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PortAventura: General Discussion

The fact that some people may have ridden more coasters than the other is completely irrelevant. As Dan said one of his favourite coasters is Schweizer Bob Bahn. It doesn't matter what you've been on, how big or small, you can still like as many as you want whether you've been on 1 or 100. Just because a ride is rough doesn't mean people won't enjoy it. And the fact that you are branding PortAventura a bad park on the whole, for such things among other small faults, doesn't really stand for much.
 
Aha, Dan was saying Bobbahn is a terrible coaster (though not offensively painful in the way that Stampainda and Back Ache are, just boring.)

It's just an observation that people who rate Stampida tend to have only been on that and the Blackpool woodies, and maybe Gwazi, Coaster Express or Magnus Colossus. That tells us something.
 
It doesn't tell you anything at all. I could have been on every wooden coaster in the world and like Stampida. I could have been on every coaster in Europe and the Runaway Mine Train could be my favourite ride. It means absolutely nothing what so ever, what someone has been on and what they haven't.
 
I'm going to bring up the poor operations again, as it's a pet peeve of mine. It's the sort of thing you grudgingly tolerate at a small park but to have 1hr queues for coasters running 1 train at one of Europe's biggest parks it's completely unacceptable and sending entire trains filled with fastpass guests compounds the problem. Closing Templo del Fuego on off peak days is another example of the contempt shown towards anybody who dares visit outside of peak times.
 
I'm not having a go at you at all, chill your jets! I'm just saying that to those of us who have been on a lot of wooden coasters, looking at the average coaster count of people who rate Stampida explains *why* they rate it. It's not your fault, man. If you haven't been on any other modern woodies, you couldn't possibly know why Stampida is such a bad example of one (in most people's opinion). I'm happy that you can enjoy it. :)
 
I'm going to sum my opinion up with this:

Yes PortAventura has atrocious operations, Im not doubting that for a second, Furius Baco and Stampida are incredibly rough and yes they do a lot of staggered openings, however on that last point, the Spanish in general are very laid back and PortAventura Park is never busy at 10:00am anyway. Another reason for the staggered openings is the Park is open until 12:00pm for most of the year meaning at the very least you will have 12 hours a day to ride on attractions not opening until lunch.

But for me as a guest and enthusiast the above faults don't out way the positives. PortAventura has continued to grow and expand year after year introducing two new themed areas to PortAventura Park, new attractions, doubling the size of the Waterpark, has built two new high quality Resort Hotels, 3 Golf Courses and Beach Club. Entertainments has gone from strength to strength presenting new major shows on a yearly basis, creating a parade and extremely successful events including White Nights, Oktoberfest and Christmas. The Park is always kept in an immaculate condition with world class themeing, and for the 20th Anniversary alone is carrying out a huge list of improvements and new experiences, to further develop the Park. Not to mention the addition of a 6th Hotel and 3rd Park in 2016.

So for me, I don't know about others, two rough coasters, the fact there isnt a path between two hotels, staggered openings and slow throughputs are minor inconveniences compared to the larger picture. But I can honestly say PortAventura has expanded more than any other European Park over the last 5 years and continues to do so.
 
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Operations are, for me, simply the most important indicator of quality in a theme park and the factor most likely to decide my day positively or negatively. A park could have the most beautiful area theming in the world, but if you're waiting in an hour queue for a B&M on one train (and 50% fastrack) then I couldn't give a toss about what the place looks like. Until they fix this, PA will always be the best of Europe's second-class of parks.
 
Well I have to say being your opinion or not, that is quite frankly stupid. I've not heard one person come back from PortAventura and say 'I'm not going back there again, Shambhala was only running one train'. PortAventura is hardly a second class Park as shown by the list of factors above. You're clutching at straws to say the least. If Europa Park for example had bad operations you wouldn't say it was a second class Park for that sole reason.

You never have or will like PortAventura as many people know. Which doesn't personally bother me, everybody likes what they want. But I'm not going to continue a discussion when you're clutching at straws for the sake of it. Even the people that don't like PortAventura would say thats a poor excuse. PortAventura is a world class Theme Park with excellent theming, record breaking attractions, high quality hotels, waterpark and other experiences. The fact that operations are slower than other Parks doesn't change that one bit, and to say that makes it a second rate Park is just laughable. And for that fact, you're in the minority.
 
siralgenon said:
Well I have to say being your opinion or not, that is quite frankly stupid. I've not heard one person come back from PortAventura and say 'I'm not going back there again, Shambhala was only running one train'.
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They're not gonna say it like that though. They would probably say something along the lines of "I'll be not going to Portaventura again, Shambhala's queue was too long. It's unacceptable to run in that way anyway, especially considering it's meant to one of Europe's top parks.
 
siralgenon said:
If Europa Park for example had bad operations you wouldn't say it was a second class Park for that sole reason.
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Me and @Sam don't tend to agree on much but here I am going to back him and say yes, he absolutely would.

