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Paultons Park: General Discussion

Ash said:
Agree, bar Univeral I don’t think we’ll ever see a 365 park, with the majority of rides being outdoor. It just gets too cold and there aren’t enough support attractions or events at any UK park.
Although the way they’re going, I think Paultons could make the best go of it.

As you say I’ll be curious if there is more 2026 additions that could support this.

The unequivocal denial of any accommodation is interesting as I’m sure this would have been in the pipeline. Sad part is it seems to restrict future growth of the park.

If this is more Efteling than Merlin encampment it’s just another nail in the coffin of the slop being served up by second to Disney.

Arguably the next park which could still be close is Alton, particularly if they get PH, Dungeons and more attractions in Walliams world.
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I think Legoland is the closest to a 365 park in the UK with a good number of the major attractions being indoors. Even during the winter everything operates bar the water rides and inexplicably Miniature Speedway.

Alton has potential but really it's all theoretical and based on the last few years unlikely. As it stands Chessington probably has a better all year offering and Minecraft in 2027 only adds to that. Hopefully next years rides are built to operate in winter too.

As i say, they were never going to reveal accommodation plans from a random question at a fan event but the wording given was ambiguous enough that i thought it was pretty clear something was on the horizon. I have every faith Paultons will deliver to their current standards so it's very exciting!
 
Benzin said:
Given the issues they've had with T'Edge and Cobra since building them was unlikely to get anything ride wise on that field.
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That's a good point, I always looked at that chunk of land for expansion but as you pointed out they will struggle getting planning.

I think the self catering lodges are perfect for Paultons without the running costs and higher risks associated with a full blown hotel.

After Viking the next are they could look at is the top centre of the park where teacups is
 
Matt N said:
You may dismiss “hard factors”, but these “hard factors” are still ways of keeping the product fresh for the consumer and investing back into it. People criticise them, but the last couple of years at Merlin have seen probably some of the most sustained heavy CAPEX into the parks since the Tussauds days. While some of this may be into less inherently marketable things, it is still considerable investment.

Oakwood, on the other hand, invested practically nothing into either hard or soft factors for a sustained period of time. That park pretty much didn’t build any major new rides following Speed in 2006, and while Aspro did make some minor investments, these were few and far between, small in scale and mostly concentrated towards the earlier part of their 16-year tenure.

Oakwood also had the complication of a far more remote location than any of Merlin’s parks,
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Towers is not as remote and secluded as Oakwood was, but objectively still is in comparison to all the other Merlin parks, Paultons, and the anticipated Universal resort.

I'm not saying Merlin are entirely incompetent, with the recent successful unveilings of Nemesis Reborn and the Toxicator (plus dramatic redevelopment of Chessington), but at the same time after Alton Tower's dismal opening day this week (with Murphy's Law striking with a giant sewage leak right beneath Toxicator) plus the park still facing an uphill battle with general ride efficiency and catering quality (after years of Merlin often making penny wise and pound foolish decisions), more people fear Alton Towers could potentially be the next Oakwood by the mid to late 2030s.

Meanwhile Paultons' owners have been making less penny wise and pound foolish decisions since the 2010s, their recent expansions are suddenly getting so dramatic that their version of Woodland Village is already in the pipeline, and all their immersive theming is 20 to 30 years newer than most Merlin attractions, improving every couple of years (while Alton Towers already seemed to have peaked as a flagship theme park resort by the late 00s/early 10s, facing a struggle with rejuvenation and keeping relevant).
 
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Bowser said:
"Paulton's Park have no short or medium terms plans for accommodation"...

Except for the planning application they just put in:

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The project will have.
-the accommodation will be a mix of 2,3 and 4 bed self catering units.
-restaurant
-shop
-welcome building
-entertainment room
-game room
-new park entrance

Source: Coasterforce
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Haha brilliant! After there was so much adamance on here that Paultons wouldn’t be getting accommodation! 😂

Seriously though, this is exactly the type of accommodation that I expected them to get and which I think suits Paultons at this time. Not wanting to take the risk of an actual hotel, but not as basic as camping/glamping. Perfect for Paultons really.
 
Matt N said:
If Paultons want to do accommodation, I feel this is probably the most shrewd way of doing it.

I do still feel it might be a risk, but I imagine glamping pods and such might potentially represent a lower outlay than a full-blown hotel.
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I agree it’s might appear slightly lower initial cost outlay, but lots of smaller buildings probably cost similar to one big one. There is a reason Premier Inn have lots of big boxes divided internally into identical rooms.

But it does make sense to offer an experience nearby hotels don’t have, which is self-catering.

