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Paultons Park: General Discussion

pluk said:
It's got to be an indication that the next development, after the dark ride, will include a modern and themed water ride? I don't think they are looking at the recent family/kid flume to be the water ride for the park?
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The next development, teased for 2026, after the dark ride is likely to be a steel inverting coaster themed to Vikings (if the teaser trailer shown at the Super Fans event is to be believed). Given that they've just invested in a family themed water ride (albeit younger families), I could see it holding off until perhaps 2027 when they could add a supporting modern water ride to the new development area.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
The next development, teased for 2026, after the dark ride is likely to be a steel inverting coaster themed to Vikings (if the teaser trailer shown at the Super Fans event is to be believed). Given that they've just invested in a family themed water ride (albeit younger families), I could see it holding off until perhaps 2027 when they could add a supporting modern water ride to the new development area.
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I believe that's for a themed area including a major rollercoaster which it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility if some sort of water ride is included as well.

I doubt the park will have Splash Lagoon as their only water ride for a long period of time.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
A site like Alton Towers needs hotels. It's in the middle of nowhere, tricky to get to (almost impossible by public transport) and doesn't have the local accomodation infrastructure to sustain it.
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Alton Towers needs the hotels and campsite as a crutch when it's linked by a B road, agreed, but it's been an added layer of mass and complexity that ended up impacting the park grounds proper for decades (when the Talbot garden grounds have become mostly unkempt, the cable cars' rennovation was a decade overdue, and myriad other negative "soft" factors, etc).
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
A site like Alton Towers needs hotels. It's in the middle of nowhere, tricky to get to (almost impossible by public transport) and doesn't have the local accomodation infrastructure to sustain it.

Paulton's Park, by contrast, is in a year round tourist hotspot (being in the New Forest) with well established accomodation infrastructure. It's also an extremely short drive from Southampton, which by way of being a port of sea and air, also has large hotel chains and high availability.
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This is a good point. The park gets alot of holiday traffic from all along the south coast. Each time we have been we have been staying at a Haven holiday site. It's very well placed in that regard. I could see a hotel there one day but the park is still expanding and has room for another full area even after Vikings is complete.
 
owenstreet7 said:
Speaking of the future of the park, I speculated Raging River will be moved on from the park eventually either in preparation for or after a new larger replacement log flume opens.

It seems Interlink have got a log flume up for sale with Raging River's photos and details.

www.interlink-lg.com

Log Flume - WR33 - Interlink

Used rides - Amusement rides - Ride trading
www.interlink-lg.com www.interlink-lg.com

It's definitely a needed move for the future of the park if Raging River is to go however I'm hoping that a bigger and better flume style ride replaces it.
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It's closed for maintenance for all of july and August as it is....
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
The next development, teased for 2026, after the dark ride is likely to be a steel inverting coaster themed to Vikings (if the teaser trailer shown at the Super Fans event is to be believed). Given that they've just invested in a family themed water ride (albeit younger families), I could see it holding off until perhaps 2027 when they could add a supporting modern water ride to the new development area.
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They have a strong history of opening areas, not rides, so I doubt it'll exclusively be the coaster. A coaster and water ride designed from scratch to be intertwined with some points of interaction would be wonderful.
 
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Has it been confirmed that Raging River is going? I Must be a bit behind with the Paulton's news. Not sure if I'll miss it or not, quite good fun and never a long queue, but always got wetter than I thought I would and most times thought I was going to be launched out of the front of the boat when hitting the bottom of the big drop.
 
TPick said:
Has it been confirmed that Raging River is going? I Must be a bit behind with the Paulton's news.
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As far as I know, nothing official from the park. The only thing right now is Interlink advertising a ride for sale with it's photos and stats on it's website. Drayton Manor did similar with Pandemonium and Apocalypse in the seasons running up to them going.

It's been heavily speculated for a very long time that when the area where the ride sits gets redeveloped and a replacement ride opens, the ride will move on to make way for a water ride that better fits within the park's vision as it is a travelling fairground Log Flume.

The ride is experiencing extended downtime at the moment.
 
owenstreet7 said:
As far as I know, nothing official from the park. The only thing right now is Interlink advertising a ride for sale with it's photos and stats on it's website. Drayton Manor did similar with Pandemonium and Apocalypse in the seasons running up to them going.

It's been heavily speculated for a very long time that when the area where the ride sits gets redeveloped and a replacement ride opens, the ride will move on to make way for a water ride that better fits within the park's vision as it is a travelling fairground Log Flume.

The ride is experiencing extended downtime at the moment.
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Thanks for this. I suppose it will kind of be a shame to see it go, but that whole area including Seal Falls, Digger Ride and then off down to Cobra and Edge needs a bit of an overhaul as it is looking a bit neglected now.
 
TPick said:
Thanks for this. I suppose it will kind of be a shame to see it go, but that whole area including Seal Falls, Digger Ride and then off down to Cobra and Edge needs a bit of an overhaul as it is looking a bit neglected now.
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It does indeed, and I'm pretty sure that the teased Viking area for 2026 will go there.
 
TPick said:
Thanks for this. I suppose it will kind of be a shame to see it go, but that whole area including Seal Falls, Digger Ride and then off down to Cobra and Edge needs a bit of an overhaul as it is looking a bit neglected now.
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I wouldn't say it's looking neglected at all. It's very well looked after. It's just very bland & not themed to anything, and naturally sticks out compared to Lost Kingdom & Tornado Springs.
 
PhalanaxOperativeA1127 said:
I wouldn't say it's looking neglected at all. It's very well looked after. It's just very bland & not themed to anything, and naturally sticks out compared to Lost Kingdom & Tornado Springs.
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Because of Paultons' scale (140 acres vs 500 acres for Altons) and their company structure (Paultons is its own firm, so runs a tighter ship, while Altons is one park out of many venues initially nationwide - now worldwide - for an overstretched multinational corporation that has to placate investors), it puts it into perspective why the place gets rave reviews in comparison to even Alton Towers (and Paultons' more direct equivalents, Chessington & Legoland) when Paultons' management is able to properly maintain their zoo gardens and stop their "soft factors" practically fall into ruin after a decade (also their themed areas like Tornado Springs, etc, are still relatively recent, while most of the Merlin parks' themed areas are a quarter of century old or more).
 
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I wonder if the UK will ever build another rapids ride. I’m sure one would go down well at Paultons but it seems that they’re considered more of a nuisance than a help to UK parks now.
 
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