Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
After applying a few weeks back I was lucky enough to get an invite to this exciting free (!) event, and was so looking forward to it. This was only my second visit to @Paultons Park since 2017 and it was great to have an opportunity to go back after 7 years, I was excited to finally visit Tornado Springs for the first time! It was also nice to get back to the park in general as well, it is so beautiful and well-kept. The day of the event also happened to be the opening day of Splash Lagoon, the park's new family flume ride, so I was looking forward to checking that out as well.
My dad and I set off from Sheffield at 7 am, and after a short stop around halfway, arrived at the park just before 12pm. With our tickets already in hand we headed to the turnstiles and entered the park! I would be riding alone though for the most part as he can't ride much anymore. I've tried to remember the exact ride order as best as I can, but readers of my past reports will know that my memory can deceive me!
Once inside the park I decided to head towards Cobra, Edge and Magma. This area does stick out like a sore thumb nowadays but is a good reminder of what the park was like before Peppa Pig came in. It could well be on the list for future development though.
Magma
First up and with only a short wait (that will become a common theme!) was this SBF Visa drop tower. When I got on we did have to wait a few minutes for more riders to come. Unlike a certain reptile-themed one at another park, this is actually very good and the drops are quite big. You get some excellent views from the top as well. Is funny how they have to connect a wire to the gondola to unlock the restraints, though. That's SBF Visa for you.
Cobra
Next up was this excellent Gerstlauer Bobsled coaster. Only a few people ahead of me again and I was on in a couple of minutes. Might not be themed but the coaster is very fun and surprisingly forceful in parts, especially the hairpin turns (you really do have to brace for them!), and very re-rideable too. If themed in the future it could become one of the best coasters in the park in my opinion.
After Cobra I went to Edge which also had a short queue, but it turned out that it was having technical difficulties so I decided to have lunch.
Lunch finished, we decided to head to the nearby Raging River, which was one of the few Dad felt he could ride.
Raging River
This Reverchon travelling two-drop log flume is certainly not unique, but still fun and you do get fairly wet (although not as wet as the new one, more on that shortly). Walk-on for us, as well!
After a light sprinkle, I decided to head into Dinosaur territory. Lost Kingdom!
Flight of the Pterosaur
It was nice to get back on this Vekoma Family Suspended Coaster, still the only one in the UK! After another short wait, I was batched onto row three. Soaring high over the paths is very fun and you come surprisingly close to some of the supports on the elevated helix! A good, solid family coaster.
And now, finally time for the newest ride...
Splash Lagoon
Splash Lagoon was on 10 minutes, so (as @Matt N would say!) I decided to give it a go. First impressions, this ride looks beautiful. I'm not going to doubt for even a second that Paultons will upkeep this, as this is them we are talking about! The entrance to the ride looks nice, and the external queue is well-landscaped and pretty with foliage all around. The bridge to the station gives a nice view of the ride before you board, and there is a small switchback in the station. There is audio all around the area which is excellent, really makes it feel even more immersive. Before long it was time to board, the boats seat up to either one adult and one child or three children, and bags must be taken on ride (same with Raging River). The boats look really nice, very colourful!
The journey to the lift hill takes you through an arching fountain, like the ones on Gruffalo at Chessy. I did get dripped on a bit but not too bad. You also go past animatronic dinos. Yep you read that right! There is so much to see. Up the lift hill and you are held at the top while the prior boat clears the splashdown. The turnaround takes you past a lookout tower, which was actually built in-house by the park's own maintenance team! They did a great job and I hope they build more in the future. Now the drop, it's not big of course but you still get a bit of speed, and you do feel the hump as well. You do get quite wet, even more so than Raging River in my opinion! My trousers were fairly damp but the surprisingly warm weather dried them off in no time.
When I was in the queue I saw a techie walking along the course and a couple of times he (very carefully) crossed the trough! Not sure what he was doing but it was interesting to watch. Fun fact, during the talk we were told that originally the splash was much bigger and had to be toned down!
