New attractions at Paultons Park

[Heth]

As an enthusiast I am disappointed.

But, we are not who this park is for.

This is a local park primarily aimed at families with kids below the age of 10. The aim of this ride is to deliver a slight upgrade to their current thrills to younger thrillseeker, maybe aged 12-13. They are not discerning of the difference between a Mack Big Dipper and a Gerst Eurofighter. This ride delivers that for a modest budget. Let's not forget that up until this ride EVERY coaster at the park is an off-the-shelf clone or standard model.

 

[noojas]

Its just slightly annoying they could've done much much better things that would have fit the park so much better, and also WHEN ARE THEY GETTING A LAUCNH COASTER imo this coaster should have been a launch, I was 100% expecting the result to be a Hot Racer - Do you guys have any opinions on why Mancy chose this instead of a launch - maybe he thinks it won't fit the park?

Maybe because the launch coaster is coming in 2027?

 

[Heth]

I should add that I'm a parent myself, and whilst the coaster hardware there is not the most amazing as an enthusiast...

- the park is clean and tidy,
- the rides all work and are well maintained
- the food is delicious
- there's no upselling fastpass or parking

... Sure, Thorpe and Alton have better coasters, but I'll tell you which park I'd rather spend the day at.

This Eurofighter isn't want I wanted, but given the budget it sounds like they're delivering a lot within that, and it sounds like it's a good investment.

 

[Coastiesaurus]

I should add that I'm a parent myself, and whilst the coaster hardware there is not the most amazing as an enthusiast...

- the park is clean and tidy,
- the rides all work and are well maintained
- the food is delicious
- there's no upselling fastpass or parking

... Sure, Thorpe and Alton have better coasters, but I'll tell you which park I'd rather spend the day at.

This Eurofighter isn't want I wanted, but given the budget it sounds like they're delivering a lot within that, and it sounds like it's a good investment.

Yep, if you are an out and out coaster enthusiast then the choice of a Gerstlaeur Eurofighter is understandably disappointing. But for the park’s target market of families and generally speaking non-thoosies, this is a good development. For me personally, if the choice of this ride model means that they are able to invest more in the rest of the area then that makes me happy. It’s the overall experience that works so well at Paultons, as you explain in your list. I have never had a bad day at Paultons and all of their existing rides are what you would describe as ‘standard’ models. But that’s just me, I’m somebody that prefers immersive themed experiences over pure thrills.

For what it’s worth, I think there are signs that the park is becoming a bit more adventurous… their first dark ride this year and their first custom layout coaster next year….it’s baby steps admittedly but that seems to be how the park’s management team (who clearly have their heads screwed on correctly) operate. I love that this park is just 20 mins up the road for me!

 

[Graeme]

I don't think it's bad, it's just not to my taste.

Personally, I'd have loved another family-thrill coaster, like Mecalodon, Juvelen or a woodie. And I know a lot of us were expecting a less intimidating "extreme" coaster like a Hot Racer or perhaps a Titan Track GCI. I know people who are scared of inversions, and ones like barrel rolls are definitely less off-putting for them.

But, clearly, they don't want to do that, and actually want a "true extreme" coaster, rather than a slight step-up from what they've got. I know people who still call the park "Peppa Pig World", and I guess they want to make it even more obvious it's not. With Drakon, they are aiming at a completely new audience that isn't currently visiting.

With this in mind, I'd agree with those who say there wasn't much choice other than a Euro Fighter. I've even said myself, if I had a seaside amusement park, I'd ask Gerstlauer to make me one with a 45-degree lift. I'm not even bothered by the OTSRs, as the layout looks very modern and I suspect it will have good profiling.

But I just think the vertical lift and drop are two of the most intimidating things you can get on a coaster. And although it's very, very rare, Rage has broken down on the lift hill a few times recently, which wouldn't be fun if you were riding at the time. The stall even might be a bit off-putting, to a lesser extent.

So, I hope it works for the park, but it's not for me.

 

[Tonkso]

A park gets a new major investment that represents a major step-up in their offering and people complain. This community sometimes!!

 

[Matt N]

It is great that we’re getting a new thrill coaster in a UK park that has never done one before. It absolutely is, and I think it’s a brilliant step for Paultons to be doing something like this!

I’m also sure that the area will be very nice and well-themed. Tornado Springs is, and Lost Kingdom is, so I have no reason to believe that Valgard won’t be equally well-themed if not more so! The flat ride looks fun, and the promise of another major investment in 2027 is incredibly exciting!

