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Paultons Park: General Discussion
- Thread starter Maelstrom
- Start date
NuttySquirrel
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Batman: Gotham City Escape
Nope still slow as alwaysHope Mrs Rabbit has had her booster!
pluk
TS Member
My first time at Pautlon's Christmas event today, and as expected it was excellent.
- Not at all busy, the whole park (apart from the aforementioned helicopter ride) was walk on all day.
- And it is pretty much the whole park. Everything was open apart from the 8 or so rides to the left of Lost Kingdom.
- Re rides actively encouraged. I did 5 straight laps of Storm Chaser (which seemed to be flying around in the damp conditions) while my daughter ran around the soft play area for a bit.
- The park looks great, lots of twinkling garlands and impressively decorated trees. It's not garish or in your face just nice and Christmassy all round.
- Christmas characters at park entrance for opening for meets and photos. Peppa and George in Christmas outfits, a truly excellent quality authentic looking and acting Santa who rode the train ride around between shows waving at the Children.
- Nice variety of shows at the open air stage, feels a lot more professional than most UK themepark live entertainment.
- The park has a lot more properly integrated lighting than I'd ever noticed. Was getting dusky by closing time, no harsh lights strapped to generators needed anywhere with only the Rio Grande train closing early as light faded.
- 10 - 16:30 felt generous for a schoolday opening allowing for a really relaxed visit, but even without any waiting for anything they day was full and we didn't even venture in to Lost Kingdom on this visit.
This trip was in lieu of dates not working out for Santa sleepover visit to towers. This cost us £67 for tickets (daughter just scrapes under the 1m) and £50 for the premiertravellodgeinn (whatever it is) including breakfast, just outside the park gates. So about a third of what Towers would have set us back, and for not a lot more Paultons could be packaged for two days but at a slightly further distance hotel. I know they are very different propositions with Towers having their on site hotel, the waterpark, the golf, the market and lightopia, so not directly comparable, and I obviously have not seen Towers this winter myself. But this felt like a vastly better value and high quality option compared to the sparse ride offering, cheap entertainment, paid extras, and low quality hotel you get for your money at Towers.
Oh, and I saw Barnyard flyer testing. Looks pretty nippy around that track.
- Not at all busy, the whole park (apart from the aforementioned helicopter ride) was walk on all day.
- And it is pretty much the whole park. Everything was open apart from the 8 or so rides to the left of Lost Kingdom.
- Re rides actively encouraged. I did 5 straight laps of Storm Chaser (which seemed to be flying around in the damp conditions) while my daughter ran around the soft play area for a bit.
- The park looks great, lots of twinkling garlands and impressively decorated trees. It's not garish or in your face just nice and Christmassy all round.
- Christmas characters at park entrance for opening for meets and photos. Peppa and George in Christmas outfits, a truly excellent quality authentic looking and acting Santa who rode the train ride around between shows waving at the Children.
- Nice variety of shows at the open air stage, feels a lot more professional than most UK themepark live entertainment.
- The park has a lot more properly integrated lighting than I'd ever noticed. Was getting dusky by closing time, no harsh lights strapped to generators needed anywhere with only the Rio Grande train closing early as light faded.
- 10 - 16:30 felt generous for a schoolday opening allowing for a really relaxed visit, but even without any waiting for anything they day was full and we didn't even venture in to Lost Kingdom on this visit.
This trip was in lieu of dates not working out for Santa sleepover visit to towers. This cost us £67 for tickets (daughter just scrapes under the 1m) and £50 for the premiertravellodgeinn (whatever it is) including breakfast, just outside the park gates. So about a third of what Towers would have set us back, and for not a lot more Paultons could be packaged for two days but at a slightly further distance hotel. I know they are very different propositions with Towers having their on site hotel, the waterpark, the golf, the market and lightopia, so not directly comparable, and I obviously have not seen Towers this winter myself. But this felt like a vastly better value and high quality option compared to the sparse ride offering, cheap entertainment, paid extras, and low quality hotel you get for your money at Towers.
Oh, and I saw Barnyard flyer testing. Looks pretty nippy around that track.
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Just look at those trains (and the station too)!
NuttySquirrel
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Batman: Gotham City Escape
Just look at those trains (and the station too)!
