Creating a best-in-class visitor app for a modern theme park experience

One of the UK’s leading family theme parks, Paultons Park is located at the edge of the New Forest in the south of England. Featuring Peppa Pig World, Lost Kingdom, Tornado Springs and the new-for-2026 Valgard Realm, the park has more than 70 rides and attractions across 140 acres of parkland.

For an attraction at this scale, guests expect a seamless experience before, during, and after their visit. They need to plan their day, find their way around the park, check queue times, manage tickets and passes, and receive updates, all in a way that feels simple, useful, and part of the wider Paultons Park experience.

First Option Software has had a close working relationship with Paultons Park for many years, initially developing CommandCentr to manage its theme park operations. Since then, First Option has provided a variety of systems to support and improve park operations, including a bespoke visitor app, launched in 2022, which acts as a digital companion for guests before, during, and after their visit.

The app puts live queue data, show times, an interactive park map, tickets and passes, ride info, digital photos, and the Paultons Passport together in a single easy-to-use guest-facing platform, helping Paultons Park share real-time operational information with guests so they can make better decisions and get the most out of their visit.

Rather than just offering a digital brochure, opening hours, a static map, and a list of rides, Paultons wanted something more practical and engaging. Before their visit, guests wanted to explore the park, understand the different zones, rides and attractions, and plan their time to get the most out of the experience. 

Upon arrival, they needed an easy way to manage tickets and annual passes. Then, when through the gates, live queue times and directions were key to a smooth visit. Additionally, rather than just a static map, they needed something interactive to get directions, find show times and food options, and get notifications throughout the day.

For families, this becomes even more important. Parents with young children need answers quickly: where is the nearest ride and how long is the queue? Can my child go on it? Where are the toilets? Where can we eat? How do we get there?

Paultons Park wanted to take back ownership of its brand, rather than relying on a generic app that looked like it belonged to any theme park. It also needed the ability to grow and evolve the app around its own guest experience, including seasonal theming, for example Halloween and Christmas.

Paultons Park needed a visitor app that could:

• Display live queue and show times
• Provide up-to-date park opening times
• Help guests navigate via an interactive map
• Show guest location and directions
• Store tickets and annual passes
• Support the Paultons Passport
• Provide ride info and height restrictions
• Show food and drink options
• Send targeted notifications and offers
• Support seasonal app theming
• Integrate digital photo passes
• Connect seamlessly with other systems and partners

This had to be more than a generic white-label mobile app; it needed to feel like an extension of the Paultons Park brand, working around the real needs of its visitors, and offering the award-winning experience they expect from the park.

In 2022, First Option rolled out the Paultons Park Visitor App: a best-in-class mobile application that gives guests everything they need to get the most out of their visit to the park.

The app includes key information including opening hours, live queue times, show times, and an interactive map with directions and real-time user location, helping them navigate the 140-acre theme park more easily.

The map was also a key part of the app’s visual identity. Paultons’ in-house designer created the illustrated park map from scratch, giving the app a distinctive look and feel that felt like an extension of the park. First Option then worked with her to ensure the map was both geographically accurate and practical for guest navigation, using a 2.5D approach that showed recognisable building facades and ride features while keeping paths and ride entrances faithful to the real park layout.

When visitors can quickly find rides, food outlets and attractions, their day feels easier. The more attractions customers visit, the more likely they are to visit the park again. It’s not just about a great guest experience; it also makes commercial sense.

The app also gives practical ride information, such as height restrictions and other details, food and drink menus, park news, and targeted notifications and facts. Tickets and annual passes can also be managed digitally, reducing the need for guests to rely on paper tickets.

The app offers visitors an interactive map, showing their real-time location and giving directions to the next attraction or point of interest. This helps visitors better understand where they are, what’s nearby, and how to get to the next ride.

This was also extended to the Paultons Park website, using the same map design to create a seamless journey from planning their visit, to navigation when at the park.

The app supports Paultons Passport, which gives visitors an easy place to store tickets, digital photos, or an annual pass with a single QR code.

First Option also integrated the app with Paultons’ preferred payment processor, rather than limiting the park to a more generic one-size-fits-all payment setup. This was very important because Paultons had negotiated favourable terms with its existing provider, helping protect revenue from app-based purchases. Apple Pay and Google Pay were also implemented to make the purchase flow quick and easy for guests.

This makes the app more than just an information source; it becomes a key part of the visitor journey even after they’ve left the park, giving them access to photos and post-ride memories.

In collaboration with Pomvom and Jugo Systems, the app also includes photo-sharing functionality, allowing guests to download digital copies of ride photos by scanning a QR code, digitising photos which were previously paper-based.

Targeted notifications provide guests with relevant updates, messages, guest information, and seasonal offers and campaigns. The app also features exclusive app-based offers for retail and F&B outlets.

Another element is the inclusion of seasonal theming, which helps Paultons Park deliver its brand consistently over every channel, with the look and feel updating during popular seasons such as Christmas and Halloween.