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PortAventura: General Discussion

Rick said:
If it's a coaster, I am surprised they have put up so much of the building at this point.
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If the rumours about it being similar to Wonder Mountain’s Guardian are true, then there might not be as much “thrilling” coaster track to put in as there would be for a regular indoor coaster, which would probably make it easier to take the majority of the track in after the building is up.
 
Are “non-thrilling” coaster track pieces smaller than thrilling coaster track pieces?

It would seem to be a very odd construction methodology to erect the track after the building if the track needed craning in. Unless they can use a telehandler within the structure to move those pieces into position, getting a crane sling through the roof members would render it almost impossible.

Conversely if it’s a non-coaster dark ride, you’d want to be weathertight before putting the ride system in as I assume it would be powered and subject to damage from the elements.
 
But it can't just be a conventional dark ride either. Just look how small the digger is inside the building! The building must be multiple stories tall. Most dark rides would be 2 at most. Buildings of this height suggest multiple levels of track.
 
venny said:
Are “non-thrilling” coaster track pieces smaller than thrilling coaster track pieces?

It would seem to be a very odd construction methodology to erect the track after the building if the track needed craning in. Unless they can use a telehandler within the structure to move those pieces into position, getting a crane sling through the roof members would render it almost impossible.

Conversely if it’s a non-coaster dark ride, you’d want to be weathertight before putting the ride system in as I assume it would be powered and subject to damage from the elements.
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You wouldn't really want to work off the telehandler though, not when a crane is an option that's available
 
That’s my point, the purlins are installed so how would you get a crane sling to work through them?

As for height of the building, it’s a good point. That said, rides like Transformers are pretty tall.
 
Yes, but only because they were forced to utilise an existing, massive indoor space. I think it'd be odd to build a new dark coaster from the ground-up like this, but we'll see.
 
Does anyone know when traditionally PortAventura opens for the year? I only ask as I've booked to go next year over the Easter Weekend (4th-11Apr) I would be very surprised if it wasn't but noticed it opened on the 8th this year a week before easter so is that normal?
 
Tim said:
But it can't just be a conventional dark ride either. Just look how small the digger is inside the building! The building must be multiple stories tall. Most dark rides would be 2 at most. Buildings of this height suggest multiple levels of track.
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Or its a very small digger? ;-)

I agree- a coaster looks highly likely given the scale of the building.
 
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Hola, I was at Ferrari Land today and was wondering if anyone had any insight on a technical question I have.

Red Force rolled back today, however it didn’t simply “not crest”, it barely made it about half way up.

I’m wondering what may have caused this? Can the LSM launch simply “abort” if it senses something wrong? It’s been a rainy day on and off with ops stopping and starting operation, but this rollback stood out to me as it didn’t get anywhere near the top third of the ride (with guests on-board).
 
James5696 said:
Hola, I was at Ferrari Land today and was wondering if anyone had any insight on a technical question I have.

Red Force rolled back today, however it didn’t simply “not crest”, it barely made it about half way up.

I’m wondering what may have caused this? Can the LSM launch simply “abort” if it senses something wrong? It’s been a rainy day on and off with ops stopping and starting operation, but this rollback stood out to me as it didn’t get anywhere near the top third of the ride (with guests on-board).
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That happens on all LSM-launched coasters. It could either be the e-stop being pressed, the ride auto e-stopping, or power being lost, among others.

Not Red Force, but here's a video of Velocoaster's second launch being reset after a launch failure;


From: https://youtu.be/nCuyQhIOjAM
 
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I've been at port aventura for the last few days staying onsite at hotel el paso.

Yesterday at around 6:30pm local time there was a flash flood caused by sudden massive rain fall. This flooded the lower blocks (iguana, jaguar and others I'm sure) as well as the reception.

Things started as a pool of water formed at our rear door (ground floor, no balcony but a little outdoor area). As this grew deeper the water began to flow through the cracks and into the room.

