CGM
TS Member
Visited Port Aventura for the first time today. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long due to it being a last minute arrangement and we only ended up having 5 hours in the park. For most parks that would be time enough to get most things done but this was PA on a busy day so some sacrifices had to be made. In the end we (just) got on everything we wanted to which was Shambhala, Dragon Khan, Furius Baco and Stampida.
So overall impressions of the park; obviously I didn't get as much time there as I would have liked and didn't get to see even half of the attractions on offer so I can't form a complete opinion but from what I saw, the park was pretty much as I expected. Large elaborate pieces of theming, major landscaping, lots of places to eat and very high quality rides. It is clearly one of Europe's top parks and unlike Alton does feel like a proper resort. Perhaps more importantly, it is one of the few parks I've been to where I feel I've got value for money. It's £35 for a day ticket which to me seems a fair price considering the park is open till midnight and makes Alton's entry fee look even more ridiculous.
However, for me the park in its current state whilst very good isn't quite as good as it could be. It has all of the ingredients to be far and away the best park in Europe but a few issues hold it back.
Firstly, the theming around the park is excellent (although not as good as Terra Mitica's in my opinion; real marble and sandstone beats sprayed concrete) but in the case of most of the rides I went on today, the queue lines were horrible. Just claustrophobic cattle pens with very little interesting to look at for hours on end. At the end of the day, at any busy theme park you spend most of your day queuing, so it's baffling to me that it's where PA have put the least effort when the rest of the park looks so good.
On the subject of queues, the number of queue jumpers today was ridiculous and something really has to be done about it. I watched one person cut about 50 minutes off a 1 hour queue by cutting into the queue in front of us and then gradually slipping past people in a series of clearly well rehearsed moves. The fact he can frequently get away with this is infuriating and the fact that the park doesn't seem to care is an insult to the customers who do wait their turn.
One final gripe is the staff who I think require much better training. Park employees at the food stalls were frequently shouting at customers who weren't arriving at the tills quickly enough for their liking, the staff at the entrance gates were bossy and confrontational (also the bag search for catching anyone who dares to bring a picnic is ridiculous) and I did not see a smile raised from one staff member all day. Their attitude comes across as "I don't like you and I would rather not be here" and even if this is true, they shouldn't show it.
So overall, one of Europe's top parks, maybe the best coaster line up in Europe. However, for me it loses out to Europa because of their crazy ability to deal with huge crowds, far superior staff and it may seem unfair but compared to EP, PA seems just a little bit corporate and cold. Both are much better overall parks than Alton though.
So, the rides:
Shambhala
Despite numerous rave reviews, being the skeptical person I am, I assumed this would be another Silverstar; a fantastic looking coaster offering an entertaining, high quality ride but ultimately pretty dull. How wrong I was.
This coaster is just epic. It's pretty much how you imagine a B&M hyper coaster should feel. Huge, sweeping, majestic elements with airtime lasting for the entire length of the hill before leveling out and swooping into the next one. The airtime it offers in't the weak tummy tickling variety found on Silverstar, nor is it the aggressive "pressed into the lapbar" Intamin type. It feels weightless, serene and perfectly calculated. With it being a B&M, it's also perfectly smooth and the seats are comfortable and offer freedom of movement. It's easily a top 10 coaster and has (regrettably) booted Nemesis out of my top 3.
Although I think that Intamin still rules when it comes to hypers, this coaster has restored my faith in B&M to deliver a coaster with a ride experience to match its quality. I certainly wouldn't mind a few more being built in Europe.
Rating: 10/10
Dragon Khan
We were lucky enough to get a front seat ride on DK which is perhaps the definition of an old school B&M. You can tell this by the fact that when you get off, you can't walk in a straight line for a few minutes. The zero G Roll is very aggressive and the interlocking corkscrews surprisingly intense. Whilst mostly smooth, the coaster is showing its age and thrashes around a bit at the top of some of the elements. It's also not as forceful as some would have you believe (either that or I have become immune to positive Gs). None the less, it's a coaster that I've always wanted to ride and it didn't disappoint.
Rating: 8/10
Stampida (red side)
I didn't know what to expect from this coaster as it's rarely discussed and images of it show so little of the layout. I had heard that it wasn't very good compared to other CCIs but I really enjoyed it. It has some great pops of ejector air and insane laterals made all the more fun by the racing/duelling aspect of the coaster. In fact I would say it's one of Wardley's best layouts.
The one big problem with it is the roughness which I think goes beyond "character roughness" but with some TLC; maybe a re-track and some better trains, PA could have a truly great coaster on their hands. I personally preferred it to Tonnerre de Zeus.
Rating: 8/10
Furius Baco
I thought I knew what to expect from the launch having ridden Rita so many times but this was just in a different league. I have never ridden a coaster with such a sense of speed and it never lets up until it hits the brakes. It is very short but I'd rather that than it fizzle out and feel like an ordinary coaster rather than the hyper-charged unstoppable machine it feels like.
I was in the front row and I didn't experience any of the rattling which is so often complained about and found it perfectly smooth. If this is a problem in other rows, that's a huge shame as without it, the ride is sublime. It's too short to be a truly great coaster but you'd be hard pushed to find anything else that gives you as much thrill per metre of track.
It was a bit disappointing to see that not all parts of the pre-show were working with the cogs not turning and the doors not being used meaning the launch is no longer a surprise to new riders.
