Rated as the UK’s No.1 theme park on TripAdvisor and Google; it’s no surprise that Paulton’s Park in Southampton has become an annual trip in our household! Ever since surprising Jasper with tickets on his 7th birthday, he’s eagerly asked to return for every birthday that’s followed.
Although Paulton’s Park is best known, and very popular with toddlers for its pastel toned Peppa Pig World. That’s never actually been the attraction for us as a family. Especially since we are attending with older children who’s Peppa Pig ship sailed a long time ago!
Yet Paulton’s Park actually have multiple other zones, which don’t seem to shine under the same spotlight as Pepper Pig World. With many of the rides in these areas being better suited to slightly older children; we’re talking bigger, taller, and faster rides. Which Include some exhilarating rollercoasters that are sure to make you scream and get your adrenalin pumping.
This family friendly theme park has minimal queue times too, and theres no need to splash out on additional fast-track passes either. Meaning you can cram in heaps of rides, and have a jam-packed day full of fun without the extra cost.
So, if you didn’t know there was more to Paulton’s Park than it’s Peppa Pig World, keep reading!
In this article...
What rides are in the Lost Kingdom at Paulton’s Park?
The entire Lost Kingdom area has prehistoric theming that will please any avid dinosaur lover. Plus the rides in this area are home to some of the best within the entirely of Paulton’s Park; Flight of the Pterosaur – I’m looking at you.
The Lost Kingdom has a good mix of smaller calmer rides for little ones, along with a couple fast rollercoasters for the bigger kids. There’s also the new addition for 2024 in the form of a log-flume ride which will soak you from head-to-toe.
Every year we’ve visited this theme park, we’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes for any ride. To be honest, most the time it’s under 5 minutes or you’re getting straight on.
Let’s take a look in a little more detail at some of the rides you’ll find in the Lost Kingdom.
Flight of the Pterosaur
This dangling rollercoaster ride is our family favourite. It’s a real thrill ride, especially if you sit at the back where it whips you around corners and feels way faster.
Myself and Jasper were absolutely terrified the first time we ever went on it and both hated every second. But I’m pleased to say we’ve come a long way since then and now love going on this one.
Flight of the Pterosaur is a suspended family coaster that reaches speeds of over 30mph. With a total height of 66ft, the ride soars through the sky and twists its way through a prehistoric landscape before tightly spiralling its way back into the station.
If you want a slower first drop, I’d advise sitting at the front of the train. The closer to the back you go, the quicker it drops. This ride also feels really safe and secure with the over head bar that comes down.
Requirement to ride: You must be 1 meter tall and over the age of 4. But children under 8 years old and under 1.2 metres in height must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Velociraptor
Even quicker than Flight of the Pterosaur, Velociraptor reaches top speeds of 40mph! This purple and green boomerang rollercoaster starts by pulling you backwards through the station, slowly cranking you up a steep 20 meter track. Where it sits for a few seconds before sending you zooming down the track, twisting its way around sharp bends. As this track ends in the sky, it’s a backwards return to the station.
Velociraptor is very short, but it’s a fun boomerang coaster for kids or anyone who’s never tried one before.
I will say the lap bar doesn’t make me feel as secure as the over head one on Flight of the Pterosaur. Especially when you’re 20 meters up in the air!
Requirement to ride: You must be 1 meter tall and over the age of 4. But children under 8 years old and under 1.2 metres in height must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Splash Lagoon
New for 2024, Splash Lagoon is sure to get you soaked! Believe me, there is no way you’re getting off this bone dry.
This mini flume ride has fab theming and its perfect for younger children, but as it was new we had to give it a whirl. Gentle rapids push you around the lagoon, where you’ll bop along and go beneath sprinklers before being carried up to the top ready for the drop. Although the drop isn’t very high, it’s a lot of fun and creates a huge splash.
It’s worth mentioning that these little boats fit one adult and one child, or 3 children can go in one boat together if they are old enough to go without an adult.
We enjoyed this ride and the theming was on point. However for older children the original log flume is way more fun – even if it is pretty basic looking!
Requirement to ride: 900mm minimum height to ride and 6 years unaccompanied.
Boulder Dash
A great spinning ride for any kids (or adults) who don’t seem to become nauseous when getting spun about. You get the choice of sitting inside a dinosaur egg or a bolder and spend your time whizzy about whilst marginally avoiding crashing into one another.
