GROUND has been broken on a brand new viking land, which is set to open at the UK’s best value theme park in the next two years.
Paultons Park is planning a number of new additions for its visitors to enjoy in the near future, with work already starting on a huge installation.
By 2026, the theme park hopes to be home to a viking land, with new rides and attractions for park-goers.
A photo shared on X, formerly Twitter, by the park’s marketing and technology director, Lawrence Mancey, showed construction vehicles on an expanse of grass at Paultons, claiming work had started.
Lawrence simply captioned the photo “It begins!” next to an emoji containing two crossed swords.
In terms of what people can expect from the new viking land when it opens, it’s not exactly clear just yet.
However, unconfirmed reports put forward by Themepark Magic state that some attractions are set to leave the park permanently as part of the changes, including a log flume and karting track.
The bloggers also claim that at least one new major attraction is set to be added, while others like Cobra and Magma will be rebranded to fit in with the viking theme.
Regardless of how vague details are at the moment, theme park fans are looking forward to the prospect of the new land.
Several replied to Lawrence’s original tweet, expressing their excitement.
One wrote: “Can’t wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeves for this!”
Another said: “This is going to be amazing!”
Lawrence told Sun Online Travel: “Brace yourselves! Vikings are set to raid England once again and establish a new world for our guests to explore in 2026.
“Meanwhile our forthcoming interactive dark ride, Ghostly Manor opens in May 2025 and promises a world-first experience and epic new adventure.”
More information is known about Ghostly Manor ride, which is due to open in time for next summer.
The new interactive family-friendly attraction will require guests to capture a number of ghosts that have escaped in the home of Dr. Kinley, “a renowned ghost hunter”.
They will do this with the use of “groundbreaking phantom phasers”.
Although the ride promises to be spooky, a Paultons spokesperson told Sun Online Travel that it is still one that the whole family will be able to enjoy.
They said: “While Dr Kinley will certainly bring some paranormal activity to Paultons Park, Ghostly Manor promises to be a high-quality, immersive experience that’s suitable for all the family.
“As with everything we do at Paultons Park, every detail has been considered in the creation of this indoor attraction.
“We can’t wait to share more about Ghostly Manor in due course. Watch this space!”
Regardless of what features are built there in the next two years, Paultons is sure to remain a popular spot for family days out, due to its value.
It has been named the amusement park where families can get the most for their money on several occasions, including earlier this year.
Its ticket prices, food costs and short queues all contribute to it being a cost-effective day out for a family – and its offering is set to increase in the coming years, with the new attractions.
Michael Dean from Theme Parks Direct told Sun Travel this summer: “Paultons Park in Hampshire’s New Forest is the best theme park in terms of value for money.
“It has entry from £68.75 for a family of five if you book ahead.
“The queues are usually short, which means you can get on many rides in one day, and the food is also a reasonable price too.”
The Sun's Head of Travel (Digital), Caroline McGuire explains why Paultons Park is one of her favourite places for a family day out...
As a mum of a five year old, it’s by far my favourite theme park and
the short queues are a huge part of that.
We didn’t have any kind of queue jump pass and to be honest, we
never felt like we needed one.
A lot of the time, we’d wait about two minutes to get on a really great attraction – and that was on a weekend too, so it’s great for youngsters with short attention spans.
Undoubtedly the big draw of the park is Peppa Pig World and everyone, myself included, heads straight there when they first arrive.
But I’d recommend getting out of there after a couple of rides and
checking out the rest of the park, where the attractions are just as good.
What I also love is that Paultons is still family-owned and it feels very much like a park that has been built by parents for parents.
One of my favourite little details is that they have a load of those
very annoying stationary rides that you find outside supermarkets,
which your child will inevitably pester you to spend £3 on – but at
Paultons they’re free!
My son rode a fire engine for about 40 minutes straight, so it’s very easy to keep little ones entertained throughout the theme park.
Meanwhile, Paultons Park also has the shortest queues of every theme park in the UK.
And fans are calling for this huge indoor theme park to be reopened after it closed 16 years ago.
