The four-acre land of attractions at Paultons Park was originally set to open in 2020, before it was postponed until 19th March 2021, then 12th April 2021. 

Tornado Springs - an Americana-styled land based around a fictional 1950s midwestern town - is Paultons Park’s fifth themed land, offering several new rides and attractions.

The expansion is the result of a £12 million investment, and the Route 83 theme was inspired by the date that Paultons Park first opened to the public, 17th May 1983.

First impressions of the area were really good, with both the scale and quality of the entrance immediately setting a high standard, and the sound of rock 'n' roll filling the air.

Storm Chaser

The UK’s first free-spinning roller coaster from MACK Rides, trains of carriages are taken to a height of over 20 metres above ground, sending brave riders along 459 metres of twisting and turning track surrounded by themed features. It's an exciting ride but not too forceful and the seats are really comfortable. Due to the free-spinning carriages, it's a bit different every time and quite unpredictable, so very re-rideable.

Everyone except children under 4 years old or 1 metre in height can ride, which makes Storm Chaser the perfect addition to the line-up of coasters at Paultons Park.

A creative use of covered space below the adjacent Buffalo Falls water ride means that the majority of the queue is sheltered from the elements and well themed. There's plenty to keep you occupied while you wait, including some fun lookout points to catch glimpses of the ride in action. The ride station is themed as a giant American barn and full of little details to spot.

Cyclonator

This is an impressive 'Discovery' rotating pendulum ride from Zamperla, carrying 30 people at a time and rising to around 25 metres – it is by far the most thrilling ride at Paultons Park. The placement of the ride has made it a focal point, drawing the attention of visitors and providing onlookers with much entertainment. Despite the fairly intense ride experience, it's accessible to anyone over 6 years old and 1.2 metres tall.

Cyclonator has been themed as a wind-powered crop harvester invented by the townspeople of Tornado Springs. The queue features various amusing themed elements, to help establish the story.

Al's Auto Academy

A garage-themed driving school ride with 30 electric cars from Garmendale, allowing young visitors and accompanying adults to take a classic American car out for a spin. The cars are based on the classic Hudson Hornet which cruised the streets of the USA during the 1950s.

Before riding, the queue passes through a mechanics workshop with a full size car displayed in the centre and surrounded by props, followed by Al's safety briefing.

The cars use a simple one pedal and auto braking system so are very easy to control, and are just the right speed for novice drivers. Children 0.8 metres tall and above can ride, but must be between 6 and 12 years old to drive alone.

One particularly well designed feature is the large overhead viewing platform, allowing family members to get a great view of of their children enjoying the new attraction.

After the ride, you can purchase a Tornado Springs Driving Licence from Al's Shop & Service.

Windmill Towers

This pair of family drop rides from Zierer are themed as wind and water powered generators, providing the residents of Tornado Springs with electricity. Both towers bounce riders up and down while rotating, and can be enjoyed by anyone 0.9 metres tall and over.

Several years ago the park's old Jumping Bean and Jumping Jack towers were removed, so the Windmill Towers are a very worthy replacement.

Trekking Tractors

Since opening in 2007, this ride has offered a leisurely trip around the farmyard, but it's now looking better than ever.

Farmer Flo’s old tractors have been given a makeover and there's lots more to see along the way; all manner of delicious fruit and veg plus look out for the new cheeky and mischievous groundhogs who have taken up residence.

Buffalo Falls

The original Wave Runner water ride opened in 2003 and has been re-themed as Buffalo Falls. This four-lane slide allows you to race down three drops in dinghies, taking in the view across Tornado Springs as you rush to the bottom.

The entire structure of the attraction, which was originally supplied by Metallbau Emmeln, has been completed transformed.

Rio Grande Train Ride

The classic Rio Grande Train Ride is a Paultons Park original. It first arrived at the park in 1986 and has been extensively refurbished to provide visitors with a new experience, while retaining a piece of the family theme park’s history.

