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Paultons Park: General Discussion

I think the biggest draw to Paulton’s is where most Uk theme parks charge 3 prices:
Under 2 free then 2-3 years old price and then it’s 4+
Paulton’s is based on a height and under 1m go free so they like my daughter she was nearly 4 and 3/4 when she hit 1m so think that’s why the rides with no height restriction or under 1m is the most popular rides as them group of guests are only paying £87 compared to a older family who got to pay £174 compared to Alton Towers with parking £166 online will be even cheaper with a 2-1 vouchers.
 
Visited today for the first time ever and was pleased to confirm, the hype is real.

Granted it was 2 adults visiting so we aren’t the target market, but the entire park was beautifully presented, the food offering was varied but quality and Tornado springs is probably the best area in the UK. The fit and finish was better than anything I’ve seen Merlin do, particularly in recent history (Jumanji, Forbidden Valley)

The execution of everything in terms of the quality and installation of the theming, play areas for kids with space for parents. Benches, tables and shade everywhere. Disposable family products for sale in the toilets. Themed posters in the Rio grande station, the second “collection.” Screen in the diner. Tidyness of the food areas, condiments etc. The execution of the “driving school” attraction compared to the mess in TWWDW. The popularity of water kingdom, and they had weatherproof lockers and staff on hand selling towels and sunglasses.

We nominally queued all day and enjoyed the “non ride” attractions, the penguin and meerkat talk, the animal exhibitions. Even they didn’t feel dated and had upkeep and signage etc. Compare it to something like shark bait reef and you realise just how incompetent Merlin has become.

We saw 1 family using the paultons equivalent to RAP which felt like it made a difference, the toilets were all spotless (there’s still cobwebs in AT entrance toilets from 1980)and the staff were excellent. Comparing the “diner” to something like burger kitchen or even woodcutters just felt unfair. Food can be done well in house.

If they bring similar attention to detail to the new indoor attraction and Viking land then we’ll certainly be going back. And if I was Merlin, which ever company or staff member was responsible for the design/construction of tornado springs, I’d be bringing them on board and giving them a pot of cash for Dark Forest ASAP.

They deserve all our support and hopefully they go strength to strength.
 
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We will be back in 2026 for the Viking land and hopefully for the new coaster. If we lived closer I'm sure we'd visit more often though as it's a great park, it really is.

I'm still a little sceptical that it will be an RMC that they build but it would actually be fantastic for the place if they could afford one. Would be a huge statement of intent what with Merlin starting to ramp up projects again and also a potential Universal Studios coming

Bet Drayton are delighted too that their viking land is probably going to be topped very soon. 😂
 
To me and I have said this before, even though Paulton's is becoming a truly solid park, the real test to see them truly enter the theme park scene is if they can pull off this new dark ride next year for if they do then it'll be a statement going forward that sets them up nicely in the long term.
 
QTXAdsy said:
To me and I have said this before, even though Paulton's is becoming a truly solid park, the real test to see them truly enter the theme park scene is if they can pull off this new dark ride next year for if they do then it'll be a statement going forward that sets them up nicely in the long term.
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Looks like it's going to be quite unique for a shooting ride too. Instead of a standard track that follows around a route it seems like it's going to be just one huge circular room and the ride rotates from scene to scene.

Curious to see how this one goes too. I'm not expecting it to be anything groundbreaking personally though and especially if they are planning for something huge in 2026 as well. It will be a nice little filler attraction I would say.
 
Benjsh said:
Looks like it's going to be quite unique for a shooting ride too. Instead of a standard track that follows around a route it seems like it's going to be just one huge circular room and the ride rotates from scene to scene.
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Didn't London Dungeon have one of these just before they moved out of Tooley Street?
 
jon81uk said:
Didn't London Dungeon have one of these just before they moved out of Tooley Street?
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Not too sure. I have only ever visited once when I was about 13/14 so that's over 25 years ago.

As I said though I'm not expecting this to be a groundbreaking dark ride. I think it will be a nice little filler ride for them and give them something they don't currently have but I'm not expecting this to be rivaling some of the best dark rides in the UK.
 
Now I liked Tooley St.
The arches and stink of old rot in the old wharehouses (lots of it old bonded wine warehouses I think) under London Bridge Station made for a really good atmosphere.
I worked over the top of the station, so the place was almost directly under my work bar at what is now the Shard.
 
