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Family Days Out Product Reviews
The reviews of Paultons Park below have been written by members of TheBabyWebsite.com. They aren't simply provided by the suppliers or manufacturers, but are a true impression given by someone who has used the product or service. If you own, or have used Paultons Park yourself, please feel free to add your own review using the pink link above.
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"Brilliant Family day out"
We at long last managed to get to Paultons on Friday 4th June, the last day of the half term. The weather was gorgeous so we expected it to be busy so we arrived at 10:30, half hour after the park opened. The main car park was full so we were directed to an overflow car park. The car park was well organised with the attendants working very hard.
There was a long queue to purchase tickets but as we had tickets already we bypassed that. We went as a family, myself, my husband, my son aged 7, my daughter aged 12 months & my nephew aged 12.
On entering the park there is 3 directions you can take, left to one side of the amusements, right to another part of the rides or straight on which takes you through the beautiful gardens which has several bird cages housing a variety of beautiful birds.
We took a left & straight away we went on the rides. My son & nephew went on the flying carpet & I took my one year old on the flying saucer. At the tender age of 1 she loved it. Just by the flying saucer was a basil brush coin operated machine. Both my son & daughter loved this as they are great fans of Basil Brush & the beauty of it was it was free. There were several other of these rides scattered throughout the park which were all free.
Next we headed to the Digger Ride & Seal Falls. My son took my daughter on both these rides. The diggers were brilliant, the ride itself is quite short but they do the circuit 3 times which the kids loved. As there were no queues for this, once the 3 circuits had been done, I asked if they could stay on for another go & he was fine with this. I had trouble getting her off the ride in the end. The seal ride has a maximum age of 7 on it so my son was able to go on it with my daughter. She would be too young to go on her own as they are not strapped in & she would not sit still on her own so it is worth having another little one to accompany a toddler. Again they get 2 cicuits on this, but there was a short queue of less than 5 minutes for this.
By this time, my nephew was getting bored so we headed off to the Cobra. My husband set up camp on some grass nearby with my one year old & I headed off for the Cobra. This is where we queued the longest for about half an hour. It was a blazing hot day & I am glad to say that all the queueing was under cover. Why is it the older you get the scarier these things are!! Oh my god, how scary!! I screamed the whole way round whilst my 7 year old laughed!! His words to me as we got off was that he wanted to go on again as it was brilliant!! The only downside to this ride (according to my son & nephew)is that it did not last long (long enough for me though!)
From here we headed to the 'Edge'. This is a ride I have never seen anywhere else before. It is like a mexican wheel which you sit on the edge facing outwards, the wheel then not only does it rotate, but it goes up & down a roller coaster track. The effect being you feel like you are going to spin off the track! Although we queued for this, it was not for long as the the ride seats about 40 people so the the queue goes down quickly. Again, my 7 year old loved this ride but said it did make him feel a bit sick. Both the Cobra & The Edge had a minimum height restriction as well as under 8's having to be accompanied by an adult.
On getting back to my husband, my daughter was getting a bit restless, so we took her to Percy's bouncer, which is a massive bouncy Castle whilst my nephew & son went on the Dragon Ride. There were some bigger children on this who kept bashing into her so she cried & wanted to come off this. There is a height restriction for this which was adhered to but just think my daughter was a bit young for this.
My son did not like the Dragon ride much because after spinning round in one direction it then spun round backwards and made him feel sick again. I think he did too many spinning rides in a short space of time!!
We were starting to get a bit peckish then, so I went off to get some chips whilst my son & nephew went on the bumpy slide. Three portions of chips & 3 slush puppies came to £10.20 which I thought was reasonable. We ate next to the kiddies play village, but my daughter kept walking off to play. The play village is suitable for kids up to the age of 5 & the floor is covered in sand. It kept her occupied for ages. Also near where we sat was a football target game & a rock you could climb. You had to pay to go on these & after loads of pestering from my son, he had £2 to have a go on the football target game whereby you have to try & get the ball through a hole not much bigger than the hole. After getting the first 2 balls in the hole only for them to bounce straight back out again he got the 3rd one on target. His prize was a South African world cup Lion cuddly toy. The one he won had a hole in it & the attendent proceeded to tell us they all had holes in them apart from one, so we opted for the one without the hole, unlucky for anyone else who wins after us!
We then walked through the gardens, taking in the birds as we walked through. The next ride, the Kontiki, was a smaller version of the edge, but they did not have to queue for this, the ride was empty.
