Paultons Park vs bluestarbuses
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paultons Park
Plan your visit to a popular theme park with real-time updates on ride wait times, show schedules, and park navigation. Access your tickets and passes digitally, and discover information about all the rides and attractions, including themed areas for families.
- Live ride queue times
- Show times
- Interactive park map with directions
- Ride information
- Digital wallet for tickets and passes
- Park opening times
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The Official Paultons Park App is the perfect companion to your day at Paultons Park. With live queue times, show times and ride information all in your pocket! There is also a handy navigational map so you never get lost in the park and can easily find your way to the next adventure! App features: Live ride queue times Show times Interactive map with directions Ride information Wallet for your tickets and Annual Passes Park Opening Times Come on Storm Chasers! Join us in Tornado Springs, a brand-new world featuring 8 incredible rides and experiences including a spinning coaster, gyro swing ride and a driving school attraction. Set in a midwest desert resort town in the American heyday of the 1950’s, a trip to Tornado Springs is a vacation like no other. Paultons Park is located in Hampshire with over 70 exciting rides and attractions, set within 140 acres of beautiful parkland on the edge of the New Forest National Park. Paultons is also home of the UK's only Peppa Pig World with 9 fun Peppa-themed rides, great for an amazing day out with the kids.
bluestarbuses
Plan your bus journeys with mobile ticketing, live departure times, and route planning. Access timetables, save favorites, and stay updated on service disruptions for seamless travel.
- Mobile ticket purchase
- Live departure times
- Journey planning
- Route timetables
- Favorite stops and routes
- Service disruption alerts
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Our new app has everything you need to get around Southampton, Eastleigh, Totton and Romsey with Bluestar. It’s packed full of everything you’ll need to get mobile on the bus. Mobile Tickets: Purchase mobile tickets securely with Apple Pay or a debit/credit card and show the driver when boarding - no more searching for cash! Live Departures: Browse and view bus stops on the map, explore upcoming departures, or check out the routes from a stop to see where you could travel next. Journey Planning: Plan your commute, trip to the shops or night out with friends. It’s now even easier to plan ahead with Bluestar. Timetables: We’ve squeezed all of our routes and timetables into the palm of your hand. Favourites: You can quickly save your favourite Departure Boards, Timetables and Journeys, with quick access from one convenient menu. Disruptions: You’ll be able to keep up to date with service changes directly from our disruption feeds inside the app. As always, we welcome your feedback. You can send it to us via the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: bluestarbuses at free against Paultons Park's free with in-app purchases. bluestarbuses also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). Paultons Park's advantage is review sentiment (65% vs 43%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Paultons Park against 4.8 for bluestarbuses. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 17 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Paultons Park's written reviews are positive against 43% of bluestarbuses's.
Paultons Park ships an update every 6 weeks, bluestarbuses fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.
| Parameter | Paultons Park | bluestarbuses |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (12 ratings) | 4.8 (17 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.4% of reviews — better | 43.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 17 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 148 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Paultons Park | The Go-Ahead Group plc |
Customer experience
Paultons Park
bluestarbuses
User reviews
Paultons Park
From 12 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for planning days
- 🗺️ Useful park map
- ⏱️ Accurate queue times
- 👨👩👧👦 Caters to all ages
- 📱 Innovative app features
Room to improve
- 📶 Poor/no internet signal
- ❌ App doesn't work offline
- 📸 Photo feature issues
- 🎟️ Tickets not appearing
- 🐛 App crashes/glitches
bluestarbuses
From 17 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Live bus tracking useful
- 👍 Handy app
- 👍 Helpful for planning journeys
- 👍 Great maps
Room to improve
- 👎 Buses disappear from map
- 👎 Inaccurate times and stops
- 👎 Overcharged and rude driver
- 👎 Missing features for driver accountability
- 👎 Unreliable service, buses missing
Bugs and requests
Paultons Park
Reported bugs
10 issues- Photos not appearing after purchase
- QR codes not working for photos
- Tickets blank after app update
- App not working due to no internet signal
- Onsite WiFi not working
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- App functions not working
- Confusing QR code scanning process
- Queue times inaccurate
- Planner icons not tappable
- Location services drain battery
Requested features
7 requests- Offline functionality for app
- Improved photo download process
- Clearer QR code instructions
- Ability to view future opening times
- Countdown timer to park opening
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- More food options/quality
- Better winter season offerings
bluestarbuses
Reported bugs
10 issues- Buses disappear from live map
- App freezes randomly
- App glitches, cannot see bus
- Bus arrival list broken, times don't update
- App doesn't load bus times
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Journey planner returns 'We are unable to complete the search RETRY'
- App logs users off
- Mobile ticket system issues with Wallet opening
- Map randomly freezes after latest update
- Feedback screen goes blank
Requested features
5 requests- Allow submission of evidence for drivers embarking early
- Bring back The Key card system
- Allow planning journeys for days other than today
- Provide single journey cost information
- Watch companion app
In-app purchases
Paultons Park
No in-app purchases
bluestarbuses
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Paultons Park free?
Is bluestarbuses free?
Which has better reviews, Paultons Park or bluestarbuses?
Do Paultons Park or bluestarbuses have ads?
Which is updated more often, Paultons Park or bluestarbuses?
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