Europa Park are winning global awards FOR their service standards. It makes an absolutely massive difference to your day, I adore THORPES coaster line up on the whole, but the way they run their park ruins your day and the guest services experience shows it's not just them.

Maybe people going for a few days as a holiday makes a difference to how people perceive these delays, along with cultural differences - to stereotype here, Spanish laid back, Germans ruthlessly efficient.

I have been to NEITHER park, and I enjoy Intamin launches so I have no investment in opinions on either park except for reading reviews by others everywhere.

Europa Park is quite obviously lauded FOR the experience they give you, because out and out thrill hardware wise there's actually much better parks!
 
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TedTheHuman said:
They're not gonna say it like that though. They would probably say something along the lines of "I'll be not going to Portaventura again, Shambhala's queue was too long. It's unacceptable to run in that way anyway, especially considering it's meant to one of Europe's top parks.
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Even worded that way, no one has ever said PortAventura had long queues, I'm never going there again, the same stands for Disney and Universal. I'm sure the people who rode Forbidden Journey didn't go 'we waited three hours for that, I'm never going to Universal again!'.

Again im not doubting they have long queues and poor operations. But that doesn't make it a bad Park. If that was the case Disney and Universal Parks would be awful.
 
TedTheHuman said:
Just because you've never heard it doesn't mean people don't say it. Read some of these reviews on trip advisdor and you will find that people do notice the flaws with the park. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attrac..._Province_of_Tarragona_Catalonia.html#REVIEWS
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After just glancing on my phone, it's rated 5/5 stars and the headings of reviews are as follows:

'brilliant'
'excellent park'
'great fun'
'great'
'coaster capital of Europe'
'fantastic place'

And I'll draw your attention to 'we had to wait, but you do anywhere these days'.

At the end of the day, It's a major Theme Park, it's going to have queues. I've expressed my opinion in which the positives outway the negatives. I go to a Park for the complete experience, not because it dispatches trains 30 seconds quicker than the other. So for that reason it's one of my favourite Parks.
 
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I need to pick up on a few things here. Please do not see this as me having a go though!
siralgenon said:
It doesn't tell you anything at all. I could have been on every wooden coaster in the world and like Stampida. I could have been on every coaster in Europe and the Runaway Mine Train could be my favourite ride. It means absolutely nothing what so ever, what someone has been on and what they haven't.
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I know you won't agree but it does actually tell you something. With anything in life the more of something you have experience the better informed your opinion becomes. Therefore someone who has ridden more coasters is in a better position to make an informed opinion of which are good and which are bad. This does not make any opinions wrong or right but I personally think an opinion is more valid if there is great experience. As I say though, this is not just for coasters and theme parks.
siralgenon said:
Another reason for the staggered openings is the Park is open until 12:00pm for most of the year meaning at the very least you will have 12 hours a day to ride on attractions not opening until lunch.
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Just over two months in an eight month (roughly) season is not most of the year. The most common closing time is 7pm.
siralgenon said:
But I can honestly say PortAventura has expanded more than any other European Park over the last 5 years and continues to do so.
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I disagree. If we look at the period 2009-2014 Europa Park have added 3 major coasters, two new themed areas, built a new hotel, had various infrastructure improvements amongst many other things. PA's growth however has been pretty good and I do hope it continues with a dark ride sometime soon.
siralgenon said:
Even worded that way, no one has ever said PortAventura had long queues, I'm never going there again, the same stands for Disney and Universal. I'm sure the people who rode Forbidden Journey didn't go 'we waited three hours for that, I'm never going to Universal again!'.

Again im not doubting they have long queues and poor operations. But that doesn't make it a bad Park. If that was the case Disney and Universal Parks would be awful.
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That is completely different. Rides at Disney and Universal get long queues because of the sheer amount of guests. It has nothing to do with poor operations. If a park is running a coaster on one train with an hour queue though and they fail to put on a second train then this is unacceptable.

