• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

  • ⚠️ Online Safety Act Changes

    We've made some changes to the forum as a result of the Online Safety Act. Please check the post in guest services for further information.

Paultons Park: General Discussion

Enter Valhalla said:
Whilst I appreciate that Magma no longer fits in with what the surrounding area is going to become, I do think that it’s total removal is an odd choice.

I think it’s only been there about 12 years (I remember the teaser campaign for it quite clearly), it’s well themed and would fit in well in the Lost Kingdom area.
Click to expand...

I said the same but you’re right, they could have moved it into that area without even changing the theming! Not like it has a large footprint.

To lose that but retain Edge seems odd.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Whilst I appreciate that Magma no longer fits in with what the surrounding area is going to become, I do think that it’s total removal is an odd choice.

I think it’s only been there about 12 years (I remember the teaser campaign for it quite clearly), it’s well themed and would fit in well in the Lost Kingdom area.
Click to expand...
I totally agree that removing Magma is an odd choice as I think it could fit into the park somewhere. There definitely has to be another factor on why such as aesthetics/quality of hardware as it is an SBF Visa Drop n Twist model.

It may suit a smaller park or a fairground but for a park like Paultons who are aspiring to move into themed areas like Efteling. It's probably better for them to have Windmill Towers and possibly a higher quality drop tower in the future (Intamin, S&S or even Zamperla).

The height of the ride could also be a factor too as it is a 25m ride which I've heard is the maximum height they can build under permitted development rights.

Bowser said:
I said the same but you’re right, they could have moved it into that area without even changing the theming! Not like it has a large footprint.

To lose that but retain Edge seems odd.
Click to expand...
With Edge, I'm surprised that this hasn't been rethemed even if it's interim but it's likely linked to the development of the lodges behind. It may also be possible that Edge is approaching the end of it's service life in a few years time so decisions may need to be made on it's long term role in the park.

I do think Edge should be rethemed as it is a park model ride that is very popular with families especially older ones.

Either way, what the park are needing to do moving forwards is to work on it's offering on the whole family side of things to recover from losing Magma, Dragon and Raging River as well as in time, Teacups, Viking Boats, Pirate Ship, Kontiki, Sky Swinger which some but not all may not be rethemed in future developments. With Teacups, it's something I'd have shipped off to somewhere like Funland Hayling Island sooner than later.

Some of the rides removed or are not themed yet are more traditional rides that could be replaced like for like nearly. Teacups and Pirate Ship springs to mind that could have an upgrade, the former could be replaced with a Mack model and the latter could be replaced or complemented with a slightly larger model. I was surprised Dragon was removed and not replaced like for like but think this could be something in the pipeline at some point as Mack offer the Seastorm model which is very popular at Chessington.
 
The Magma drop tower got removed because it was a lucrative sale to a smaller theme park and felt like a slightly crusty prototype for Lost Kingdom's more fully realised, impressive dino theming.

The Edge is fine for what it is and maybe a bit lower maintenance than Magma, though it's definitely getting long in the tooth (every time the disc went over the big track hump I sensed a a pretty hefty *thunk*, so I wouldn't be surprised it gets retired by 2028-2030).
 
Bowser said:
I said the same but you’re right, they could have moved it into that area without even changing the theming! Not like it has a large footprint.
Click to expand...

None of the themeing was transportable, so any movement would have come with the full cost of theimg it again.

Considering how unreliable and crappy Chessingtons version is I wonder whether it is a bit of a problematic ride for them on the maintainance side of things and they are taking at an opportunity to get something while reducing the drain and cost it creates?
 
pluk said:
None of the themeing was transportable, so any movement would have come with the full cost of theimg it again.

Considering how unreliable and crappy Chessingtons version is I wonder whether it is a bit of a problematic ride for them on the maintainance side of things and they are taking at an opportunity to get something while reducing the drain and cost it creates?
Click to expand...
I'd say that Magma was a good investment at the time but the park has outgrown the ride.

Although I didn't think removal was what they were going for, it probably is good in the long run considering the manufacturer etc.

TedShatner10 said:
The Magma drop tower got removed because it was a lucrative sale to a smaller theme park and felt like a slightly crusty prototype for Lost Kingdom's more fully realised, impressive dino theming.

The Edge is fine for what it is and maybe a bit lower maintenance than Magma, though it's definitely getting long in the tooth (every time the disc went over the big track hump I sensed a a pretty hefty *thunk*, so I wouldn't be surprised it gets retired by 2028-2030).
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be surprised if the park are currently exploring options for Edge long term at the moment whether that is a relocation, selling the ride or a eventual retheme into Valgard.

It being a Disko Coaster, this has become a common ride type but it can be well themed.

I definitely think that the TeaCups, Seal Falls and Digger Ride are rides they ought to move on sooner than later as they're more fairground model rides.
 
pluk said:
Considering how unreliable and crappy Chessingtons version is I wonder whether it is a bit of a problematic ride for them on the maintainance side of things and they are taking at an opportunity to get something while reducing the drain and cost it creates?
Click to expand...

Come to think of it, Magma in folks' YT vlogs is often as similarly temperamental as Chessington's twin ride, Croc Drop, not spinning half the time or out of commission for hours.

owenstreet7 said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the park are currently exploring options for Edge long term at the moment whether that is a relocation, selling the ride or a eventual retheme into Valgard.

It being a Disko Coaster, this has become a common ride type but it can be well themed.

I definitely think that the TeaCups, Seal Falls and Digger Ride are rides they ought to move on sooner than later as they're more fairground model rides.
Click to expand...

They're all viable candidates for retirement from Paultons in the next couple of years, with the Edge now being a big starting to age anchor ride that'll be harder to replace than the others (which is why Paultons' management is still mulling over its fate by 2027-2030).
 
I would think the teacups and pirate ship go when they get round to redeveloping critter creek further in the future. If you combine the two areas you have a decent amount of space for another themed area. I'd love you see a larger pirate ship next to the river but I suppose it depends on what the theme is
 
Quantum said:
I would think the teacups and pirate ship go when they get round to redeveloping critter creek further in the future. If you combine the two areas you have a decent amount of space for another themed area. I'd love you see a larger pirate ship next to the river but I suppose it depends on what the theme is
Click to expand...

Probably a good spot for a 2nd indoor dark ride of some kind (maybe frame it as a fantasy area, a further refinement of the now dated Critters Creek concept).
 
Quantum said:
I would think the teacups and pirate ship go when they get round to redeveloping critter creek further in the future. If you combine the two areas you have a decent amount of space for another themed area. I'd love you see a larger pirate ship next to the river but I suppose it depends on what the theme is
Click to expand...
Thinking about it, the Pirate Ship could potentially go or be rethemed

It is the same model as Mr Monkey's Banana Ride at Thorpe and Blue Barnacle at Chessington.

My arguement for it going would be they could bring in a larger model

My arguement for it staying could be that it could complement a larger model with this being more of a junior one.

With Teacups, I definitely think getting Mack in to replace it would be better.
 
TedShatner10 said:
Probably a good spot for a 2nd indoor dark ride of some kind (maybe frame it as a fantasy area, a further refinement of the now dated Critters Creek concept).
Click to expand...
I hear a lot of negativity about Critter Creek, but why? Is it really that bad? I quite like it. I remember at the first super fans event, Mancey said something about “mistakes” that were made in the creation of Critter Creek, but I think people are being over-critical here. It’s a nice area with a quirky theme that fits in well with the family demographic. I’m intrigued to know why people don’t like it though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top