Paultons Park

History of Paultons Park

In 1979, John and Anne Mancey (Parents of the current Director, Richard Mancey) bought the derelict 500-acre Paultons Estate. They restored the gardens and the lake to their former glory and four years later, on the 17 May 1983 Paultons Park opened as a country park and bird garden.

The original park covered 140 acres, with four staff members. The attractions included an adventure playground, numerous birds and animals and the Village Life Museum, located in a converted barn.

Additional Rides and Attractions

The attractions were expanded three years after the launch, with the construction of the Rio Grande Railway, Station and Tea Rooms. Additional new attractions included The Magic Forest, Kids Kingdom and Captain Blood’s Cavern. 1988 saw the addition of the Land of the Dinosaurs, the Rabbit Ride and the Trampolines. The Astroglide and Crazy Snooker were added in 1999. The Bumper Boats, Pets corner and maze were added in 1991 and the Flying Saucer ride installed in 1992.

First Major Ride

The park's first major ride, the Runaway Train roller coaster was installed in 1993 along with the mirror maze. In 1995 visitors to Paulton Park broke the 400,000 mark when the Sky Diver was added. In 1996, the Tiny Tots playground was constructed along with a walkthrough tableau entitled The Wonderful World of Wind in the Willows. The year also saw the introduction of Santa's Wonderland, an event which has continued to run every festive season to this day.

The Tea Cup Ride became another popular addition to the park in 1997 and the following year the Percy's Playhouse play area and the Go-Karts were constructed, with the latter providing an attraction for older children.

Raging River Ride

In 1999 the park began expanding, with the addition of the half a million-pound Raging River Ride. For the new millennium, the Runaway Train ride was dismantled and replaced with the Stinger roller coaster.

2001 saw three new rides added to the park, The Pirate Ship, Viking Boats and the Dragon Ride. In recent years, the park put more emphasis on attracting older audiences. To compensate for this, two rides were built in 2002 solely for children under seven, The Digger Ride and Seal Falls. 2003 saw the addition of the excellent Wave Runner and the Flying Frog.

Two drop rides were installed in 2004, Jumping Jack for younger audiences and the taller Jumping Bean for older visitors. Also in 2004 the Bumper Boats were removed and replaced with a penguin enclosure on the same site. The Kontiki ride was built in 2005 along with the Magic Carpet.

£2million Custom Rollercoaster

In 2006, the park added the £2m custom made Cobra Rollercoaster. The new roller coaster was built on land previously unused by the park but this led to difficulties for the park due to the land status and legal rights. The Trekking Tractors ride was added in 2007 along with Gold Rush Falls.

Paultons Park 25th Anniversary

As part of the 25th Anniversary celebrations, the entrance plaza was remodelled and a Kugel ball was added. It is the largest in the UK, at 1.5 metres in diameter and weighing 6.5 tonnes. For those of you who have never seen or heard of a Kugel ball, it is a large granite sphere sitting in a spherical pocket on a pedestal supported by a thin film of water. Pressurised water flows beneath the sphere raising it slightly out of the spherical pocket. As this thin film of water suspends and lubricates the ball, it can be spun by hand. Another addition in 2008 was The Sky Swinger.

Paultons Park Rebrand

Paultons Park undertook a major rebranding project in 2009 with a new logo launched. The park's expansion also continued with the addition of The Edge ride, located next to the Cobra. Following the installation of Edge the park was told they may have to move both the Cobra and Edge after an application to grant them retrospective planning permission was narrowly turned down by the national park planning committee by seven votes to five. The area where these rides are situated is designated 'Country Park' and not 'Amusement Park' in planning terms. All other areas of the park are recognised as an amusement park and therefore have permitted development rights. After a separate application for the Cobra roller coaster ride was made, it was announced on 22 December 2009 that the Cobra had now been granted retrospective permission and could remain in its current location.

Another planning application was lodged with the New Forest National Park Planning Authority to retain the Edge ride. This application received public support and Paultons were granted permission by the New Forest National Park Planning Authority to retain the Edge ride in its current location on 16 March 2010.

The World's First Peppa Pig World

In 2010 and 2011 all efforts were put into opening the world's first Peppa Pig World. On opening, Peppa Pig World featured three large rides and several smaller rides and attractions all contained within a themed area. The area also includes the largest Peppa Pig toy shop in the world selling Peppa Pig themed merchandise. This new development was heavily promoted through the Internet, television and radio adverts. Peppa Pig World opened on 6 April 2011 and visitor numbers to the park increased from 500,000 per year to 1 million.

In 2012 the park opened a new drop and twist 25-metre tall tower ride called Magma. The ride launches out of a volcano themed mountain with an animatronic dinosaur hidden inside. Smoke and rumbling sound effects occur as the ride rises up the tower out of the volcano.

In 2013 the park opened a 4D cinema which replaced the Village Life Museum as part of a 1950 New Orleans-themed area called Show Street.

New Gateway Building

The park demolished its old entrance to make way for a new gateway building in 2014. This consisted of the Big Toy Shop and Wildwoods restaurant. New Admissions and Guest Information kiosks were also built as part of the development. The park also added a Victorian Double Decker Carousel.

In 2015, the park began a rebranding of various areas of the park. The area surrounding the Stinger and Wind in the Willows attractions were renamed Critter Creek and themed around the discovery of a number of whimsical animals and plants by Professor Stanley Blast. The Stinger roller coaster was renamed Cat-O-Pillar to reflect its new half-cat-half-caterpillar theme, and Wind in the Willows was replaced by Beastie Burrow, a live insect and amphibian exhibit. A new miniature train ride called Professor Blast's Expedition express was also installed. A four-acre area encompassing the Rabbit Ride, Astroglide, Land of the Dinosaurs and Kiddies Play Village was also cleared in order to begin development of the Lost Kingdom, a dinosaur-themed land due for completion in spring 2016.

On 17th May 2016, the park opened The Lost Kingdom, aimed at children aged 6-12. The new themed area cost £9 million to build and is home to 8 new rides and attractions.