Paultons Park opened Valgard: Realm of the Vikings on May 16th, 2026, becoming the park’s largest themed area to date. The new land opened adjacent to the existing Lost Kingdom area and debuted with a Gerstlauer Eurofighter coaster known as Drakon, the park’s most thrilling coaster yet. Alongside it came an ART Engineering Wild Swing, aptly named Vild Swing which marked a first for the UK whilst also offering a family-friendly option thanks to its tamer ride cycle and 90cm height restriction. The park’s popular Gerstlauer Bobsled coaster known as Cobra was rethemed into Raven as part of the expansion. The area also introduced a Viking-themed playground and a brand-new Nordik-themed dining hall, allowing guests to feast like true warriors.

Galleries

17th May 2025

The construction of Valgard: Realm of the Vikings is very prominent at the back of the park. With a new pathway already constructed to allow guests to access Cobra and Magma, construction is visible from all directions. As part of the Theme Park Super Fans Day 2025, we were also able to go behind the fence and into a small section of the site. The main notable structures which have been erected thus far have been the steel framework for the new dining location and the new building behind the brake run of Cobra. Over at Drakon, the foundations for the support structure are in the process of being developed. The concrete pad for the vertical lift hill has been completed as well as the foundations for the brake run of the ride.

7th July 2025

Lots of work has taken place at Paultons Park in the past few weeks. The foundations for Drakon, the park’s new Gerstlauer Eurofighter, are now complete. The steel framework for the ride’s station and queue line building have begun to be constructed. The scale of this building will create a nice stand out structure within the new area. Work has also continued on the brand new dining location with materials which will make up the external walls starting to be installed. Additional materials are now being stored on the site of the former Go Kart track – this area seems to have received more ground clearing since our last update. Marketing for the new area has also been added to the construction walls.

20th July 2025

Work on the station building for Drakon, the new Gerstlauer Eurofighter, has continued. The metal framework now also extends up until the base of the lift hill and further out on most sides. The current state of this building highlights the huge scale of this station structure, it is clear that this will be one of the focal points within the new area. Additionally, work has continued on the recladding of the Cobra station building with the new Viking style windows coming along nicely.

27th July 2025

In the past week, a new small building structure has been constructed next to the lift hill of Cobra and close to where the first drop on Drakon shall be located. Work has continued on the Drakon station building with more steel framework being added. Over at the main restaurant building, work has begun adding the external cladding with a Viking style wooden aesthetic.

2nd August 2025

In this update, we got our first look at an example of how the buildings in the Viking village of Valgard will look when complete. The external cladding and overall finish of the toilet block building has been revealed as scaffolding has begun removal. The design features a primarily wooden aesthetic with Nordic detailing and a green paint fade. We cannot wait to see the doors and additional detailing at the base of the building go into place.

The steel framework of the Drakon station is now complete with the first signs of wood now going into place. More materials have been delivered directly adjacent to the building which suggests that this going to be an area to watch across the coming weeks. Work has also continued rapidly on the main dining location within the area with wooden panelling now going into place.

22nd August 2025

The first section of track for Drakon has arrived on site at Paultons Park, representing an exciting milestone in the construction project of Valgard: Realm of the Vikings. This track section is for the internal sections of the building and once installed shall allow for internal theming to commence. Paultons Park have confirmed that the rest of the track is set to arrive in October to then be erected in November, as soon as park has passed its peak season. External cladding has continued on the steel framework of both the restaurant building and Drakon’s station. Elsewhere, foundations have continued to be poured ready for the Vild Swing ride system to be installed.

7th September 2025

This was the final day that we could walk around what will be Valgard: Realm of the Vikings before the construction walls are pushed back. This meant that this was the final day of operation for Magma at Paultons Park prior to being relocated to another theme park within the UK. Cobra has now closed so it can begin its refurbishment, retheme and transformation into Raven as part of the new area. The Edge will return without any changes in 2026 with the opening of Valgard.

