After coming home from Paultons, I've decided I'm going to take a stab at a slightly longer review of Valgard. Let me start with the area and wider theming...
The Area/Theming
Overall, I think they've done a lovely job with the area! The theming is all absolutely lovely, and they've finished it off very well! In terms of a few specific points of interest:
- There are some very nice details around! One of my particular favourites was the sheep "powering" the lift hill for Drakon, but I thought that there was loads to look at!
- As someone who wrote a post a few days ago remarking that Paultons' theming lacked theatre and pizzazz, I do have to concede that Drakon is somewhat of an improvement in this regard; I was particularly surprised by the pre-lift section, which is very nicely done!
- People (myself included) griped for years about Cobra being unthemed and lacking atmosphere, and it looks a damn sight better now; they've done an absolutely brilliant job with Raven! Even just having the themed queue and station and little bits like the clock towers in the middle and the area around it has enhanced the overall atmosphere no end!
- The Feasting Hall is an absolutely excellent indoor space, with some lovely details and a beautiful interior finish. I particularly liked the big fireplace and the big viking ship!
- I didn't really notice The Edge not being cohesively themed in; as much as including it would have been nice, it's tucked away somewhat and I don't think it sticks out like too much of a sore thumb.
- One minor gripe I would raise is that I think Drakon could maybe have used some theming that interacted slightly more with the ride and/or was slightly more visible to riders. When queueing, you can see some nice details in the ride area, including a shipwreck that lights up with some fake fire and some spikes, but I don't think these are terribly noticeable when on the ride; after the initial interaction with Raven, it does feel a tad like you're riding over some generic nice landscaping. I think more visible theming interactions from on-ride in the vein of Storm Chaser and Pterosaur in the same park or Raven in the same area, or Merlin coasters like Nemesis, Swarm and Wicker Man, might have been nice.
All in all, though, I think it's a lovely area and continues Paultons' streak of very nicely detailed and finished off areas. The park are certainly onto another winner alongside Lost Kingdom and Tornado Springs, and compared to an area like Drayton Manor's 2022 attempt at Vikings, I think it's absolutely night and day!
Let me now move onto the main event...
Drakon
I was highly critical of Paultons building a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter and have made no secret of the fact that it was far from my first choice of coaster for the park. Having ridden it, I do maintain that it maybe wouldn't have been my first choice and it has not converted me to Euro-Fighters as a ride type in a drastic way, but I acknowledge that it is a good coaster and I think it will go down well with the audience, and that I was perhaps overly harsh at points in the build-up period. To raise a few specific points of interest:
- The stall does offer some very good hangtime. I'm quite surprised that Paultons went for such a dramatic inversion on their first ever inverting coaster, but I'm a fan of it and think it works well (or would if it weren't for the restraints... more on that later).
- I always like the drop on these Gerstlauer Euro-Fighters, and this one is no exception; it offers some nice airtime!
- The ride is definitely much smoother than I'd feared it might be; the tracking was generally very smooth throughout on my rides with minimal rattle or headbanging, although there were still odd sections where my head made mild, brief contact with the restraints.
- The ride is perhaps the least intense of the Euro-Fighters I've ridden, and I wouldn't call it an especially forceful or impactful coaster on the whole even if I think the layout is mostly good fun. For the park, I think this works well, but I thought it was worth pointing out.
- The first hill going over Raven doesn't really offer any notable airtime, which I was a little disappointed by. I understand that it probably had to be a certain height to clear Raven, but Gerstlauer, for all their flaws, are often quite good at injecting surprise airtime pops into their thrill coasters and a small part of me was hoping that it would be another surprise airtime burst from Gerst!
- The ride also doesn't really have any airtime more widely aside from the drop, so doesn't continue Gerstlauer's tradition of incorporating good surprising airtime moments. I wasn't necessarily surprised by this given the layout, but I do think this is something that Saw, Speed and Smiler do better.
- The main flaw I would raise, and a criticism that I 100% stand by from when the ride was initially announced, is that I think the OTSRs impede the ride and I would have preferred it with lap bars. On my 3 rides, I found that the OTSRs crushed my thighs and made the stall in particular somewhat uncomfortable. I begrudgingly accept the reasoning for OTSRs, but don't necessarily agree with the logic and think that some nice lap bars, as I know Gerstlauer offer, would definitely have made the ride more fun.
All in all, then, I think Drakon, while not my first choice, is a fun coaster that will suit the park well. It's a very welcome step up in thrill from Paultons Park, and I think the younger guests will like it! In terms of comparisons, it's currently my highest-ranking Gerstlauer thrill coaster for the reason that it's more comfortable to ride than the others, although as I said, it didn't convert me to Euro-Fighters in a drastic way and I've settled on a 6/10 and #49/148 overall. I still personally rank Pterosaur, Storm Chaser and Raven slightly higher within the park.
Finally, I'll briefly touch on Vild Swing...
Vild Swing
I'd never ridden one of these ART wild swings before, so I was interested to get on one for the first time. All in all, I'd say it was OK, but nothing to write home about as someone who's not a big fan of flat rides. The swinging is quite good fun, and early on, none of the sensations feel overly intense, but I would say that the cycle was maybe a bit long for me and I was starting to wear of the repetitive rotating motion by the end. If you’re keener on flats than I am, though, I think you’ll like it!
So all in all, then, I’d say Valgard is a great addition to Paultons Park! The theming is delightful, Drakon is overall a fun coaster that will suit the audience well, and if you’re more of a fan of flat rides than I am, then I think you’ll enjoy Vild Swing! I also think Serpent’s Curse looks like it will be a fun addition for next year!
To close out the review, here are a few photos I took throughout the day:
