PortAventura: General Discussion

[tayspru]

I had no idea it was so cheap! Is it always like this or a special offer on at the minute?

We booked using Holiday Pirates , juggling a lot of dates until we found a really good offer . We’ve been meaning to visit for years but it’s always been priced much higher than we’d want to pay

 

[AstroDan]

To be honest, I usually find PortAventura packages pretty cheap vs. the majority of other major resorts.

I guess they want to attract UK guests too, so are tempted to put offers out.

 

[siralgenon]

Over the last few years the prices have almost doubled to what they used to be, it used to be very cheap but it's not really the case anymore. These days you're looking at upto over £1000 per person for 5-7 nights during peak times. But at the moment it's a really good offer.

*Edit* I've just checked for August and for 5 nights every hotel is over £1000 per person. It used to be about £500

 

[tayspru]

To be honest, I usually find PortAventura packages pretty cheap vs. the majority of other major resorts.

I guess they want to attract UK guests too, so are tempted to put offers out.

That’s not what I’ve experienced , the reason we haven’t visited in so long (2007 was the last time) is every time we price it up, PA comes up more expensive than the equivalent package (on site hotel and park tickets) at DLP , which we could never justify

 

[AstroDan]

I tend to go in winter season, could be why.

 

[siralgenon]

2021 Season
This week it was announced that due to government restrictions PortAventura World will no longer open on March 27th as planned and will now hopefully re-open on April 23rd subject to restrictions. In the meantime PortAventura Golf is still open.

Construction
As well as the continued construction of Phase 2 of Hotel Colorado Creek a construction site has appeared on the site of the preferential car park (priority parking / bus terminal / coach parking), this is located to the left of the entrance plaza and runs alongside Caribe Aquatic Park. Although nothing official has been reported I would expect it to be Phase 1 of the new LaLiga sports and entertainments complex which is stated to open late summer 2021 and is expected to be similar to Universal's City Walk. This first phase is set to include a LaLiga interactive restaurant and store (think Hard Rock Cafe), as well as The Beat Challenge in PortAventura Park.

(Preferential Parking fenced off)

(Hotel Colorado Creek expansion taken early 2021)

Convention Centre
Over at the Convention Centre, PortAventura have added an augmented reality and holographic illusions to their business and events portfolio.
https://www.portaventuraevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MASTER_pabe_ENG-PUBLICAR.mp4?_=1

25th Anniversary
Last year it was expected that the 25th Anniversary would continue into 2021 due to the short opening period caused by coronavirus, although it appears this will not be the case as PortAventura have removed the 25th Anniversary logo off of the website and all marketing, it is expected that the decorations will remain up for the 2021 season just with the logos changed and the planned shows for last year will debut this year just with a few subtle changes removing any references from the 25th Anniversary.

 

[AstroDan]

Do we know what the long term plan is for PA in terms of rooms? The juggernaut of their hotel expansion shows little sign of slowing. In the way that we know Merlin aim for '1,000 keys' - do we have an indication of PA's plan? Do we also have a figure of hotel occupancy?

I would love to see the resort get a little better tied up. It's not such an issue when the park is open till very late in the height of summer, but the hotels are so far removed from each other that it becomes very difficult to enjoy it as a "resort" unless you walk on public roads through areas which are quite dark etc. I guess most guests just stay put in their hotel but I like to explore a little.

Eating at Hotel PA and staying at Hotel Gold River is a mission when the park is closed.

 

[siralgenon]

Do we know what the long term plan is for PA in terms of rooms? The juggernaut of their hotel expansion shows little sign of slowing. In the way that we know Merlin aim for '1,000 keys' - do we have an indication of PA's plan? Do we also have a figure of hotel occupancy?

I would love to see the resort get a little better tied up. It's not such an issue when the park is open till very late in the height of summer, but the hotels are so far removed from each other that it becomes very difficult to enjoy it as a "resort" unless you walk on public roads through areas which are quite dark etc. I guess most guests just stay put in their hotel but I like to explore a little.