Splash Lagoon is an excellent addition to Paulton's and the fact that it was only a minor investment is mindblowing. If you're an adult without a child (or an adult with children who can ride together), don't be afraid to give it a go! Not once did I feel awkward when queuing or on the ride, and I rarely do kids' rides these days. This is definitely a family ride in my opinion though, and an excellent one at that! So glad I got to ride it on its opening day.
Photos from Theme Park Nation Facebook- Edited by myself for the privacy of others featured
After a moist expedition on the Lagoon, I backtracked a bit for the area's shuttle coaster, which was walk-on!
Velociraptor
No queue at all for this Vekoma Family Boomerang, straight into the station and into the front row air gate! These are always fun and enjoyable, and it was nice to get back on it.
Now, I don't usually do kids' coasters these days, but exiting Velociraptor I walked past Dino Chase and saw it was also completely walk-on, so thought why not?
Dino Chase
To be fair it does look nice with the dino theme and associated foliage and landscaping, and as it was quiet I didn't feel awkward or anything. A nice starter coaster for kids and a bonus credit for me.
After Dino Chase I headed to quite possibly the strangest-themed area in the UK (in a good way of course!), Critter Creek.
Cat-O-Pillar
Another short wait here, a fun family coaster with wacky theming. A nice one to do!
After exiting the land of hybrid creatures, we decided to head to the animals through Peppa Pig World. it was unsurprisingly the busiest area of the park and is what helped Paulton's become who they are today. In the evening talk, they told us that before PP they were averaging around 500,000 visitors a year, and PP doubled that to 1 million!
We went to see the meerkats and other creatures in Wild Lands, and discovered that the talk and feed were due to start so stayed around for that, then we went around the other side of PP World to the Penguins. Now, I took this photo for my best friend who loves penguins, but when looking at it later on I noticed that the enclosure is looking a little tired, especially the blue wall at the back.
Bit of a shame given that the rest of the park looks really nice, hopefully Paulton's will give it a refresh in the future.
After the animals, we decided it was time to take a leisurely train ride around the park.
Rio Grande Train
There was no one in front of us when we got to the gate but the train was just leaving, so we waited for it to return. This is a nice relaxing round trip that gets you excellent views of Tornado Springs!
Whilst riding the train I spotted Farmyard Flyer cycling, and remembered that it wasn't listed to be open during our upcoming ERT (as it would turn out, it was open during ERT but I didn't get around to it so I'm glad I did it when I did), so thought I'd head into Tornado Springs and ride it next.
Now, I must say Tornado Spings looks absolutely incredible. There are details everywhere, one of my favourites is the traffic lights hanging above the pathway which constantly change! It really does make your jaw drop when you enter for the first time. There is audio all around the area as well which is great. Possibly the best themed area in the UK!
Farmyard Flyer
Is this the UK's best-themed kids coaster? Quite possibly. It looks fantastic, from the train (with the spinning propeller!) to the station and the theming around the ride. The ride itself is quite fun as well!
After a nice flight on Farmyard Flyer, I saw Storm Chaser was on a 5-minute wait so even though I'd get to ride it during the ERT later I couldn't resist!
Storm Chaser
I was so looking forward to finally riding Storm Chaser! It looks great, with the yellow track (my favourite colour!) and the theming around it. The queue line is nice and it makes a change to see a coaster queue line that's mostly indoors! The indoor section has audio playing as well which is nice.
Going into the station, I saw a space in the first bay so got a front-row ride for my first go (although of course it's a spinning coaster so I wasn't at the front for long)! It was awesome, it's surprisingly intense (that helix!) and super fun, and perfect for the park. The restraints are really comfortable as well. Stay tuned for an awesome behind-the-scenes look later on!
After surviving the storm, I decided to head back towards Cobra for a reride, but stopped off in Lost Kingdom on the way for another ride on Flight of The Pterosaur. This turned out to be my longest queue of the day so far, at 15 minutes! Row 9 this time, second from the back. Felt even faster than earlier, being pulled by the front cars.
Exiting FoTT I bumped into @BooMT and her +1, who were heading to a ride which I'd not done yet, so I decided to join them.