Rating: 9/10
Overall, a really enjoyable afternoon at PA. I hope to go back and experience it properly.
Pics:
So overall impressions of the park; obviously I didn't get as much time there as I would have liked and didn't get to see even half of the attractions on offer so I can't form a complete opinion but from what I saw, the park was pretty much as I expected. Large elaborate pieces of theming, major landscaping, lots of places to eat and very high quality rides. It is clearly one of Europe's top parks and unlike Alton does feel like a proper resort. Perhaps more importantly, it is one of the few parks I've been to where I feel I've got value for money. It's £35 for a day ticket which to me seems a fair price considering the park is open till midnight and makes Alton's entry fee look even more ridiculous.
However, for me the park in its current state whilst very good isn't quite as good as it could be. It has all of the ingredients to be far and away the best park in Europe but a few issues hold it back.
Firstly, the theming around the park is excellent (although not as good as Terra Mitica's in my opinion; real marble and sandstone beats sprayed concrete) but in the case of most of the rides I went on today, the queue lines were horrible. Just claustrophobic cattle pens with very little interesting to look at for hours on end. At the end of the day, at any busy theme park you spend most of your day queuing, so it's baffling to me that it's where PA have put the least effort when the rest of the park looks so good.
On the subject of queues, the number of queue jumpers today was ridiculous and something really has to be done about it. I watched one person cut about 50 minutes off a 1 hour queue by cutting into the queue in front of us and then gradually slipping past people in a series of clearly well rehearsed moves. The fact he can frequently get away with this is infuriating and the fact that the park doesn't seem to care is an insult to the customers who do wait their turn.
One final gripe is the staff who I think require much better training. Park employees at the food stalls were frequently shouting at customers who weren't arriving at the tills quickly enough for their liking, the staff at the entrance gates were bossy and confrontational (also the bag search for catching anyone who dares to bring a picnic is ridiculous) and I did not see a smile raised from one staff member all day. Their attitude comes across as "I don't like you and I would rather not be here" and even if this is true, they shouldn't show it.
So overall, one of Europe's top parks, maybe the best coaster line up in Europe. However, for me it loses out to Europa because of their crazy ability to deal with huge crowds, far superior staff and it may seem unfair but compared to EP, PA seems just a little bit corporate and cold. Both are much better overall parks than Alton though.
So, the rides:
Shambhala
Despite numerous rave reviews, being the skeptical person I am, I assumed this would be another Silverstar; a fantastic looking coaster offering an entertaining, high quality ride but ultimately pretty dull. How wrong I was.
This coaster is just epic. It's pretty much how you imagine a B&M hyper coaster should feel. Huge, sweeping, majestic elements with airtime lasting for the entire length of the hill before leveling out and swooping into the next one. The airtime it offers in't the weak tummy tickling variety found on Silverstar, nor is it the aggressive "pressed into the lapbar" Intamin type. It feels weightless, serene and perfectly calculated. With it being a B&M, it's also perfectly smooth and the seats are comfortable and offer freedom of movement. It's easily a top 10 coaster and has (regrettably) booted Nemesis out of my top 3.
Although I think that Intamin still rules when it comes to hypers, this coaster has restored my faith in B&M to deliver a coaster with a ride experience to match its quality. I certainly wouldn't mind a few more being built in Europe.
Rating: 10/10
Dragon Khan
We were lucky enough to get a front seat ride on DK which is perhaps the definition of an old school B&M. You can tell this by the fact that when you get off, you can't walk in a straight line for a few minutes. The zero G Roll is very aggressive and the interlocking corkscrews surprisingly intense. Whilst mostly smooth, the coaster is showing its age and thrashes around a bit at the top of some of the elements. It's also not as forceful as some would have you believe (either that or I have become immune to positive Gs). None the less, it's a coaster that I've always wanted to ride and it didn't disappoint.
Rating: 8/10
Stampida (red side)
I didn't know what to expect from this coaster as it's rarely discussed and images of it show so little of the layout. I had heard that it wasn't very good compared to other CCIs but I really enjoyed it. It has some great pops of ejector air and insane laterals made all the more fun by the racing/duelling aspect of the coaster. In fact I would say it's one of Wardley's best layouts.
The one big problem with it is the roughness which I think goes beyond "character roughness" but with some TLC; maybe a re-track and some better trains, PA could have a truly great coaster on their hands. I personally preferred it to Tonnerre de Zeus.
Rating: 8/10
Furius Baco
I thought I knew what to expect from the launch having ridden Rita so many times but this was just in a different league. I have never ridden a coaster with such a sense of speed and it never lets up until it hits the brakes. It is very short but I'd rather that than it fizzle out and feel like an ordinary coaster rather than the hyper-charged unstoppable machine it feels like.
I was in the front row and I didn't experience any of the rattling which is so often complained about and found it perfectly smooth. If this is a problem in other rows, that's a huge shame as without it, the ride is sublime. It's too short to be a truly great coaster but you'd be hard pushed to find anything else that gives you as much thrill per metre of track.
It was a bit disappointing to see that not all parts of the pre-show were working with the cogs not turning and the doors not being used meaning the launch is no longer a surprise to new riders.
Rating: 9/10
Overall, a really enjoyable afternoon at PA. I hope to go back and experience it properly.
Pics:
