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PAULTONS Park has finally revealed the opening date for its much anticipated Viking Valgard land.
Valgard: Realm of the Vikings will be a “fully immersive Viking world bursting with all new adventures, epic discovery, and legendary rides”.
And the new £12million development is set to open on May 16, 2026.
Visitors will be able to head on Drakon – Paultons’ most thrilling rollercoaster yet with two inversions and a “beyond-vertical drop”.
There will also be Raven, which is the park’s Gerstlauer Bobsled ride reimagined and Vild Swing, which swings 12 metres high and is a first of its kind in the UK.
There will also be a themed playground.
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After exploring the attractions, visitors can head to the Feasting Hall where they can chose from a range of hearty dishes.
Valgard: Real of the Vikings will be located next to Lost Kingdom.
According to Paultons’ website, the land will be suitable for parents, older children and teenagers, with the new rides not for the faint-hearted.
James Mancey, deputy managing director at Paultons Park, previously said: “We’ve opened two brand-new rides in the last two years and with the build of Valgard firmly underway, we’re excited to open a further three, bigger-and-better-than-ever-before rides, between now and summer 2027.
“Valgard promises an immersive, atmospheric, and action-packed experience for families and has been specifically designed to grow with our fans.
“The introduction of inversions and a vertical lift hill on Drakon certainly up the adrenaline levels at Paultons Park, but staying true to our roots, we haven’t forgotten about the little ones and there is something for all of the family in our new Viking village.”
Once Valgard: Realm of the Vikings opens, the theme park will boast over 80 rides and attractions across six themed worlds.
In March of this year, the park also submitted plans to build a new holiday village with a resort offering.
It would be located next to Valgard: Realm of the Vikings and would feature between 85 and 95 lodges, parking and its own entrance.
In May, the park then also released a 26-second trailer on YouTube for 2027.
The video doesn’t show much other than a wave washing over a giant ‘2027’ sign standing on a rock, but many fans have speculated that the park will be getting a new water ride.
One person commented: “It’s gonna be the long rumoured water coaster.”
Another said: “Judging by the clue being water, I think that the new investment for 2027 will be a Mack Rides Water Coaster.”
THE Sun’s travel editor Caroline McGuire recently visited the theme park, and here is what she thought…
Last week, a friend from the school gates and I decided to ignore the alert from the Met Office about high-speed gusts and still visit Paultons Park in the New Forest.
And it turned out to be an excellent decision, because the longest we queued for a ride was about four minutes.
And it was two minutes for popular rides Al’s Auto Academy and the Farmyard Flyer rollercoaster.
That fact alone makes this my favourite theme park in Europe.
Because it doesn’t matter how good the rides are if you’re waiting up to an hour for each one.
On the kids’ favourite rides, such as the Velociraptor and Cat-O-Pillar coasters, we were able to fit in about three rounds in 15 minutes.
Paultons is the perfect starter park for toddlers, and I first took my son there when he was two, lured by its famous Peppa Pig World.
He is in year 2 now, so has grown out of Peppa and moved on to the entry-level coasters, of which they have several.
So despite the yellow weather warnings, we spent the entire weekend outside, grinning from ear to ear.
And we were blown away, in the good sense.
Paultons Park was also named the best theme park in the UK – scooping up 10 awards recently.
Plus, it is the UK’s best value theme park also has the shortest queue times in the country.
THE new and enormous theme park in Riyadh is set to open within the next two months despite it still being under construction.
Six Flags Qiddiya City said it’s will open later this year after reports it would be pushed back to spring 2026.
Attractions Magazine revealed last week that Six Flags shared an opening date timeframe of “the first half of 2026” for Six Flags Quiddiya City in a press release.
But then a Six Flags representative reached out the publication to clarify the new theme park is expected to open in late 2025.
The theme park was first announced in 2019 to be part of Quiddiya City – an entertainment hub in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The new theme park will have the world’s fastest and tallest rollercoaster in the world called Falcon’s Flight – three others will also break records.
Falcon’s Flight, the fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world with speeds of 155 mph and heights of 639 feet.
The Sirocco Tower, will become the tallest free-standing shot ride in the world with a maximum height of 475 feet tall.
Iron Rattler, the tallest tilt coaster in the world at 208 feet tall. And Gyrospin, the tallest pendulum ride in the world will be 173 feet tall.
The Six Flags Qiddiya City will have six different lands; Steam Town, City of Thrills, Twilight Gardens, Grand Exposition, Valley of Fortune and Discovery Springs.
Discovery Springs is where visitors will be transported to deep underwater.
It has a ride called ‘Into the Deep’ where riders will be transported into sea caves on the interactive dark ride.
A rollercoaster called Sea Stallion, which will become the tallest and fastest rider-controlled coaster in the world, that will travel over rivers and behind waterfalls.
It also has a water drop adventure ride, and playground for children called Aquatopia.
The Aquarabia water park will also be part of the complex – and will be the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia.
There will be eight themed zones inspired by the wildlife found in Saudi Arabia, for example Camel Rock and Viper Canyon.
Inside the water park that’s also set to open in late 2025, will be 22 rides, a surf pool, water coaster and slides.
It’s not all rides and rollercoasters at Qiddiya City, the site will open its own racetrack that spans across two levels – the first of its kind in the world.
Called, Speed Park, the track is set to open in 2027, and the plan is that the track will eventually host the country’s Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The track has even been designed by racing drivers and will have the very first elevated track corner which is 70-metres high – which equates to a 20-storey building.
While the track will mostly be used by professionals, it will host open days for members of the public.
Plus, read more from one writer who went to one of Europe’s biggest theme parks with more than 40 attractions and record-breaking rollercoasters.