However, Paultons has shown a lot of promise and clearly wants to enter the UK big leagues. And if they want to enter those big leagues, I feel they should be critiqued accordingly. I can’t help but feel that this addition would have had a lot more criticism were it being built at any other major UK park apart from Paultons. Had this exact ride and land been announced for Chessington World of Adventures, for example (a park with a similar target demographic to Paultons), I think the choice would have been absolutely slated, even had it been built instead of Mandrill Mayhem in 2023 and been the park’s first inverting coaster like Drakon will be for Paultons.

For me, I question whether this was the best choice of headline attraction, even for Paultons’ likely budget range. To really grow as a park, I feel that Paultons should be going for things that make them stand out from the competition. Is a ride very similar to one that’s existed at Adventure Island in Southend for 18 years and Thorpe Park just an hour up the road in Surrey for 16 years really going to do that? I’m not so sure. I think “unambitious” would be overly harsh given that Paultons are a non-corporate UK park that are investing very, very well, but I think this is an incredibly conservative installation from a park where I was perhaps hoping for something a bit more innovative, unique and/or ambitious. There must be other, similarly budget-friendly thrill coaster models that would have brought something unique and innovative to the UK table, surely? Even if Paultons were to repeat their usual tactic of browsing stock models?

That’s also before we get into the fact that Euro-Fighters can often be quite uncomfortable and are arguably a bit… 2000s (?) as a ride type. All of the parks that have more recently installed them (e.g. Tivoli Friheden, Glenwood Caverns, La Recre de 3 Cures) are of a much lower calibre than Paultons, I would argue, with a lot of mid-size to bigger parks that installed them doing so 15-20 years ago. I personally disagree with the park’s justification of OTSRs (although I acknowledge that they probably have data backing this up), and I can’t help but feel that the ride might feel a bit dated compared to other contemporary ride installations for a similar demographic in the UK.

If, say, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach had announced a Euro-Fighter (nothing against GYPB at all, but they are a smaller calibre of UK park than Paultons), I would happily join the praise chorus and say that it was a brilliant installation. That would be a legitimate step up for them compared to anything else they own, and would be a brilliant lynchpin thrill ride for them! But when Paultons has been doing such savvy, high-quality coaster installations in the family and family thrill coaster space for a good decade now, and showing such promise and such a growth mindset, I can’t help but hope for a bit more. This doesn’t feel like a savvy, high-quality investment like some of their previous ones; for a major UK park, a Euro-Fighter feels at least 10-15 years behind the curve as opposed to being a modern, savvy install that puts in something brilliant for Paultons’ budget and propels them up a further step like some of their previous coaster installations.

I’m not complaining for the sake of it. Paultons as a park definitely has great potential, this area looks excellent, and the promise of another major ride in 2027 is very exciting! However, I feel that universal praise where I feel there are critiques to air would be unfair, and if Paultons wants to enter the big leagues of UK parks, I feel they should be critiqued in a manner befitting of the big leagues of UK parks. It’s not because I want to be negative or moan for the sake of it, it’s because Paultons shows so much potential and has such a growth mindset and I want the very best for them.

I say all of this while trying desperately to be objective and cast aside the fact that I’m not personally a massive fan of Euro-Fighters… I hope I’ve succeeded!

 

[Nicky Borrill]

So we think that a Eurofighter might be too scary... But a single rail coaster, in which kids would be expected to sit alone, would have been fine.

Not a chance... No way my kids would have sat alone on an "upside down" coaster until their mid to older teens... By that point, they could and would ride anything.

Whatever we think about a Eurofighter, at least they potentially make that first upside down thrill experience a whole family experience, with rows of 4 people. Not the only ride type to do that, I know, but definitely a better choice for families than "Here little jimmy, sit tight, all alone, this machine is going to toss you around and spin you upside down... We'll meet you after the ride back here."

 

[Kingda kas ghost]

I’m not that upset with a eurofighter tbh, yes there are others in the UK, but are the same people going to adventure island and thorpe going to paultons? Apart from thoosies? I think it works for them, and it looks to be a good custom layout, so I’m not going to cry over it.

Side note-are there any other eurofighters with a 1.25 hight restriction? If there isn’t, could there be a new style of OTSRs for this ride?

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Shellraiser is listed on coasterpedia as 48 inches... 1.21M

 

[PaultonsLover]

Don't forget the vertical lift, would you kids like to be hanging on something that seem unsafe to one who doesn't know how these things work, if they really wanted it to fit the kids they wouldn't have got a vertical lift.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Don't forget the vertical lift, would you kids like to be hanging on something that seem unsafe to one who doesn't know how these things work, if they really wanted it to fit the kids they wouldn't have got a vertical lift.

