PortAventura: General Discussion

[DiogoJ42]

Someone at work today aproached me, all excited (they all know what I get up to in my time off), to say he had just taken his kids to Porta...

He wasn't very impressed with "That Donkey Derby thing"....

Spoiler: Translation

Stampida, aparently.

He seemed to rather like Shambhala...

Spoiler: or as he called it

"the world's tallest coaster"

But his favourite ride in the whole park was...

Spoiler: trust me, you are better off not clicking this. No, really.

"that one where they fire you out of a cannon and you go round a big circle and it's the fastest ride in the world"
...
By which he meant "Baco".












It was all I could do not to backhand him in the face and send him flying across the studio.

I pointed out that Baco is widely considered to be one of the worst, most painful abominations ever built, but he insists it did not hurt at all. But then, when pressed, he couldn't actually remember anything about the ride other than the launch, so I suspect he was probably knocked unconcious on the first turn.

 

[siralgenon]

Most of you will be happy to know tall at Stampida is preparing to have the other half of the ride re-tracked in the near future. Yesterday there were large pallets of timber stacked around the remaining half.

In other news Selfie Sticks are now banned from all attractions and shows.

 

[Rob]

Most of you will be happy to know tall at Stampida is preparing to have the other half of the ride re-tracked in the near future. Yesterday there were large pallets of timber stacked around the remaining half.

Re-tracked by RMC please!! RMC could do something pretty special with Stampida.

 

[Sam]

Re-tracked by RMC please!! RMC could do something pretty special with Stampida.

It won't be - half of it's already been done and it's just a standard refresher. Won't make much difference to the ride experience and it'll be as bad as it always has been within two or three years.

 

[Rob]

Oh I know it won't be, purely wishful thinking. Would just be amazing if they did! Would vastly enhance the appeal of PA also - 2 B&Ms and some form of long/dueling RMC.

 

[Sam-Wise]

Evening Folks,

I'm heading to PA (Alone - I'm in need of a break, none of my friends are into parks) on Monday 14th Sept for four nights, Staying in the 'Hotel Caribe' - Any tips for first timers?

Sam.

 

[DiogoJ42]

Any tips for first timers?

Spend your whole whoring riding DK and Shambles. Everything else is "meh" at best.

 

[Graeme]

Buy their version of a fast track, think unlimited works out at €50 for the full 4 days as you are a hotel guest!

 

[Sam-Wise]

Decided to go for 'El Paso' instead, given its all inclusive Do you know if the All Inclusiveness applies within the park too?

 

[Graeme]

Yes it does to the extent of a lunch meal at selected places and a drink. Although I usually walked back to El Paso and just stocked up on the all inclusive pool bar that had quite a good selection. If I visited again (which I will be at some stage) I would swear by el Paso just for the all inclusive goodness!!!!

 

[Enter Valhalla]

I know this is a little late but I've not been on this forum for a while.

But Diogo's post really does sum up the point I've been trying to make about Baco for years. Whilst enthusiasts don't always rate it, the public love it. The fact that your non enthusiast friend, who wasn't swayed by any of the enthusiast bias, enjoyed the ride really sums up what I've always said.

You said that its "widely considered" to be a poor ride, but who considers it this way? Just enthusiasts. And not all enthusiasts at that. Some love it. The public love it, it's one of the park's most popular rides. I've ridden Baco with non enthusiasts and also spoken to non enthusiasts who've ridden it and I can honestly say that I've not heard a bad word said about it from those people, nor have I heard any words of criticism of the ride from inside the park.

So despite being a member of this forum, I'm glad that I've not been swayed by the bias and have continued to enjoy one of my favourite European coasters over the years.

 

[DiogoJ42]

You are of course, entitled to your opinion, sir.

... Even if it is wrong.

 

[Dave]

I know this is a little late but I've not been on this forum for a while.

But Diogo's post really does sum up the point I've been trying to make about Baco for years. Whilst enthusiasts don't always rate it, the public love it. The fact that your non enthusiast friend, who wasn't swayed by any of the enthusiast bias, enjoyed the ride really sums up what I've always said.

You said that its "widely considered" to be a poor ride, but who considers it this way? Just enthusiasts. And not all enthusiasts at that. Some love it. The public love it, it's one of the park's most popular rides. I've ridden Baco with non enthusiasts and also spoken to non enthusiasts who've ridden it and I can honestly say that I've not heard a bad word said about it from those people, nor have I heard any words of criticism of the ride from inside the park.

So despite being a member of this forum, I'm glad that I've not been swayed by the bias and have continued to enjoy one of my favourite European coasters over the years.

Obviously there are no universally accepted opinions but I know a few non enthusiasts who have been on it and non of them enjoyed it (some liked the launch as do I). Also have a friend who was a holiday rep in salou and she has often joked about how painful the ride was and the complaints they got.

But really if you enjoy a ride then that's all that matters when you yourself ride it.

 

[Benzin]

I wouldn't trust the Spanish opinion, especially given how awesome Parque Warner is and it's never busy whatsoever...

 

[Lordy]

Baco is awesome, it's just far too painful.

How such a big park, that attracts so many millions of visitors, can be happy with the experience it offers, is beyond me.

 

[Sam-Wise]

Many of you been to Parque Warner? Was deliberating on making a trip down there after PA for a couple of days, Really want to explore Madrid!

 

[Lordy]

Yep, and it's good!

PA has a better atmosphere, and the 'escapism' experience is better, but for a flat-concrete style park, PW is really, really good!

 

[Enter Valhalla]

I wouldn't trust the Spanish opinion, especially given how awesome Parque Warner is and it's never busy whatsoever...

Parque Warner is a great park but it's location doesn't help it. Madrid isn't a massive city and the areas surrounding the city are pretty rural. Also the fact that it's so far away from the city centre doesn't help either. Relatively speaking I'd say that PW is actually a pretty successful park, I know that when I visited during the Christmas event it did seem pretty busy despite there not being massive queues. It's a great park but certainly doesn't offer the same overall quality which you find at PA.

To be fair I wasn't just talking about the Spanish. Most of the people who I've talked to about the ride are British and other than Baco being a bit rattley I would say that the intensity of the ride means that most non enthusiasts don't really notice or care about the roughness. If your average member of the joe public was presented with say, Baco, Blue Fire and iSpeed I would say that the majority would prefer Baco due to the speed and intensity. I have nothing to prove that theory of course but I know that, from my experience, what enthusiasts want and what the unbiased public want can be two very different things. And let's be honest, we know which of those opinions the parks are more likely to pay the most attention to.

 

[siralgenon]

I'm starting to think Baco needs it's own topic

 

[Dave]

PW has overall better rides than PA, but PA has a better atmosphere and area theming (PW feels a bit like a better themed Thorpe Park)