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Paultons Park: General Discussion
- Thread starter Maelstrom
- Start date
PercyO
TS Member
I spoke to Lawrence Mancey at the event about the decision for a vikings themed area. He suggested its been in the works for quite sometime before the opwning of the Vikings area at Drayton. I'm sure it will be a great themed area. Will be interesting to see how they theme The Edge seeing as they have the same ride in Draytons viking area.
Matt.GC
TS Member
Alton Towers attendance has been on a slow decline for over 2 decades, so they can't be doing that good a job of maintaining the status quo it seems. In that time, the UK population has grown by around 15%. By Merlin's own numbers, there's a stagnation followed by an overall downward trend if you ignore the COVID years, with the.exception of Lego, which we all know is their true baby (especially now).
There's presumably such an opportunity in the UK market that one of the best park operators in the world see it fit to buy a huge plot of land near Bedford, and a small family park on the south coast can keep on investing in high quality theming and new attractions every few years and make a success of it.
Stagnation and (poorly) managed decline is what you get when you remove attractions/replace them with upcharges, offer crap opening hours, rely on gimmicks too heavily, don't invest in new experiences, contract out your food to a bunch of cowboys to cut costs, and then just splash primary coloured paint on decay.
There's presumably such an opportunity in the UK market that one of the best park operators in the world see it fit to buy a huge plot of land near Bedford, and a small family park on the south coast can keep on investing in high quality theming and new attractions every few years and make a success of it.
Stagnation and (poorly) managed decline is what you get when you remove attractions/replace them with upcharges, offer crap opening hours, rely on gimmicks too heavily, don't invest in new experiences, contract out your food to a bunch of cowboys to cut costs, and then just splash primary coloured paint on decay.
The Big Mack
TS Member
It'll be a more elaborate area than Vikings is at Drayton anyway. The animated video suggested something a tiny bit more fiery than what Drayton Manor has.
Bowser
TS Member
Hard to disagree with any of this.
Paultons has been voted the best theme park in the UK 5 years running on Trip Advisor too (amongst other accolades), so whatever value you give to that i think it illustrates that satisfaction levels extend well beyond any alleged tribalism that exists on dedicated forums like this.
Seems somewhat symbolic that Paultons opened a delightfully themed flume ride this year whilst Merlin have multiple rollercoasters that looked like building sites. You'd think it's a no-brainer from looking at parks like Disney, Europa and now Paultons that when you take pride in your presentation and operations, people will adore your park.
Paultons will be fine regardless of Universal opening in 2030. The park is well situated on the south coast to pull in holiday makers all down that stretch of coast. Two of the times I've been we have stayed in Dorset so it does pull people from the surrounding counties. If your on the south coast for a holiday it's highly unlikely you will be trekking up to Bedford and back.
Paultons will just crack on and do Thier own thing which they do very well. I also have to commend the park for having a clear vision in terms of development and rides. A certain other park on the north of England would benefit from this....
Paultons will just crack on and do Thier own thing which they do very well. I also have to commend the park for having a clear vision in terms of development and rides. A certain other park on the north of England would benefit from this....
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Bowser
TS Member
We get adverts for it on LBC so they're certainly advertising beyond the south coast.
I reckon Peppa Pig is the strongest IP in a theme park in the country. Would love to have asked the impact that single handedly had on their visitor numbers (wikipedia claims it doubled from 500k to 1m opening year and has been in that region ever since).
BooMT
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Sucker for a B&M!
Paultons did address the potential Universal project at the talk; I got the impression that they saw it as a positive for the UK Theme Park industry and welcomed the idea!
On a similar 'competitive' vein... they were asked if they were worried about Merlin opening Peppa Pig Attractions outside of the UK. Lawrence began by confirming that they have the rights to be the only Peppa attraction of this kind in the UK and still see it as a really strong brand so she will remain for years to come - she doubled their attendance almost overnight (@Bowser - this was confirmed during the talk; the park had to completely overhaul their infrastructure to cope with the new demand). There are no plans to introduce any new IP (An attendee asked if they had considered using IP in their newer areas) as they want Peppa to shine on her own & enjoy creating their own ideas. During this Q&A, Lawrence also referenced that the majority of their visitors are UK based so aren't worried about overseas Peppa attractions detracting from their visitor numbers. Taking this on board, I can actually see Universal being a potential positive for parks like Paultons; hypothetically, when overseas visitors are planning trips to UGB/UK, a percentage are likely to research other attractions they can perhaps add to their trip, Paultons is consistenly topping the UK Theme Park 'charts' for best park and not a world away (about 2.5hrs) from the proposed site so a relatively strong position to be in. Also, the appeal to older audiences is constantly growing; When asked if Paultons had reached the ceiling for the level of Thrill they are willing to have in the park, both Lawrence & Gary were pretty coy about it but *I can't remember the exact wording* said that we should expect Paultons to have some big changes over the 5-10 year time frame *words to that effect* which, I rightly or wrongly take as a hint that they are hoping to raise the 'thrill level', whilst continuing curate their excellent family offering. Tornado Springs was impeccably executed & has seemingly been a resounding success for the park, without impeding the younger family experience, it would make sense to continue to grow in this area
I did wonder whether an IPC could work... the logo turning on its head is most likely to indicate an inversion... but it could also hint at an inverted coaster? If one was going anywhere in the UK... Paultons is the perfect location! They did rave a lot about their great relationship with Mack...