They'd take a vertical lift over riding alone... They won't have any clue how weird that vertical lift is until they've done it... They'll know immediately that they don't want to sit alone.

 

[PaultonsLover]

Okay, sorry just thought that could be an issue with some youngers - but still I feel they shouldn't target children for this area for once.

 

[Niles]

The thing is that Mack Big Dippers over eurofighters are only a big draw for us and we are such a minor part of the visiting numbers that no park in their right mind would care.

True but to me Paultons did care, Storm Chaser could have been a stock Maurer or Zamperla spinner but they went for a more costly, higher quality, unique to the UK spinner.

The GP wouldn't know the difference at all. And it's just us and the more well informed out there who have any idea.

They wouldn't but thats not a reason to give the customer a lesser product, imagine if it was a Zamperla Thunderbolt, thats very similar to a Eurofighter but no one wants that. Paultons is an expensive day out i feel like a bit more of a high quality experience is justifiable.

I understand thier reasoning for OTSR and a Eurofighter but i think that at minimum just a lap bar restraint would have raised the quality of the experience vastly. Considering Lawrence is an enthusiast its an interesting choice.

 

[roomraider]

Merlin builds tallest fastest coaster in the UK in 2024. Said coaster is modern, unique and truly thrilling. Merlin gets called a "travesty."

Paultons build a small Eurofighter (lol, what is this, 2009?!) and gets...praised for it?

Now, I understand there's a bit of a David and Goliath perpective here. Where Merlin is viewed as the big corporate giant, and Paultons is the plucky lil independent park. I understand why people want to root for Paultons.

But if this coaster were being built at any other UK park, I feel the reaction would be far more (rightfully) critical.

It's just a bit of a wasted opportunity, isn't it? You have the rare chance to build a big new coaster and you purchase a model so un-remarkably common that it can be found in Southend, ffs.

From a marketing perspective, a single rail coaster would have been far more unique and eye-catching.

I would also argue that a Hot Racer is far less intimidating to kids than a Eurofighter beyond vertical drop is. Plus, Hot Racers look like toys, making the inversion aspect way more approachable.

A single rail would have made Paultons stand out. A Eurofighter doesn't.

But then, Paultons has never really been about standing out in the first place. I'm not going to knock Paultons for playing it so painfully safe, because that's what this park always does and it works for them. Can't mock the formula.

There is a bit of David Vs Goliath here but I kind of disagree with everything you said I'm sorry.

If this ride was built at any other UK park it would have been criticised? It's all about context. If it had been built at Alton then sure maybe, but it basically has been built at 3 other UK parks and I don't remember them being massively criticised? If this had been built at Chessington instead of Paultons and it had had the same attention to detail with the themeing my reaction would have been the same. But we all know Merlin wouldn't spend the money on the themeing.

As for Hyperia... Well now you've got me started

If we want to talk about wasted opportunities then Hyperia is the king. While Merlin did build the tallest fastest coaster in the UK they also built the shortest hyper coaster on the planet in terms of length Vs height and removed one of the better themed areas at thorpe for a gold temu watch presentation box.



Hyperia is the biggest wasted opportunity I think I've ever seen in a UK park.
Sure it's a decent ride (although personally it's not even the best ride in the park for me) but i haven't been back since my first rides and I'd much rather spend the little extra time it takes to ride Kondaa, a much better ride in every single department.

Merlin are a travesty. They cut the budget until they had a sub standard hypercoaster that just took the record and themed it to gold.

/Rant over.

I can see why people wanted a single rail but it was never going to happen at a park aimed so much at families that doesn't have a proper thrill coaster yet.

The big thing about single rail coasters is you ride alone and exposed, an awful awful ride type for a ride that presumably the park wants little'uns to be their first thrill coaster. Where kids will want to ride with parents to hold their hand when they go upside down for the first time.

Single rails are very much the next step up and Walibi Rhone Alps a park also mainly aimed at kids seemingly understood this they built theirs after they had built Mystic. A much better grading of steps up.

There is something else to take into account here as to why it's not some of the other options and it's a reason we enthusiasts very rarely think about because it's mostly behind the scenes.

