive note, I’d like to talk in slightly more depth about Ghostly Manor, if nobody minds! As you are probably aware based on my posts in this thread, I rode it 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: https://towersstreet.com/talk/threads/paultons-park-5th-june-2025.7588/#post-513759

As cool as the ride system is for Ghostly I do prefer a traditional tracked dark ride system in the style of Curse or Wallace and Gromit Thrill o Matic.

I hope they do another Dark Ride but one more free flowing. They can be star rides at given park if they get the right theming like Professor Burps Bubbleworks or Pirates Adventure were

 

[Matt N]

As cool as the ride system is for Ghostly I do prefer a traditional tracked dark ride system in the style of Curse or Wallace and Gromit Thrill o Matic.

I hope they do another Dark Ride but one more free flowing. They can be star rides at given park if they get the right theming like Professor Burps Bubbleworks or Pirates Adventure were

At this point in time, I’m not sure Paultons is really able to pull off something on the scale of Curse and the like. They are still a small park, and it’s a hectic few years with Valgard in the mix as well, so budgets naturally won’t stretch that far. I maybe wouldn’t put a larger tracked dark ride past them in the future, but I think we’re a few years away from them being able to build something on that scale at the moment.

Is Ghostly Manor one of my top dark rides in the UK? No. It’s more Gangsta Granny level than Curse level, in my view. But given that Ghostly Manor replaced a 4D cinema and is the first ever dark ride at a smaller UK park, I think it’s a really impressive result and Paultons should be proud of what they’ve produced! They’re onto a winner with it, and it’s further evidence of the promise the park shows!

 

[Hid]

At this point in time, I’m not sure Paultons is really able to pull off something on the scale of Curse and the like. They are still a small park, and it’s a hectic few years with Valgard in the mix as well, so budgets naturally won’t stretch that far. I maybe wouldn’t put a larger tracked dark ride past them in the future, but I think we’re a few years away from them being able to build something on that scale at the moment.

Is Ghostly Manor one of my top dark rides in the UK? No. It’s more Gangsta Granny level than Curse level, in my view. But given that Ghostly Manor replaced a 4D cinema and is the first ever dark ride at a smaller UK park, I think it’s a really impressive result and Paultons should be proud of what they’ve produced! They’re onto a winner with it, and it’s further evidence of the promise the park shows!

I really want them to make an animatronic heavy dark ride we haven't really got one in the UK

 

[Bowser]

Weekdays however, I’m really not sure it works. From my (purely anecdotal) experience, the GP don’t enjoy visiting a dead park, they enjoy visiting a quiet park but not a dead one.

I think this is a bit of a fallacy. If the park is busy at weekends/holidays and dead on some off-peak days then the general public aren't experiencing it to not enjoy it anyway so it becomes moot.

The only way it doesn't work is if the park are losing money opening on said days. Presumably enough of their target audience (families with very young children not in school) are visiting to warrant opening.

 

[MattBTP]

On a slightly more positive note, I’d like to talk in slightly more depth about Ghostly Manor, if nobody minds! As you are probably aware based on my posts in this thread, I rode it 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: https://towersstreet.com/talk/threads/paultons-park-5th-june-2025.7588/#post-513759

Nice review! Need to get down there myself at some point and check it out. Love how they have hidden the show building with the "trees" rather than just painting it a shade of "go away green" or not bothering at all (*cough* Haunted House Monster Party *cough*). They really have done a good job with the theming

 

[MattBTP]

I really want them to make an animatronic heavy dark ride we haven't really got one in the UK

I was watching an old video of Terror Tomb the other day. We used to have some awesome dark rides in this country

 

[Hid]

I was watching an old video of Terror Tomb the other day. We used to have some awesome dark rides in this country

I still really like Tomb Blaster the sets are great most of it is just Terror Tomb. But could do with some updates.

One of the mains reasons Universal coming may up the dark ride count in the UK. And a few other park could do with a big new dark 2 examples Thorpe Park nd Drayton in particular need new Dark Ride Ghostly Manor prove what you can do.

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

Ghostly Manor prove what you can do.

Ghostly Manor doesn't prove anything. It is acceptable but wouldn't rank near the top of the best dark rides in the UK, aside from the novelty of its newness. It is a mid tier, primarily screen based, shooter.

 

[Benzin]

Ghostly Manor doesn't prove anything. It is acceptable but wouldn't rank near the top of the best dark rides in the UK, aside from the novelty of its newness. It is a mid tier, primarily screen based, shooter.

You're forgetting the bonus Paultons Points it gets.

Though it does look better than Europa's version.

