Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. Within the UK theme park industry, two theme parks that often seem to be pitted against each other are Paultons Park in Hampshire and Chessington World of Adventures in London. The two parks are quite comparable to each other, on paper at least; both are located in the South East of England, and both cater to a similar family demographic. However, the two parks are sometimes portrayed as being at different stages in their lives; rightly or wrongly, Paultons is often portrayed as the up and coming underdog that has exciting potential, but isn’t quite fully developed yet, whereas Chessington is often portrayed as a more developed park, but one whose best days are behind it. With this in mind, I’d be interested to know; which theme park do you prefer? Are you a Paultons Park fan? Or is Chessington more your style?
Having visited Chessington for the first time in close to a decade on 17th September and Paultons Park in July 2021, I figure that I have a reasonably recent, fresh perspective on both parks. And with this in mind, I have to say that I would personally vote for Paultons Park, and I say that with very little hesitation.
I do concede that Chessington is more well-rounded, and more consistently themed throughout, than Paultons Park. However, I have numerous reasons for preferring Paultons. For starters, one of the main attractions of Paultons Park for me is that the place just has such a nice, wholesome vibe that is very hard to put into words. It’s a very clean park, it has great operations, and overall, the whole aura of the park is very nice, warm and positive in a way that I’ve seen at very few other parks. I also feel that although not currently consistent in this regard, the park has some very strong sections of theming; Tornado Springs is an absolutely excellent themed area, I also really like Lost Kingdom, and Peppa Pig World also does well for its target audience. In terms of rides, I personally much prefer Paultons’ roller coasters; I think that these are absolutely excellent roller coasters for the audience, and a lot more fun than their RCDB files imply! I notably prefer Flight of the Pterosaur and Storm Chaser to any of the coasters at Chessington, and I’d say that Chessington’s strongest coaster for me, Vampire, is about on par with my personal weakest of Paultons’ bigger 4, Velociraptor. Paultons’ coaster selection feels modern, smooth and great fun for the family audience, whereas Chessington’s generally feels more dated and a little rough around the edges, in my view. Overall, I thought that Paultons had great, fun family coasters, numerous pockets of excellent theming, great operations, and an overall nice, warm, relaxed vibe; I thoroughly enjoyed my day there, and despite the park being relatively hyped up, I 100% understood the positive reception and still came out with nothing but glowing things to say about the park! I had a brilliant day!
Chessington does have definite advantages over Paultons Park; it feels slightly more complete in terms of theming, with the whole park being themed to the same great standard throughout, and it is also more well-rounded, with multiple dark rides and a more major-scale water ride than anything Paultons currently offers. With that being said, my recent experience at Chessington did notably less for me than my experience at Paultons did. Don’t get me wrong, I had a fun day at Chessington and I’m glad I visited, but the overall experience just felt less satisfying than that provided by Paultons. The park has a notable weakness in that the operations and throughputs are disproportionately slow for the amount of guests the park receives, in my view. This often results in long, slow-moving queues for major rides even on days that aren’t overly busy (like the day I recently visited on), which definitely makes the overall park experience feel less satisfying for me. I would also say that while there’s some fun stuff there, Chessington’s roller coaster lineup in particular feels a bit dated compared to Paultons’, and there’s no attraction at Chessington that I absolutely love, even compared to others aimed at the same demographic. Don’t get me wrong, Chessington has many good points and I enjoyed my day there, but when I personally prefer the attractions at Paultons as well as the operations and overall vibe of the park, it’s very hard for me to make a case in Chessington’s favour in terms of my personal preference.
While I have said in the past that I feel that Merlin still provide some of my favourite theme park experiences in the country at parks like Alton Towers and Thorpe Park (and I do stand by that claim), and I have said that I do not share the view of some that Paultons is leading the way in the UK theme park industry, I have come to realise that some of my more negative Paultons comments in recent weeks and months may have come in large part from fatigue of all the universal Paultons hype and universal Merlin hatred rather than a genuine disappointment with Paultons, as I wasn’t disappointed with it in the slightest when I actually visited. When I remember what an absolutely brilliant day I had at Paultons Park versus the less gratifying experience I had at Chessington, it is very easy for me to see where all of the love for Paultons Park comes from, and I think the hype is definitely warranted, personally.