Bowser said:
Yes that's why i suggested it really, it's an overall lower level of maintenance too
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I would actually expect stand alone self- catering accommodation to have more maintenance requirements. There is more in the rooms to go wrong if they have kitchens, also stand-alone buildings changed the heating and cooling systems as well as roofed, sewage systems and other utilities.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Haha brilliant! After there was so much adamance on here that Paultons wouldn’t be getting accommodation! 😂

Seriously though, this is exactly the type of accommodation that I expected them to get and which I think suits Paultons at this time. Not wanting to take the risk of an actual hotel, but not as basic as camping/glamping. Perfect for Paultons really.
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Looks like in this case, Paultons are doing accommodation. Not a hotel but that's the right move to go for at this stage.

I saw this predicted in this thread as a possibility.

Even with recent discussions where there's views that are adamant that there's not going to be accommodation, I was thinking it was some sort of possibility even if it's in the distant future.

It's been known for a while that Paultons did a trademark for Paultons Park Lodges which Attraction Source reported on X.


From: https://x.com/AttractionSc/status/1843912588796801515?t=Ih7Gu3gsbEdvY1SLEEmJ4g&s=19


At the time, this may have been future proofing but now, it looks like it's a case of there's no smoke without fire.

Wise move on Paultons behalf for an Efteling style accommodation village.

In a way, it seems to be becoming clearer that Paultons are looking to Efteling for their future plans. 🤔
 
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Even more Paultons news, though this one is to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Someone over at Coasterforce again was speaking to staff at the weekend who said they were in a race with another park for a ride in 2026 to be a European first.

Cross referencing that, the only notable announced rides in Europe for 2026 so far are a GCI in Spain and a Zamperla launched family thrill in France. Of those two, an inverting GCI would seem to fit the bill of both a European first and the rumoured first inverting coaster at the park.

The Isla Magica GCI doesn't appear to have an inversion though so the pieces don't quite fit in that regard...
 
Bowser said:
Even more Paultons news, though this one is to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Someone over at Coasterforce again was speaking to staff at the weekend who said they were in a race with another park for a ride in 2026 to be a European first.

Cross referencing that, the only notable announced rides in Europe for 2026 so far are a GCI in Spain and a Zamperla launched family thrill in France. Of those two, an inverting GCI would seem to fit the bill of both a European first and the rumoured first inverting coaster at the park.

The Isla Magica GCI doesn't appear to have an inversion though so the pieces don't quite fit in that regard...
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For European firsts, it could be one of those new Intamin Family LSM models as this would fit in with inversions etc.

There is a possibility with that model that the coaster would have one of the lowest height restrictions for one with inversions.
 
You can only doff your cap at the owners for their ambitious plans for this park. They really are onto something special down there. Just a shame it's so far away from where i live otherwise I'd definitely visit frequently to support them as they simply deserve it.

And whether it's Tornado Springs, Ghostly Manor or the upcoming Viking area or Lodges......this has basically all been made possible because of Peppa Pig if we're being brutally honest. That one decision to bring in that family IP has basically turned around their fortunes and put them on the map.

Is the Viking area definitely going to be 2026 or pushed back to 2027?
 
Benjsh said:
You can only doff your cap at the owners for their ambitious plans for this park. They really are onto something special down there. Just a shame it's so far away from where i live otherwise I'd definitely visit frequently to support them as they simply deserve it.

And whether it's Tornado Springs, Ghostly Manor or the upcoming Viking area or Lodges......this has basically all been made possible because of Peppa Pig if we're being brutally honest. That one decision to bring in that family IP has basically turned around their fortunes and put them on the map.

Is the Viking area definitely going to be 2026 or pushed back to 2027?
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Paulton's have said it is opening in 2026 so i'd be very surprised if that is no longer the case. They began working on it in 2024 and i'm sure we'll imminently be seeing updates!
 
Bowser said:
Paulton's have said it is opening in 2026 so i'd be very surprised if that is no longer the case. They began working on it in 2024 and i'm sure we'll imminently be seeing updates!
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It's a flat and largely vacant plot of land so it won't be difficult to develop, I'd expect to see construction ramp up as the season progresses.
 
Bowser said:
Paulton's have said it is opening in 2026 so i'd be very surprised if that is no longer the case. They began working on it in 2024 and i'm sure we'll imminently be seeing updates!
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I'm sure we'll know more with the SuperFans event about the park's plans.

I don't think it's delayed although it might be two phases.

I have heard rumours of a Mack Water Coaster for 2027 somewhere but I'm thinking it's more like Viking Voyage at Emerald Park which is a super flume from Interlink that will open in 2026.

A water coaster would be incredible as a phase 2 but I'm thinking it'll be something more conventional opening in 2026.
 
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