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Paultons Park: General Discussion

I'm not sure if I've already said this on here, but something like Shrieksville from Pleasure Island would do wonders for them. They haven't got a Ghost train yet, which almost every park does to an extent, and something like Shrieksville would do wonders for the target demograph. That or a decently made interactive dark ride would do the job. It'd be nice to have a proper one here that was designed to be interactive, like Sheriffs Showdown.
 
I'm not sure how big the space actually is. I remember the ceiling being really high though.

I guess it is the perfect space though as already a building and power. Guess a lot of cost for a new dark ride is the actual building itself!

Saying that though, they'll probably turn it into a staff room or restaurant
 
Themepark-newbie said:
I'm not sure how big the space actually is. I remember the ceiling being really high though.

I guess it is the perfect space though as already a building and power. Guess a lot of cost for a new dark ride is the actual building itself!

Saying that though, they'll probably turn it into a staff room or restaurant
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I’d love to see an ETF Ride Systems trackless dark ride like Popcorn Revenge or Maus Au Chocolat come to the park, I think that would be much more fitting than a ghost train style attraction. Paultons working with Alterface would create something spectacular I’m sure. Didn’t the park build a new back of house building recently? If so then I’m sure that they’ve got interesting plans for the former cinema building.
 
Paultons have released their “killer image” (yes I know that’s a very Merlin-y term but I think it’s appropriate) of Splash Lagoon on their socials.

Interestingly, they’re referring to it as a “Family Flume Ride” which, in my mind, suggests it may be a little larger than the kids log flume I was expecting, and may even be a worthy substitute for Raging River Ride. I did always think it was odd that they were putting so much marketing/ teaser posters etc into a kids flume, so I think we could be seeing something of reasonable size.
 
As far as I know it’s still a kiddie flume- either similar to Dayton’s or possibly slightly larger version like the one they put into chessington a couple of years ago.
 
So calling it a ‘Family Flume Ride’ is incorrect marketing then? The kiddie log flume at Chessington can’t fit a family in its boats, it’s one adult per boat.

I know that it’s almost seen as blasphemy in the UK enthusiast community to give Paultons Park anything other immense praise, but I really don’t think that this is great marketing from them, they seem to be really overhyping a not very interesting ride. Although to be fair, I guess the key will be in the theming.
 
It does seem like mis-marketing to me: this is just another ride for little kids, but calling it a Family Flume does make one think of a 'full-size' log flume such as Logger's Leap or Tiger Rock and that's not what we'll be getting. It's a tad disappointing: Paultons already caters extremely well to the U5s demographic with the hugely successful Peppa Pig World, but is lacking in attractions that appeal to older children. An all-family water ride would have been just the ticket, but that's not what they've chosen to deliver. Hoping they will have bigger and bolder things on the horizon in the near future.
 
Agree with both. You'd have to think if 2 adults could fit in the boat there would be in that photo.... not to mention they already have a "family" log flume, however rubbish it may be. Wonder if that will still even be there? Always seems pretty empty when i go.
 
Bowser said:
Agree with both. You'd have to think if 2 adults could fit in the boat there would be in that photo.... not to mention they already have a "family" log flume, however rubbish it may be. Wonder if that will still even be there? Always seems pretty empty when i go.
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They also already have a kid's log flume in Seal Falls, and I'd expect that to be removed sometime after this new one opens. As you say though, they definitely need a well-themed, more thrilling family water ride to replace the (travelling model) Raging River log flume.
 
I would hope a larger water ride would be installed in the upcoming new area that's clearly in the works. Poultons benefits from better weather than many other UK parks being on the south coast so I'd love to see a Mack Power splash.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
...they seem to be really overhyping a not very interesting ride.
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Straight out of the Merlin marketing playbook then. ;)

It's a shame Paultons are going for a smaller Flume option. They need something more in key with their current philosophies and a kiddie flume (presuming that's the final product) may not be the right solution unless it's purely future proofing.
 
I've said this before but I really do feel like they've made this investment to replace the other flumes with a more robust, family accessible & themed option, so they can start to free up the pick n mix area that feels like *Brighton Pier* for future development. That area, Edge, Magma, Cobra, Go Karts etc is more in need of theming than ever as they've really raised the bar with the rest of the themed areas & that wing of the park is very much an anomaly now. We've seen stirs, rumours & possible evidence that they've been doing the planning groundwork before a potential major investment. If it is a similar model to Drayton (the marketing does make it look a bit more significant but you never know!) then it's pretty much renders Seal Falls redundant but isolates the older visitors... if it's more like the Chessington River Rafts, a diverse mix of people would ride it when I was operating it, quite a lot of the time, without children so whilst still a 'kiddy flume' it would be a sufficient replacement for both existing.

I can't make up my mind whether they'll add something a notch above Storm Chaser in terms of Thrill to tap into a slightly different market or continue to embrace the identity they are so good at delivering. Something they're missing, like @The_bup mentions, is a dark/indoor ride - it'd be great to see one added to their future line up & there's no doubt they'd do a brilliant job with it.
 
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