Drakon At Paultons Park Disabled access Ride review

  • This blog post was last updated on the 25 May 2026
Drakon rollercoaster at Paultons Park going through a red track inversion with riders onboard, next to a yellow graphic panel reading “Drakon Disabled Access Ride Review” with a cartoon coaster illustration and accessibility icons.
Come with me as we explore Paultons Park brand new rollercoaster Drakon! Of course this blog post details everything you need to know about the disabled access So come lets go into Valgard anf get our first rides on Drakon .

Table of Contents

About The Ride

Drakon is the brand new coaster in the area featuring a vertical lift hill and two inversions making Drakon Paultons Park’s first inverting coaster. Its a great next step to their coaster line up for children as they grow. Drakon has a minimum height restriction of 1.25 meters when accompanied by an adult. One adult can accompany up to three children that are between 1.25 meters and 1.4 meters tall. There is an additional minimum height restriction of 1.4 meters to ride alone.

Drakon is a type of coaster called a euro fighter and was made by Gerstlauer the same manufacturer that made The Smiler at Alton Towers and Saw: The Ride at Thorpe park. Drakon had an amazing first drop from the vertical lift hill, with the on-ride camera just as you drop which makes for a brilliant on-ride photo.

image of Drakon rollercoaster with small carage of 2 rows on a red track going over an inversion with riders hanging upside down.

Disabled Access

In this part of the ride review, I detail what disabled access was available for the ride. Please note: I do not detail all ride restrictions as these are subject to change. Full ride restrictions for disabled guests can normally be found on the attractions website.

Reduced Mobility

There is no level access to Drakon’s ride station and guests will need to go up a staircase of 12 stairs with a handrail on both sides. Drakon has a few requirements guests with reduced mobility must meet in order to ride:

  • Be able to bend both legs at the hips and knees
  • Have full body control
  • Be able to sit upright and hold their head up unaided
  • Grip and brace against the rides forces with a minimum of 1 hand.
  • Brace against the rides forces with both legs
  • In the event of a ride evacuation, be able to walk down 17 steps whilst holding a handrail
  • Have enough strength and mobility to move themselves out of the ride carriage if it stopped on the vertical lift hill

Limb Differences

There are a few additional requirements and restrictions you must meet in order to ride if you have a limb difference:

  • Loose arm prosthetics need to be removed
  • Can ride with lower limb prosthetics if they touch the ride carts floor
  • Prosthetic limbs that need to be removed can be left in the ride station and can be returned for use in the event of an evacuation.
Missing LimbAllowed to ride Drakon
Single below-elbow amputation✔
Above-elbow amputationsX
Single below-knee amputation✔
Above-knee amputationsX

Sensory Information

Drakon has many sensory effects in the queue line station and indoor ride section. I have included an image of a table of potential triggers from the Paultons Park website below.

When a train leaves the station, there is a sequence of lights and sound effects. This leads straight through to the indoor ride section that has a lot of sensory effects including flashing lights, fire and mist effects, loud and sudden noises and is a slightly dark space.

The indoor section of the ride exits onto the vertical lift hill, where the only additional sensory effect is flash photography. With Drakon being a thrilling rollercoaster it goes fast and changes speed quickly as well as having turns and going upside down. I have included an on-ride POV video so you know exactly what to expect.

image of inside Drakon ride station there is silver air gates with people waiting for the ride the interior of the station is wooden with decretive shields and Viking banners on the walls.
table of stimuli on the rakon ride the following stimuli were marked as present on the ride Sudden noises People screaming Flash photography Flashing lights/images Confinement by over shoulder restraint Individual seats Sudden changes in speed & acceleration Being at height Sudden drops High speed Upside down Tunnels Open spaces Dark spaces Moving scenery Animated characters Open ride vehicle Fog/smoke/mist effects Visual effects Illusions Touchpoints or contact with objects Long queue lines/waiting times Vibrations Disorientation Music/voiceover in queue/station Being measured with height stick

wheelchair access route

For Drakon there is no level access. In order to get to the ride station guests will need to go up a staircase of 12 stairs with a handrail on both sides.

If able to use the stairs, wheelchair users can enter via the queue assist entrance and show the blue wheelchair user wristband to the ride staff. Wheelchairs need to be left at the bottom of the stairs however, there was a bench with no back to sit on in the ride station queue assist waiting area as seen in the images below.

image of blue wristband that says wheelchair uder with the paultons park logo on.
image of grey metal stairs with black edges and red handrail. in the background you can see a train on Drakon break run and the outside of the ride station.
image of Drakon queue assist station wating area with a wooden bench and people waiting in the corridor.

using queue assist

Queue assist is a reasonable adjustment for guests who don’t use a wheelchair but are unable to queue due to a disability. I detail all the information about the queue assist scheme in my Paultons Park blog post that you can find by clicking here

Drakon is limited to 1 ride per day on the queue assist scheme. A minimum of 1 carer and a maximum of 3 accompanying people can ride Drakon with the queue assist use,r so 4 people in total. Please see my step-by-step guide below on how the queue assist works on Drakon:

Step 1: Check ride restrictions

Before going through the queue assist entrance for Drakon, it’s important to make sure you have checked the ride restrictions to make sure this ride or attraction is accessible for you. The ride restriction board is clearly located at the queue assist entrance.

More detailed accessibility and sensory information for Drakon can be found by clicking here ride accessibility page Drakon Paultons Park.

