Tornado Springs at Paultons Park

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Hey Friends! We *finally* made it to Paultons Park to see the all new Tornado Springs area of the park after the cancelled Press Launch last year – and it did not disappoint. Paultons Park as a whole looked beautifully maintained and updated, and with the sun shining, we met my brother and sister in law with my cheeky little nephew and we spent the whole day – from 10am until after 6.30pm when we seemed to be the last people wandering about and leaving the park – having a whale of a time. It was fantastic…and now we all have the theme park blues, boooo.

So if you’re planning on taking a trip down south to sometimes sunny Hampshire, and you’re wondering if there’s anything else besides the fantastic world of Peppa Pig inside the park to enjoy, you’re in the right place! Of course, if you *do* want to learn about what’s new in Peppa Pig World, read about it in our Peppa Pig World Press Launch Post here.

Where is Paulton’s Park?

Paultons Park is on the brink of the New Forest National Park, near the village of Ower, in Hampshire. The official postcode for your sat navs is SO51 6AL. Ower services is one minute from the gate where you can find a service station with shop, and a McDonalds too.

When does it open?

We live five minutes’ drive from the theme park and so getting there early for us is easy thankfully! The park opened at 10am and we were there on the dot, entering without any queues at all. Always check the website because opening and closing times change with the season and the day of the week. Anyhow, we arrived and were guided to a parking space – there is A LOT of parking [and it’s free unlike some theme parks which shall remain nameless] which surrounds the park and it’s easy to locate the entrance from wherever you are.

Do I need to Book Tickets?

Yes. It saves money and saves queuing too. Season ticket sales are currently suspended but day tickets are available. We booked ours a week in advance to be sure. Our family of 5 cost £173 in advance.

The New Tornado Springs Area at Paultons Park

You may remember last year when the launch was planned for May and we received this invitation in the post.

…and then Covid struck. Hero and I had been Season Ticket holders and watched the construction taking place in the area and then with everything put on hold we wondered just how long it would be before Tornado Springs was able to entertain guests.

What’s the story behind the theming in Tornado Springs?

Set in the 1950s [my favorite kind of setting], the story goes that Tornado Springs is a midwest desert resort town, which unfortunately lies in the path of twisters and tornadoes. Instead of abandoning the area, the residents have learned to embrace the weather, harness it and study it, whilst cheerily going with the flow in Tornado Springs, welcoming visitors to join them and become storm chasers too – with their American hospitality and delicious food.

Where in the Park is Tornado Springs?

Enter the park through the main gates and keeping the big water globe on your right, head towards the grassy area in front of you and keep right, following the path. The area is on the right just before the carousel [which has the most amazing topiaries decorating it now!] and you can access Peppa Pig World by walking through it. If you’re unsure, follow the crowd – which will mainly be heading for Peppa World, but keep looking right. You can’t miss it.

Everything was bright and breezy as we showed our tickets, entered the park and we joined the slow parade of guests as they headed to Peppa Pig World and we took a detour right, into the all new Tornado Springs.

What’s in Tornado Springs?

In a nutshell, everything! There are rides, refreshments, food, shopping and a playpark for little ones.

Tornado Springs Rides

There’s something for everyone to ride in Tornado Springs – 8 new rides to enjoy! There are thrill rides, family rides, a children’s ride and two play parks. We managed to try all but one of the rides that were built, and the boys enjoyed the play park attraction for larger children. These are the rides, and I’ve linked a post at the bottom with all of the ride and attraction information and details on.

• Cyclonator [thrill ride]
• Storm Chaser [thrill ride]
• Al’s Auto Academy [family ride]
• Windmill Falls [family ride]
• Buffalo Falls [family ride] – pre-existing, rethemed water slide next to Peppa Pig World
• Trekking Tractors [family ride] – pre-existing, rethemed tractor ride next to Peppa Pig World
• Rio Grande Train Ride [children’s ride] – pre-existing, re-themed train which runs around the outskirts of the park and crosses Peppa Pig World at the entrance.
• Junkyard Junction [play park]
• Parking Lot Tots [play park]

Plus one more, which we could see in construction and looked like a large barn/aircraft hanger. So exciting! Eek!

Dining Options in Tornado Springs

There are two choices in Tornado Springs – Tornado Treats and the Route 83 Diner. Tornado Treats is a refreshment stand near the far end of the area, serving sundaes, ice creams and lollies, waffles and donuts as well as drinks, and the Route 83 Diner is a counter service restaurant with the *best* menu [including Key Lime Pie to die for] near the entrance, next to Al’s Shop as you enter Tornado Springs. We ate at both and the food was seriously good. I’ve had some truly awful theme park food in this country at extortionate prices but genuinely, both places were ohhh-so-good – so good that Lyoto had another waffle at the end of the day! At the bottom of the page I’ve linked my posts for both locations with more details.

Shopping in Paultons Park Tornado Springs

Al’s Shop is the place to buy all things Tornado Springs related. You can enter the shop one of two ways – in good old theme park style as you exit the Al’s Auto Academy attraction and make your way back into the park, or through the front doors. Inside you’ll find pieces of Americana decor, random toys, a whole lot of novelty sweets [which can also be found at the shop in the entrance to the park] and themed Tornado Springs Merchandise including notebooks, bottle top badges, magnets, t-shirts [that I loved] and even iron on patches. I was sad that there weren’t any mugs that I could see, but maybe they will expand on their collection soon. This is where you can view your ride photos too.

Tips for Touring Paultons Park Tornado Springs

There are posts coming shortly about the rides and the dining, but here are a few tips if you’re visiting, and Tornado Springs is your priority.

Al’s Garage – If you have little ones who are keen to have a go at driving their own car, head straight for Al’s Garage. It takes time to get the little ones on and off the car and for the attendants to check the area is clear, and so the later in the day, the longer the queue will be – and it is popular! Imagine being able to drive your own car around roads and a roundabout! All of my boys LOVED it. We headed there first and waited for 10 minutes in the queue.

Save Storm Chaser until the end – Currently the Tornado Springs area is open later than the rest of the park and guests [including me, who thought she’d missed her chance trying to get Lyoto a freakshake way across the park] were still riding the Storm Chaser at 6.20pm. One guest I spoke to had been around nine times because the queue was so short at the end of the day. Woo hoo! haha.

Eat Later – We wanted to sit down and eat at the Route 83 Diner, but knew there would be queues especially as it was the weekend. We stopped at 11.30 for a waffle and ice cream break at Tornado Treats which kept us going until 2.30pm when there were plenty of free outdoor tables and very low queues….and it was SO worth it. There’s a link at the bottom of the page for all you need to know about Tornado Springs Route 83 Diner.

More Paultons Park Tornado Springs Posts:

Tornado Treats Refreshment Stand

Tornado Springs Route 83 Restaurant

Al’s Shop

Rides at Tornado Springs

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