But even if you don't think much of Stampida, which is an opinion not shared by everyone, PA having two coasters which you enjoy together with its great theming and spectacular shows is still up there or ahead of most of European parks. Phantasialand has what, one good thrill coaster. I don't think anyone would be mad enough to say Temple of the Nighthawk or Winjas are anything particularly exciting. Asterix has only two good thrill coasters, most people dislike Gouderix, Efteling has two good coasters, an OK dark coaster and Python which is rubbish, Gardaland has one or maybe now two good B&Ms and then two pretty poor Vekomas. I could go on to talk about other European parks I've visited but you get the idea.
Don't get me wrong I still like these parks and even if PA only had Shambhala and Khan for thrill coasters I would still say it was a great park but it seems that most parks in Europe (with a few obvious exceptions) only have two decent thrill coasters, yet PA seem to get labelled by some members of this forum as the devil of European theme parks. I agree with some of the criticism levelled at the park but some of it is just really unfair. They have two coaster which everyone seems to agree are superb, another two coasters which very much decide opinion but are loved by many, spectacular shows, great theming and the only thing to really let them down is operations. So I really don't see why the hatred for the place is SO strong from some people. I've enjoyed all but two of the parks I've visited in mainland Europe but I've liked them for different reasons. PA is, for me, one of the better ones. Having said that I've yet to visit Mirabilandia which looks superb
If you actually take all of the posts in this topic on balance, you will note that nobody has actually said they "hate" PortAventura. By constantly repeating how the criticism is unfair, you are only serving to encourage members to repeatedly counter what you say! The most scathing point of view from a single member is that it is the best of Europe's 2nd tier parks. That is as bad as it gets. I personally disagree with that as I do think PA overall is in the top league of European parks. Most of us generally like PortAventura and have been more than once.There are merely issues with the park; all of which quite frankly, are reasonably fair.
+ The park has excellent shows
- The shows often don't run every day and on some days entertainment is poor
+ The park have high capacity rollercoasters
- The park often don't run them on high capacity and Baco's is inherently poor
+ The park have a wide range of rides
- Some smaller rides are closed on some days and only 1 ride is indoors
+ The park offer good value Fastrack
- The park is perceived as difficult to enjoy properly on all but the quieter days without it due to the cattle pens. Too much Fastrack is sold which, combined with the poor operations at times, results in poor queue movement for everyone else
+ The park have 4 major rollercoasters. Shambhala and Dragon Khan are
generally considered as good on enthusiast forums.
- Furius Baco, El Diablo and Stampida are
generally considered as poor on enthusiast forums.
+ The park has good opening hours
- Often, many of the biggest rides don't open until up to 2 hours after park closing, and some close much earlier than close.
+ The park have more hotels than any other in Europe aside from Disneyland Paris
- The hotels are too big and they are not integrated into the resort well at all. Furthermore, facilities are often lacking - i.e. the bar at Hotel PA closes often at 10.30pm.
Enter Valhalla, I challenge you to counter any of the above points.
For the record, PortAventura is most certainly in my top 10 parks in Europe. It is most definitely a
good park. I just don't find it quite the finished article that some do.
I will be looking forward to my Ferrari experience in 2016 very much indeed!