Shortly after this we noticed that water was coming in through the front door on the room. It was at this point we contacted the hotel reception via phone. They told us that we should put a towel in front of the doors and they would send a cleaning lady. We insisted that it was too bad for that and they needed to do something. They said they would send someone.

For some time then we stayed put and moved items off the floor. We were leaving the next day so was mostly packed, we just threw a last few bits in the bag.

Things only declined from there, we saw the water was rising further and was now coming over the lower hinge of the door. Then the power was lost, and we thought it best to get out and get to a higher point.

We had not heard / seen any member of staff since our phone call to them.

We decided to open the door and get out. What we didn't realise was the sheer amount of water the door was holding back. As we pulled the handle the door burst open with a huge wave behind it. This wave upended all of the furniture in the room (see photo).

We were now up to our knees at least in water. With more water rushing in we started wading towards the exit. It only became deeper.

Once out of the building we really saw what was happening. There were huge torrents of water falling down the steps from the pool area and restaurant. We wouldn't have been able to climb them due to the amount of water, and the lower area was filling quickly. It was now up to our hips (I'm about 6ft for reference).

There is a staircase that runs alongside reception building up to the bar so we took that.

We made it out the water and took a seat inside the bar which was still operating as normal.

That's the story, and at this point I'd like to say that of course I understand that the hotel is not at fault for any of the flooding.

What the hotel are at fault for though is their reaction.

a). Nobody came to get people from their rooms. Leaving some people trapped in flooded rooms. Others to wade through extremely deep water.
b). Staff were rude when we asked what were they doing, and even said "get out or I'll throw you out" when we continued to complain (in an irate manor, to be fair)
c). Staff never gave any information to those in the hotel. No staff member came around to announce anything. Communication was very poor
d). There was clearly no contingency plan for emergencies which is shocking when there are so many on site.
e). They continued to charge for basics, and continued to not let a parent take food out of the buffet for children trapped in upper floor rooms of flooded blocks.

Overall there was a disregard for guest safety as staff focused on moving furniture out of reception which was flooding to a higher spot, rather than to help guests get to safety.

Communication after the fact was terrible with no updates or plans. Eventually they did move us to another hotel, but only when we went back into reception to get more information.



From: https://i.imgur.com/YifKUvg.jpeg



From: https://i.imgur.com/hdULh5B.jpeg
 
Lurker said:
We made it out the water and took a seat inside the bar which was still operating as normal.
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What you went through, and the way it was subsequently handled, was absolutely dreadful, and one of the most shocking incidents I've ever read about on this forum. I am glad that you and your family are safe.

Nonetheless, I hope you find a silver lining when I say that this line made me laugh out loud.

"Iz flood, iz open."

My friends, only at PortAventura.
 
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There has been an article posted here with a video (where staff can be seen moving furniture rather than helping people)

uk.sports.yahoo.com

Floodwaters Swamp Adventure Park as Heavy Rain Hits Catalonia

Floodwaters inundated parts of Tarragona, Spain, as the Meteorological Service of Catalonia reported over 100 millimeters (3.9 inches) of rainfall in the area on Friday, September 23.Local emergency services said they answered 759 calls for help with 473 calls made from Tarragona in...
uk.sports.yahoo.com uk.sports.yahoo.com
 
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Wow, that’s shocking to hear!

We were on park when the heavy rain started, and my partner took shelter under the Dragon Khan photo kiosk. When he got there, the shop assistant was trying to upsell €7.50 ponchos to people approaching to stand under the overhang. My partner had a Ferrari Land bag with a gift inside, which had ripped due to the rain. He asks the kiosk if he has a replacement paper bag he can put his gift into. The man says yes… 30 cents. Partner asked if he was joking, to which he said no, 30 cents. My partner, cradling the Ferrari Land gift to prevent it getting ruined, had no choice but to buy the paper bag. We were astounded!
 
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