Eating at Hotel PA and staying at Hotel Gold River is a mission when the park is closed.

I haven't got a clue what PortAventura's plan is for the long term, I'm not sure where you'd even find that information out? They seem to be partnering a lot with other large brands to expand the resort outside the parks such as Hard Rock and LaLiga to create an extensive destination Resort so at the moment I'd say the plan is go big or go home, PA never do things in halves.

I'm not sure what their occupancy is but at the moment PortAventura has 2,350 rooms across 7 hotels + Dream Village and that doesn't include the expansion to Hotel Colorado Creek. I can't see it making business sense to build more hotels if you didn't need them so I presume they're doing quite well?

I'm sure we've had this same conversation 1000s of times but when the parks are closed (or even when they're open), PortAventura run free shuttles to all of the Resort Hotels, Parks and Salou, times can be found at your hotels welcome desk. I do agree however that the Far West resort area feels pretty removed from the other resort area, last year they built a new walkway from the front entrance of Hotel Gold River to the main entrance plaza which runs adjacent to Caribe Aquatic Park. I can only presume that once the new entertainments complex is completed, it will run from one end to the other connecting the two.

 

[siralgenon]

PortAventura World re-opens May 15th!
This week it was announced that PortAventura World will finally be allowed to open for the 2021 season on May 15th at 30% capacity with PortAventura Park, Ferrari Land Park, Hotel PortAventura, Hotel Gold River, Hotel El Paso, Hotel Colorado Creek, Hotel 'The Callaghan's', Hotel Mansion de Lucy and PortAventura Lumine Golf.

PortAventura Park 10:00am - 7:00pm / 8:00pm
Ferrari Land Park 10:00am - 4:00pm
Caribe Aquatic Park Opens June 22nd

Shows
PortAventura Park will re-open with a limited entertainments schedule including shows Aves del Paraiso at the Makamanu Teatre in Polynesia, Bang Bang West at the Western Stunt Show Arena in Far West and new for 2021 (originally meant to debut for the 25th Anniversary last year) Around the World at the Gran Teatro Imperial in China. In addition to these shows you can find a variety of street entertainment across the two parks including new Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. More shows are set to be released for the Summer Season beginning June 22nd including the new Shrek The Musical and a new version of FiestAventura regulations depending.

Hotel Colorado Creek
Hotel Colorado Creek will also be opening on May 15th with it's new area including a new self catering building, 141 new deluxe guest rooms, a hotel pool and restaurant.

PortAventura Express
From 2021 PortAventura Express will go fully digital with the removal of paper Express passes.

 

[saltedpeanuts09]

Good morning, I am new to the forum so this is my first ever post. As a big PortAventure land fan. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on their next investment, I know Ferrari land wasnt to long ago but I feel some dark rides are much needed in the park. Is there anything you would like to see added too the park being attractions, Accomdation or Infrastructure?
In my eyes Ferrari Land needs more stuff. More importantly, it needs good stuff. As it is, there's just not enough to do there to justify it being a seperate gate. Another thrill coaster and a top-drawer flat ride should do it. I do actually like the place - really attractive, totally unique in Europe and loads of potential - but yeah, it does need filling up a bit with a couple more attractions.
The main park actually feels ok to me at the moment, a fairly complete, well rounded park and I like it lots, still my favourite park in Europe but then again I have not yet got myself too Europa park!

 

[siralgenon]

TwentyNine's
This week it has been revealed that the new sports bar / restaurant being constructed next to the parks entrance plaza in the former preferential parking area will be called LaLiga TwentyNine's and will be an interactive sports bar, restaurant and store. It will be the second of its kind constructed by LaLiga and will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. Due to its location outside the parks no park entrance ticket will be needed to visit. This is the first phase of the new partnership between LaLiga and PortAventura World. Although I was sceptical at first when it was first thought to be located within the parks, I think it will be a nice addition to the resort being located outside of the parks.