Work has continued on Drakon’s station with the station track now installed. Additional cladding is being added to the exterior of the structure as well as further work on completing the roof structure. More detailing has taken place on the new dining location within the area, and the toilet block has seen rockwork cladding added to the bottom of the building to complete the overall finish. Finally, additional concrete has been poured for the foundations of Vild Swing which is the new flat ride within Valgard.

11th September 2025

Only a few days after the closure of Magma and Cobra, the construction walls have been pushed forward to block off the entirety of the up and coming new area. The volcano shell surrounding Magma has already partially been removed and the trains for Cobra have now been taken off the track and into a staff area. Additional track for Drakon have also been delivered to site prior to full track installation beginning in the coming weeks.

17th September 2025

Within 10 days of its last day of operation, the ride system, tower and gondola for the former attraction Magma have now been removed. The main tower was carefully disassembled yesterday prior to being sent to another UK park. The remainder of the volcano structure is likely to be removed in the coming days.

Since the removal of the Cobra trains from the track, work has started on preparing the ride for its transformation into Raven, with primer being applied to the blue tracks. Work has continued Drakon’s station, with further cladding and roofing being added. Paintwork has also started on Drakon’s station roof, with one section done and another being prepared. In the car park, lots of new supports have arrived for Drakon alongside more pieces of track. The concrete foundations for Vild Swing appear to be complete, with the wooden supports removed ready for the ride to be installed.

The temporary fences blocking off the pathway beside Sky Swinger have now been replaced by more permanent wooden construction walls with Viking-inspired designs. The original construction walls have now been removed, giving a clearer view of the overall area.

24th October 2025

Since our last update, work has progressed even further on Drakon’s station with the exterior nearing completion. The painted station roof has been given a weathered effect and some more rockwork detailing has been added to the lower portion of the building. The majority of Drakon’s track and supports, including the first piece of the lift hill structure, have now arrived on-site. These have been moved from the car park and are now sitting in what will be the ride area for the new Gerstlauer coaster.

The kiosk for Vild Swing has recently been erected, this will hold the operator panel for this family flat ride. The building has a similar style to the rest of the area with a Viking-inspired wooden structure. Further theming structures for the area have also arrived on-site ahead of installation. Cobra’s transformation into Raven is moving at a rapid pace, with most of the old blue track now painted with primer. The ride’s first drop and helix have now been painted a dark green colour with burgundy supports.

28th October 2025

Although only a few days since our last update, there has been some exciting progress on site with Drakon going vertical! This has seen the installation of its brake run, along with additional supports for the layout. As Cobra’s transformation into Raven continues, it can be seen that the colour of Raven’s repainted supports will match those of Drakon, creating a cohesive skyline over Valgard. Ride parts for Vild Swing have also arrived onto the construction site awaiting installation later in the week.

30th October 2025

Vild Swing from ART engineering was installed in its entirety across the last two days. It was impressive to see the ride system installed so quickly. Additional supports have been installed for Drakon and track which forms part of the main layout for the ride has begun installation.  

1st November 2025

This week has been one of the busiest yet in the Valgard: Realm of the Vikings construction period. Over on Drakon, additional track has been installed including a low to the ground banked turn between elements and the final airtime hill into the brake run. Paint work has also continued over at Raven, the park have confirmed that the supports of both Drakon and Raven are being painted the same colour to help them blend with each other.

16th November 2025

After only a ten day construction period, the track for Drakon at Paultons Park is now complete. Since our last update, Paultons Park have also announced that Valgard: Realm of the Vikings will be opening on May 16th, 2026. Since completing construction on October 30th, Vild Swing has started testing.

Cobra’s transformation seems to have paused while Drakon is completed, with no more significant progress made since our last visit. With Lost Kingdom and the surrounding rides closed throughout November for Winter maintenance, it is difficult to see what further progress has been made on other parts of Valgard.

