Latest news with #Valgard
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Paulton's Park announces new £12m Viking-themed world
A Hampshire theme park has announced plans for a £12m Viking-themed world due to open next Saturday, family-owned Paultons Park in Ower also opened new £3.5m indoor dark ride Ghostly Realm of the Vikings, is the attraction's largest investment to date and is aimed at families with older children and teenagers, said Paulton' will include two new rides - Drakon, the park's first inverting rollercoaster, and Vild Swing, which will swirl riders 39ft (12m) in the air. Paulton's Park first opened on 17 May 1983 and is owned and run by the Mancey family, who bought the site of the manor house, its gardens, parkland and lake, which was designed by Capability Brown, at auction in will also see the retheming of the Cobra ride into a bobsled adventure, which will be renamed Raven, and a themed high-capacity restaurant and new playground for younger park also confirmed another major thrill ride would be added to Valgard in 2027, saying only that it would be a "water-related experience". James Mancey, Paulton's deputy managing director, said: "We are thrilled to share our plans for our largest and boldest investment to date, and on the day that we welcomed guests into our brand-new Ghostly Manor."As an independent, family-owned theme park, we're incredibly proud of the investments we make to deliver the very best guest experience."He said the new rides would be "bigger and better than ever before".The park, which spans 140 acres (57 hectares) in the New Forest, is also home to Peppa Pig World, which opened in 2011. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Sun
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Huge new £12m viking land to open at top UK theme park with three new rides
PAULTONS Park has revealed plans for a £12million park opening in 2026. The park, which will be named Valgard – Realm of the Vikings, will be a viking-themed world with Paultons Park's first inverting rollercoaster. Drakon is set to become the park's most thrilling ride with a vertical lift hill and two twists taking riders upside down. There will also be Vild Swing that swirls riders 12 metres in the air, two brand new thrill rides, retheming of Cobra - a famous ride at Paultons Park, into a bobsled adventure. The ride will be renamed Raven to complement the Viking village experience. Valgard also features a themed high-capacity restaurant and new playground for younger visitors to enjoy. The park has also confirmed that there will be another major thrill ride added to Valgard in 2027 - teasing that it will be a 'water-related experience'. James Mancey, deputy managing director at Paultons Park, said: "We've opened two brand-new rides in the last two years and with the build of Valgard firmly underway, we're excited to open a further three, bigger-and-better-than-ever-before rides, between now and summer 2027. "Valgard promises an immersive, atmospheric, and action-packed experience for families and has been specifically designed to grow with our fans. "The introduction of inversions and a vertical lift hill on Drakon certainly up the adrenaline levels at Paultons Park, but staying true to our roots, we haven't forgotten about the little ones and there is something for all of the family in our new Viking village." The addition of Valgard – Realm of the Vikings sees the attraction boast a collection of over 80 rides and attractions across its six themed worlds. Valgard joins Midwestern America themed Tornado Springs famous for its thrilling Cyclonator ride and free-spinning Storm Chaser coaster, and the park's dinosaur themed world, Lost Kingdom. Paulton's Park reveals first look at new £3.5million ride opening next month Families at Paultons Park today were also among the first to try its brand-new £3.5million dark ride, Ghostly Manor. The new indoor ride offers five minutes of game play and additional pre-show thrills, suitable for guests from aged five and above – guests can ride unaccompanied from eight years old. The ride features a supernatural world, with many eerie apparitions and haunted artefacts to discover as they journey through the home of paranormal investigator, Dr Kinley. Upon boarding the four-seater ride carriages, guests are armed with their own Phantom Phaser, a device to capture and contain mischievous ghosts and misbehaving spirits. At the end of the adventure, each rider is presented with their ghost-catching score, revealing who has the best ghost hunting skills. 3 James added: "We have worked with the very best technical and theming experts in the attractions business to create Ghostly Manor. "Our teams and partners have done a remarkable job at creating our very own haunted house, brimming with entertaining paranormal activity. "Ghostly Manor really does look like it's always been part of Paultons Park, and I'm sure it's going to be an enormous hit with our guests!" Paultons Park is also the home of UK exclusive, Peppa Pig World and remains one of Britain's top attractions. In March, Paultons Park also revealed plans for its first ever on-site holiday resort with 95 'Scandi' lodges. Plus, it is the UK's best value theme park also has the shortest queue times in the country. 3