Improved Restaurants
According to PAFANS the buffet restaurants at Hotel Gold River, Hotel Colorado Creek and Hotel PortAventura (Grand Hall Buffet, Buffet New Texas, Creek View Buffet, Buffet del Port and Buffet del Mar) will receive a new and improved offering for breakfast and dinner. The PortAventura Hotel buffets often come under criticism for their range and quality so this is welcome news!

The Sweet House
Nutella has finally made it's way to PortAventura with a new outlet serving a range of sweet treats. The new outlet can be found in Far West across from the Carousel.

Spanish Grand Prix
As some of you may have seen, Ferrari Land also featured on the official artwork for the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend!

 

[AstroDan]

Delighted to see what appear to be improvements to F&B!

 

[EuroSatch]

Delighted to see what appear to be improvements to F&B!

Yeah, but will they ever be open?

 

[RicketyCricket]

Slightly in love with that Nutella sign tbh.

 

[Enter Valhalla]

PortAventura re-opens tomorrow, with no fewer than 9 attractions scheduled to be closed every day. As well as smaller attractions, larger ones such as Angkor and Tutuki Splash will be closed daily.

The opening hours are the shortest I’ve ever seen at PortAventura, with the main park open from 10:30-6:00pm on every day except Saturday (8pm closing on Saturdays)

Staggered openings include Dragon Khan opening at 10:45, Hurakan Condor, Silver River Flume and El Diablo opening at 11:00 and Stampida (and therefore presumably Tomahawk as well) opening at 11:30 every day.

Oh and Ferrari Land is open from 11:00- 4:00pm every day.

 

[siralgenon]

To be fair to them three of those attractions are children's play areas which aren't allowed to be open due to distancing, the water taxis again due to distancing and the others are two small flats in China. Tutuki Splash and Angkor then open on June 1st.

I know I'm one to defend PortAventura anyway but let's not forget we're still in the middle of a pandemic and most other parks in Europe are still closed. The Resort is only opening on 30% capacity so it's not like everyone won't have the chance to experience everything.

It's a shame about the reduced opening hours but they're expected to increase throughout the season and it was to be expected. There was never going to be a chance of it opening until midnight during Covid.

It's not ideal but I think it's fair at the moment. They're known for not doing things by halves, if it were still in this position come high season then I'd be worried.

 

[siralgenon]

Well PortAventura Park opened this morning with a musical opening ceremony to much fanfare, after reading some of the reviews from the Spanish forums the PA fans from over the pond have praised the efforts of the resort on opening day.

A few updates from today; contradicting previous reports Tutuki Splash opened with the park today after initially being planned to remain closed until June and the 25th Anniversary decorations have all remained in place for everyone to enjoy this year.
https://fb.watch/5vRnvbxTeb/

Over at Hotel Colorado Creek Phase 2 has been completed with the addition of a new guest room building, two pools and a pool bar, apparently there's just a few finishing touches to be added.

New 2021 Song - El Sueno Gigante

 

[Enter Valhalla]

I know I'm one to defend PortAventura anyway but let's not forget we're still in the middle of a pandemic and most other parks in Europe are still closed. The Resort is only opening on 30% capacity so it's not like everyone won't have the chance to experience everything.

It's a shame about the reduced opening hours but they're expected to increase throughout the season and it was to be expected. There was never going to be a chance of it opening until midnight during Covid.

It's not ideal but I think it's fair at the moment. They're known for not doing things by halves, if it were still in this position come high season then I'd be worried.

To be fair to them three of those attractions are children's play areas which aren't allowed to be open due to distancing, the water taxis again due to distancing and the others are two small flats in China. Tutuki Splash and Angkor then open on June 1st.

I know I'm one to defend PortAventura anyway but let's not forget we're still in the middle of a pandemic and most other parks in Europe are still closed. The Resort is only opening on 30% capacity so it's not like everyone won't have the chance to experience everything.

It's a shame about the reduced opening hours but they're expected to increase throughout the season and it was to be expected. There was never going to be a chance of it opening until midnight during Covid.

