An award-winning theme park in Hampshire, UK has announced the opening date for its new £12 million themed world.
Valgard – Realm of the Vikings will be Paultons Park’s largest investment to date and is aimed at families with older children and teenagers.
The new Viking-themed world, which will open on 16th May 2026, features Paultons Park’s first inverting rollercoaster. Drakon is set to become the park’s most thrilling ride with a vertical lift hill and two twists taking riders upside down.
Valgard also features a brand-new Vild Swing that swirls riders 12 metres in the air. Paultons Park will be the first theme park in the UK to install the thrilling swing by ART Engineering.
In addition to the two brand-new thrill rides, Valgard sees the retheming of Cobra, into a bobsled adventure named Raven to complement the Viking village experience.
Valgard will also feature a themed high-capacity restaurant and adventure playground for younger visitors to enjoy.
Longer-term investments
While it didn’t reveal details, Paultons Park has also confirmed that another major thrill ride is to be added to Valgard in 2027, teasing a water-related experience. In March 2025, Paultons Park also submitted a planning application to construct a holiday village, which will see the creation of a resort offering by installing 85-95 units of lodge-style accommodation, adjacent to Valgard: Realm of the Vikings, with its own parking and entrance to the park.
James Mancey, deputy managing director at Paultons Park, said: “We are thrilled to share our plans for our largest and boldest investment to date.
“As an independent, family-owned theme park, we’re incredibly proud of the investments we make to deliver the very best guest experience. 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.”
This week, Paultons Park has also released an animation of the headline coaster, Drakon:
The addition of Valgard – Realm of the Vikings sees Paultons Park boast a collection of over 80 rides and attractions across its six themed worlds including Midwestern-themed Tornado Springs, and the park’s dinosaur-themed world, Lost Kingdom.
Paultons Park, also the home of Peppa Pig World, remains one of Britain’s top attractions, having taken home several awards at the 2025 UK Theme Park Awards.
Images: Paultons Park
