THE New Forest isn’t exactly known attracting for huge crowds of influencers, but every man and his selfie stick descended on the leafy Hampshire district last weekend.
Paultons Park – crowned the UK’s best theme park at last year’s UK Theme Park Awards – was and I’ve never seen bigger, more excitable queues at an attraction.
The Sun’s Head Of Travel (Digital) at the launch of Paultons Park’s new Valgard land
Drakon is a new rollercoaster dubbed the ‘crown jewel of Valgard’ Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Valgard – Realm Of The Vikings has been much anticipated by Britain’s adrenaline junkies, with into the new land.
With three new rides, a play park and a huge banquet-style hall, it is one of the two biggest updates to UK theme parks this year, alongside the at Chessington World Of Adventures.
As the mum of a seven year old, has long been my favourite UK theme park, thanks to its huge range of rides for younger kids.
But in recent years, the owners have been spending special attention on broadening out (and kids at heart) too.
Valgard is easily their biggest shot at that, with one brand new rollercoaster called Drakon, dubbed the ‘crown jewel of Valgard’, one revamped one – the Cobra coaster has being reinvented as Raven – and a swing ride called Vild Swing.
The queue for Drakon was buzzing with excitement (and those influencers).
The guy standing behind me, raving about everything from the new land’s ‘exceptionally mature trees’ to ‘Disney-style quality’ was so famous among Coaster enthusiasts that five people asked for a selfie in the 25-minutes it took for us to board the ride.
I should add here that 25 minutes is an exceptionally short time to be queuing for a brand new rollercoaster, it never ceases to amaze me how compared to other parks.
Drakon is is easily the smoothest rollercoaster I’ve ever been on and remarkably silent Credit: JACOB SWETMORE
And it was more than worth the small wait.
I’m not a huge fan of in fact I’m dreading when my son reaches an age when he wants me to accompany him on all the fastest rides, but I loved Drakon.
The park’s first-ever inverting coaster starts with a vertical hill and drop, followed by two great inversion flips at speeds of 44mph.
But for all the speed, drops and twists, I never once felt nauseous – it is easily the smoothest rollercoaster I’ve ever been on and remarkably silent, none of that rattling you get on so many other
If you have a budding daredevil in your family who wants to test the waters on scarier rides, this would be an excellent place to start.
The second coaster, Raven, was almost scarier despite not going upside down, thanks to its high-speed bobsleigh style, which whips you round tight hairpin turns and was great fun.
Both coasters are better suited to older kids and adults, but the new land also has something for the braver young ones to in Vild Swing, a first-of-its kind attraction in the UK that swings riders 12 metres into the air to mimic how the vikings would have felt when battling the stormy seas.
There’s also a very cute new ‘Orchard Playground’ for kids up to the age of 10, the kind that Paultons does so well throughout the park, with treehouses, a lookout tower, net bridges and slides.
The second coaster, Raven has a high-speed bobsleigh style, which whips you round tight hairpin turns Credit: JACOB SWETMORE
When you’ve built up a hunger, there’s also the huge new ‘Feasting Hall’, complete with viking ship in the middle and outdoor terrace, serving everything from flame-grilled chicken to burgers and ice cream sundaes.
What’s really impressive about this new land isn’t just the attractions though, it’s the attention to detail.
The rollercoaster fan next to me was right, everything felt like the extra quality that you expect of somewhere like Disney, with thought given to everything from the medieval-style path lights to the spooky robotic ravens that watch over you as you enter the Raven ride queue.
And best of all? I completed all three rides in 90 minutes… on opening day.
In an age where you can easily spend that on just one ride queue in many theme parks, that’s spectacular in its own right.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
I'm dedicated to creating high-quality content that informs, inspires, and delights. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy reading!
