Gullivers Valley - Opening 2020

I used to take my niece and nephew to Gullivers in Milton Keynes, the thing that surprised me most was for kids ages 3 and 5 there was so much to do. When they used to go towers they would get annoyed that they couldn’t go on a certain ride because they wasn’t big enough yet, but take them to Gullivers and they preferred it as they could ride everything they wanted to.

 

The wooden coaster isn't coming til phase three I think (they told us at the interview day). They'll be saving that major addition for when the park's bedded in, to uphold visitor interest.

 

If they had built it, we'd have six pages crying about how you need a kid with you to get in to ride it.

 

Heard shakey was considering loaning out little tremble...

 

Unfortunately he is not so little any more. 13 in the summer so by the time that woodie is built he will be too old.

May have to wait for the grand kids

 

Considering @skyscraper is gonna be working there, I'm sure some arms could be twisted mayhaps

 

This obviously looks a bit rubbish. It is evidently very difficult and expensive to build a good park from scratch in a mature market.

I wonder if the plan is that this will probably flat-line or lose money for its first few seasons, while profits from the Matlock and Warrington sites fund investment. With the idea being that the Rotherham site offers a lot more opportunities for expansion in the long-term and that they'll make that money back, and then some.

I also think it can't be overstated how much a difference mature planting makes to how a park looks. If the park was exactly as it is now but surrounded by trees and leafy plants it would look alright. Think of this photo of the rapids at Towers:



It'll only take two or three seasons before it looks a lot less barren.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....llion-gullivers-valley-theme-park-2894632?amp

Yes it’s only a family park but it looks decent enough and the entrance has got nice theming so they have done well in my opinion.

 

The entrance looks like a barn from the outside though. Most criticisms are towards the very poor looking hotel and entrance, plus the already rotting themeing. I went during lockdown and these photos flatter the castle and hide the entrance.

 

The entrance looks like it was built from shipping containers. I like the wooden structure on the rapids though. It looks like a step up from your typical seaside amusement park but not much more.

I have family near there so we may go and check it out later this year if it opens.

 

Maybe I'm being a super pessimist, but this is my experience of walking up the drive to Gulliver's Valley (public right of way for half it's length)

The first sight is of this building on the public footpath side. I imagine this is to be used for ticketing or info but you can see the chipboard it's made of through the incredibly poor paint plus....



It's already rotting!



Continuing down the drive, this is the view of the entrance.



Obviously the doorway will change BUT the barn won't. The poor frontage won't.



It just looks very, very poor. They've spent a lot getting accommodation on site and have spread themselves too thinly. I can't get my head around the need for the static caravans and lodges and the tin castle hotel.



Ignoring the hopefully temporary shipping container, the castle looks awful. Really looks like a stack of shipping containers and I just don't get it. It looks tacky from the main road some distance away, let alone up close. This is why I'm bagging on it, they've spent their money poorly and yes, on the glossy pictures it looks good but the reality is that quite a bit of it looks fairly poor.

 

I’m guessing in time it will improve maybe the current situation put a halt on finishing construction. Maybe they run out of time or money but what ever the reason I doubt it will stay looking like that in the long term.

 

The only positive thing I can say about the park is when you're driving past, the castle turrets looks nice from a afar (baring in mind you can't see the containers), but other than that it's naff.

 

Already looking less bleak - will be better when the planting's grown in a bit more.

 

As for the frontage on the entrance it will hide that big tin behind once the trees have blocked it out.

 

Genuinely quite interesting piece in The Independent about the park's opening.

This is the first I've heard a coaster mentioned? Guessing it's this, and must be a Fabbri or something?

 

We visited today, and had a really good time. Its no Paultons Parks, but for what it is, it is good and the little ones enjoyed there day out. For 3-8 years old this is a great day out, and a good price for those over 1 meter and acceptable for those over 90cms.

There is some issues they need to resolve, only two queues to get in meant that longest queue of the day was getting in to the park, unless you had a paper ticket which had its own queue, which next to no one was using as the web site advises you to use the mobile app, so when people did turn up with paper tickets, they were walking in.

The pirate ship was broken all day, and a few of the other rides had technical issues, some which got fixed, and others which meant the elephant ride would not go up and down. I am going to assume that a lot of the ride hardware was not new. But Daisy enjoyed the elephant ride even thought it was broken.

There is lots of themeing, but some of it feels a bit like its just being plonked here and there. You got the feeling most in the Lost World where there was plenty of dinosaurs, but they just did not have the same seamless layout which Paulton does with its dinosaur area.

The park looks a lot better than the pictures above make out. Yes, you can still see the tin shed in the background, but the kids dont notice that, and once Covid-19 is out the way, the inside area is going to offer plenty of things to do.

If we wanted a cheap and cheerful day out, close to home, we would certainly go back. If we wanted more of a holiday 2-day park we would go to Paultons, and if we wanted some bigger thrills for Annabelle, we would pick Towers.

 

The park in Warrington is 15 mins from us. And despite needing a lick of paint here and there you can't grumble with the choice of rides for the little ones. There's lots of choice.

 

There's another interesting interview on Bloo Loop,

https://blooloop.com/features/gullivers-theme-parks-julie-dalton/

I was slightly surprised that they self fund their projects rather than borrowing money. I wonder how many of the UK parks are in that position. It must make them one of the more financially secure businesses in the UK industry.

 

I went Gulliver's in Matlock Bath the other day with my nieces and nephew. I hadn't heard of the Zip Coaster they've got there called Riggers Revenge, but as a coaster enthusiast I genuinely found it pretty thrilling. It's got a 1.1 metre restriction, so it's aimed at the upper end of Gulliver's clientele. You dangle below a rail in a safety harness, like when you go rock climbing. On the S bend at the end you really get thrown out to the side.