Looks like a fun little coaster that, wouldn't be suprised if it turns out to be nippier than you might expect for what's essentially a kiddie coaster.
Went to Paultons for the first time in October this year and was pretty impressed; might well be tempted to make a return visit in 2022.
pluk
TS Member
I also noticed this week a not insignificant amount of cleaning up and repainting has been done since summer. Areas that were already among the best presented in the country have had deep cleans and paint touch ups and now look like new, including much of Peppa Pig World. Incredible really.
One thing people have previously criticised on here is the food. This Christmas the restraunt at the entrance is serving a full Christmas menu including Christmas Dinner, pigs in blankets and Christmas Pudding. We didn't eat there but it looked good. After an obscene hotel fry up we were just after a snack, and went for a pasty at Station Cafe. It was roasting hot, excellent quality and only a few quid each. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. They were also hard at work recladding the buildings in that area.
One thing people have previously criticised on here is the food. This Christmas the restraunt at the entrance is serving a full Christmas menu including Christmas Dinner, pigs in blankets and Christmas Pudding. We didn't eat there but it looked good. After an obscene hotel fry up we were just after a snack, and went for a pasty at Station Cafe. It was roasting hot, excellent quality and only a few quid each. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. They were also hard at work recladding the buildings in that area.
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Benjsh
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
It's a bleeding long drive for us to visit but I'm considering going again in 2022. My Son loved it and never shuts up about Storm Chaser and Tornado Springs in general.
Was his favourite coaster until he rode Olympia Looping few weeks ago. He's only 7 too. Love it. Hahahaha
Was his favourite coaster until he rode Olympia Looping few weeks ago. He's only 7 too. Love it. Hahahaha
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
I’ve got to say, Farmyard Flyer is looking lovely! Not that I’m remotely surprised given the park’s past record, but I just thought I should say it!
I visited Paultons for the first time in July, and I went in unsure of quite what to expect. While I was of course very excited to visit such an esteemed park, I wasn’t sure if I’d “get” why people have been raving about it so much for the last few years, as on paper, the rides didn’t look like anything too groundbreaking, and the park looked to be more aimed at young families.
However, having visited; I definitely get it! As much as nothing is that large or ground-breaking from a thrill standpoint, many of the rides are just pure fun and have a really wide appeal (much more so than I’d expected; many of them surprised me with how fun they were), and the theming is really quite something in places, in my opinion; Tornado Springs is a huge highlight theming-wise, with so much theming and so many little details crammed in, but I also found Lost Kingdom to be a really impressive area with all of the rockwork and animatronic dinosaurs! And in fairness, I think the flagship area Peppa Pig World looked absolutely excellent for the audience, and surprisingly expansive (although I wouldn’t like to judge that one too much as I spent very little time in there).
But overall, the main thing I got from the park is; while it’s not my favourite park in the UK (Alton, Thorpe and BPB still sit ahead of it for me, as a thrill-seeker), it’s incredibly well put together and just a really nice park overall (for lack of a better word), and even though there are areas where you can see potential for the future, every single section of it feels very polished and comes together very nicely. For me at least, the whole place left me with a really warm, fuzzy feeling inside for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on, and I think it has a very relaxed vibe; it doesn’t force you to rush around stuff, and you can take things a bit slower and still feel like you’ve had a fulfilling day. I got 14 rides done on my first visit without even trying particularly hard (we spent about an hour in the diner in TS, and getting on for another hour just walking around taking things in and looking at some of the quieter sections, such as the watermill and the gardens; I could have done way more rides if I’d wanted to!), which I was pleased as punch about!
Overall, my one piece of advice to anyone who hasn’t visited Paultons; don’t dismiss it based on its ride selection alone. The rides they have are a lot more fun than their RCDB pages suggest, and the park as a whole is just a really nice day out that’s so much more than its ride selection, in my opinion!
From experience, it’s a park that you may not “get” the appeal of without having visited (I’ll admit that while very excited to visit, I was a little unsure prior to my first visit), but as soon as I’d spent a few hours there, I had that moment of realisation of “yeah, I get why people like this so much!”… and I’ve got to say, it was pretty great!
