Ghostly Manor
Paultons Park - Romsey, United Kingdom
A Fresh Chapter for Paultons Park
Paultons Park officially unveiled Ghostly Manor on 17 May 2025, marking a bold new step in interactive theme park attractions. Already receiving acclaim as one of the UK’s most ambitious dark ride experiences, Ghostly Manor brings cutting-edge storytelling and gameplay together in an impressively compact format.
Situated in Romsey, Hampshire, Paultons Park is one of the UK’s leading family theme parks, offering over 80 rides and attractions. With the launch of Ghostly Manor, the park adds a striking new layer to its offering – one that appeals as much to adults as it does to children.
The attraction’s haunting exterior pays tribute to Paultons Manor, the historic estate that once stood on the site. This clever homage ties the past to the park’s forward-looking vision, establishing a powerful sense of place and continuity.
Where Design Meets Technology
Behind the chilling façade of Ghostly Manor lies over a year of intensive creative development. Inspired by the design created by Leisure Expert Group, the concept for Ghostly Manor was further developed, from early sketches and storyboards to fully detailed scenes.
Working within the compact footprint of the existing building posed unique design challenges, but the team’s innovative approach brought Dr. Kinley’s mysterious manor to life with rich detail and immersive storytelling.
Set realisation was handled by Themics Philippines, who translated concept art into atmospheric, multi-layered environments that fully anchor each scene within the world of the narrative.
Gameplay Theater: A New Ride Format
The Gameplay Theater is a next-generation dark ride format created by Mack Rides and Lagotronics Projects. The ride system features continuously rotating vehicles, each seating eight passengers back-to-back with interactive devices, that move from one 180-degree scene to the next, revealing new worlds with each turn.
For Lagotronics Projects, this ride is the result of years of development into game-based experiences: “We aim to create attractions where players become part of the story, where every shot counts, and where gameplay enhances immersion”.
This system allows for high guest throughput in a relatively small footprint, while ensuring a seamless blend of media-based storytelling, interactive gameplay, and richly themed physical sets. The rotating ride vehicle keeps the action front and center, immersing guests in a carefully choreographed sequence of scenes that feel more like a stage play than a traditional dark ride.
One of the defining strengths of the Gameplay Theater is its modular design, allowing it to be adapted for different venues and guest capacities:
- S Version: 40 players – approx. 498 guests/hour – Ø 16.3m
- M Version: 96 players – approx. 894 guests/hour – Ø 25.8m
- L Version: 144 players – approx. 1224 guests/hour – Ø 33.2m
Ghostly Manor, built in the footprint of Paultons Park’s former 4D cinema, makes efficient use of the Small layout, giving the park a high-capacity indoor attraction without the need for major expansion.
Michael Thiessen
Accountmanager Leisure
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