Dinosaur Tour Co
This was walk-on for us, and is a nice little Jeep safari past the dinosaurs with a good audio commentary. A ride that the whole family can do together!
Now, a funny thing happened when we got back to the station... it has a separate offload area which is a fair distance from onload, and there was only one member of staff. When we stopped it took us a good while to get the doors open, I think the op shouted over instructions but it still took a bit of time.
Think you had to pull/push and twist the handle, but can't quite remember. The girls got their door open first (they were in the front driving, with me in the back) and had to let me out as I was still struggling. Would have been better to have an offload host in my opinion.
After riding alone for most of the day it was nice to have company! With the event meeting time slowly approaching I suggested we headed for a ride on Cobra, which was walk-on this time for me, then we did Magma as well which was also walk-on.
Then, at last, it was time to head to Tornado Springs to check in for the event activities! First up was a behind-the-scenes tour of either Storm Chaser, Flight of the Pterosaur or Cobra. We chose Storm Chaser, and waited near the staff member with the awesome sign.
Storm Chaser Tour
Photo from Theme Park Nation Facebook
We were led into the maintenance bay, and at first it was quite crowded but eventually some people left for the other tours or upcoming ERT. It was great talking to the awesome engineers, who showed us some of the bits and pieces (like the wampflers!), and we could even manually spin the cars of the train that was down there by pushing them, which was cool. After a while we heard that they were about to switch the trains over (it was only running one train given how low the waits were).
Storm Chaser has a lift system as the mech bay is underneath the station, like the Big One in Blackpool. We all stood well back and watched it slowly rise up! It is very cool to see and there is a surprising amount of space in the room once it's fully up (when it's down you have to go around one side of it). Whilst talking to one of the staff I asked if we could see the op cabin (you don't ask, you don't get, as she said), and once the train change had finished she very kindly took us upstairs via the queue line (there's only one door to the mech bay, from the plaza, and the cabin is on the load side). Was quite strange walking past everyone on the steps as the ERT had just started, and I think people were confused but one person twigged and guessed where we were heading (could hear them telling their group).
We entered the cabin just as the op was dispatching the first train of the event (he tailored the dispatch announcements to the event which was great!), and he was very happy to talk to us and answer questions between dispatches. The area where the panel is located is raised up a bit so you do get a good view from there. We saw the tablet which they use to control the wait time boards which was cool, and the CCTV unit.
After leaving the cabin (there was a queue of people waiting to enter, started by us!) we hesitated for a second then decided to jump on for a ride. What else were we supposed to do?! Front car, and backwards for me. It's quite daunting going up the lift backwards, not being able to see where you're going.
Leaving Storm Chaser, with the ERT in full swing, we bumped into Joe from Theme Park Insanity who joined us for a few rides. First up was the Zamperla Discovery 30.
Cyclonator
I was quite nervous whilst waiting to board (looking back, more than I should have been), but BooMT was great at keeping me calm both before and during the ride (thanks!). Now, I'm 6ft 2 and a slim build and found the seats quite difficult to get into, they're very narrow and quite deep. The restraints lower automatically once everyone is seated (pretty sure that was my first experience of an automatically lowering shoulder harness), and the hole was barely big enough for my head. You do need to sit right back when they're closing and opening.
It takes a little while to get going but when it does it's actually quite intense but fun as well. Did make me feel a little queasy but I managed it. I had done two other gyro swings before and Cyclonator is certainly the best themed! It really does look fantastic, the details are brilliant. Is it one of the UK's best-themed flat rides? Absolutely.
Would definitely ride it again, probably once per day. The restraint was very tight though, and I think it didn't like me as it kept getting even tighter during the ride.
Windmill Towers
Next up was Windmill Towers, a new flat ride type for me! This has two towers with gondolas that bounce up and down them. The four of us decided to split into pairs, with two on each tower, although we had to sit separately as it's one adult per side. The ride was quite jolty actually, and to be honest I didn't really enjoy it that much. Not something I'd rush back to but the theming is great again.