 

[D4n]

For a headline dark ride, Ghostly Manor is pretty rubbish.

Once the new ride hype dies down it will be forgotten entirely.

When Chessington was an emerging family park they introduced Bubbleworks and Terror Tomb. Leagues ahead. And this was decades ago.

 

[Skyscraper]

You're forgetting the bonus Paultons Points it gets.

Though it does look better than Europa's version.

Having ridden both, it's miles better. Theme is better, theming is better, blasters are better, sets are better. Only thing I'm not a fan of is the manual boarding gates that guests have to push themselves.

 

[Poisson]

You're forgetting the bonus Paultons Points it gets.

Though it does look better than Europa's version.

Sherriffs Showdown in it's current state is better than EPs

 

[Matt N]

I think it's slightly unfair to compare Paultons' new dark ride with those built by Chessington in the 1980s. While Chessington was an up-and-coming family park, they had the thematic expertise and financial might of Tussauds to draw upon, whereas Paultons are a family-owned park doing this for the very first time. While they have done theming, they've never attempted a dark ride before.

I'd also wager that it's somewhat harder and more expensive for an up-and-coming park to build an ambitious custom dark ride now than it was in the 1980s.

Don't get me wrong, I would not say that Ghostly Manor was a top-tier UK dark ride by any means, and I don't think it beats Ninjago in the interactive dark ride stakes for me (although I should clarify that I don't dislike Ninjago nearly as much as some seem to!). In the grand scheme of UK dark rides, I would say it's more on the level of something like Gangsta Granny than some of the top-tier stuff. It is very small-scale and compact, and I wouldn't describe it as overly showy or ambitious effects-wise compared to some of the UK's top dark rides.

But that's no criticism, as I don't think it needs to be a top-tier UK dark ride. The ride replaced a 4D cinema, and is the first dark ride outing at a park that's never built one before, and if I consider Ghostly Manor through that lens, I think it's a good, fun ride and a firm winner. One observation about Paultons that I've grown to make is that their general formula for investments appears to be "conservative, but well executed". Ghostly Manor sticks quite loyally to this formula... but I honestly think it's a formula that works for Paultons. Rides like Storm Chaser and the two Vekomas were possibly quite conservative choices as coasters go, and Tornado Springs and Lost Kingdom were arguably quite conservative choices of themes, but I think the coasters are excellent family coasters for their height restriction demographic and both Tornado Springs and Lost Kingdom are wonderfully well-rounded and beautifully presented themed areas. The park's additions have been conservative, but I think they've also been savvy and well-executed. Ghostly Manor is an excellent utilisation of a very compact space, fills a meaningful hole in the park's lineup, is well-presented, and is just generally good fun; what's not to like?

The savviness and attention to detail of the park's recent additions is in part why I was disappointed with the reveal of a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter for Valgard next year. For a park making such savvy, modern installations, a Euro-Fighter seems oddly out of step; that's an opinion I still stand by to a large extent, and I do have my considerable reservations about whether a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter is the best choice. But one thing I can't deny, regardless of my own opinions on Gerstlauer Euro-Fighters, is that they are a tried and true ride type, and they fit nicely with the Paultons formula in that regard.

I still hold out hope that Paultons will some day break free of their formula of building quite conservative installations and go for something that really makes headlines. I do feel that they maybe need to build something a bit braver and a bit more ambitious if they want to enter the big leagues of UK parks, and I am maybe disappointed that Drakon appears to have missed an opportunity to build something a bit more ambitious. But I've come to realise; maybe the park is perfectly content not entering the UK big leagues and being disruptors to the status quo? Maybe they are OK just muddling along as a well-presented, pleasant smaller family park? And if I look at it through that lens, I have every faith that Valgard will exhibit the same high-quality finish and attention to detail as their other additions, and the choice of a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter may well make more sense once the area opens, even if it definitely wouldn't have been my personal first choice for Paultons and I do question whether it's the best thing they could have chosen.

I'll admit I do not think that Paultons is the second coming of Christ as some seem to, I do perhaps find it in its present form a tad overhyped (for lack of a better term), and it is not my personal favourite UK park by a fair amount (at very least, Alton, Thorpe and BPB are all comfortably ahead for me). With that said, it undeniably has a promising future with great potential, and is making consistently excellent and well thought out (and regular) additions. I'm sure the future is bright at Paultons!

 

[Hid]

I think it's slightly unfair to compare Paultons' new dark ride with those built by Chessington in the 1980s. While Chessington was an up-and-coming family park, they had the thematic expertise and financial might of Tussauds to draw upon, whereas Paultons are a family-owned park doing this for the very first time. While they have done theming, they've never attempted a dark ride before.