The boys enjoyed this one, I know it would make me feel sick though.
Requirement to ride: Children under 12 months old are not allowed to ride. Children under 1.2 metres in height or under 8 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Dinosaur Touring Co
Keep your feet firmly on the ground for this fun little car ride. You get to sit inside a 4×4 Jeep (which fits 4 people) and let your kids pretend to steer their way along the track. There’s a couple little surprises along the way and once again the theming on this is fantastic.
There’s also two steering wheels inside the car, which helps us parents out when it comes to sibling squabbles.
Requirement to ride: There is no height restriction to ride The Dinosaur Tour Co, but vhildren under 4 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Dino Chase & Little Explorers
Then theres the 15mph Dino Chase, which completes three short laps and is a fun mini rollercoaster for little toddlers and younger children.
Whilst Little Explorers is a dinosaur themed play area for children aged 3-8 years old to have fun climbing, sliding and discovering fossils in the sandpit.
Requirement to ride: There is no height restriction to ride Dino Chase. Children under 12 months old are not allowed to ride, and children under 5 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
More great rides at Paulton’s Park
There are a few other rides dotted around at Paulton’s Park which don’t really come into any of the themed areas. Hopefully these will be adapted and transformed into their own special themed areas one day. As these rides are super fun, so it’s a shame they don’t come with all the bells and whistles that some of the others do.
Near to the Lost Kingdom you’ll discover a few other fast rides for bigger kids.
Cobra
This is our second favourite roller-coaster at Paulton’s Park. Cobra is such great fun that it makes us scream and laugh the whole way around the track. This thrill ride has so much going on; there’s drops, spirals, camel humps and sharp turns along the way. It’s also quite a long track so its not over too quickly.
Apparently this rollercoaster is the only one of its kind in the UK! So thats even more reason to go and give it a try.
Requirement to ride: Must be 4 years old and 1.1 meters tall, and children under 8 years old and 1.3 metres in height must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Magma
I think it’s fair to say that the Magma ride looks a little tired, but the ride itself is actually a lot of fun. There was a technical fault when we went to get on it, but the mechanic arrived within a couple minutes and he swiftly got it up and running again.
This drop ride sends you shooting out of the volcano and is the tallest ride at Paulton’s Park. Then it slowly spins and does multiple drops and climbs before returning into the cavern. It looks scarier than it is, and if anything the smaller Windmill Towers in Tornado Springs makes your belly flip over more than this big one does!
Requirements to ride: Children under 5 years aren’t allowed to ride, and there is a minimum height of 1.1 metres. Children under 8 years old and 1.3M must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Raging River Log Flume
Although the theming on this log flume is non-existent in comparison to the new Splash Lagoon, we still prefer it. Firstly, a family of 4 can all get inside the same log flume which is nice. Secondly there are two larger drops on this flume ride so it’s double the fun!
It’s also a good ride to get a family photo on (if you’re planning on buying one whilst you’re here).
Don’t swerve this one. It’s good.
Requirements to ride: Anyone under 0.95 metres in height can not ride. Children under 8 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Sky Swinger
The classic spinning swing ride, which has both double and single seats so younger ones can join in on the fun too.
Our boys enjoy this one, but they said they don’t like that ‘it’s covered in paintings of princesses’ haha.
Requirements to ride: Anyone under 1 metre in height can not ride. Children under 8 years or 1.2 metres in height must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Edge
A big spinning disc that bumps its way up and down along a wavy track. Riders face outwards on this ride, sitting on seats that are a little bit like a motorbike.
It’s not the most comfortable to ride this one as the back support sort of squishes you in. It’s also only been open from 12pm instead of 10am like most of the other rides.
Requirements to ride: Children under 6 years old or 1.2 metres cannot ride. Children under 8 years old and 1.4 metres must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Rides inside Tornado Springs
The theming at Tornado Springs is probably the best theming within Paulton’s Park. The attention to detail is seriously impressive, and you really do feel like you’re walking around some sort of old 1950’s American town. It’s fab!
This area has a nice blend of gentle family rides and some faster thrill rides to suit all age groups.
Farmyard Flyer
The Farmyard Flyer rollercoaster is styled to look like a plane and it completes two laps of the short track.