Buffalo Falls
I had walked past this four-lane dinghy slide earlier in the day, and it had one of the longer posted waits at 20 minutes, but it was walk-on for the ERT! It packs a surprising punch, and you may get a bit of airtime like I did. You go surprisingly fast as well. Now, there is no staff member at the bottom and you have to pick the boats up yourself and plonk them on the return conveyor. They're pretty big and heavy, and it does take a lot of effort. Fun though! A good ride that you can do with your mates, and one that I would have liked to have done more than once. You don't get too wet either.
After braving the Falls, Joe disappeared and the rest of us decided to do one last ride on Storm Chaser as I had yet to do the back car. Heading up there was only a few people in the station, and we headed to the back. There were two techies in the last air gate waiting to grab a ride (don't blame them, it's a perk of the job!), so I took the forward row of car four and the girls sat opposite in the back of car three. You get pulled through the layout by the rest of the train, and it was flying!
Exiting Storm Chaser, it was time for the buffet in the Route 83 Diner, which was serving things like burgers, hot dogs, chicken wings and chicken strips. I am not surprised it has won awards before, the food really is excellent! I had chicken strips and chips, and I found the former quite spicy but that's just me. The Diver looks fantastic as well, with details everywhere!
Lunch finished, it was time to head to the open-air theatre for the talk and Q&A. I won't go into detail as it's all being discussed in the Paulton's thread, but it's safe to say that the park's future is looking very bright and I cannot wait for 2025 (and 2026...)! Ghostly Manor will certainly be unique for the UK!
After the talk finished, myself and BooMT met a few fellow TS members in @Rowe, @Cheese and @sock. Was lovely to meet you all!
Eventually me and my dad said goodbye to the girls and we headed out of the park to our hotel (Premier Inn), which was just a short drive away. Took a little while to find it as the entrance was kind of hidden, but we eventually got there. We checked in, got our room key, found our room, then nope. Wouldn't let us in. Went back to reception and they gave us a new card and said it was a known problem with the key cards
. Returned to the room, still nope, so back to reception. Another new card, and the staff member came with us this time. Bingo! third time lucky and we were in. The staff member was great, really helpful and apologetic. BooMT might be glad that she changed her hotel the day before .
After breakfast the next morning (was extremely busy, a little too busy for my liking), we set off home, ending an excellent weekend away.
Final ride count:
Storm Chaser 3
Magma 2
Flight of the Terrasaur 2
Cobra 2
Buffalo Falls 1
Cyclonator 1
Windmill Towers 1
Splash Lagoon 1
Velociraptor 1
Dino Chase 1
Dinosaur Tour Co 1
Rio Grande Train 1
Cat-o-pillar 1
Raging River 1
Farmyard Flyer 1
Conclusion
I had been wanting to return to Paulton's Park ever since my first visit 7 years ago, and cannot thank them and LizLean PR enough for the opportunity to do just that and also attend my first park-organised enthusiast event, which included both my first behind-the-scenes tour of a coaster and my first ERT session, especially the fact it was completely FREE! It felt like being a VIP! They didn't have to do this but they did because they care about their fans and are enthusiasts themselves. BooMT was great company in the afternoon and evening and it was lovely to get to spend time and ride with like-minded people!
It is evident wherever you go in the park that the team care about everything. Everywhere you look it's just really well-kept and maintained.
Thank you to Paulton's for advertising the event on this forum and the TS team for allowing them to do so. I wouldn't have heard about it otherwise!
As I said previously, Splash Lagoon is an excellent addition to the park. I cannot wait for Ghostly Mannor next year and the intriguing Viking area in 2026. I might live far away (wish I lived closer!) but can guarantee that it won't be another 7 years before I visit again. It would be great if Paulton's did more events like this in the future, and I'm sure they will.
I also cannot finish this report without mentioning the wonderful staff. They are all so lovely and it is abundantly clear that they love their jobs. Everyone we spoke to and interacted with was so warm and chatty!
To end this trip report, Paulton's Park is criminally underrated and the UK's best family theme park in my opinion. It is great that they dipped their toes into the thrill market with Cyclonator and I hope that continues, they truly offer something for the whole family. If you haven't visited before, what are you waiting for?! I highly recommend you visit this year if you can.