I really hope they stick to the 1.2m max height for the rides in this park as what Paulton’s do best is making it a fun day out for families and not groups of teenagers.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I really hope they stick to the 1.2m max height for the rides in this park as what Paulton’s do best is making it a fun day out for families and not groups of teenagers.
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But for a true family park it needs to have something for everyone to do. And although I haven't visited Paulton's I don't get the impression there much to do for teenagers or young adults. If a family has a thrill-seeking teenager and a younger kid, there's little point visiting a park that only caters to one of them. Sticking to 1.2m can work, but I do think that expanding horizons to slightly more thrilling attractions could be to there advantage if done correctly. Although I will admit it's definitely a gamble and a more risky investment, but if it works out for them then it could make a huge impact on visitor numbers.
 
JAperson said:
But for a true family park it needs to have something for everyone to do. And although I haven't visited Paulton's I don't get the impression there much to do for teenagers or young adults. If a family has a thrill-seeking teenager and a younger kid, there's little point visiting a park that only caters to one of them. Sticking to 1.2m can work, but I do think that expanding horizons to slightly more thrilling attractions could be to there advantage if done correctly. Although I will admit it's definitely a gamble and a more risky investment, but if it works out for them then it could make a huge impact on visitor numbers.
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Remember that they have said themselves that they want to grow with their visitors, so they never grow out of the park.
 
At present, I would call Paultons a young family park. Not a children’s park, but definitely a park more targeted towards younger families than older families.

It’s an absolutely excellent example of a young family park that is completely nailing it for this demographic, and even for an adult group, it is a lot more fun than its RCDB entry would imply, but at present, I don’t personally feel that there is a lot at Paultons Park for older families or adults. That’s the prime reason why I haven’t returned since my first visit back in 2021; it is a lovely park, and I had an excellent day there, but I do not really feel that the park is targeted towards my demographic.

On one hand, I can understand why Paultons would be hesitant to delve into thrill rides; they’ve got a good thing going with the younger families, so why risk it? On the other hand, however, I think a few more slightly more thrilling rides would not go amiss and would really be the final frontier for them to tackle to become a true all-round family theme park.

For clarity, I’m not saying that Paultons needs to go and build a 200ft RMC or Hyperia clone tomorrow. That would not fit the park at all and would be completely unrealistic. I’m simply saying that in time, I would love to see Paultons Park build a few slightly more thrilling rides than what they currently have. For example, I think some sort of 1.2m height restriction thrill coaster would still fit the park like a glove while also widening their potential reach and ensuring they don’t lose the older families once the kids have grown up a bit. Maybe something relatively universally appealing like a woodie, or a milder inverting coaster for kids to experience their first inversions on, would be a good fit?
 
I'm still doubtful Poultons would get planning for a Woodie. Noise and height issues may prevent it and tye park is just within the New Forest boundary. A woodie would work well for them but I'd be surprised if they get one. I think what's more likely is a new gen Vekoma or an Inatmin Hotracer.
 
Paultons have said that Cyclonator was really a bit of a test for the viability of thrill rides at the park, I think it's fair to say that test has been successful. I'd still expect any true thrill to be for support rides for the time being while they build the customer base for it, and any major ride or coaster will be family.
 
pluk said:
Paultons have said that Cyclonator was really a bit of a test for the viability of thrill rides at the park, I think it's fair to say that test has been successful. I'd still expect any true thrill to be for support rides for the time being while they build the customer base for it, and any major ride or coaster will be family.
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Successful in what sense? I've never seen Cyclonator have a queue, it's always walk on. Now that's anecdotal and Paultons is renowned for short queues so perhaps you can't read too much into it but it's ranked fairly lowly on the average queue time list. I'm not sure how else you can judge it beyond popularity?
 
Bowser said:
Successful in what sense? I've never seen Cyclonator have a queue, it's always walk on. Now that's anecdotal and Paultons is renowned for short queues so perhaps you can't read too much into it but it's ranked fairly lowly on the average queue time list. I'm not sure how else you can judge it beyond popularity?
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Same can be said for a lot of the park though! Not many rides outside of PP that you regularly have to wait more than one cycle for. It has a high capacity and decent throughput, queue time is probably not the best measure at Paultons.

On the other hand, and anecdotally as a visitor of course, it's never sitting there waiting for riders, each ride has a fair few people on it, and I've only really seen possitivity about it online. I think they also said and an event they were happy with how it's been recieved, but I can't recall where that was.
 
It always is something when you see a park say farewell to its orignal fairground style attractions to now embracing a more serious theming direction. Honestly by 2030, Paulton's is going to be a totally different beast by then I'm predicting at this point.
 
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