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Paultons Park | Tornado Springs | New Area | 2021

InsomniaMelon said:
I haven’t seen the Wickerman structure so can’t talk about that.

The Marmaliser is a poor excuse for theming and was just a way of getting out of putting in proper physical theming.

The Swarm island may be good but it’s just an individual ride, as soon as you leave Swarm Island you could be on an industrial estate or a maintenance road, there is is nothing exciting about walking around Thorpe Park.

There are no themed areas in the UK that match the level of theming Paultons put into their areas and TS is no exception, in fact, it’s their best area yet.
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I completely agree... the whole park is so well kept. Even the rides which aren’t in “themed areas” have really nice planting, gardens and sculptures around them. Lost kingdom, little Africa, critter creek, PP world and now TS are all beautifully detailed and you can really appreciate the level of time and effort that has gone into them.

I hope that the Main Street gets upgraded next (as whilst it’s nice the buildings are slightly flat-faced) and would love to see additions of a proper water ride and a dark ride/indoor complex area featuring some sort of dark ride, maybe a couple of small flat rides, a restaurant and a play area ( akin to Arthur’s area at europa or bazyliszek at Legendia)
 
But you didn’t say themed areas. You said high level theming. Whether it be a single piece of theming or multiple pieces to make an area, the U.K has seen the odd few bits here and there of high level theming. Those three I mentioned being the newest outside of Paultons.

And don’t take my comment as trying to say this area is badly themed because I’m absolutely not saying that, I’d say this will possibly be the best themed area in the U.K when finished. However saying the U.K hasn’t seen any high quality theming is just untrue.
 
Ok sorry but The Swarm really isn't well themed. It's a church without a roof and an ambulance. If you think that or the Smiler have "high level theming", you need a good talking to.


The theming here for Tornado Springs is cute, and it's really refreshing to see this amount of effort put into a UK park, but... High level? It's hardly Batuu quality, is it. And if you argue, "Well it's high level for UK standards", that's not such a huge compliment, is it.
 
People here seem to be forgetting the original Amity Cove at Thorpe. The level of theming there was outstanding, and everything about it just...worked.

Sure, as the years have gone on it's been stretched out, overtaken by bland additions which don't fit the theme, etc, but in its heyday (and even now), it's miles ahead of most other themed areas in the country.

In fact, I'd be willing to say that Tornado Springs is trying to emulate what Amity Cove once was. If nothing else, Paultons have seen what can be done with the 'vintage American town hit by a disaster' motif and thought 'we can do that'.
 
I think people are forgetting that Paultons is still a small family run business. Their theming won’t be Disney standard, nowhere near really. But the fact that they are still, in my opinion, leading the way in terms of themed areas in the UK is fantastic given that their rival, Merlin, is the second largest amusement park group in the world.

Stop comparing TS to the rest of the world. It’s a fantastic addition for the UK theme park industry and is definitively one of, if not the best addition for 2020 in the UK.
 
JoshC. said:
People here seem to be forgetting the original Amity Cove at Thorpe. The level of theming there was outstanding, and everything about it just...worked.

Sure, as the years have gone on it's been stretched out, overtaken by bland additions which don't fit the theme, etc, but in its heyday (and even now), it's miles ahead of most other themed areas in the country.

In fact, I'd be willing to say that Tornado Springs is trying to emulate what Amity Cove once was. If nothing else, Paultons have seen what can be done with the 'vintage American town hit by a disaster' motif and thought 'we can do that'.
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Thorpe was leading the way for years. Not just Amity, but the Lost City area was great in its heyday, unfortunately not maintained under Merlin and then concreted over... the Nemesis Inferno Jungle (part of Calypso Quay!) was a great addition, the Neptune's Kingdom whilst no longer fitting in the park thanks to the slow decimation of family rides is pretty impressive too.

2005 for me was the park's peak, nice theming, great variety of attractions, no horror! What Paulton's is doing definitely reminds me of that era, fun theming, great ride investments, focus on quality. I doubt they will as it's not their market, but Paulton's could step up to something more thrilling in their next round of investment and really succeed with it.
 