Thank you for reading my trip report of the Paulton's Park Theme Park Super Fans Day event and Splash Lagoon opening, and I hope you enjoyed it!
My dad and I set off from Sheffield at 7 am, and after a short stop around halfway, arrived at the park just before 12pm. With our tickets already in hand we headed to the turnstiles and entered the park! I would be riding alone though for the most part as he can't ride much anymore. I've tried to remember the exact ride order as best as I can, but readers of my past reports will know that my memory can deceive me!
Once inside the park I decided to head towards Cobra, Edge and Magma. This area does stick out like a sore thumb nowadays but is a good reminder of what the park was like before Peppa Pig came in. It could well be on the list for future development though.
Magma
First up and with only a short wait (that will become a common theme!) was this SBF Visa drop tower. When I got on we did have to wait a few minutes for more riders to come. Unlike a certain reptile-themed one at another park, this is actually very good and the drops are quite big. You get some excellent views from the top as well. Is funny how they have to connect a wire to the gondola to unlock the restraints, though. That's SBF Visa for you.
Cobra
Next up was this excellent Gerstlauer Bobsled coaster. Only a few people ahead of me again and I was on in a couple of minutes. Might not be themed but the coaster is very fun and surprisingly forceful in parts, especially the hairpin turns (you really do have to brace for them!), and very re-rideable too. If themed in the future it could become one of the best coasters in the park in my opinion.
After Cobra I went to Edge which also had a short queue, but it turned out that it was having technical difficulties so I decided to have lunch.
Lunch finished, we decided to head to the nearby Raging River, which was one of the few Dad felt he could ride.
Raging River
This Reverchon travelling two-drop log flume is certainly not unique, but still fun and you do get fairly wet (although not as wet as the new one, more on that shortly). Walk-on for us, as well!
After a light sprinkle, I decided to head into Dinosaur territory. Lost Kingdom!
Flight of the Pterosaur
It was nice to get back on this Vekoma Family Suspended Coaster, still the only one in the UK! After another short wait, I was batched onto row three. Soaring high over the paths is very fun and you come surprisingly close to some of the supports on the elevated helix! A good, solid family coaster.
And now, finally time for the newest ride...
Splash Lagoon
Splash Lagoon was on 10 minutes, so (as @Matt N would say!) I decided to give it a go. First impressions, this ride looks beautiful. I'm not going to doubt for even a second that Paultons will upkeep this, as this is them we are talking about! The entrance to the ride looks nice, and the external queue is well-landscaped and pretty with foliage all around. The bridge to the station gives a nice view of the ride before you board, and there is a small switchback in the station. There is audio all around the area which is excellent, really makes it feel even more immersive. Before long it was time to board, the boats seat up to either one adult and one child or three children, and bags must be taken on ride (same with Raging River). The boats look really nice, very colourful!
The journey to the lift hill takes you through an arching fountain, like the ones on Gruffalo at Chessy. I did get dripped on a bit but not too bad. You also go past animatronic dinos. Yep you read that right! There is so much to see. Up the lift hill and you are held at the top while the prior boat clears the splashdown. The turnaround takes you past a lookout tower, which was actually built in-house by the park's own maintenance team! They did a great job and I hope they build more in the future. Now the drop, it's not big of course but you still get a bit of speed, and you do feel the hump as well. You do get quite wet, even more so than Raging River in my opinion! My trousers were fairly damp but the surprisingly warm weather dried them off in no time.
When I was in the queue I saw a techie walking along the course and a couple of times he (very carefully) crossed the trough! Not sure what he was doing but it was interesting to watch. Fun fact, during the talk we were told that originally the splash was much bigger and had to be toned down!
Splash Lagoon is an excellent addition to Paulton's and the fact that it was only a minor investment is mindblowing. If you're an adult without a child (or an adult with children who can ride together), don't be afraid to give it a go! Not once did I feel awkward when queuing or on the ride, and I rarely do kids' rides these days. This is definitely a family ride in my opinion though, and an excellent one at that! So glad I got to ride it on its opening day.
