IT'S A HOOT (Paultons Family Theme Park)

Member Name: junkboxjules

Product:	Paultons Family Theme Park
Date:	29/01/03 (1571 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Loads to do, Cheaper than many theme parks

Disadvantages: Not many big rides

Paultons Park is a Family Leisure Park located just of Junction 2 of the M27 near Southampton.

This year the park is open daily from 10am from 15th March 2003 - 2nd November 2003 and at weekends only during November and December. Closing time varies according to the time of year so it is advisable to either check the notice which is displayed at the entrance of the park on arrival or telephone prior to your visit. During the high season the park is generally open until around 6.30pm with last admission being two hours before.

Admission charges for the 2003 season are not available yet, however, I believe that admission last year was approximately £11.00 for an adult and £10.50 for children and senior citizens. Children under 1 metre are admitted free.

**SO WHAT'S AT PAULTONS PARK**

Paultons Park is a Leisure Park which is set in 140 acres of beautiful gardens. The park accommodates over 40 different attractions and rides and provides a great fun day out for all the family.

However, if you are a white knuckle ride lover you will be disappointed as Paultons Park is very children and family orientated and the rides are mainly aimed at families with young children or adults like me who are too chicken to ride on big roller coasters and who prefer nice tame rides and walking around the beautiful grounds.

Other attractions at Paultons Park include, amongst others, the Village Life Museum, Land of The Dinosaurs and The Romany Experience. I will go into more detail about these attractions later on in my opinion.

**BIG RIDES**

Paultons Park has four big rides, (white knuckle style rides), at the moment and they are as follows.

~*~Raging River Log Flume~*~

The Raging River is a log flume ride which consists of 2 drops. This ride is great fun but be warned you will get soaked, (my dear son had me on here on a wet June day, going round and round continually 5 times, needless

to say we were both absolutely saturated for the duration of the day).

~*~The Stinger Rollercoaster~*~

The Stinger is a bug shaped rollercoaster that runs very fast around a relatively small track, consisting of up and down loops. I have to confess that despite having visited Paultons Park on loads of occasions I have only been on this ride a couple of times. It is a tame rollercoaster but if you are like me and don't normally ride on this type of ride it is a major challenge to say you have been on there.

The Stinger has a disabled access allowing wheelchair users to be able to ride on it.

~*~Dragon Ride Roundabout~*~

This is one of the newer rides introduced to Paultons Park.

Initially the ride looks quite a nice tame ride, however on closer inspection you will soon realise that it isn't.

The seating is located inside a dragon shaped structure, the dragon is shaped into a coil and the ride initially looks like an ordinary roundabout type ride. However, once the ride starts you are soon aware that this isn't going to be simply a case of riding found and round - oh no - the ride suddenly changes direction and you find yourself travelling backwards at great speed. I went on this ride once and hated it - never again.

~*~Pirate Ship Swingboat~*~

This is a popular ride which consists of a large galleon style ship attached to a huge swinging arm. The boat moves backwards and forwards and reaches an angle of 60 degrees on either side. Scary stuff - yet again, I have ridden on this ride only the once and swore never again.

**FAMILY RIDES**

These rides are suitable for most and are not frightening at all.

~*~TEACUPS~*~

This ride consists of lots of large teacups on a merry go round style base. Once the ride starts the cups gently spin around - however, if gently isn't to your liking you can spin the metal table located in the
cent
re of the tea cup and this will spin your teacup round faster and faster. I like this ride when it is spinning gently but my husband and son decided it would be a good idea to spin the cup really fast and I left the ride feeling really sick - I tend to get in my own cup now and leave them to it.

~*~GO KARTS~*~

There is a go kart track and go karts are available to hire but there is an additional charge to hire them.

~*~RIO GRANDE RAILWAY~*~

The small train leaves from behind the Station Tea rooms and takes you around the Parks' paddocks, where you can see various animals grazing, including goats, the train also runs beside the lake. If you have small children the train is a great way to make sure that you don't miss out anything, as the walk around the paddocks and along side the lake is quite a long walk and little legs would soon tire.

~*~ASTROGLIDE~*~

The Astroglide is a six lane slide. To access the slide you have to climb up quite a lot of stairs so this ride is not really suitable for disabled visitors. Once at the top you are given a mat to sit on, the mat assists you down the humpy slide and ensures that you get a very speedy descent.

~*~VIKING BOATS~*~

The Viking boats are shaped like dragons. Basically this is a water ride where the Viking Dragon Boats travel in a circular motion whilst sitting on water. A very tame but never the less quite enjoyable ride.