Paultons may not be the most thrilling park on earth, but it’s not meant to be. They’ve nailed the family market, in my opinion, and I think it does still have a fair amount of thrill seeker appeal; I think it’s just pure fun for all ages, personally, and could appeal to just about anyone who could possibly visit! And let me tell you, that is no mean feat, in my opinion… bravo, Paultons!
I visited Paultons for the first time in July, and I went in unsure of quite what to expect. While I was of course very excited to visit such an esteemed park, I wasn’t sure if I’d “get” why people have been raving about it so much for the last few years, as on paper, the rides didn’t look like anything too groundbreaking, and the park looked to be more aimed at young families.
However, having visited; I definitely get it! As much as nothing is that large or ground-breaking from a thrill standpoint, many of the rides are just pure fun and have a really wide appeal (much more so than I’d expected; many of them surprised me with how fun they were), and the theming is really quite something in places, in my opinion; Tornado Springs is a huge highlight theming-wise, with so much theming and so many little details crammed in, but I also found Lost Kingdom to be a really impressive area with all of the rockwork and animatronic dinosaurs! And in fairness, I think the flagship area Peppa Pig World looked absolutely excellent for the audience, and surprisingly expansive (although I wouldn’t like to judge that one too much as I spent very little time in there).
But overall, the main thing I got from the park is; while it’s not my favourite park in the UK (Alton, Thorpe and BPB still sit ahead of it for me, as a thrill-seeker), it’s incredibly well put together and just a really nice park overall (for lack of a better word), and even though there are areas where you can see potential for the future, every single section of it feels very polished and comes together very nicely. For me at least, the whole place left me with a really warm, fuzzy feeling inside for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on, and I think it has a very relaxed vibe; it doesn’t force you to rush around stuff, and you can take things a bit slower and still feel like you’ve had a fulfilling day. I got 14 rides done on my first visit without even trying particularly hard (we spent about an hour in the diner in TS, and getting on for another hour just walking around taking things in and looking at some of the quieter sections, such as the watermill and the gardens; I could have done way more rides if I’d wanted to!), which I was pleased as punch about!
Overall, my one piece of advice to anyone who hasn’t visited Paultons; don’t dismiss it based on its ride selection alone. The rides they have are a lot more fun than their RCDB pages suggest, and the park as a whole is just a really nice day out that’s so much more than its ride selection, in my opinion!
From experience, it’s a park that you may not “get” the appeal of without having visited (I’ll admit that while very excited to visit, I was a little unsure prior to my first visit), but as soon as I’d spent a few hours there, I had that moment of realisation of “yeah, I get why people like this so much!”… and I’ve got to say, it was pretty great!
Paultons may not be the most thrilling park on earth, but it’s not meant to be. They’ve nailed the family market, in my opinion, and I think it does still have a fair amount of thrill seeker appeal; I think it’s just pure fun for all ages, personally, and could appeal to just about anyone who could possibly visit! And let me tell you, that is no mean feat, in my opinion… bravo, Paultons!
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Bump!
Paultons have announced that Farmyard Flyer will open on April 1st!
Edit: this is an interesting comment but I don't think it would be practical;
Paultons have announced that Farmyard Flyer will open on April 1st!
Edit: this is an interesting comment but I don't think it would be practical;
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Benzin
TS Member
I think the Universal Florida Vekoma Juniors have some form of that (double checking the back car might actually flat put be a wheelchair space). However a lot of the reasoning behind wheelchair users being prohibited come from evacuation procedures rather than ergonomics.
All well and good adding in a hoist (or similar) in the station but should the ride get stuck on the lift or even stall then there'd be a lot of problems for the park. Namely as the staff aren't really insured towards the safety of loading/off-loading disabled guests (which is why the carer is usually required).
You're more likely to see wheelchair accessibility occur on flat and dark rides unfortunately.
All well and good adding in a hoist (or similar) in the station but should the ride get stuck on the lift or even stall then there'd be a lot of problems for the park. Namely as the staff aren't really insured towards the safety of loading/off-loading disabled guests (which is why the carer is usually required).
You're more likely to see wheelchair accessibility occur on flat and dark rides unfortunately.
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
My thoughts exactly, not to mention the amount of time it would take.
pluk
TS Member
Must be about time for me to make one of my biannual fawning Paultons posts.
Went on Friday, the park felt healthily busy but still walk on rides across the board outside of Peppa Pig.