Photos from Theme Park Nation Facebook- Edited by myself for the privacy of others featured
After a moist expedition on the Lagoon, I backtracked a bit for the area's shuttle coaster, which was walk-on!
Velociraptor
No queue at all for this Vekoma Family Boomerang, straight into the station and into the front row air gate! These are always fun and enjoyable, and it was nice to get back on it.
Now, I don't usually do kids' coasters these days, but exiting Velociraptor I walked past Dino Chase and saw it was also completely walk-on, so thought why not?
Dino Chase
To be fair it does look nice with the dino theme and associated foliage and landscaping, and as it was quiet I didn't feel awkward or anything. A nice starter coaster for kids and a bonus credit for me.
After Dino Chase I headed to quite possibly the strangest-themed area in the UK (in a good way of course!), Critter Creek.
Cat-O-Pillar
Another short wait here, a fun family coaster with wacky theming. A nice one to do!
After exiting the land of hybrid creatures, we decided to head to the animals through Peppa Pig World. it was unsurprisingly the busiest area of the park and is what helped Paulton's become who they are today. In the evening talk, they told us that before PP they were averaging around 500,000 visitors a year, and PP doubled that to 1 million!
We went to see the meerkats and other creatures in Wild Lands, and discovered that the talk and feed were due to start so stayed around for that, then we went around the other side of PP World to the Penguins. Now, I took this photo for my best friend who loves penguins, but when looking at it later on I noticed that the enclosure is looking a little tired, especially the blue wall at the back.
Bit of a shame given that the rest of the park looks really nice, hopefully Paulton's will give it a refresh in the future.
After the animals, we decided it was time to take a leisurely train ride around the park.
Rio Grande Train
There was no one in front of us when we got to the gate but the train was just leaving, so we waited for it to return. This is a nice relaxing round trip that gets you excellent views of Tornado Springs!
Whilst riding the train I spotted Farmyard Flyer cycling, and remembered that it wasn't listed to be open during our upcoming ERT (as it would turn out, it was open during ERT but I didn't get around to it so I'm glad I did it when I did), so thought I'd head into Tornado Springs and ride it next.
Now, I must say Tornado Spings looks absolutely incredible. There are details everywhere, one of my favourites is the traffic lights hanging above the pathway which constantly change! It really does make your jaw drop when you enter for the first time. There is audio all around the area as well which is great. Possibly the best themed area in the UK!
Farmyard Flyer
Is this the UK's best-themed kids coaster? Quite possibly. It looks fantastic, from the train (with the spinning propeller!) to the station and the theming around the ride. The ride itself is quite fun as well!
After a nice flight on Farmyard Flyer, I saw Storm Chaser was on a 5-minute wait so even though I'd get to ride it during the ERT later I couldn't resist!
Storm Chaser
I was so looking forward to finally riding Storm Chaser! It looks great, with the yellow track (my favourite colour!) and the theming around it. The queue line is nice and it makes a change to see a coaster queue line that's mostly indoors! The indoor section has audio playing as well which is nice.
Going into the station, I saw a space in the first bay so got a front-row ride for my first go (although of course it's a spinning coaster so I wasn't at the front for long)! It was awesome, it's surprisingly intense (that helix!) and super fun, and perfect for the park. The restraints are really comfortable as well. Stay tuned for an awesome behind-the-scenes look later on!
After surviving the storm, I decided to head back towards Cobra for a reride, but stopped off in Lost Kingdom on the way for another ride on Flight of The Pterosaur. This turned out to be my longest queue of the day so far, at 15 minutes! Row 9 this time, second from the back. Felt even faster than earlier, being pulled by the front cars.
Exiting FoTT I bumped into @BooMT and her +1, who were heading to a ride which I'd not done yet, so I decided to join them.
Dinosaur Tour Co
This was walk-on for us, and is a nice little Jeep safari past the dinosaurs with a good audio commentary. A ride that the whole family can do together!