~*~WHIRLY COPTER~*~

The Whirly Copter ride is shaped like a big wheel, (but on a much smaller scale), and the cars are shaped like little helicopters. This ride is best suited to young children, however, if desired there is room inside the helicopter for one adult to accompany the child.

~*~BUMPER BOATS ~*~

The bumper boats are individual motorised circular shaped boats, the idea is to steer them around the water and not to crash - however, like the bumper cars, most p
eople go o
n this ride with the sole intention of bumping. The bumper boats are great fun but be warned you should expect to get wet.

~*~FLYING SAUCER~*~

Again this ride is really aimed at young children. It is a very basic ride which consists of a ring of seats, (one in front of the other) that rise upwards and spin. Basic it may be but it brings great delight to young children and toddlers.

**CHILDRENS RIDES**

Most of these rides are designed specifically for young children - however, adults can accompany children on some of the rides.

~*~SEAL FALLS~*~

Sea Falls is a miniature log flume especially created for children, (no adults are permitted on this ride). The 'logs' are seal shaped cars which travel through igloo tunnels and down miniature water falls. This ride is really sweet but is sadly for the under 7's only.

~*~DIGGER RIDE~*~

The digger ride consists of digger shaped vehicles that youngsters can drive around a track. No adults are permitted on this ride.

~*~LADYBIRD RIDE~*~

This ride is a basic carousel type ride where all the cars are shaped and decorated like ladybirds.

~*~RABBIT RIDE~*~

The rabbit run consists of pastel coloured rabbit shaped cars which seat up to four people, they travel around a large track. In the front of the rabbit car there is a steering wheel so the children can pretend they are steering the car. This used to be my sons favourite ride when he was younger and he loved driving my late mother-in-law and me around in the rabbit cars. We have some very happy memories of this ride and lots of nice photos. The Rabbit Run is always a popular ride, especially with young children.

**OTHER ATTRACTIONS**

Paultons Park consists of much more than just rides, listed below are some of the other attractions.

~*~ROMANY EXPERIENCE~*~

The Romany Experience is an exhibition of be
autifully craft
ed genuine Romany wagons. Whilst you cannot climb inside the wagons you can see inside them and each one has been realistically furnished so you can get a good idea of what it was like to live inside one of these beautiful wagons.

~*~CLOCK MAZE~*~

The clock maze is always popular with both the young and old. Called the Clock Maze because a clock is located in the middle of the maze so you know when you've got that far you are half way.
~*~LAND OF THE DINOSAURS~*~

A walk through the gardens and around the park will take you into the Land of The Dinosaurs. Set is marshland the dinosaurs are very realistic looking and make roaring and grunting noises. Beside the different species there is an information plaque giving details about the dinosaur. You cannot get on the dinosaurs but children are still sure to enjoy reading about them and listening to them roar and grunt.

~*~KIDDIES PLAY VILLAGE~*~

The Kiddies Play Village has been created especially for very young children and toddlers. It is set on a sand base and consists of climbing ropes, swinging bridges, slides and tunnels.

~*~MAGIC FOREST~*~

The Magic Forest is an indoor undercover attraction, as you enter the Magic Forest you will hear nursery rhymes playing, follow the Yellow Brick Road through the Magic Forest and on the way you will meet lots of popular nursery rhyme characters, including Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole and Pussy In The Well. Each nursery rhyme display has an interactive button which when pressed makes something within the display move.

~*~WIND IN THE WILLOWS~*~

Another indoor attraction. As you walk through the Wind in The Willows you are taken on an enchanting journey past animated displays telling the story of The Wind in The Willows.

~*~CRAZY GOLF & CRAZY SNOOKER~*~

For the more sporty there is a very popular crazy golf and slightly more unusual crazy sno
oker area. These ar
e quite basic but they are free and kids love them. A £1 returnable deposit is required to hire cues/clubs.

~*~KIDS KINGDOM~*~

Three acres of swings, climbing ropes, slides and playhouses etc make up Kids Kingdom. A great place for the kids to let off steam and for you to sit down and have a well earned cup of tea.

~*~GOLD PANNING~*~

For a small fee of £1.25 children can pan for gold. When they have enough gold they can trade it in for a gold medal.

~*~VILLAGE LIFE MUSEUM~*~

The village life museum houses a wide range of artefacts from the 20th Century, for example there is an old fashioned mangle on display as well as household items and tools etc.