There were other possibly better options, one of those Intamin launched juniors they've been pushing perhaps, or a big dipper, but with how full up Intamin's and Macks books are right now we certainly wouldn't be getting anything this year. (If the 2027 ride is indeed a Mack Water Coaster, I highly suspect the reason it's opening a year later than the rest of the area would be because of how few slots Mack have for rides at the moment, I know for a fact one major coaster in the US that was planned to be a Mack but they didn't have the manufacturing capacity to get the ride built the year the park wanted and now it's been built by someone else)

 

[DJ Tripper]

Some children would definitely be more frightened of the vertical lift than sitting alone. I know my daughter would.
I uderstand the disappointment of us enthusiasts and also the reasoned arguments that people make as to why it's a sensible option for the park but personally I question if it really is sensible. I doubt it is just us enthusiasts that don't really like this ride type. Yes the general public don't have all the geeky knowledge and are probably a little less obsessed with rides being smooth but Eurofighters aren't a fun experience and I can't imagine the GP will go back to Paultons repeatedly to ride this thing like they may have done with a fun single-rail coaster that offered some good airtime. Hope they got it at a good price and it works out for them as I can't see this increasing visitor numbers significantly.

 

[CoasterCrazy]

At the end of the day, even though they've expanded rapidly recently, Paulton's is a small park with a small budget and a relatively small amount of space. They've got a history of doing a lot with a little, and this new addition continues that trend.

Let's not forget many of the models we'd rather see (family woodie, tyre/lsm launch coaster) would have much larger footprints, making integrating them into a contiguous themed area harder and more costly. A Eurofighter really ticks all the boxes for a compact thrill coaster. Whilst I disagree with their logic, OSTRs do a great job of providing a sense of security whilst demonstrating the ride represents a step up from the other rides at the park. This is a perfect ride for kids to use as their first "big" roller coaster.

Their next addition definitely needs to be a water ride of some description. But after that, hopefully they've left enough space to build something bigger, maybe with most of the layout beyond park boundaries. And once they've stopped expanding for a second, maybe I could even go and visit!

 

[Matt N]

I don’t know. Perhaps I’m being overly picky and looking at it through an overly “enthusiast” lens, and will see the rationale behind this choice once it’s up and running, but I’m struggling to see how this is the ideal choice for Paultons’ budget, calibre and audience at present.

Maybe I am being unfair on them. But when the range of options for accessible, low budget thrill coasters have increased so much in recent years, and Paultons has built such savvy, high-quality installations for the last decade (a trend which Ghostly Manor sounds as though it continues), this does feel out of step, and I’m struggling to see the rationale behind it.

 

[Serena]

There is a bit of David Vs Goliath here but I kind of disagree with everything you said I'm sorry.

Haha it's all good, more like David vs Serena!

But we all know Merlin wouldn't spend the money on the themeing.

...do we? Please see exhibit A:



This piece of theming is outstanding.

And if we want to go even more recent, there's the Toxicator soundtrack, voice overs and tube screens that sync perfectly with the ride cycle. And the lights in the tunnel that change.

As for Hyperia, we all know it's hard to theme a coaster over 200ft. No one expects a hyper to be fully themed.

Now, back to Paultons.

It's interesting to hear how important it is for families to sit together. This was admittedly not something I had considered, but interestingly it didn't seem to be an issue for all the kids riding the single rail at Luna Park Sydney when I was there. I guess it's completely subjective, to some kids it will matter, but others maybe not.

So, with that in mind, what ride model would have struck the perfect balance of: sitting together but delivering a relatively cheap, modern, unique 1.2 height, inverting family thrill coaster experience in the UK?

Maybe a new gen Vekoma? Maybe a ride like Lynet at Farup?

On another note, there's a difference between critiquing and complaining.

I'm not complaining that Paultons are getting a new coaster. Good for them. They just opened a shooty dark ride when other parks are removing guns on rides. So you know...that's just how Paultons roll, isn't it. They're a small local park they can afford to be a bit behind on the times because they're not trying to attract visitors from all over. I was never expecting them to build something to my extreme tastes. That's not what the issue is here.

I'm just surprised they didn't get something more marketable? I also would have loved to see a theme a bit more unique to the UK than vikings.

Side note: with a fourth Eurofighter being built in the UK, will that make it the most common extreme ride type we have in this country?

 

[Nicky Borrill]

So, with that in mind, what ride model would have struck the perfect balance of: sitting together but delivering a relatively cheap, modern, unique 1.2 height, inverting family thrill coaster experience in the UK?

Maybe a new gen Vekoma? Maybe a ride like Lynet at Farup?

I think a new gen vekoma was the main one that popped into my head when I asked the question. Looking at Lech, and it's 'rumoured' price tag, something like that would possibly have been the very best option.

Maybe (with an eye on the reputation EL has earned) they decided that 2 modern vekomas was enough.