Now, a funny thing happened when we got back to the station... it has a separate offload area which is a fair distance from onload, and there was only one member of staff. When we stopped it took us a good while to get the doors open, I think the op shouted over instructions but it still took a bit of time.
Think you had to pull/push and twist the handle, but can't quite remember. The girls got their door open first (they were in the front driving, with me in the back) and had to let me out as I was still struggling. Would have been better to have an offload host in my opinion.
After riding alone for most of the day it was nice to have company! With the event meeting time slowly approaching I suggested we headed for a ride on Cobra, which was walk-on this time for me, then we did Magma as well which was also walk-on.
Then, at last, it was time to head to Tornado Springs to check in for the event activities! First up was a behind-the-scenes tour of either Storm Chaser, Flight of the Pterosaur or Cobra. We chose Storm Chaser, and waited near the staff member with the awesome sign.
Storm Chaser Tour
Photo from Theme Park Nation Facebook
We were led into the maintenance bay, and at first it was quite crowded but eventually some people left for the other tours or upcoming ERT. It was great talking to the awesome engineers, who showed us some of the bits and pieces (like the wampflers!), and we could even manually spin the cars of the train that was down there by pushing them, which was cool. After a while we heard that they were about to switch the trains over (it was only running one train given how low the waits were).
Storm Chaser has a lift system as the mech bay is underneath the station, like the Big One in Blackpool. We all stood well back and watched it slowly rise up! It is very cool to see and there is a surprising amount of space in the room once it's fully up (when it's down you have to go around one side of it). Whilst talking to one of the staff I asked if we could see the op cabin (you don't ask, you don't get, as she said), and once the train change had finished she very kindly took us upstairs via the queue line (there's only one door to the mech bay, from the plaza, and the cabin is on the load side). Was quite strange walking past everyone on the steps as the ERT had just started, and I think people were confused but one person twigged and guessed where we were heading (could hear them telling their group).
We entered the cabin just as the op was dispatching the first train of the event (he tailored the dispatch announcements to the event which was great!), and he was very happy to talk to us and answer questions between dispatches. The area where the panel is located is raised up a bit so you do get a good view from there. We saw the tablet which they use to control the wait time boards which was cool, and the CCTV unit.
After leaving the cabin (there was a queue of people waiting to enter, started by us!) we hesitated for a second then decided to jump on for a ride. What else were we supposed to do?! Front car, and backwards for me. It's quite daunting going up the lift backwards, not being able to see where you're going.
Leaving Storm Chaser, with the ERT in full swing, we bumped into Joe from Theme Park Insanity who joined us for a few rides. First up was the Zamperla Discovery 30.
Cyclonator
I was quite nervous whilst waiting to board (looking back, more than I should have been), but BooMT was great at keeping me calm both before and during the ride (thanks!). Now, I'm 6ft 2 and a slim build and found the seats quite difficult to get into, they're very narrow and quite deep. The restraints lower automatically once everyone is seated (pretty sure that was my first experience of an automatically lowering shoulder harness), and the hole was barely big enough for my head
. You do need to sit right back when they're closing and opening.It takes a little while to get going but when it does it's actually quite intense but fun as well. Did make me feel a little queasy but I managed it. I had done two other gyro swings before and Cyclonator is certainly the best themed! It really does look fantastic, the details are brilliant. Is it one of the UK's best-themed flat rides? Absolutely.
Would definitely ride it again, probably once per day. The restraint was very tight though, and I think it didn't like me as it kept getting even tighter during the ride
.Windmill Towers
Next up was Windmill Towers, a new flat ride type for me! This has two towers with gondolas that bounce up and down them. The four of us decided to split into pairs, with two on each tower, although we had to sit separately as it's one adult per side. The ride was quite jolty actually, and to be honest I didn't really enjoy it that much. Not something I'd rush back to but the theming is great again.
Buffalo Falls
I had walked past this four-lane dinghy slide earlier in the day, and it had one of the longer posted waits at 20 minutes, but it was walk-on for the ERT! It packs a surprising punch, and you may get a bit of airtime like I did. You go surprisingly fast as well. Now, there is no staff member at the bottom and you have to pick the boats up yourself and plonk them on the return conveyor. They're pretty big and heavy, and it does take a lot of effort. Fun though! A good ride that you can do with your mates, and one that I would have liked to have done more than once. You don't get too wet either.