I thought I had done enough scary rides for the day so I volunteered my husband to accompany our nephew & son on the Jumping Jack. This is a sit on ride which goes up in the air then drops you down. They followed this with the pirate ship & then it was time to entertain my now awake daughter. We went on the Viking boats & then caught one of the daily shows, Scotty the Clown. He was very entertaining for both the children & the adults. next was the Rio Grande Train which was brilliant. The train driver was so friendly & we got a good view of the park & could see the construction of a Peppa Pig ride which should be ready next year. Then it was on to the tractors, a ride we did queue for 10 minutes in the blazing sun, it could do with some shaded areas here really.
We finished off the visit with water Kingdom. As it was such a hot day, this was a nice end to the day for all of us. My 12 month old took great delight in trying to 'catch' the water from the fountains whilst by 7 year old took great delight in standing under a barrel waiting for the water to be tipped out. As I had a 12 month old to look out for I found it refreshing to roll my trousers up & take by shoes off & have a splash around myself. I was quite organised in taking the kids swimmers & towels with me, but if you were not so organised, there was a stall bight next to it which sold everything you would need including swimsuits, towels & swimming nappies so there is no need for anyone to miss out.
The last thing my husband did was take my son on the go karts. Again, you had to pay for this (£3.95) but they got about 5 mins driving round the track which my son loved!
There was so much we did not do on the day, to really appreciate the park, you would need 2 days at the park. The toilets were clean, the staff were friendly & the cleanliness of the park was better than any other park I have been to.
Overall we had a fantastic day. For it to cater for older children, it needs some more rides like the Cobra/Edge. My nephew got a bit bored after half a day there. On the plus side, it is one of the few places which really caters for toddlers. My seven year old loved it & we are now considering getting season tickets which cost about £70 per person for a year. As my daughter is under a metre, we would not have to get one for her so it would cost us £210 as a family for a year of unlimited visits. As we are only 15 miles down the road, this is great value for money.
Member review by Sarah - Mother of a boy and girl
- review date 6th June 2010
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"Fabulous Family Fun"
My family (myself, partner, sons aged 6 and 2 and daughter aged 1) decided to visit Paultons Park in the Easter holidays. I was a little worried that it would be very crowded being the holidays and a beautiful sunny day– but my fears were unfounded! Although there were lots of people visiting the Park we did not have to queue for longer than 10 minutes all day!
As we entered the park I noticed that there were strollers for hire – (£5 for a single, £8 for a double). I thought this was a good idea for tired legs! There were also lockers available to leave bags etc, but since we had bought our buggy, we just carried on in!
The first rides we came to after a short walk were the Flying Saucers and then the Digger Ride and Seal Falls. My 3 children loved all of these and were delighted that they could all ride on them, (there was no height restriction!). My two boys then wanted to go on the Raging River Ride (a log flume with a minimum height restriction of 90cm) so my daughter and I watched from a grassy bank opposite and had a great view of them as they came down the slide!
From there we walked through The Land of the Dinosaurs. My boys especially enjoyed running along the wooden path spotting the dinosaur models and hearing the dinosaur noises. We saw lots of tropical birds and cranes and I liked the Snakes and Ladders Garden (designed like a giant board game made from plants).
Since we were all getting a bit hungry we decided to eat our picnic lunch. There were plenty of tables and chairs available, covered by shade (which was very welcome as it was very warm and sunny by now). I noticed several places to buy food if it was needed and the prices were quite reasonable (portion of chips £1.85, hotdog £2.95). I also spotted a sit down restaurant but didn’t see the menu.
After lunch we walked through the Wind in the Willows display (which was very dark so make sure you hold your children’s hands tightly!) I was slightly disappointed to note that there were no shows scheduled for the day we were there (which surprised me since it was during the school holidays) but we soon forgot that as we rode the Stinger and the Viking Boats.
Our next stop was the Rio Grande Train, where we had our longest queue of the day (approx 10 mins and this was because we had just missed the previous train!). Everyone enjoyed this gentle ride around the park and waving to people as we passed!
After another couple of rides we walked to see the Giant Tortoises, Penguins and Meercats. We had missed the penguin feeding time (I think there are two sessions a day) but the children were happy to watch them swimming in their pool through the glass window at the side. The Meercats were a firm favourite and we watched them for ages! Along by the Meercat enclosure was a construction site for the new Peppa Pig World opening Easter 2011. Since Peppa is the absolute idol of my youngest two they were delighted with all the huge pictures and posters decorating the fences of the construction site and enjoyed running and touching the pictures of their favourite characters (we’re easily pleased! Can’t imagine what they’ll be like when the actual attraction opens!)
