We had a really lovely day during half term at Paulton's Park with the family. The traffic getting into the park for the 10 a.m. opening was crazy busy but once on site, we were parked very quickly and not far from the entrance.
When Peppa Pig World opened at Paultons Park in 2011, it instantly put this family-run theme park on the map. Our grandchildren loved the pastel-coloured world of Peppa and friends, complete with gentle rides, tinkling music and grassy hummocks. But now the grandchildren are older so our first port of call was the dinosaur-themed world, The Lost Kingdom. Paultons Park doesn't just cater for smaller children, it also kept our thrill-seeking older kids happy with a handful of very good adrenalin-filled rides.
One good thing about the park is that you pay the entry fee and then almost every attraction is included except the Go-Kart. (Needless to say Mike and Jamie had to have a go).
Once inside and having dropped off our picnic in a convenient locker we made our way to the Velociraptor, a boomerang type of rollercoaster that has you going backwards too! Although the grandchildren were a bit hesitant at first, they ended up loving it and going back for more again and again. They started the day with a bang, joining the queue and in less than 30 mins., were sat, buckled and ready to go!
The Lost Kingdom is so much more than those two rollercoasters though, and we spent the whole morning exploring the area, smiles plastered on faces from the adrenaline and pure cool-factor of having life-like dinosaurs all around us. It offers some fun roller coasters and a great themed area with well thought out details. I was particularly impressed by the animatronic dinosaurs and Lost Kingdom design features, they are not cheap and nasty, they give a real feel of a quality effort and finish. The largest animatronic dinosaur is the Argentinosaurus, which is 12m tall and 23m long. The Jurassic-themed landscaping in the Lost Kingdom is impressive and the Flight of the Pterosaur suspended rollercoaster is just the right side of terrifying.
After a picnic lunch it was "Come on Storm Chasers! We are off to Tornado Springs". A top highlight has to be the Storm Chaser ride, the only free-spinning rollercoaster of its type in the UK where trains of carriages reach heights of over 20 metres above ground whilst swirling guests around.
The land isn't just about the large rides and adrenaline-inducing experiences - there's plenty of fun to be had for families who aren't quite ready to take on the bigger rides and attractions.
Al's Auto Academy was a great hit with the children riding in an electric car - styled to look like a classic 50s American car, of course. And there is a car that looked as though it had just been pulled out of the movie Grease and now put on display in Tornado Springs.
Jamie also loved the Junkyard Junction playground whilst the others did the extreme rides.
Another one for those who love a rush of adrenaline is the Cyclonator, a gyro swing spinning pendulum ride which rises to around 25 metres above the ground. The rides are out of this world and that Cyclonator is Soooooo scary.
There was a slightly calmer but still thrilling drop ride for Jamie on Windmill Towers whilst we queued for ice creams at 4 p.m.
To calm down I loved riding on the traditional galloping horses on the Victorian Carousel.
The last ride en famillie was The Cobra. A wild rollercoaster with a crazy mix of thrilling drops, exhilarating spirals, amazing turns and breath-taking 'camel humps'. This 'fangtastic' coaster was a great hit with all the family.
And just enough time, on our way out, for Chloe and Emmie to get wet on the Raging River Log Flume Ride. A thrilling log flume that gives two mighty drops, the highest at 11 metres. They hit the water at over 35mph with a huge splash!
Queues for rides were good. I don't think we queued more than 30 mins for a ride but the queue out of the car park at 6 p.m. was a bit ridiculous. We didn't move for 20 mins.
When you take three fun parks, a zoo, and a botanic garden, and put them all in one place you get Paultons Park. Put simply, we all had fun, from the young to the old. We loved the sense of space and the beautifully kept grounds and laid-back feel. Looking forward to our next trip.
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