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Huge UK theme park reveals £12 million expansion for 2026
One of Britain's favourite theme parks has announced a major expansion is in the pipeline for next year. Paultons Park, which sits on 65 acres on the New Forest's edge in Hampshire, will open a brand new £12million themed world, Valgard - Realm of the Vikings, in 2026. The park, already a hit with younger children thanks to Peppa Pig World, today also cut the ribbon on its latest attraction, Ghostly Manor - a £3.5 million ghoulish interactive gameplay ride. News of the latest developments at the park will see it likely rival some of the nation's biggest theme parks - including Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park - for visitors next summer. Viking-themed Valgard is Paultons' biggest investment in a new themed area to date and is aimed at teens and older children. The biggest crowd-pleaser at Valgard is likely to be Drakon, a high-octane thrill ride with a vertical lift hill and two twists that take riders upside down. Elsewhere, there's also set to be a Vild Swing, which will whirl those brave enough to ride it 12 metres in the air - and one of the park's most famous rides, Cobra, is also set for a makeover. Cobra will be transformed into a bobsled adventure named Raven, with plans afoot to create a playground aimed at younger children in the village too. A Viking village, with shops and dining, will transport theme park goers back to the historical period when Scandinavia's famous Norse warriors lived. And the Hampshire theme park also teased the prospect of another ride in Valgard in 2027, suggesting that it might be a water-based attraction. From today though, visitors are likely to be clamouring to have a go on Ghostly Manor, which welcomed the first thrillseekers on board this morning. The indoor ride offers five minutes of game play plus pre-show surprises and is described as a tour of a 'family-friendly supernatural world'. Those who enter Ghost Manor will journey through the home of paranormal investigator, Dr Kinley - with plenty of things going bump in the night. Riders board four-seater carriages and get their own Phantom Phaser to try and capture the eerie apparitions they encounter. James Mancey, deputy managing director at Paultons Park, said the park was delighted to be able to announce a double whammy of news - and explained more about what theme park fans can expect in 2026. He said: 'Valgard promises an immersive, atmospheric, and action-packed experience for families and has been specifically designed to grow with our fans. 'The introduction of inversions and a vertical lift hill on Drakon certainly up the adrenaline levels at Paultons Park, but staying true to our roots, we haven't forgotten about the little ones and there is something for all of the family in our new Viking village.' Day entry for the park is £45, with children under a metre going free. It's been a month of announcements in the world of theme parks, with Walt Disney revealing plans to open a Disney theme park in United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi. The park, in collaboration with regional developer Miral Group, will be its first major new theme park in nearly a decade and its first in the Middle East. The planned Disney waterfront resort will be located on Yas Island, a popular tourist destination that is home to other family-friendly attractions, including Warner Bros World Yas Island, SeaWorld Yas Island and Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi. The city of Abu Dhabi has a population of about 2.5 million, but Yas Island recorded more than 34 million visits in 2023, a 38% rise compared to the year before, Miral has said. 'We've always been interested in this part of the world - to bring our Disney stories to new, younger fans,' Disney's Experiences unit Chairman Josh D´Amaro told Reuters, adding, 'Abu Dhabi was an ideal location for us.' Miral, the Abu Dhabi-based leisure and entertainment group responsible for developing Yas Island, will finance, build and operate the resort. The creative and technical professionals who design Disney's theme parks, known as Imagineers, will lead creative design and provide operational oversight. The U.S. entertainment company will earn royalties based on the park's revenue, according to a regulatory filing. The Disney park 'will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati - an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment that is at the crossroads of the world,' Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. Disney said the park will be the 'most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio' and the concept art shows how far it may go to cast a powerful spell. The concept art was deliberately blurry in order to keep fans guessing about what will be in it - but one landmark that stuck out was the centre-piece castle, with a similar style to Elsa's ice palace from Frozen.