Accessibility Information sign for Drakon Top panels: Minimum height 1.2 metres Unaccompanied 1.4 metres Restrictions: Children must be at least 1.2 metres tall to ride. Children under 1.4 metres must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Advisory: Not recommended for expectant mothers. Not recommended for anyone with a heart condition, back or neck problems, high or low blood pressure, epilepsy, Ménière’s disease, recent surgery, or any condition that makes riding a roller coaster unsafe. Guests with broken or prosthetic limbs are only permitted to ride if the limb does not interfere with the lap bar or seat belt, as this presents a risk during evacuation. Accessibility: Not suitable for guests with limited mobility who cannot manage steps. Wheelchair users cannot ride because they cannot access evacuation areas. All guests must be able to walk, stand, and board via steps; assistance may be needed from the ride entrance to the exit. Guests with other disabilities should use the dedicated entrance next to the ride exit. Rules: Children under the required height must ride with an accompanying adult. Each rider must remain seated with arms and legs inside the car from dispatch until the ride stops in the station. Loose items must be stored in the baggage or loose-item area. Hats and long, loose clothing must be removed and stored. Do not block the station gates, entrance, exit, or surrounding areas. Staff are available to assist and give further instructions.

Step 2: Find The Queue Assist Entrance

Now you have found out that Drakon is accessible for you it’s time to go through the queue assist entrance. The queue assist entrance for Drakon is located next to the exit of the ride by the sheep in the wheel as seen in the images below.

image of queue assist entrance to Drakon there is a sheep in a wheel at the side of the path as well as a queue assist entrance sign directing guests to the queue assist entrance on the otherside of the path there is a red wooded photo booth building.
image of grey metal stairs with black edges and red handrail. in the background you can see a train on Drakon break run and the outside of the ride station.

Step 3: Show your Queue assist wristband and time card

Once reaching the front of the queue assist queue line for Drakon a ride host will come and ask to see your wristband and time card. They will write a time on your time card in line with the length of the main queue line.

For example, if I went on Drakon at 14:00 and the main queue line was 40 minutes, the time written on my card would be 14:40. This means that you are unable to use queue assist on any rides any attractions untill 14:40 when the time on your card is up. This is commonly referred to as a timeout. Its’ important to remember that you can only ride Drakon one time per day when using queue assist.

image of Drakon queue assist station wating area with a wooden bench and people waiting in the corridor.
image of queue assist entrance gate to ride loading area with a sign that reads queue assist users wait here in the background you can see people getting on and off the ride with a train in the station.

Step 4: Enjoy the ride

It’s now time to experience Paultons Park most thrilling rollercoaster, Drakon! I hope you enjoy being able to access the ride thanks to the queue assist system.

Image of Drakon train at an angle going down first drop in the background you can see the rest of the ride track.

My Review

In my opinion, Drakon is the perfect next step to Paultons Park coaster line-up, giving something for the older children as they grow. With just a 1.25 minimum height restriction when accompanied by an adult it will be many children’s first inverting rollercoaster.

The restraints were over the shoulder however, they had plenty of room giving kids the extra element of safety without an uncomfortable tight restraint. The ride cycle was short but had so many elements in the layout I loved the vertical lift hill , as it’s something you don’t see on many coasters.

I do believe the ride layout was a good choice for the park as this being many kids first thrill coaster if they do not like the ride then it won’t be long until they get off, helping to build confidence and well less upset children.

I highly recommend Drakon as the next step from family thrill rides such as Wicker Man, Vampire and Grand National to extreme coasters like Smiler, Hyperia and Nemesis.

image of Drakon train with people in on the break run. Next to the breakrun you can see the Raven ride.
image of a Drakon climbing the vertical lift hill. You can see a roof for a building in front of the lift hill.

I can’t lie, I was disappointed that Drakon had no step-free access especially with newer rides in the park like Storm Chaser having lifts. However, there was incredibly detailed accessibility information available on the Paultons Park website in the ride accessibility guide ahead of the ride opening, meaning I could be fully prepared as it even stated how many stairs I would need to navigate before my visit.

As I was very kindly invited to the theme park superfan event2026, we had a Q and A with James and Lawrence Mancey Paultons Park operational and marketing directors. Of course I had to ask them why there was no step free access for Drakon. I have included a video below of James’ answer as you will see from the video, this was a hard decision for them and it seemed like they really looked into different available options to make Drakon step-free. I would like to thank the Mancey brothers for their honest answer and I look forward to seeing some step-free access in the future. You can watch their full response here:

Final Thoughts

Well, thank you so much for coming to ride Drakon with me on its opening day! Drakon is the perfect addition for Paultons Park and really extends their ride line up to families with older children looking for the thrills.

You can find my full disabled access review blog post from Paultons Park by clicking here

I was very lucky to be invited to the Paultons Park theme park superfan event 2026 and as part of that was given complimentary park tickets meaning this trip was gifted. A massive thank you to Paultons Park for inviting me to such a cool event and I can’t wait to come back next year for the water coaster.

See you on my next adventure, bye for now.

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Disclaimer​

The information provided on this blog about theme park accessibility is based on my experiences and the details available from the attractions’ official websites at the time of my visit. Please note that facilities and services for disabled guests may change, and the information may not always be up-to-date. I strongly recommend checking the accessibility section on the respective attractions’ websites for the most current information. The comments and opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representative of any other organisation.