I'd also wager that it's somewhat harder and more expensive for an up-and-coming park to build an ambitious custom dark ride now than it was in the 1980s.

Don't get me wrong, I would not say that Ghostly Manor was a top-tier UK dark ride by any means, and I don't think it beats Ninjago in the interactive dark ride stakes for me (although I should clarify that I don't dislike Ninjago nearly as much as some seem to!). In the grand scheme of UK dark rides, I would say it's more on the level of something like Gangsta Granny than some of the top-tier stuff. It is very small-scale and compact, and I wouldn't describe it as overly showy or ambitious effects-wise compared to some of the UK's top dark rides.

But that's no criticism, as I don't think it needs to be a top-tier UK dark ride. The ride replaced a 4D cinema, and is the first dark ride outing at a park that's never built one before, and if I consider Ghostly Manor through that lens, I think it's a good, fun ride and a firm winner. One observation about Paultons that I've grown to make is that their general formula for investments appears to be "conservative, but well executed". Ghostly Manor sticks quite loyally to this formula... but I honestly think it's a formula that works for Paultons. Rides like Storm Chaser and the two Vekomas were possibly quite conservative choices as coasters go, and Tornado Springs and Lost Kingdom were arguably quite conservative choices of themes, but I think the coasters are excellent family coasters for their height restriction demographic and both Tornado Springs and Lost Kingdom are wonderfully well-rounded and beautifully presented themed areas. The park's additions have been conservative, but I think they've also been savvy and well-executed. Ghostly Manor is an excellent utilisation of a very compact space, fills a meaningful hole in the park's lineup, is well-presented, and is just generally good fun; what's not to like?

The savviness and attention to detail of the park's recent additions is in part why I was disappointed with the reveal of a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter for Valgard next year. For a park making such savvy, modern installations, a Euro-Fighter seems oddly out of step; that's an opinion I still stand by to a large extent, and I do have my considerable reservations about whether a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter is the best choice. But one thing I can't deny, regardless of my own opinions on Gerstlauer Euro-Fighters, is that they are a tried and true ride type, and they fit nicely with the Paultons formula in that regard.

I still hold out hope that Paultons will some day break free of their formula of building quite conservative installations and go for something that really makes headlines. I do feel that they maybe need to build something a bit braver and a bit more ambitious if they want to enter the big leagues of UK parks, and I am maybe disappointed that Drakon appears to have missed an opportunity to build something a bit more ambitious. But I've come to realise; maybe the park is perfectly content not entering the UK big leagues and being disruptors to the status quo? Maybe they are OK just muddling along as a well-presented, pleasant smaller family park? And if I look at it through that lens, I have every faith that Valgard will exhibit the same high-quality finish and attention to detail as their other additions, and the choice of a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter may well make more sense once the area opens, even if it definitely wouldn't have been my personal first choice for Paultons and I do question whether it's the best thing they could have chosen.

I'll admit I do not think that Paultons is the second coming of Christ as some seem to, I do perhaps find it in its present form a tad overhyped (for lack of a better term), and it is not my personal favourite UK park by a fair amount (at very least, Alton, Thorpe and BPB are all comfortably ahead for me). With that said, it undeniably has a promising future with great potential, and is making consistently excellent and well thought out (and regular) additions. I'm sure the future is bright at Paultons!

I would say a fairer comparison would be when Drayton were family owned in the 90's they put together Pirates Adventure it shows you don't need a big finaciL backing in order ro make something incredible.

As opposed to Chessington Dark Rides from the 80's

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

I think it's slightly unfair to compare Paultons' new dark ride with those built by Chessington in the 1980s. While Chessington was an up-and-coming family park, they had the thematic expertise and financial might of Tussauds to draw upon, whereas Paultons are a family-owned park doing this for the very first time. While they have done theming, they've never attempted a dark ride before.

I'd also wager that it's somewhat harder and more expensive for an up-and-coming park to build an ambitious custom dark ride now than it was in the 1980s.

Don't get me wrong, I would not say that Ghostly Manor was a top-tier UK dark ride by any means, and I don't think it beats Ninjago in the interactive dark ride stakes for me (although I should clarify that I don't dislike Ninjago nearly as much as some seem to!). In the grand scheme of UK dark rides, I would say it's more on the level of something like Gangsta Granny than some of the top-tier stuff. It is very small-scale and compact, and I wouldn't describe it as overly showy or ambitious effects-wise compared to some of the UK's top dark rides.