After braving the Falls, Joe disappeared and the rest of us decided to do one last ride on Storm Chaser as I had yet to do the back car. Heading up there was only a few people in the station, and we headed to the back. There were two techies in the last air gate waiting to grab a ride (don't blame them, it's a perk of the job!), so I took the forward row of car four and the girls sat opposite in the back of car three. You get pulled through the layout by the rest of the train, and it was flying!
Exiting Storm Chaser, it was time for the buffet in the Route 83 Diner, which was serving things like burgers, hot dogs, chicken wings and chicken strips. I am not surprised it has won awards before, the food really is excellent! I had chicken strips and chips, and I found the former quite spicy but that's just me. The Diver looks fantastic as well, with details everywhere!
Lunch finished, it was time to head to the open-air theatre for the talk and Q&A. I won't go into detail as it's all being discussed in the Paulton's thread, but it's safe to say that the park's future is looking very bright and I cannot wait for 2025 (and 2026...)! Ghostly Manor will certainly be unique for the UK!
After the talk finished, myself and BooMT met a few fellow TS members in @Rowe, @Cheese and @sock. Was lovely to meet you all!
Eventually me and my dad said goodbye to the girls and we headed out of the park to our hotel (Premier Inn), which was just a short drive away. Took a little while to find it as the entrance was kind of hidden, but we eventually got there. We checked in, got our room key, found our room, then nope. Wouldn't let us in. Went back to reception and they gave us a new card and said it was a known problem with the key cards
. Returned to the room, still nope, so back to reception. Another new card, and the staff member came with us this time. Bingo! third time lucky and we were in. The staff member was great, really helpful and apologetic. BooMT might be glad that she changed her hotel the day before .After breakfast the next morning (was extremely busy, a little too busy for my liking), we set off home, ending an excellent weekend away.
Final ride count:
Storm Chaser 3
Magma 2
Flight of the Terrasaur 2
Cobra 2
Buffalo Falls 1
Cyclonator 1
Windmill Towers 1
Splash Lagoon 1
Velociraptor 1
Dino Chase 1
Dinosaur Tour Co 1
Rio Grande Train 1
Cat-o-pillar 1
Raging River 1
Farmyard Flyer 1
Conclusion
I had been wanting to return to Paulton's Park ever since my first visit 7 years ago, and cannot thank them and LizLean PR enough for the opportunity to do just that and also attend my first park-organised enthusiast event, which included both my first behind-the-scenes tour of a coaster and my first ERT session, especially the fact it was completely FREE! It felt like being a VIP! They didn't have to do this but they did because they care about their fans and are enthusiasts themselves. BooMT was great company in the afternoon and evening and it was lovely to get to spend time and ride with like-minded people!
It is evident wherever you go in the park that the team care about everything. Everywhere you look it's just really well-kept and maintained.
Thank you to Paulton's for advertising the event on this forum and the TS team for allowing them to do so. I wouldn't have heard about it otherwise!
As I said previously, Splash Lagoon is an excellent addition to the park. I cannot wait for Ghostly Mannor next year and the intriguing Viking area in 2026. I might live far away (wish I lived closer!) but can guarantee that it won't be another 7 years before I visit again. It would be great if Paulton's did more events like this in the future, and I'm sure they will.
I also cannot finish this report without mentioning the wonderful staff. They are all so lovely and it is abundantly clear that they love their jobs. Everyone we spoke to and interacted with was so warm and chatty!
To end this trip report, Paulton's Park is criminally underrated and the UK's best family theme park in my opinion. It is great that they dipped their toes into the thrill market with Cyclonator and I hope that continues, they truly offer something for the whole family. If you haven't visited before, what are you waiting for?! I highly recommend you visit this year if you can.
Thank you for reading my trip report of the Paulton's Park Theme Park Super Fans Day event and Splash Lagoon opening, and I hope you enjoyed it!
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