7th December 2025

With most ride hardware now installed, work has started on landscaping and theming within Valgard: Realm of the Vikings. New rockwork has been added to the area, as well as some large Viking statues and wooden structures. Vild Swing’s entrance has recently been installed beside Drakon’s station. Floorwork has also started within Valgard, with bricks starting to go in around Vild Swing, and some new paving around Vild Swing’s entrance sign. The exterior of the new restaurant appears to be nearing completion, with windows and doors added to the building. The scaffolding that was previously around the building has now been removed, giving us our first full look at the new dining location.

Cobra’s transition into Raven continues with the roof of the station being painted in a similar style to the restaurant and Drakon’s station. Large sections of the ride are still waiting to be painted, including the lift hill. With Lost Kingdom now open for the Christmas event, we can now get our first look at Drakon’s complete layout from inside the park. Scaffolding is still up around the station, indicating that the facade is not yet complete.

20th December 2025

Lots of small changes have happened across Valgard: Realm of the Vikings since the last update. Landscaping for the area has continued with lots of trees waiting to be planted, as well as new pathways being laid. Vild Swing’s entrance sign has been moved from where it was previously installed beside Drakon’s station to be beside Vild Swing, with the metal framework Vild Swing’s sign was orginally placed on remaining beside Drakon’s station. Outside of the new dining location, a large rock with a Norse tree design and the word ‘Valgard’ engraved has been installed as the centre piece for Valgard. New concrete flooring has replaced the gravel around the side of the new Valgard dining location.

Work has progressed on Drakon’s station building, with scaffolding now removed from a large section of the building to reveal the design of the facade. Cobra’s transformation now appears to be complete, with the track now fully painted in Raven’s new green and burgundy colour scheme, and the station roof now painted in a similar style to Drakon’s station and the dining location.

7th February 2026

Paultons Park has opened for the 2026 season following a month-long closure for winter works in January. Loads of work has continued across the entire of Valgard while the park has been closed despite the recent poor weather. Work has continued on the station building for Drakon, including the installation of the stairs up to the station from the queue line, work on the roof to provide a finished weathered effect and a small dragon head added to the side of the building. Fencing to secure the perimeter of the ride area along with work on the queue line and theming has continued at a steady pace ahead of trains being added to Drakon.

Lots of theming has continued to be installed across the entirety of Valgard including large statue has been added near to the feasting hall where guests enter Valgard from Lost Kingdom. Other notable changes include new detailing on the dining hall as well as large bird houses that have been added to the center of the helix’s on Raven. Following some signage which has gone into place, we now have the name for the new playground which will be a part of Valgard, this shall be known as The Orchard. It was also great to see Vild Swing testing during our visit to the park.

6th March 2026

Drakon has officially started the testing and commissioning phase. Following the arrival of trains on Friday 27th February, Drakon completed its first test run on Monday 2nd March and has been testing consistently since.

Elsewhere within Valgard: Realm of the Vikings, lots of progress has been made with the area coming together nicely. Raven’s entrance sign has now been installed, featuring an intricate wooden design and two large ravens. Across Valgard, new concrete flooring has now gone into place along with new fencing and theming pieces. Valgard’s playground, The Orchard, appears to be nearing completion, with lots of new themed play equipment installed.

14th April 2026

With only a month to go until the official opening of Valgard: Realm of the Vikings, the finishing touches are being added across the land. With Drakon fully commissioned by Gerstlauer, the park is now adding the finer details which make this land stand out above others within the UK.

Over at Drakon, the entrance sign has been installed above the queue line entrance. The landscaping and gardening teams have been hard at work adding the planting to the ride area and queue line of this new roller coaster. Additional theming such and props have been added to these areas as well as to the station building itself. At Raven, work has continued on the queue line and entrance portal. In a recent video, the park showcased that the black ravens on this sign are animatronics which is amazing to see.

Elsewhere on the site, new props have been added such as the huge entrance sign which will be an amazing photo opportunity along with the huge water wheel at the base of the Drakon lift hill. Themed lighting is in the process of being installed across the area and the fencing has now been stained a darker colour to fit in with the rest of the area. Over at the feasting hall, the external signage has been installed and there is a themed screen which is assumed to showcase the menu for the new restaurant.