Re: NEW RIDE PAULTONS 2012 ?
Magma open to the public on 31st March. On Saturday 24th March, Paultons Park held a special preview day for VIPs.
The lanyard says I'm a VIP so I'm sticking to it.
Fancy volcano themed cupcakes, which were awesomely tasty.
I was just about tall enough to ride.
Ooo, theming. Shame about the bin. Is it really that difficult to get themed bins? To add to the theme, I think a few dino footprints in the tarmac around the ride would look great.
This is the side of the volcano structure. A little boxy, perhaps?
RAAAA! These shrubs were mazing. It clever how they got them to grow like that.
Inside the internal queue, not a close up of my bowel. The light on the ceiling is fab. It dims and flickers.
The smoky water pool. Wasn't very smoky when we walked past it, but it's got potential.
Superb magma effects built in the wall.
Bit more queue line theming. Wonder what's behind that cage?
RAAAA!
Don't worry, the chain will keep him contained.
So onto the ride. Please take a seat.
Oh, what are these for?
Oh wow!
Smoke fills the entire ride area, it's a really good effect. It was so thick at times, you couldn't see the walls!
Going up!
Looking down on the volcano. It's not finished yet, red lava colours will be added.
Hahaha, I shall crush you like ants! Look, the view has changed.
A beautiful view of Hampshire's countryside, only made better thanks to Nic's gorgeous brillo-pad hair.
Now it's bouncing up and down...
View from the very top, nearly 25mtrs up.
And now some ride shots to finish it off.
So how does it ride? "Gentle" is the best word to describe it. Remember though, this is Paultons Park who's target age is 4-10 year olds. I couldn't feel the gondola rotate as it climbed the tower so on the ascent, it has a quaint observation tower feel to it. The drop and subsequent raising (the "bounce") is smooth, not jerky like some bounce towers can be. The drop has enough force to produce that willy lift/floaty stomach sensation but not as extreme as the fab Jumpin' Bean.
The ride cycle they operated on the preview day was quite long (about 3mins). There are 10 different ride cycles.
It's nice to see Paultons making an effort to theme a ride, although I think the volcano looks a bit boxy in places. It'll look better when the red lava is in place. A solid addition to the park who know their demographic well, so yeah, it's one for the kids. For adults, it's not thrilling, just a bit of fun.
Here's a video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5am012yQkAU[/youtube]