Photo TR: Lost Kingdom Preview Day

[StealthFan]

Recently Theme Park Review were invited to the preview event for the brand new "Lost Kingdom".

 

Im going to be honest before I start that I love to visit Paultons Park whenever I can. To me it is one of, if not the nicest and most relaxing parks in the country, so this land had a lot to live up to in my eyes. I can safely say that it most certainly did that.

 

For those of you who don't know "Lost Kingdom" is the brand new land opening at Paultons Park that transports guests back to the Jurassic era featuring 2 brand new roller coasters. This investment is the single biggest in the park history at a staggering £9 million! The new area definitely helps widen the appeal of the park to a larger audience and age range as previously the park was predominantly pushed towards very young families with Peppa Pig World.

 

With the help of RMA Themed Attractions the park have created a fully immersive environment that impresses from the moment you walk in the archway. I can't deny that I have been very lucky with the parks I've been able to visit all over the world so I am not easily blown away by things these days but I could tell in an instant just how much love and care the park have put into this area. Everything has been thought out and has logic behind it, it didn't feel tacky, cheap or rushed. I got the impression that this area wouldn't have opened at all until the park were happy with it which is such a great feeling to have walking around. When you remember the park isn't owned by some huge company like Merlin, Cedar Fair, Six Flags etc and they self funded it makes this all the more impressive.

 

I could go on but I think I will let the photos do some of the talking.

 

Yay we have arrived

All checked in and ready to go!

First stop was the brand new family SLC, Flight of the Pterosaur

Having already been on a few of these I knew what to expect going in.

And that of course is that these rides are a hell of a lot of fun.

It astonishes me that this is the only one of these in the UK.

All of these people agree that the ride is just so much fun!

Who doesn't love a good nerdy sign?

This is a fossil of the flatosauras rex!

Another brand new ride for the park was next up!

And what an Eggstrodinary ride it was too.

A personal favourite of mine was the Dinosaur Tour Co car ride.

Which even has a themed queue line feature a cave!

This plane made me think of the game Uncharted so I started to sing Nates theme.

Im pretty sure every single dinosaur in the whole of Lost Kingdom moves which adds so much to the atmosphere.

You couldn't have a prehistoric themed area without waterfalls!

Why are this dinosaurs eyes closed? Maybe he had a strong curry last night.

 

Why not take a ride for yourself with the Dinosaur Tour Co and check out this POV!

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

How many people wish this dino managed to eat me?

For all those wanting to explore Lost Kingdom here is a handy map for you.

Now on to what I personally believe will be the most popular part of the Lost Kingdom! A meet and greet with a T-Rex!

Well hello my T-Rex, please dont eat me.

Who wants to get head butted by a T-Rex? I didn't but it happened and it was awesome!

Bye bye T-Rex!

Who thinks this looks like Trixie from Toy Story?

Ever thought of trying some Dino Plops?

I can neither confirm nor deny that this is where said plops are produced.

No Dinos here.

Some of the parks old rides have been re themed for the new land such as their Tivoli coaster.

The ride looks almost brand new and if you didn't know any better you would think the park only just purchased the ride.

Everywhere you look something has been themed. This door is literally just to allow access to the main footer for the SLC.

Good to see the Dinos are all about H&S and are wearing hard hats.

The second big addition for Lost Kingdom is Velociraptor.

This is a custom junior boomerang and only the 2nd of this ride type in the country!

Who wishes they could have the ride to themselves like this?

This is a sign of quality when it comes to these 2 new rides.

I love the colour of the track on this ride!

Was the train going backwards or forwards in this picture? Its a mystery we may never know the answer too!

I have to say I believe this ride is better than Ben 10 and when the train is fully loaded there is even some surprised airtime.

"Hands up if you love Velociraptor!"

If I was to be a bit picky I think the tarmac does let the area down slightly but that may just be due to how new it is. Hopefully when it fades and gets weathered it won't stand out as much.

"Hows the weather up there?"

The Lost Kingdom has nearly awoken and roared into life. Are you ready for it?

The whole area is huge in terms of investment to the park and will hopefully bring more guests to this side of the park.

"Oh its like a little baby dinosaur!"

Sadly the time has come to leave the Lost Kingdom after a fantastic day.

 

Over all I can praise the park enough for the job they have done and I truly believe that they have a good chance of impacting Chessington's visitor numbers over the next few years if they keep this up. Also I want to thank the park for throwing one of the best and most well organised media events I've been too in this country as well.

 

If you get the chance to visit the park I can't recommend it enough!

 

-Craig

Edited May 16, 2016 by StealthFan

[SFOG1991]

Wow that's actually a really impressive area. The theme is great. Also, those are two of Vekoma's best designs.

 

I want to do a T-Rex meet and great now...

[gisco]

Is that a little camera in the nose of the T-Rex?

[Nrthwnd]

It's the T-Rex' Third Eye.

 

 

Or a killer laser.

[viking86]

That whole area looks awesome! I loved dinosaurs when I was a kid, so this area would have been like paradise to me. Good choice of rides as well, I haven't been on any of the boomerangs, but I've been on a couple of the suspended coasters and they are really fun for people of all ages.

[cfc]

It's the T-Rex' Third Eye.

 

 

Or a killer laser.

 

Dinos with frickin' laser beams!

 

[Henry M]

Why do you call the Vekoma family suspended coasters SLC's? It does not make sense, and they are not looping! It should be called a Vekoma SFC.

[laqueefa]

Dino Plops! Great TR, dude. Looks like a fun family park with some great theming.

[King]

Why do you call the Vekoma family suspended coasters SLC's? It does not make sense, and they are not looping! It should be called a Vekoma SFC.

 

It loops, just not the vertical type

 

I like the look of the family boomerang. Hopefully we'll see one in the US soon.

[Cavs Fan]

Great TR man. That new section looks really nice. Every time I see parks themed like this I can't help but think, "what if..." for concepts like Dinosaurs Alive and other attractions that COULD HAVE had awesome theming.

[Morgan]

It amazes me how a park like Paultons can continually get it right with their investments. Peppa Pig World put them on the map, with one of the best kid's areas I've seen, they've invested a lot in the park entrance area which has elevated it from a cheaper looking regional park into an impressive sleek and modern area, and now Lost Kingdom which looks amazing, which has theming that puts anything Merlin have done to shame.

 

If they continue on this trajectory they will definitely become a major player in the UK (more so than they are already).