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Paultons Park: General Discussion

The interesting thing about Paultons is that in the 00s, when I was a teenager, I had zero interest in visiting Paultons despite it being my local park. I viewed it as a park for little kids and I’d have felt like a lameo visiting it.

Now however, if I was a teenager, I’m sure I’d be very keen to visit. They’ve already shifted their demographic more considerably than people realise. So I see no issue with them gradually (and let’s not forget than Paultons do everything gradually) starting to install some actual thrill rides and larger coasters. If this happens, it will happen in between family friendly installations as they won’t want to lose sight of their main target market.

I also assume that Paultons have height restrictions on how tall they can build new rides, making Hype Coasters and the likes, virtually impossible.

Also worth considering, they’ve already been in court previously over noise complaints, and at one point they were actually told they had to remove Edge and Cobra for this very reason, so with that in mind, a noisy woodie seems unlikely too.
 
I wonder if there drop tower will be moved or re themed as that’s kinda themed to the end of the dinosaur period. Also I think the sky swinger should be moved to the central part of the park where the viking boats currently sit and they could be relocated to the new Vikings area as well as Kontiki.
 
Benjsh said:
The marketing promo video very much made it seem like a fusion of wood and steel. That doesn't mean it's definitely going to be an RMC of course but I'd say that gives it slightly more chance than 'so low'.

There's absolutely no reason why they couldn't build one either. It wouldn't be a huge one like Zadra. Some of the smaller models would be a good fit for Paultons.
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If not RMC, I think a GCI Titan Track woodie is a contender. That track and train style is capable of inversions as well.
 
Now, just putting this wild theory out there, but does it even have to be a "new" coaster? With Scorpion at BGT closing soon, it would be a good fit for the park given it features just one inversion and a minimum height restriction of just 1.2 metres. Would explain why no one has guessed the manufacturer as well. 😛
 
I guess it’s technically possible, but if I were Paultons, I’d be highly reluctant to build a near 45 year old coaster that’s operated year-round in the harsh Florida climate. And one that only has one available train, and whose original manufacturer is defunct, no less.

I’d hope Paultons’ sights are set a bit higher than a 45 year old Schwarzkopf, and looking at the high standard of Tornado Springs and the inclusion of a brand new Mack coaster in that land, I’d imagine that they are.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but realistically, I think the chances of Paultons buying Scorpion are slim to none.
 
If it was back in 2010 when Loudoun Castle closed, I'd say Twist N Shout could've been a good shout for Paultons to pick up.

Nowadays, the standard is much higher and it'd be certain to come brand new from one of the major manufacturers.
 
Paulton’s really aren’t going to buy a second hand ride, that’s absolutely not what the park do and I’m not sure what would give anyone the idea that they might.

They could however build a clone or a near-clone of something and we’ve seen the park use that strategy with Storm Chaser to deliver a great attraction.
 
Does anyone with a knowledge of engineering (my knowledge of this subject is zero), know how Paultons manage to have so little ride downtime?

I’ve visited over 100 theme parks and would say that Paultons and Energylandia are the two parks with consistently excellent ride availability, with very few exceptions.
 
It also helps that Paultons have a generally modern ride line-up with nothing custom or particularly difficult to maintain.
Galactica is 22 years old and has very complicated prototype systems
Rita has an outdated launch system that is quite costly to keep running
The Smiler had a rushed build that still causes maintenance issues
The Blade is beyond knackered, goodness knows how that's still going
And that's before the current work on Hex and the Skyride
Paultons rides also tend to have less wear since the forces experienced on them are relatively low.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Does anyone with a knowledge of engineering (my knowledge of this subject is zero), know how Paultons manage to have so little ride downtime?

I’ve visited over 100 theme parks and would say that Paultons and Energylandia are the two parks with consistently excellent ride availability, with very few exceptions.
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Both the parks you quote have a relatively young stock of ride hardware. That’s the main reason. They may have a more stable workforce in their maintenance team as well.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Does anyone with a knowledge of engineering (my knowledge of this subject is zero), know how Paultons manage to have so little ride downtime?

I’ve visited over 100 theme parks and would say that Paultons and Energylandia are the two parks with consistently excellent ride availability, with very few exceptions.
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The thing I’ve noticed is a lot of the better run parks like Paultons, Efteling and Disneyland Paris have designated downtime where the rides will be unavailable for periods of the year to ensure they are running the rest of the time.

Of course AT have 3+ months of the year they’re not open so…
 
Bowser said:
The thing I’ve noticed is a lot of the better run parks like Paultons, Efteling and Disneyland Paris have designated downtime where the rides will be unavailable for periods of the year to ensure they are running the rest of the time.

Of course AT have 3+ months of the year they’re not open so…
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Disney and Efteling are year round parks that’s why they do that.

If Paultons do it even though they are not I would say that’s actually a bit naff for their guests.
 
Dave said:
Disney and Efteling are year round parks that’s why they do that.

If Paultons do it even though they are not I would say that’s actually a bit naff for their guests.
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Paultons is the closest park to having year round operations in the UK. It's operating year is from February Half Term to Christmas with near full line up.

The Merlin parks and Drayton Manor run Christmas and February Half Term events with a minimal ride line up in comparison.
 
Dave said:
Disney and Efteling are year round parks that’s why they do that.

If Paultons do it even though they are not I would say that’s actually a bit naff for their guests.
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Paultons do but the popular rides are during very quiet periods like February typically. They’re also advertised up to 18 months in advance and open longer in the year than AT.
 
owenstreet7 said:
Paultons is the closest park to having year round operations in the UK. It's operating year is from February Half Term to Christmas with near full line up.

The Merlin parks and Drayton Manor run Christmas and February Half Term events with a minimal ride line up in comparison.
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To be fair in that case yes it seems reasonable to have mid season closures.

But I don’t think that adds to the reliability, it just allows them to complete the yearly checks all parks do.
 
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