• 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.

Paultons Park: General Discussion

Dave said:
A gerst with 16 seats per car needs effort to get to 1000 an hour, there is absolutely no way Rage gets 850 per hour. I would even say it’s just technically not possible even if you maxed out the effort.

RCDB tend to publish the manufacturers theoretical throughput and sometimes that’s just the quoted model range that isn’t specific to the actual layout.
Click to expand...
Rage is a Gerstlauer Eurofighter 320+ which is a 320 model with an extra helix.

The 320 model has been quoted by Gerstlauer on their website as having a 500pph which is more realistic for Rage.
 
It's cute, expecting anything bigger is just where expectations are sitting far higher than how Paultons are building.

Presumably if they continue on their trajectory the small throughput won't be as problematic as it will be next season when it settles into a support role rather than the main attraction (though arguably it won't be that anyway in the public's eye).
 
There were times towards the end of the season that Cyclonator had the longest queue in the park, at around 40 minutes. Yes, queue time is not the definitive guide to popularity, the event being Halloween probably skews a little older, at most times PP rides were more popular etc. But this is something I've not seen before and seemed unthinkable a few years ago. Hopefully a sign that public is getting more awareness of the parks offering outside of Peppea Pig and they are already attracting more of that wider demographic. Good signs for their trajectory.
 
Benzin said:
It's cute, expecting anything bigger is just where expectations are sitting far higher than how Paultons are building.

Presumably if they continue on their trajectory the small throughput won't be as problematic as it will be next season when it settles into a support role rather than the main attraction (though arguably it won't be that anyway in the public's eye).
Click to expand...

That was kinda my point though, the opinion here (and elsewhere in geek land) is that Paultons is heading towards being the UK’s number one theme park (it isn’t), but if that was their plan (which it isn’t) then they should be preparing for the crowds that being the number one theme park (which it won’t be) will bring….

Maybe they are happy being a very good regional
Park (they probably are).
 
Dave said:
That was kinda my point though, the opinion here (and elsewhere in geek land) is that Paultons is heading towards being the UK’s number one theme park (it isn’t), but if that was their plan (which it isn’t) then they should be preparing for the crowds that being the number one theme park (which it won’t be) will bring….

Maybe they are happy being a very good regional
Park (they probably are).
Click to expand...
I think it is a little similar to Drayton Manor in the 90s, that was potentially heading to be the UKs number two or three theme park, it definitely felt that with the three big coasters in 1994, Alton Towers, Drayton Manor and Blackpool Pleasure Beach were the top three parks in the UK.
But now it feels like Alton Towers is still number 1 and Thorpe is in the top three if you like thrills but its less clear which other parks are in the top. Now more likely depend on where you live as to whether you go to Paulton, Drayton Manor or Chessington for the family market. I think Paulton is definitely competing with Chessington, although the investment into Paw Patrol & Minecraft makes that harder, but if you were coming from north of Birmingham I don't see as many people going to Paulton (or Chessington without a MAP), Drayton Manor and Alton Towers would still be the big parks for those more northerly.
 
jon81uk said:
I think it is a little similar to Drayton Manor in the 90s, that was potentially heading to be the UKs number two or three theme park, it definitely felt that with the three big coasters in 1994, Alton Towers, Drayton Manor and Blackpool Pleasure Beach were the top three parks in the UK.
But now it feels like Alton Towers is still number 1 and Thorpe is in the top three if you like thrills but its less clear which other parks are in the top. Now more likely depend on where you live as to whether you go to Paulton, Drayton Manor or Chessington for the family market. I think Paulton is definitely competing with Chessington, although the investment into Paw Patrol & Minecraft makes that harder, but if you were coming from north of Birmingham I don't see as many people going to Paulton (or Chessington without a MAP), Drayton Manor and Alton Towers would still be the big parks for those more northerly.
Click to expand...

I think Legoland is the #1 UK theme park, by attendance at least and wouldn’t be surprised if by profit too.
 
Bowser said:
I think Legoland is the #1 UK theme park, by attendance at least and wouldn’t be surprised if by profit too.
Click to expand...
Okay yes, that is probably another park that has national appeal in the same way as Alton Towers.

But the wider point that in the 90s it was looking like Drayton Manor could compete on a national scale, but the addition of Legoland in the late 90s probably didn't help them. I don't see Paulton's getting to that point without adding the equivalent of Pirate Adventure and Shockwave. But currently you still have Paulton and Drayton as the major family parks but not really competing as they are both more regional at the moment.
 
My worry with Paultons is they are gonna end up in the same situation as Drayton Manor where operations have not kept up with how busy the park is whereby the park could get away with lower throughputs because it was quieter when it becomes busier having faults in ops really makes a big impact
 
Bowser said:
I don't think it's unreasonable to believe the AECOM isn't accurate. It's certainly the clearest picture we have for the industry.

Click to expand...

Merlin released its figures up to 2021 for the Chessington waterpark application which demonstrate how inaccurate AECOM was.

AT returned to higher gate figures than Lego in 2018 and maintained that every year up to 2021, I don’t think anything suggests that has flipped again in 2022-24.
 
Even when they first released the plans for the new entrance (and this was at a time when Paultons was mostly unthemed), I though it was odd that they went with a motorway service station type design.

Something like Energylandia’s entrance would have been far better suited even to a park with not much theming as it was back then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top