It's not ideal but I think it's fair at the moment. They're known for not doing things by halves, if it were still in this position come high season then I'd be worried.

It isn’t a case of feeling you need to defend the park/ resort. Nobody was criticising them, on this occasion.

But it can’t be ignored that all the evidence suggests that the resort is currently not doing well, hence why we’ve seen a dramatic reduction in opening hours, hotel offering, and scheduled ride availability.

PA, like DLP, is far more reliant on international tourists than most other European theme parks and resorts. As such, with most of the borders still being closed, it’s inevitable that PA will be getting far less visitors than, for example, Parque Warner Madrid which attracts almost entirely local visitors.

If you’re suggesting that this was all expected and that the resort is deliberately this quiet, then I’m sorry, I just don’t buy that. When it first re-opened in June 2020, the main park was open 10:00am-10:00pm, but this was reduced to 10:30am-8:00pm after the first few weeks, when all reports on social media suggested that the park was deserted.

It’s not a dig at the resort to say that it isn’t doing well, it’s a statement of, what seems to be, fact. The reason, I assume, why it isn’t doing well is for the reason of lack of international tourism which I’ve already mentioned. These are tough times for tourism and therefore PortAventura, but that’s in no way a reflection of the resort itself, and should not be taken as such. Therefore, absolutely no need to defend them at all in this case.

 

[siralgenon]

It isn’t a case of feeling you need to defend the park/ resort. Nobody was criticising them, on this occasion.

But it can’t be ignored that all the evidence suggests that the resort is currently not doing well, hence why we’ve seen a dramatic reduction in opening hours, hotel offering, and scheduled ride availability.

PA, like DLP, is far more reliant on international tourists than most other European theme parks and resorts. As such, with most of the borders still being closed, it’s inevitable that PA will be getting far less visitors than, for example, Parque Warner Madrid which attracts almost entirely local visitors.

If you’re suggesting that this was all expected and that the resort is deliberately this quiet, then I’m sorry, I just don’t buy that. When it first re-opened in June 2020, the main park was open 10:00am-10:00pm, but this was reduced to 10:30am-8:00pm after the first few weeks, when all reports on social media suggested that the park was deserted.

It’s not a dig at the resort to say that it isn’t doing well, it’s a statement of, what seems to be, fact. The reason, I assume, why it isn’t doing well is for the reason of lack of international tourism which I’ve already mentioned. These are tough times for tourism and therefore PortAventura, but that’s in no way a reflection of the resort itself, and should not be taken as such. Therefore, absolutely no need to defend them at all in this case.

On the contrary, the Spanish forums and news sites say it's doing very well, the park is apparently at capacity for the next few weeks atleast. The hotel's are currently booked up and the resort is hoping to up capacity in the coming weeks. If you look at any video from this weekend the park was very busy and apparently that's only at 30% capacity.

I would not expect them to be open any later than 7pm / 8pm at the moment which are the normal times for this time of the year. At 30% capacity it doesn't make any business sense to open late. They've already opened up more attractions than were already planned to so it seems pretty positive in my opinion.

If you skip to the middle you can see the crowds over lunch.

 

[Enter Valhalla]

But they aren’t closing at 7/8pm as you say. They’re closing at 6pm on every day except Saturday, as well as opening the park in the morning half an hour later than usual at 10:30am, not to mention all the staggered openings, which are listed on their website.

If they’re doing well, then why are their weekday and Sunday hours, and their Ferrari Land opening hours around 2 hours less than what they’d normally be at this time of year? I’ve been visiting PA for years and never known them to close any earlier than 7pm, even at the quietest times of year. Either they aren’t busy, or the opening hours are not sufficient.

Good on them for opening rides which they said would be closed though, long may that continue.

Edit: @siralgenon I assume you watched the whole of that video you linked? The long queue at lunch time is clearly due to how many other F&B units elsewhere in the park were closed that day. Skim through that vlog and you’ll see closed shutters in almost every frame.