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Paultons Park: General Discussion

Themeparksandy1981 said:
The big difference this is in the same building that us 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.
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This. I think a lot of people are forgetting that GM was put in an existing building. For the limited space they had, I think they've done a good job.
 
Just out of curiosity following my recent visit, I found myself watching a Theme Park Worldwide vlog from Paultons Park that was filmed in 2014:


One thing really stuck out to me from this vlog… given that this was only filmed 11 years ago, I find it quite remarkable how a significant amount of the park is barely recognisable when placed next to what’s there today.

The park of 11 years ago, while still very manicured and landscaped, looks quite empty in most areas, and the theming is basically non-existent. Many rides look a bit plonked down in an almost fairground-style fashion.

Compare that to now, when you have really well themed and detailed areas like Tornado Springs and Lost Kingdom, and the difference is so stark! The park of 2025 has so much more atmosphere, so much more theming and just generally looks like a much higher quality experience!

I may not be quite as superlative towards Paultons as some at times, but one thing I cannot deny is that the park now appears to be in a wholly different league to what it was 10-15 years ago, and it’s become utterly unrecognisable compared to its past self in the last decade (in the best possible way!). Of all the parks in the UK, I do think it’s exhibited the most growth post-2010 by a fair margin. I think the sheer improvement attained in just a decade or so is nothing other than utterly applaudable!
 
Matt N said:
Just out of curiosity following my recent visit, I found myself watching a Theme Park Worldwide vlog from Paultons Park that was filmed in 2014:


One thing really stuck out to me from this vlog… given that this was only filmed 11 years ago, I find it quite remarkable how a significant amount of the park is barely recognisable when placed next to what’s there today.

The park of 11 years ago, while still very manicured and landscaped, looks quite empty in most areas, and the theming is basically non-existent. Many rides look a bit plonked down in an almost fairground-style fashion.

Compare that to now, when you have really well themed and detailed areas like Tornado Springs and Lost Kingdom, and the difference is so stark! The park of 2025 has so much more atmosphere, so much more theming and just generally looks like a much higher quality experience!

I may not be quite as superlative towards Paultons as some at times, but one thing I cannot deny is that the park now appears to be in a wholly different league to what it was 10-15 years ago, and it’s become utterly unrecognisable compared to its past self in the last decade (in the best possible way!). Of all the parks in the UK, I do think it’s exhibited the most growth post-2010 by a fair margin. I think the sheer improvement attained in just a decade or so is nothing other than utterly applaudable!
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Of all the parks in the UK, it’s also the one that’s had the biggest price rise. £27 for a day ticket in that 2014 vlog, now it’s £60 on the day. It’s no wonder they’re so quiet now. And yes, before anyone says anything, I know that’s a deliberate strategy.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Of all the parks in the UK, it’s also the one that’s had the biggest price rise. £27 for a day ticket in that 2014 vlog, now it’s £60 on the day. It’s no wonder they’re so quiet now. And yes, before anyone says anything, I know that’s a deliberate strategy.
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That’s why when you look round the park all the rides with a queue for 15 mins plus are the rides that kids under 1m are on with there families.
Like on Saturday if I’m going with 2 kids under 1m I’m only paying £90 now if I was going with my kids it would cost me £180 and that’s before I even left Birmingham. Petrol and food and it’s more like a £300 pound day out.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Of all the parks in the UK, it’s also the one that’s had the biggest price rise. £27 for a day ticket in that 2014 vlog, now it’s £60 on the day. It’s no wonder they’re so quiet now. And yes, before anyone says anything, I know that’s a deliberate strategy.
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Almost no one buys an on the day ticket, at basically all UK parks that price only exisits to make pre-booking look discounted.
I can book to go tomorrow and its £45, using the inflation calculator, £45 now would have been £32.66 in 2014 (and £27 in 2014 is £37.20 now). So while the price has gone up faster than inflation, the quality of the product has as well.
Chessington tomorrow is £32 plus parking. Is Paulton worth an extra £10 or so per person?
 
jon81uk said:
Almost no one buys an on the day ticket, at basically all UK parks that price only exisits to make pre-booking look discounted.
I can book to go tomorrow and its £45, using the inflation calculator, £45 now would have been £32.66 in 2014 (and £27 in 2014 is £37.20 now). So while the price has gone up faster than inflation, the quality of the product has as well.
Chessington tomorrow is £32 plus parking. Is Paulton worth an extra £10 or so per person?
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Yes it’s ok if you’re going on your own or even as a couple but with the cost of living most families aint even got £300 spare a month after the bills have been paid. My friend like this and his got 2 jobs and his wife 1 and all there spare money goes on a uk family holiday in the 6 weeks holiday.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
Yes it’s ok if you’re going on your own or even as a couple but with the cost of living most families aint even got £300 spare a month after the bills have been paid. My friend like this and his got 2 jobs and his wife 1 and all there spare money goes on a uk family holiday in the 6 weeks holiday.
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To an extent, whats changed? Back in the early 90s, my family made a few trips to Drayton Manor (we were in Worcestershire so it was close enough) and the fact it was wristbands or pay-per-ride meant my mum who didn't ride much didn't need a wristband, making the trip more affordable. Whereas for Alton Towers we had to save up tokens at Safeway supermarket to get a deal and even then it was an expensive day out.
Merlin annual passes have given this false impression that theme parks are places everyone goes to multiple times a year, when for many people they have always been a once a year treat at most. If someone can't afford Paultons they probably can't afford Alton Towers either once you consider parking, maybe fasttrack etc as well.

Also where did you get £300 from? Paultons for four people over 1m is £180 (45x4). Chessington this Saturday for four people over 90cm is £148 (34x4, plus £12 parking). Alton Towers for four over 90cm is £168 (39x4 plus £12 parking).
I bet Paulton will have the shorter queues so no need for Fasttrack on top of that.
Yes you need to add fuel to get to your closest park. But none are approaching £300.
 
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I guess the counter argument to that will be that Paultons doesn’t have long queues, so that’s all you spend rather than being expected to fork out for fastrack, but regardless it’s an expensive place, especially compared to many theme parks in mainland Europe which are arguably of equal quality to Paultons.
 
Not to mention I do feel like there more of a shift now towards full days outs/experiences rather than impulsive shorter more frequent trips.

The pricing jumps are down to a number of factors, increase in product/quality of product, overheads/cost of living and various other factors.

It won’t be for the whole demographic, but I believe the consumer is still willing to invest in days out as long as the reviews and quality of the product/attraction meet up to that standard. Being more careful with spending but using it more resourcefully.

Though not without its faults, I consider Paultons on the whole (excluding MAPs) to be a better value day out than say Chessington currently. Free parking, fewer queues and not to mention investment going back into the park to decent proportions. Not money going towards another Lego land in a far away place. Not to mention Paultons feels much better kept too.
 
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