I don’t why, but this rollercoaster feels so smooth to ride. It used to be mine and Jasper’s favourite, but now we’ve got braver it feels a bit slow. Its a great family coaster though for younger children and the next step up from Dino-Chase.
Requirements to ride: You must be 0.9M or over to ride. Children under 7 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Cyclonator
This is a big thrill ride for the real dare devils! It’s a ginormous spinning pendulum that swings 25 meters up in the air. It’s a big no for me, but my eldest loves going on this by himself!
James went on it once, but started to feel a little queasy near the end as the Cyclonator goes on for quite a long time…
Requirements to ride: Children under 6 years old and 1.2 metre in height cannot ride. Children under 8 years old and 1.4 metres in height must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Storm Chaser
A ride on the Storm Chaser gets you feeling super disorientated! This fast rollercoaster has spinning cars, so you get so confused where you’re going and keep facing different people along the course of the track.
I think this could be the largest rollercoasters at Paulton’s Park, it certainly looks it anyway
Our boys love this one.
Requirements to ride: Children under 4 years old or 1 metre in height cannot ride. Children under 8 years old and 1.2 metres in height must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Buffalo Falls
This slide ride is brilliant! There are 4 lengthy slides in a row, so you can race each other down in your own rubber dinghys or have one child in with you.
As the boys were older this time, myself and James went in our own and the boys jumped in together for a chance of beating us to the finish line.
This ride is rapid and heaps of fun! You also get a great up-close view of Storm Chaser from the queue.
Requirements to ride: Anyone under 0.9m in height cannot ride. Children under 7 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Windmill Towers
These little towers are like a mini version of Magma. However we were all surprised that Windmill Towers made our bellies flip over way more than the bigger Magma drop ride.
Requirements to ride: Children under 0.9m in height cannot ride. Children under 7 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Critter Creek
Critter Creek is another area within Paulton’s Park. Although it looks a little older as the theming isn’t half as good as Tornado Springs or the Lost Kingdom.
But they have a few rides in here, along with some real life critters and animals to see.
Cat-a-pillar Coaster
Our favourite ride in this area has to be Cat-a-pillar Coaster. Now this is a brilliant family-coaster! Scarier than Dino-Chase and Farmyard Flyer, the Cat-a-pillar coaster offers a great first drop and does a total of two laps. It’s a perfect middle ground ride that’s a lot of fun!
Requirements to ride: You must be 0.9M or over to ride. Children under 7 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Food & drink options at Paulton’s Park
There are plenty of restaurants and places to get food and snacks dotted all around Paulton’s Park. You can easily find them on the map within the park app, follow the directional arrows on site or failing that you could follow your nose.
We chose to bring a picnic with us to help keep the cost down, but we did buy some sweets and some extra drinks from a couple kiosks throughout the park. As to be expected it wasn’t the cheapest, so i’m glad we brought a picnic.
Address for Paultons Park car park
Paultons Family Theme Park is well sign posted and easy to find in the New Forest. Parking is also free and we’ve never struggled to find a space. To get here, use this address:
Paultons Park Home of Peppa Pig World, Ower, Romsey, The New Forest, Hampshire, SO51 6AL
Top tips for visiting Paulton’s Park
Leave Peppa until later: Peppa Pig World is really busy in the mornings, but seems to fizzle out during the afternoons. So if you’re not going to Paulton’s Park just for that, I would suggest to leave the Peppa Pig World until the afternoon.
Download the free Paulton’s Park app: This app is so handy. You can upload your tickets to it and save all the rides you really want to go on. Plus you can see live queue times, and use the map and see where to go to find food, rides and toilets!
Take a picnic: Food and drink can soon mount up and add a big expense to your day out. We always pack a picnic and bring plenty of drinks with us to help keep the cost down.
Let them know if it’s your birthday: This year we visited on Jasper’s actual birthday, and he happened to wear his number 9 birthday badge. Because of that, they gave him another badge and staff were wishing him a happy birthday all day long which he loved.
We love coming to Paulton’s Park for a treat day out. The rides here are brilliant, the queues are minimal, and with the boys being over 8 years old they can pretty much go on everything by themselves.
There’s loads more rides that I haven’t covered, plus all the animals and different gardens to explore here too. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a great theme-park in England thats ideal for younger children.
We can’t wait to come back again next year!
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