But that's no criticism, as I don't think it needs to be a top-tier UK dark ride. The ride replaced a 4D cinema, and is the first dark ride outing at a park that's never built one before, and if I consider Ghostly Manor through that lens, I think it's a good, fun ride and a firm winner.

Family owned, suggesting small outfit, is a bit of a misnomer. Europa-Park is family owned.

Chessington World of Adventures, in the 80s, decided to theme in house, where they had expertise. Paulton's Park do not theme in house, they outsource to experienced businesses and companies. They pay for it. Whilst the park has never commissioned a dark ride before, the people building it for them certainly have experience.

Construction costs for The 5th Dimension are not publicly available, but it was a bespoke and prototype dark ride, with a total ride time of 7 minutes. At the time it was as technologically advanced as Ghostly Manor is today. It's also much larger. Size alone would probably make the older ride more expensive, but I also don't think upfront cost is a particularly useful barometer.

Unlike entities like Merlin, Paulton's Park do not have much of an internal attraction design team. They will comission consultancy companies specialised in attraction design, research and construction to build under their instructions. They operate differently. They have compatible very small spaces to work in, which conversely makes theming easier.

Ghostly Manor is fine. I'd have appreciated it more if there were narrative scenes, with a combination of screens, sets and physical effects, to a blindly shoot "interactive" experience. I tend to feel that they're a bit of a cop out to not have to tell a story.

 

[Dave]

I don't see how it can't be relevant? .

Say Towers shut the rapids, Hex and NST until 12:00. At the start of the day you head to one of those areas of the park and ride everything else before moving on. To get back there later you can have easily a 20 to 30 minute journey to get back there.

Somewhere the size of Paultons does the same you are probably looking at a maximum of 5 minutes out of your way to get back there.

And to be fair to Merlin, Thorpe is similar in that regard. If you ride Inferno and Stealth first thing but have to come back later for the rapids it's no great hardship.

That’s why nothing should open more than 1hr after park opening at Towers but midday is fine for Paultons.

As I say we can debate the implementation and differing strategies work for different parks but there are plenty of people on here who will say Paultons can do something but Merlin can’t.

 

[Enter Valhalla]

I think this is a bit of a fallacy. If the park is busy at weekends/holidays and dead on some off-peak days then the general public aren't experiencing it to not enjoy it anyway so it becomes moot.

The only way it doesn't work is if the park are losing money opening on said days. Presumably enough of their target audience (families with very young children not in school) are visiting to warrant opening.

I’m talking more about how the public perceive the park.

Enthusiasts think of value in terms of ride count. The public think of value in terms of the overall experience. If they visit on an off peak day and walk on everything, they’re done after two hours and leave feeling like they’ve paid too much for that experience. If however they visit on a moderate day, they’ll get on the same number of rides in 6-8 hours and leave feeling that they’ve had god value for money because they’ve had an all day experience, despite the fact that in reality their ride count has been the same.

I know that when we talk about Paultons, people will understandably bring Merlin into the conversation, and I’m not suggesting that the Merlin experience of only getting on a few rides while lots of fastrack ticket holders jump ahead of you is a better experience, but for the public who aren’t bothered about re-rides, once they’ve done every ride they’ll leave.

This was why when Oakwood was around, I advised first time visitors to go on busy days because it’s a better perceived overall experience.

Also let’s not forget that walking around an empty park feels kind of odd. No atmosphere and sometimes kind of awkward if you’re the only people on a ride. The rides are only a couple of minutes long at most, so where no queuing is involved, you can get through all the rides very quickly and think wow £45-£60 for only a few hours of entertainment. Go on a weekend though and queue 10 mins for everything and you’ve had a full day experience without the inconvenience of long queues, and you’ll leave thinking it was great value. Perception wise, I think the latter is much better.

 

[Benzin]

Based on my time working at Chessie, guests loved those empty days.

Back when they existed. You knew it was dead when Vampire ran on 1 train.

 

[rob666]

Yup, off topic, but my best days at Towers and the Beach were when the staff outnumbered the punters.
I love the ghost town days...very rare treats with Merlin now.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

For a headline dark ride, Ghostly Manor is pretty rubbish.

Once the new ride hype dies down it will be forgotten entirely.

When Chessington was an emerging family park they introduced Bubbleworks and Terror Tomb. Leagues ahead. And this was decades ago.

The big difference this is in the same building that use to hold the pre show and the 4D cinema so for them to built a new dark ride within taking up anymore theme park space is a great achievement.
I’m sure come May 2027 the Viking area will look as good as Tornado Springs maybe even better.