I apologise if I come across slightly harsh or nitpicky towards Chessington here, but I can only base my thoughts on the experiences I’ve had at these parks, and that is how I felt based on my experiences at Paultons and Chessington respectively.
But I’d be keen to know; which park do you prefer out of Paultons Park and Chessington World of Adventures?
Having visited Chessington for the first time in close to a decade on 17th September and Paultons Park in July 2021, I figure that I have a reasonably recent, fresh perspective on both parks. And with this in mind, I have to say that I would personally vote for Paultons Park, and I say that with very little hesitation.
I do concede that Chessington is more well-rounded, and more consistently themed throughout, than Paultons Park. However, I have numerous reasons for preferring Paultons. For starters, one of the main attractions of Paultons Park for me is that the place just has such a nice, wholesome vibe that is very hard to put into words. It’s a very clean park, it has great operations, and overall, the whole aura of the park is very nice, warm and positive in a way that I’ve seen at very few other parks. I also feel that although not currently consistent in this regard, the park has some very strong sections of theming; Tornado Springs is an absolutely excellent themed area, I also really like Lost Kingdom, and Peppa Pig World also does well for its target audience. In terms of rides, I personally much prefer Paultons’ roller coasters; I think that these are absolutely excellent roller coasters for the audience, and a lot more fun than their RCDB files imply! I notably prefer Flight of the Pterosaur and Storm Chaser to any of the coasters at Chessington, and I’d say that Chessington’s strongest coaster for me, Vampire, is about on par with my personal weakest of Paultons’ bigger 4, Velociraptor. Paultons’ coaster selection feels modern, smooth and great fun for the family audience, whereas Chessington’s generally feels more dated and a little rough around the edges, in my view. Overall, I thought that Paultons had great, fun family coasters, numerous pockets of excellent theming, great operations, and an overall nice, warm, relaxed vibe; I thoroughly enjoyed my day there, and despite the park being relatively hyped up, I 100% understood the positive reception and still came out with nothing but glowing things to say about the park! I had a brilliant day!
Chessington does have definite advantages over Paultons Park; it feels slightly more complete in terms of theming, with the whole park being themed to the same great standard throughout, and it is also more well-rounded, with multiple dark rides and a more major-scale water ride than anything Paultons currently offers. With that being said, my recent experience at Chessington did notably less for me than my experience at Paultons did. Don’t get me wrong, I had a fun day at Chessington and I’m glad I visited, but the overall experience just felt less satisfying than that provided by Paultons. The park has a notable weakness in that the operations and throughputs are disproportionately slow for the amount of guests the park receives, in my view. This often results in long, slow-moving queues for major rides even on days that aren’t overly busy (like the day I recently visited on), which definitely makes the overall park experience feel less satisfying for me. I would also say that while there’s some fun stuff there, Chessington’s roller coaster lineup in particular feels a bit dated compared to Paultons’, and there’s no attraction at Chessington that I absolutely love, even compared to others aimed at the same demographic. Don’t get me wrong, Chessington has many good points and I enjoyed my day there, but when I personally prefer the attractions at Paultons as well as the operations and overall vibe of the park, it’s very hard for me to make a case in Chessington’s favour in terms of my personal preference.
While I have said in the past that I feel that Merlin still provide some of my favourite theme park experiences in the country at parks like Alton Towers and Thorpe Park (and I do stand by that claim), and I have said that I do not share the view of some that Paultons is leading the way in the UK theme park industry, I have come to realise that some of my more negative Paultons comments in recent weeks and months may have come in large part from fatigue of all the universal Paultons hype and universal Merlin hatred rather than a genuine disappointment with Paultons, as I wasn’t disappointed with it in the slightest when I actually visited. When I remember what an absolutely brilliant day I had at Paultons Park versus the less gratifying experience I had at Chessington, it is very easy for me to see where all of the love for Paultons Park comes from, and I think the hype is definitely warranted, personally.
I apologise if I come across slightly harsh or nitpicky towards Chessington here, but I can only base my thoughts on the experiences I’ve had at these parks, and that is how I felt based on my experiences at Paultons and Chessington respectively.
But I’d be keen to know; which park do you prefer out of Paultons Park and Chessington World of Adventures?
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