We then had about a 10-minute walk to Water Kingdom. On our way we passed Wallabies, Flamingos, Pelicans and Cranes, which was a great way to distract them! On arrival at the Water Kingdom all 3 stripped off and ran around the enclosed water area in their underwear! It was very safe and there lots of sprinklers and things, which was great fun. I noticed a kiosk next to the Water Kingdom selling swimming costumes and trunks etc in case your children were shy!
Once we dried off and had an ice cream (£1.70 for a small whippy cone, £1.90 for one with a flake) we headed to the Flying Frog. This was a very tame roller coaster we could all go on together. I then took the boys on the Astroglide and my daughter was very cross she didn’t meet the minimum 90cm height restriction for this!
After the Dragon Ride and the Ladybird Ride I left the children jumping on the trampolines and Percy’s Bouncer (watched by dad of course!) whilst I sampled the Cobra. This is a fast roller coaster designed for older children and adults! It was great fun!
By now it was getting late so we gathered our bits together and took our tired children towards the car. However we did stop in the two gift shops on the way and got some souvenirs of our day. There were lots of toys and sweets available and wasn’t too expensive.
I am currently potty training my son so I took a special interest in the toilet facilities during the day. All the toilets were clean and child friendly. The toilet seats had special child toilet seats clipped inside and there were child height sinks for hand washing. Also worth a mention were the number of coin operated animals and figures dotted around the park (like the ones you get outside supermarkets etc). My children loved climbing on these and all of them were free – great for a few minutes break before the next ride. All the staff we encountered were polite and helpful and I even saw litter pickers throughout the day ensuring the park remained clean and tidy.
All in all, I would give Paultons Park a resounding 11 out of 10 for family entertainment. There were plenty of rides that the whole family could go on and no long queues! I can’t recommend it highly enough for families with children.
Member review by Fiona - Mummy to 3!
- review date 22nd April 2010
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"Perfect day out!"
Hello,
We had the privelege of reviewing Paultons Park. We went on a Sunny Saturday and it was a fabulous day out for all the family. There was something for everyone to do, and a ride for everyone to go on!
We spent quite a long time in the Water Kingdom, which was very good fun. It is an enclosed splash area. It was perfectly safe for my one year old to totter round in as it wasn't slippy at all and exciting enough for the other two who are 3 & 4. There was also quite a few older children with water guns running round but there was enough room for everyone!
There was a big variety of 'rides' for the children. My one year old could go on a number of train type rides, which he really enjoyed. It was great to be able to go on these rides as a family- rather than one person standing with my son in the buggy watching! Dotted around the park are the ride on type things that you get in shopping centres, these were free of charge and I thought a lovely extra!
The faster/bigger rides (including the log flume) tended to have a minimum height restriction of 90cm, and they would check this before you got on the ride. There was two water slide type rides, which were pretty fast and you did get wet!! There is a pirate ship ride and rollercoaster type rides. Overall I would give the rides 5/5 for younger children, probably under 10's. You could get pictures of you going down the two water slides- the face on my daughter going down the log flume was priceless!
There is also a few other activites like bouncy castle, trampolines, play area etc There is a walk through Dinosaur world, with dinosaurs in the woods and a few roars!! Quite basic but still worth walking that way.
There is also some animals and birds to see. The penguins were nice to see and two giant tortoises. Nice to have a wonder around these after lunch.
I was surprised that there were some activities you had to pay for- which seemed to be aimed at older children. Go karting was one, along with rock climbing and the traditional fairground activities of throw three balls in a pot to win a teddy. Mine were too young to really notice these but I think they could be an extra expense for those with older children.
We took our own picnic, and there was plenty of places to sit and eat. The food avaiable to buy seemed quite popular- chips were £1.80 I think, but hotdogs etc a bit more expensive, averaging at £3.00. Drinks were about £1.50 and ice creams the same.
There are two gift type shops at the exit, one with sweets etc and the other filled to the brim with Dora, Postman Pat, Fifi, Bob the Builder etc merchandise and a few Paultons Park themed items in the middle. Reasonably priced if you want to buy something to remember the day by!
We had lovely weather which I think made the day perfect for us, and considering it was a Saturday it wasn't too busy. We didn't have to queue more than a couple of minutes for anything- rides, ice creams, shop etc.
I checked the price for a family of 5 and it was £85 but it's worth remembering children under 1 metre get in free and you only have to be 90cm to go on most of the rides, so we would actually only need a ticket for a family of 3. Overall I think it's worth the money compared to the price of other theme parks, where younger children aren't really catered for.
I would 100% recommend Paultons Park for a family day out and in particular families with younger children ( on my opinion uder 10's). We all had such a good time and will definitely be going again.
Member review by lisa - three young children!
- review date 21st April 2010
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