Operations are something that do really bother me in theme parks. It is not hard to ensure your rides are well operated. Ok it may cost more but I think good operations are key to guest satisfaction. There is nothing more frustrating in a theme park than having to wait a long time for a coaster on one train with slack operations. It is in the park's best interest to have good operations. For starters it keeps queues down meaning people are more likely to spend more time outside of queues and spending at shops or eateries.

I like PA and had a great time when I visited. For me it is easily one of the best theme parks in Europe. Like most parks though it does have things that let it down.

:)
 
I don't feel like people are having a go at me at all. I'm just shocked at enthusiasts views on this. The fact that you wouldn't go to a Park because something ran on one train I find crazy.

And just to point out that PortAventura's operations aren't always bad, a lot of the time Shambhala has been on 3 trains, Dragon Khan 3 trains, Furius Baco 2, El Diablo 4 etc etc.
 
siralgenon said:
After just glancing on my phone, it's rated 5/5 stars and the headings of reviews are as follows:

'brilliant'
'excellent park'
'great fun'
'great'
'coaster capital of Europe'
'fantastic place'
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When I click on the link it goes straight to the 1 star reviews. So click on the 1 star reviews and you will find that the flaws are the very similar to what others on this thread are pointing out.

siralgenon said:
At the end of the day, It's a major Theme Park, it's going to have queues.
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When it's super busy during the Summer but is operating smoothly despite the hoards of guests, that's when it should have queues. Not when rides like Furius Baco and Shambhala are only running 1 train on a moderately busy day when it could be far better with two of them.

siralgenon said:
I go to a Park for the complete experience, not because it dispatches trains 30 seconds quicker than the other. So for that reason it's one of my favourite Parks.
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A good operation of a park's rides is part of what makes a good experience. If I went to a park that had minimal themeing around the place but the rides themselves were brilliant and the operations were amazing, does that make it a good experience? Yes it does. Obviously it's better to get the best of both worlds.
 
At the end of the day, I've stated my opinion that I agree PortAventura Park's could and should be better. But it also comes down to they are not always bad. As many of you are aware I visit PortAventura every year. I would not stand In a queue for 2 hours for anything, yet I ride all the major attractions many times on each visit throughout the day and evenings. I have never seen a major ride a PortAventura run on one train during the busiest periods of the day, in the evening they occasionally drop down to two or one when the Park is quieter, but only if the queue is small enough to handle it.

I visit because I enjoy the attractions, atmosphere, entertainments and experiences PortAventura has to offer in and around the Parks as do many, many others.

As much as I understand this is a discussion forum. I come on here to see whats happening and discuss whats new and changing around the Resort, not to spend hours listening to what is to be honest, a slanging match to find something wrong everytime a comment is made.

And In relation to the Trip Advisor reviews if you click on one star reviews you'll get one star reviews. According to the site it has 3,454 'Excellent' reviews and 249 'Poor' reviews - So it can't be that bad after all.
 
Perfect topic for popcorn munching whilst waiting in the cinema...

PA is typically Spanish in it's operational standards... This is not a good thing... Granted my last visit I had the unlimited Fastrack via the hotel, so I experienced zero queues, but even then the staff were slow (aside from one good team on Khan) and the general park being packed...

If one has to enjoy a park through Fastrack, it is fundamentally flawed from the off... Hell, even had to wait 30 minutes for the first bloody showing of Templo, that was awful...

Also Baco and Stampida are dreadful, yes, the Spanish love them, in the same way people love Rita at Towers... Yet let us not confuse long queues for popularity, look at Spinball for the closest example to Baco... First ride at the entrance combined with low capacity? A dreadful combo indeed...

PA is hollow a shiny exterior with a poor interior of daft operations and a dreadful icon coaster...
 
Given that the superlative operations are probably my favourite thing about EP, if they weren't there then I would absolutely see it as a second-class park. Nice try though. Ryan, your posts reek of apologism for what is quite blatantly a second-rate European park. A very good one though, the best!
 
The park itself is very pleasant, it's just that aside from Shambhala and to an extent Dragon Khan, it has nothing of value. No dark rides, very few thrill flats and indeed the one non-coaster attraction that's decent (Condor) is possibly the worst run ride in history. When I visited in 2013, it ran three of five sides; and this was at the height of summer (July). The Ferrari Land expansion looks interesting, but again seems to suit PortAventura, simply adding two of the same kind of rides it already has.

When they offer a suitable variety of rides, and ensure those rides are of good quality and are run properly; then I'll consider them "world-class." Until then, to compare them to Universal, Disney or even Europa Park is laughable.
 
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