The first half of the ride takes visitors through the heart of Tornado Springs, giving great views of some of the other attractions and lots of new themed features. It's been done perfectly and is the best part. During the second half, visitors enjoy woodland and lakeside views. The only missed opportunity is the last part of the ride, where the train passes through unsightly back-of-house areas that don't serve as a very fitting end to the ride. A creative solution could be found for this, such as a themed canyon for the train to pass through.

Junkyard Junction

A playground for older children.

Parking Lot Tots

A playground for younger children.

Route 83 Diner

A much-needed new restaurant at the park, the impressive Route 83 Diner serves burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, desserts, milkshakes and much more. The park's team tried and tested 50 meals while deciding on the final menu!

We were delighted to see that customers can order their meal on self-serve screens, complete with contactless payment, before heading to a collection point.

The only frustrating thing is that some items such as pancakes and waffles are only available in the morning.

Tornado Springs also includes two more new food & drink outlets; The Haybarn, which serves delicious freshly made burritos and loaded fries, plus Tornado Teats with sundaes, doughnuts and cookies. The positioning of Tornado Treats has created a narrow pinch point so that area was getting very congested.

Al's Shop & Service

Themed as an American gas station, where young learners from Al's Auto Academy can get their very own Tornado Springs Driving Licence.

New retail ranges have been designed specifically for Tornado Springs, meaning you are able to get your hands on some fully themed memorabilia.

From concept to reality

Paultons Park now features some of the best themed areas in a UK theme park, with Tornado Springs joining the brilliant Peppa Pig World, Lost Kingdom and Critter Creek.

The Dutch company Leisure Expert Group has done an exceptional job on the masterplanning, concept development and design of Tornado Springs.

MK Themed Attractions was selected to manufacture and install all the theming. Throughout the new land, the scale and quality of the theming is impressive, and the attention to detail is high.

Another new ride, the junior coaster Farmyard Flyer will open in 2022.

There are a lot of rides and attractions packed into a modest space, with Tornado Springs occupying just 4 of the park's 140 acres, but the land is well designed with most sight lines keeping visitors pretty immersed.

Tornado Springs has been built in a space that used to be home to the park’s flamingos and pelicans. These animals have been upgraded to new homes elsewhere in the park. Some of the older attractions including Adventure Golf and Panning for Gold were removed to make room for the new land.

The evolution of the park

Paultons Park was once a small regional amusement park, but has grown to become one of the UK's leading theme parks with a national profile. The opening of Peppa Pig World in 2011 put the park on the map, and saw visitor numbers grow to more than a million a year for the first time. Peppa Pig World is ideally suited to the pre-school audience, opening up a whole new market for the park that acts as a major draw, especially midweek outside of school holidays.

In 2015, the park began to refresh existing areas of the park. Critter Creek was created by turning Stinger into the Cat-O-Pillar Coaster and replacing Wind in the Willows with Beastie Burrow, as well as adding the new ride Professor Blast's Expedition Express.

On the other side of the park, previous attractions such as the Rabbit Ride and Astroglide were cleared to make room for the Lost Kingdom, a dinosaur-themed land that opened in 2016 with 8 rides and attractions including Flight of the Pterosaur and Velociraptor.

Some of the park's older rides and other areas now feel quite out of place, and hopefully the park will continue to invest in revitalising and transforming other parts of the park to match the high standard of the newer areas.

The next priority should be replacing the Raging River Ride with a bigger and better log flume or river rapids, and re-purposing the oddly placed Digger Ride and Seal Falls next to it. Cobra and Edge are also particularly devoid of theming.

The charming Victorian Carousel that's now awkwardly sandwiched between Tornado Springs and Critter Creek would look lovely in the park's entrance area. Their other traditional rides like the Sky Swinger and Tea Cup Ride could be incorporated into the gardens.

Little favourites like the Viking Boats, Pirate Ship and Kontiki would look much better grouped together in new nautical themed area.

The Lost Kingdom could be extended to incorporate the nearby drop tower ride Magma, which is also dinosaur themed.

Whatever their future plans are, it's clear that Paultons Park is now a serious competitor to the likes of Chessington World of Adventures and LEGOLAND Windsor.

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