Also located in the Village Life Museum are trades workshops, these are displays of various trades, including carpentry and dairy, and the kind of workshop they would have worked from in the 20th Century.

~*~EXOTIC BIRDS~*~

Around the park there are over 250 species of exotic birds to be seen, including storks, cranes, flamingos, parrots and owls.

~*~PAULTONS LAKE~*~

The lake runs along side the park and visitors can take a leisurely walk along the river or just go and feed the ducks if they wish.

~*~CHILDRENS RIDES~*~

Dotted around the park there are lots of childrens rides, (including Bob The Builder, The Tweenies and Postman Pat), they are the type of ride which is usually seen situated outside amusement arcades and inside supermarket foyers, all these rides are free so the children can jump on and off of them as often as they like at no cost to you.

*~*PAULTONS GARDENS~*~

Dotted around the park, as well as acres of beautifully kept lawns and trees you will also find the following themed gardens and plants.

Herb Garden, Grass Garden, Japanese Garden, Main Gardens, Rhododendrons and Azaleas, Tropical Plants, Garden Aviary, Rockery and Spring Garde
n.

**OTHER INF
ORMATION**

~*~DISABLED VISITORS~*~

Disabled visitors are very welcome at Paultons Park. The Park is set on flat land and most of the walkways and paths have tarmac surfaces.

Due to Health & Safety reasons the Raging River Ride is not suitable for disabled guests.

Wheelchairs are available to hire free of charge, however you are advised to pre-book these.

Disabled parking is located close to the entrance and the park has 3 disabled toilets.

All the shops and aisles within the shops are accessible to disabled visitors in wheelchairs.

Where possible staff will be happy to assist disabled visitors on and off rides - obviously during peak times this may not always be possible.

Guide dogs are welcome at the park - however, other dogs are not.

~*~HEIGHT RESTRICTION~*~

Some of the rides have height restrictions and therefore may not be suitable for all guests.

~*~PHOTOGRAPHS~*~

Photographs are automatically taken of all guests riding on the Raging River and Stinger rides. These are available to purchase if you wish to take home a souvenir of your day.

~*~SEASON TICKET~*~

If you have enjoyed your day and would like to become a regular visitor to Paultons Park you can purchase a season ticket. If you have already paid day visitor admission price you can have this deducted off your season ticket price if you upgrade on the day. Season tickets cost around £54 for adults, (reduced to £45 if you upgrade on the day), childrens and senior citizen season tickets cost £51, (reduced to £43 if you upgrade on the day). You must be present to purchase a season ticket as your photograph has to be taken, therefore you could not purchase a season ticket for a gift unless the person who you wanted to give it to was present.

~*~SANTA'S CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND~*~

Each year during November and December Santa visits
Paultons Park. Tickets are so
ld in blocks of time, in order to avoid long queues.

Admission to Santa's Christmas Wonderland is slightly more expensive than the normal admission price, however the ticket does allow you to spend the whole day in the park, visit Santa and receive a present and a glass of mulled wine or soft drink alternative is provided for adults.

Santa's grotto is always decorated beautifully and is well worth a visit. We visited in 1999 and were very impressed by the system in operation. We didn't have to queue for more than five minutes, the staff were superb and very friendly, as was Santa, the grotto looked stunning and the present received was of very good quality.

~*~CAR PARKING~*~

There is a huge car park at Paultons Park and parking is free.

~*~EATING OUT~*~

There is a wide variety of food options available at Paultons Park. You can either opt to eat in the Wagoners Restaurant or the Station Tea rooms where there is a good selection of cooked meals and snacks available or you can visit one of the cabins dotted around the park that serve burgers, sweets, ice creams etc. If you prefer you can bring a picnic as there are loads of picnic benches dotted around the park.

~*~GENERAL INFORMATION~*~

Pass outs are available so if you wish you can leave your picnic in the car and pop out to get it when you are ready, or drop your coats off if the weather gets too hot, etc.

Trundle carts or stroll-a-saurus are available to hire for transporting small children and toddlers around the park. There is a £2.50 hire charge for trundle carts and £5.00 hire charge for stroll-a-saurus. There is also a £20 deposit required which is refundable upon return of the item. It is worth noting that neither Trundle carts or stroll-a-saurus are suitable for babies.

Two major new rides and other new attractions are planned for 2003.

There is a gif
t shop and sweet shop located at th
e entrance/exit of the park.
I have not detailed all the attractions and rides in my opinion but if you wish to see them all you can log on to www.paultonspark.co.uk where there is a park map and further information if required.

Thank you for reading.

Julie

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