With PP testing the water in regards to the thrill market with 2 new additions of thrill / family thrill status... I think Merlin / Chessington should be very worried. PP’s level of detail seems to be among, if not the, best in the UK. If they decide to try and capture that market too, I think it will only take one or two more serious thrill additions and they’ll instantly take a good chunk of it.

For example... Imagine if PP hit us with a Bermuda Blitz in a couple of years time!!! A reasonably cheap thrill coaster which offers amazing bang for your buck. PP would be on every enthusiast’s radar in an instant!
 
For example... Imagine if PP hit us with a Bermuda Blitz in a couple of years time!!! A reasonably cheap thrill coaster which offers amazing bang for your buck. PP would be on every enthusiast’s radar in an instant!
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Agreed and/or a small/moderate Gravity Group woodie I could see working really well for them!
 
Nicky Borrill said:
Imagine if PP hit us with a Bermuda Blitz in a couple of years time!!! A reasonably cheap thrill coaster which offers amazing bang for your buck. PP would be on every enthusiast’s radar in an instant!
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True, but at the same time, Paulton's main demographic will likely be uninterested.
 
Ethan said:
True, but at the same time, Paulton's main demographic will likely be uninterested.
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I don’t know, if they manage to keep the height restriction low then they could pull it off. Also, it could attract more visitors as families with big age gaps might be more willing to go. That’s what’s so great about Alton Towers - it can appeal to everyone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ethan said:
True, but at the same time, Paulton's main demographic will likely be uninterested.
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Well they could at some point be wanting to expand there demographic up .... just look at Toverland, basically a soft play area and kiddie cred in a warehouse... then BOOM ..Troy! ....Plopsa also have Anubis (with an extreme spinner on the way) Tripsdrill added karacho

Tripsdrill, Toverland, Plopsa all used to my kiddie-family parks but realised to be a proper 'family park' - you need to have thrill rides - as 6/7/8 year old's these days don't want to ride rides aimed at them.

You also have parks with a traditionally older demographics adding kiddie stuff, Drayton adding thomas land, AT adding Cbeebiesland - it just makes sense.

I think Tornado Springs for Paultons is them laying out their intention to become more that just 'Peppa pig land'

also with Gullivers doing a good job expanding the 'kids only' theme park market, and Legoland Windsor too - Paultons expanding their offerings would be a very wise move!

I see them becoming something like bellewaerde, Nigloland, Tripsdrill - which wouldn't be a bad thing at all.
 
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It's all well and good throwing around what sort of coaster they could get, but the fact of the matter is that - after Tornado Springs - the park desperately need a new water ride and a dark ride before they should consider another coaster.

If I was Chessington, I'd be significantly more worried at the day when Paultons adds a decent log flume or a shooting dark ride than 'just another coaster'.
 
I don't think Chessington should really be worried at all yet, I'm a huge fan of Paultons and the things they're doing but as @JoshC. said they're still a long way off being a complete park. I don't think they'll be pulling Londoners away from the Merlin Parks and I'm not sure they're even trying to at the moment. The Merlin advertising machine is an absolute beast and to be frank thats probably the biggest factor in guest attendance in UK parks.
 
JoshC. said:
It's all well and good throwing around what sort of coaster they could get, but the fact of the matter is that - after Tornado Springs - the park desperately need a new water ride and a dark ride before they should consider another coaster.
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To the general UK family though, is this true? I feel if this was really the case then Alton Towers should be in real trouble with their lack of water rides and good dark rides ?

Seriously though, at the moment Paultons have plenty to market - 4 coasters, a log flume, Peppa Pig world, the good theming and landscaping - it all makes for a great 30-second TV/social media advert. I don’t think parents are going to think “ya know what, due to their lack of dark ride, we’ll give it a miss.” Mostly they’ll be thinking whether the park is going to keep the family occupied for a full day, and if so, is it good value for that. I think there’s a good point that dark rides are good all-weather rides, but if you’ve already made the commitment to go to the park, especially if buying tickets in advance, I doubt it’ll impact too much.

I think the thing most likely to make Chessington concerned would be the expansion of Paultons’ catchment area, but they’ve probably got a while to go before they start eating into it. Completely agree with Chris that Merlin’s marketing is so strong that it’ll be pretty difficult for Paultons to hurt Chessington much, and good marketing is able to keep Chessington’s attendance high even if the park offering is somewhat deteriorating.
 
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