The park was looking clean and fresh as ever, loads of new planting ongoing, logflume repainted and overhauled. Barely a thing out of place. Staggered opening which works really well and I have no problem with the way they do it. Noticed the turnstile staff on the late opening rides, so easy to see how this set up works for them. 100% advertised ride availability, bit of downtime for the carousel, they got it reopened near to close but it was pretty juddery and I expect it'll need fixing properly. Brilliant train driver gave a running commentary, a mixture of really investing stuff about the history and geography of the park, and some very funny nonsense like passing geese being baby velocaraptors
Took my parents along for the first time, they were pretty blown away by the place and surprised of the extent of the park outside of Peppa Pig. That still seems to be one of their big challenges even with all of their recent investments being outside Peppa Pig World, getting the message out there about the scale of the rest of the park.
With the parents along to mind little one I was able to ride the bigger rides with my wife rather than alone taking turns, which was nice!
Daughter did Flight and Velociraptor, just scraping over the 1m height (and under the 4 year age (shhh)), she looked so tiny on them, its a wonder what they've done with those restraints. She loved them, certainly the gateway to more thrill, and she was later less enthralled by the Peppa Pig rides as a result.
Burritos for lunch, I think this is now my favourite eatery here, all made fresh to order, not cheap but substantial and delicious, really great chips.
My one negative, with my daughter being interested in both the bigger and smaller rides at the moment the day did not feel long enough. I don’t think it is possible to casually fit in the whole park and lunch on an off-peak day now. Appreciate it'll be a small minority with this problem though. Still a longer day than Towers though!
Development continues, with a not insignificant structure popping up behind the smaller kids play area in TornadoSprings, not sure if what this is is known or has been mentioned before? Another extension, or something backstage/infrastructure related? Didn't think to photograph it, seen in the top right and top left of the below...
Anyway, go to paultons and give them all your money.
Went on Friday, the park felt healthily busy but still walk on rides across the board outside of Peppa Pig.
The park was looking clean and fresh as ever, loads of new planting ongoing, logflume repainted and overhauled. Barely a thing out of place. Staggered opening which works really well and I have no problem with the way they do it. Noticed the turnstile staff on the late opening rides, so easy to see how this set up works for them. 100% advertised ride availability, bit of downtime for the carousel, they got it reopened near to close but it was pretty juddery and I expect it'll need fixing properly. Brilliant train driver gave a running commentary, a mixture of really investing stuff about the history and geography of the park, and some very funny nonsense like passing geese being baby velocaraptors
Took my parents along for the first time, they were pretty blown away by the place and surprised of the extent of the park outside of Peppa Pig. That still seems to be one of their big challenges even with all of their recent investments being outside Peppa Pig World, getting the message out there about the scale of the rest of the park.
With the parents along to mind little one I was able to ride the bigger rides with my wife rather than alone taking turns, which was nice!
Daughter did Flight and Velociraptor, just scraping over the 1m height (and under the 4 year age (shhh)), she looked so tiny on them, its a wonder what they've done with those restraints. She loved them, certainly the gateway to more thrill, and she was later less enthralled by the Peppa Pig rides as a result.
Burritos for lunch, I think this is now my favourite eatery here, all made fresh to order, not cheap but substantial and delicious, really great chips.
My one negative, with my daughter being interested in both the bigger and smaller rides at the moment the day did not feel long enough. I don’t think it is possible to casually fit in the whole park and lunch on an off-peak day now. Appreciate it'll be a small minority with this problem though. Still a longer day than Towers though!
Development continues, with a not insignificant structure popping up behind the smaller kids play area in TornadoSprings, not sure if what this is is known or has been mentioned before? Another extension, or something backstage/infrastructure related? Didn't think to photograph it, seen in the top right and top left of the below...
Anyway, go to paultons and give them all your money.
Themeparksandy1981
TS Member
I like that the park is free for the under 1m tall height instead of under 2 like most parks start charging.
pluk
TS Member
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Themeparksandy1981
TS Member
I don’t mind that as like u said she can go on more attractions where my son is really only allowed on Peppa pig rides and a few select rides around the park.
I think some of there rides are a bit OTT with the height restrictions/age restrictions across the park.
I think some of there rides are a bit OTT with the height restrictions/age restrictions across the park.