Peppa Pig World at Paulton’s Park theme park has recently expanded, with two new rides; Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club and The Queen’s Flying Coach Ride, which are up and ready to open to the public on the 16th May 2018.
This weekend they held two Grand Preview events and we were really lucky to be invited along to try out the rides in advance of the official opening day!
We love Paulton’s Park; this was in fact our fourth family trip (read about our first here) in the last two years or so.
This means we’re pretty au fait with what they have to offer for the under fives by now. Despite my personal reservations about Peppa and her family members, I have to concede it’s still great a great theme park and a very good family day out – we couldn’t wait to see what the new rides were like!
The new rides are both situated beside and behind the cafe and soft play area and they are both suitable for children of all ages, as long as they’re accompanied by a parent.
The Queen’s Flying Coach Ride
The Queen’s Flying Coach Ride takes a coach of up to six people on a sky-high but toddler-friendly slow paced trip around the new park area, with views across the whole of Peppa Pig World, whilst you are played a soundtrack of Peppa and the Queen discussing picnics.
It is a great ride for a game of I-Spy, and the kids loved it!
Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club
Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club is a boat ride which cruises through the new area.
It’s mainly a slow, serene route although the boats are surrounded by tyres which bump along and twirl you around, but it’s still suitable for very young children as long as you can trust them not to climb out!
Seated inside a circular ‘boat’ which can hold up to 4 people (including children), the current of the water pushes the boat along, past Peppa’s friends on Pirate Island with a snoozing Grandpa Pig, Peppa’s family having a picnic and Peppa and the Queen jumping in muddy puddles.
It was really popular with my two; they didn’t stop smiling the whole way around!
One of the more memorable moments from our trip was going on the new Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club ride for the second time.
There were 5 of us; Lisa from Pass the Prosecco Please and her son, plus me and my two – Doug decided to sit this one out. The kids decided they wanted to go together but you could only seat 4 in a boat… So they went with Lisa leaving me to ride the family ride all on my tod.
As there was no one else really in the park at that point, Peppa and George decided that they would cheer me up by waving at me like my own personal cheerleaders. Not at all awkward in any way at all I promise you.
Which other rides will under-5s love at Peppa Pig World?
There are plenty of other rides to try at Peppa Pig World. If you visit out of season like we tend to, none of them have long queues and you should be able to get through all of the rides in a day with time to spare (or spend in soft play).
Without a doubt the worst one is Miss Rabbit’s Helicopter Ride; lots of waiting to get going and soooo not worth it. Trust me, if you need to miss one out then that is the ride you should swerve in order to avoid angry toddlers. I’ve done it three times at my children’s insistence and three times I have said never again.
The best rides for my money are George’s Dinosaur Adventure – although children have to be over 85cm to go on this one, the only ride with a height restriction in the park – and Peppa’s Big Balloon Ride.
George’s Dinosaur adventure is a sit-on dinosaur ride which goes up and down around a track. If under 1.1m then your child sits on a seat in front of you.
The balloon ride is a high one; the balloons go up into the air and circle around and you can spin the individual balloons around from inside.
They’re all clean and well staffed, in fact the whole park is very well looked after.
What’s good for under-5s in the rest of Paulton’s Park?
There is of course loads to do at Paulton’s Park outside of Peppa Pig World which is suitable for under-5s.
There are animals to see in the new Little Africa attraction as well as birds, small animals and plenty of play areas throughout the park.
Make sure to stop by Critter Creek.
You can check out the cave of creepy crawlies, and ride the Cat-o-Pillar rollercoaster which my eldest loved!
The Lost World is the dinosaur land.
Although two of the rides (the Velociraptor and Flight of the Pterosaur) are too much for my two, they loved the jeep ride (The Dinosaur Tour Co.), Boulder Dash and the Dino Chase rollercoaster which is a slow child-friendly one.
For small tots who can be trusted to ride alone, there are two rides situated behind the River Ride log flume, the Digger Ride and Polar Falls. Both brilliant for the 2-4 age group. I must admit I’d never stumbled across these before!
How much is Paulton’s Park (including Peppa Pig World)?
I won’t lie, it isn’t a cheap day out by any means. If your child is under 1 metre tall then QUICK! Go while they’re free. And no, you won’t get away with it if they’re a few cm out, even if you stick them in a buggy. They will measure.
A ticket for anyone over 1m and under 60 years old is £34.35 (for the oldies it’s £31.75). You can save £5 on each ticket by booking at least one day in advance and a family ticket can also bring the price down slightly – but only by a few quid. Make sure you check out the Paulton’s Park website to figure out the best tickets for you in advance of your visit.
We got free entry to Paulton’s Park and Peppa Pig World on the day of the Grand Preview for the purposes of this post – as always, pictures and opinions are mine!
What do you think of the Peppa Pig World new rides?
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