In May, we were invited to the family theme park, Paultons Park. They were opening two new rides in Peppa Pig World and we were asked to go and review them. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go. So when we knew we would be in Southampton for the weekend in early July, we decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to visit Paultons Park.

Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World – A Review

I have to admit that I really didn’t know what to expect as we headed to Paultons Park. And even though I’d read some fabulous reviews (including this one from my good friend Alex at Lamb & Bear), I was worried that there might not be much for Little Mister H to do.

I needn’t have worried at all. From the moment we walked in and discovered that children under a metre go free, it was clear that most of this family theme park is catered to young children and their families. In fact, everything about Paultons Park impressed me and I was surprised that every single member of the family (including a rather grumpy Mr H.) loved our day at Paultons.

 

Our Day At Paultons Park

Our weekend in Southampton was at the beginning of the current heatwave. So we decided to try to beat the crowds and arrive at Paultons Park for the 10:00 am opening time. There was a steady stream of traffic into the park, even at that time, but we were stewarded to a huge car park.

We got our two excited children out of the car and headed to the entrance. Once we’d picked up our tickets, I noticed that the entrance was getting busy and I was worried that Paultons Park was going to be crammed with people. Yet, this was one of the most amazing things about the park. It was clearly very busy but I never felt that we were surrounded by crowds. Everyone manages to disperse themselves evenly across the theme park. And in Peppa Pig World, most of the queues for the rides were less than 15 minutes. In fact, the longest queue was 30 minutes long and that was for Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club (one of the new rides that opened in May).

Lost Kingdom

When we arrived at Paultons Park, one of the lovely members of staff advised that we start at the far end of the park. As apparently everyone heads straight to Peppa Pig World. But it is actually quieter at Peppa Pig World during lunchtime or in the afternoon.

As advised, we headed to Lost Kingdom, a dinosaur theme park with animatronic dinosaurs dotted throughout the landscape. There is the opportunity of having a dinosaur encounter and coming face-to-face with a real live dinosaur. And Lost Kingdom is also home to two of Paultons Park’s biggest rollercoasters; the Velociraptor and the Flight of the Pterosaur.

Little Mister H loves dinosaurs and so we thought that he would love it there. And although Little Mister H was very happy to roar at all the dinosaurs, Little Miss H seemed a little overawed by the roller coasters and the dinosaurs. So we decided to take a leisurely stroll over to Peppa Pig World. We walked through the main gardens, which are beautiful and stopped to have a look at the birds in the aviary.

On our way to Peppa Pig World, we passed a beautiful carousel; The Victorian Carousel. It’s a stunning carousel with lovely ponies. Little Miss H asked if she could take a turn. And so, Little Miss, Little Mister H and I all headed to The Victorian Carousel. Both Little Miss and Little Mister H loved their turn on the carousel. In fact, they both wanted to have another turn. After the carousel, the children then went on the Viking Boats with their Daddy. And by this point, Little Miss H had got over her earlier reluctance and was desperate to go to Peppa Pig World and go on all the rides.

Peppa Pig World

I LOVE Peppa Pig World. It’s  bright and clean (the whole of Paultons Park is spotlessly clean) and from the moment you enter you can’t help but smile. The attention to detail is amazing. From the snippets of Peppa Pig and her friends that you hear on the audio to the trees that are straight out of the cartoon. And both Little Miss and Little Mister H were transfixed with this world filled with rainbow colours and fun.

Little Miss H choose to go on Peppa Pig’s Balloon Ride first. Like most of the rides in Peppa Pig World there are no height restrictions on this ride and so all the family could go. And it is quite simply a hot air balloon ride with some fantastic views of Peppa Pig World.

A Detour to Little Africa

After this ride, it was nap time for Little Mister H, so we put him in his buggy and took a stroll to somewhere quieter. We went to Little Africa and it is a lovely area of Paultons Park. We saw meerkats, fennec foxes and some African birds. And Little Mister H fell asleep.

After our detour to Little Africa, Little Miss H decided that she wanted to go back to Peppa Pig World and try the two new rides; The Queen’s Flying Coach Ride and Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club.

The New Rides at Peppa Pig World

The Queen’s Flying Coach Ride and Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club were only opened in May. They all centre around the Queen’s Castle and this is now such a focal point of Peppa Pig World. We first went on the Queen’s Flying Coach Ride, a gentle monorail ride that provides amazing views of the rest of the park. Little Miss H and I giggled at the audio of the Queen and Peppa talking and we both enjoyed spotting Peppa and her friends. In fact, Little Miss just seemed to love starring out of the back of our themed carriage. And she was thrilled that our carriage was pink.

We then queued for 30 minutes to go on Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club, a splashing and spinning boat ride. This was without a doubt Little Miss H’s favourite ride. She squealed with delight as our lovely boat took us past Peppa and her friends. And Little Miss H was so happy when we arrived at Pirate Island and she could spot all her favourite characters.

Lunchtime

It was then time for a spot of lunch. There are plenty of places to eat at Paultons Park and there are lots of different types of food to choose from. We went to the Rail Road Dinner and ordered fish and chips – which were really yummy. I was also really impressed that there were plenty of places to sit and eat your food. And that the queues to order lunch moved quickly.

Mr Potato’s Playground and Muddy Puddles

Then after lunch we headed to Mr Potato’s Playgroud. There is a great assortment of equipment here and both Little Miss and Little Mister H were entertained for a long time. They were both very happy just crawling through the large tunnels.

But it wasn’t long before Little Miss saw all the splashing fun in Muddy Puddles. So both of the children quickly changed into their swimming costumes and off they went to run and splash in the water. It was such a hot day that they were both very grateful to be able to cool down in the water. And they had so much fun. Little Mister H was also fascinated to see where the water came from and how it disappeared and then reappeared again. It was really sweet to watch.

Eventually, we managed to pry the children away from the water. We got them changed and dry and then headed back to the car. It had been a fabulous day. And I felt that we only just scratched the surface of what Paultons Park and even Peppa Pig World had to offer.

We put two very happy but very tired children into the car.  And as every parent knows, the true sign of a fabulous family day out is when both children fall asleep the moment you get in the car for the journey home. We’re already planning a return visit to Paultons Park, as Little Miss H has asked to go there for her sixth birthday.

Have you been to Paultons Park? What are your tips for visiting? I would love to hear all about them in the comments.

Hugs

Lucy

xxxx

Disclosure:

We were given tickets to Paultons Park for the purpose of this review. But as always all opinions, words and images are 100% honest and 100% my own.