Mack seem to have good relationships with alot of UK parks. I'd love to see something like a powersplash at the park if they needed another water ride.
Bowser
TS Member
Thanks for the confirmation!
In regards to point two, they already have a fairly young inverted coaster so seems unlikely they'd add a second so soon?
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Flight of the Terrasaur is a suspended coaster, it does not invert (go upside down).
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Regarding all the talk about Paulton's rise is only half of the story, the other half being that Merlin's standards have slipped considerably. Let's be honest, if Chessington was still being treated well with good investment over the years then they should, on paper at least, be miles out in front but alas have just stumbled to the point that Paulton's have smelt blood in the water and the sooner they can catch Chessington's guests then that's when Merlin will likely for the first time feel vulnerable that's without including the Universal park. Paulton's would have likely caught up with Chessington but that has been accelerated all because how Merlin have handled that park.
Yes, even if Paulton's is to reach its full potential by 2030, it is unlikely they'll be in a position to challenge the likes of Thorpe or Towers but then again they have a fighting chance to give Chessington a bloody nose in which might become Merlin's first casualty park unless they really pull their finger out.
Yes, even if Paulton's is to reach its full potential by 2030, it is unlikely they'll be in a position to challenge the likes of Thorpe or Towers but then again they have a fighting chance to give Chessington a bloody nose in which might become Merlin's first casualty park unless they really pull their finger out.
Bowser
TS Member
Flight of the Terrasaur is a suspended coaster, it does not invert (go upside down).
Right but he said an inverted coaster not a coaster with an inversion. I'm probably not au fait with all the terminology as i thought an inverted coaster and a suspended coaster were the same thing but with different seats! I don't know what "IPC" is either so maybe that's relevant...
BooMT
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Sucker for a B&M!
So sorry - I over communicate so much sometimes I abbreviate in the hopes it looks less like the next installment to Lord of the Rings
I was referring to a Mack Inverted Powered Coaster! Slightly different to Flight of the Pterosaur, which is a Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster, and offers a more unique experience. You're probably right in that Paultons would want something a little different from their existing line-up. Although Pterosaur is approaching 10 years would you believe!Video of Mack IPC
Bowser
TS Member
So sorry - I over communicate so much sometimes I abbreviate in the hopes it looks less like the next installment to Lord of the Rings
Video of Mack IPC
Ah no worries I understand! I think if it had the focus on dark ride elements like Arthur does it would be sufficiently different, though fear that might be out of the budget range of Paultons sadly.
jon81uk
TS Member
Rollercoaster Tycoon basically taught me the difference between inverted and suspended coasters lol
Vampire is a suspended coaster, it is suspended beneth the track and can swing.
Nemesis is an inverted coaster, the trains run beneth the track and are connected directly to the wheels (no swinging).
But confusingly, Flight of the Petrosor is called a suspended family coaster by Vekoma but is generally an inverted coaster as it doesn't swing.
Rowe
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Matterhorn Blitz (with an Aperol Spritz!)
As it so happens, Motiongate Dubai does have a Mack Inverted Power Coaster themed to How To Train Your Dragon
/end tangent
Enter Valhalla
TS Member
The impression I get is that Paultons want to be the very best at what they do. This ethos is clear in every aspect of what they do. They have no interest in being the next Energylandia, becoming the coaster capital of the UK, becoming a resort, beating Merlin’s attendance etc.
They want to be a good quality family theme park, and I’d say that not having the huge aspirations actually helps them be the best at what they do. They can focus on being good at what they do well, rather than putting their efforts into being something bigger.
Ironically, in the past 20 years, they’ve become something bigger and better by gradually expanding, rather than doing what many other parks do in making big statement new investments which they can’t really afford and which end up costing them in the long run. Paultons are sensible, they have ambition, but ultimately they put quality ahead of aggressive expansion.
They want to be a good quality family theme park, and I’d say that not having the huge aspirations actually helps them be the best at what they do. They can focus on being good at what they do well, rather than putting their efforts into being something bigger.
Ironically, in the past 20 years, they’ve become something bigger and better by gradually expanding, rather than doing what many other parks do in making big statement new investments which they can’t really afford and which end up costing them in the long run. Paultons are sensible, they have ambition, but ultimately they put quality ahead of aggressive expansion.
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John_P
TS Member
Was headed to Towers on Saturday and stopped at Knutsford Services, was taken aback to see an advert for Dino Splash pop up on the digital advertising screen just before the entrance.
Great to see the park so positive about it's future and able to make big announcements for 2025 and 2026.
Great to see the park so positive about it's future and able to make big announcements for 2025 and 2026.