Oh right, I didnt know that thanks. Never been b4. I am staying on site for convenience but was hoping for early entry but whats the point if nothings open
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PortAventura: General Discussion
Shaggy_Dog_
TS Member
PA has a couple of bucket list coasters for me (Shambhala and Red Force) but talk of how bad the operations are at the park really kills the desire to actually go there. I’ve heard it said that Fast Track purchase is absolutely essential if you want to have a decent day there and actually get on a fair number of rides and it seems such a pity if the park is indeed set up that way.
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Matt.GC
TS Member
I'm going for the first time in May and I won't be buying any Fast Tracks that's for sure. If you look at what people say about Towers online, many people who are uinitiated think that wasting money on them is essential to getting done what they want to there as well. I'm sure there will be a safe route around PA with some careful planning.
Its a different ball game its like comparing fasttrack with a vip service and express pass with the tube at rush hour ……
Towers you do not need fast track 95% of days
Portaventura you need it 95% of days …..
They oversell the express pass way more than merlin to the point the main queue basically gets 10% throughput
So good luck
Benzin
TS Member
What if people on here say its a necessary evil for PA? Most posters on here aren't "uninitiated" when it comes to park trips.
Just sounds like pure naivety from me here. PA has a lot of problems with operations in general and queueing can be really burdenous as well.
Suppose you can enjoy the ambience of the unthemed cattle pens though if you don't buy it.
venny
TS Member
You need Fastpass on busy days if you want to ride all the major rides. On some less busy days, operations mean Fastpass is also reasonably useful.
Operations however are not universally awful, despite the popular narrative. We’ve been on days where Shambhala has been firing out trains on a three train service. Other days there will be one train and a much longer queue. There’s not a great deal of consistency.
You can visit the park without requiring Fastpass. We’ve visited on Fridays in September and October where queues have been very short, only for the next day to be massively busier.
The conclusion: don’t assume you need Fastpass all the time, but it’s worthwhile recognising that you might need it to fully enjoy some days.
Operations however are not universally awful, despite the popular narrative. We’ve been on days where Shambhala has been firing out trains on a three train service. Other days there will be one train and a much longer queue. There’s not a great deal of consistency.
You can visit the park without requiring Fastpass. We’ve visited on Fridays in September and October where queues have been very short, only for the next day to be massively busier.
The conclusion: don’t assume you need Fastpass all the time, but it’s worthwhile recognising that you might need it to fully enjoy some days.
James5696
TS Member
Oh right, I didnt know that thanks. Never been b4. I am staying on site for convenience but was hoping for early entry but whats the point if nothings open
Gold River have fast pass machines which sell them below the park price. You could try going onto the park without, seeing how you feel, and if needed, pop back to the hotel to get one. Double check with the machine though before you set off to the park, as I’m sure the offerings were different between days.
Red force is a near compulsory fast pass, and I don’t think there’s re-entry to Ferrari Land, so I’d advise to go prepared with a fast pass from the hotel. They’re not expensive for Ferrari Land.
Thanks. Im gonna have 3 days there in total for the 2 parks. So I think i’ll see how day 1 goes and then if it was hell i’ll buy fast pass for day 2. Thanks for the tip in regards to ferrari land. I’ve heard horror stories in regards to red force’s queue length so i’ll definitely get a fast pass for that
Mattie boy
TS Member
Would be good if they ran FL into the darkness like they do the main park
Matt N
TS Member
Intriguingly, rumours of PortAventura being re-acquired by Universal have begun spreading in recent months.
Universal employees were reportedly sighted at PortAventura during the 2022 season, including some with expensive camera equipment who appeared to be filming some sort of promotional footage:
The above tweet translates into English as the following:
To add weight to this rumour, Universal recently filed a European trademark for UNIVERSAL DESTINATIONS & EXPERIENCES to be used in "marketing services, theme parks and hotels"... with Spanish as a second language: https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#details/trademarks/018818174
If true, I think that this could possibly be really exciting!
Universal employees were reportedly sighted at PortAventura during the 2022 season, including some with expensive camera equipment who appeared to be filming some sort of promotional footage:
The above tweet translates into English as the following:
To add weight to this rumour, Universal recently filed a European trademark for UNIVERSAL DESTINATIONS & EXPERIENCES to be used in "marketing services, theme parks and hotels"... with Spanish as a second language: https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#details/trademarks/018818174
If true, I think that this could possibly be really exciting!
tayspru
TS Member
To add to this, Universal have just today announced both a new family focussed park in Texas, and a year round Horror experience in Vegas. If this is the start of more aggressive expansion on their part, I wouldn’t be surprised if Universal’s Port of Adventure is around the corner
Zeock
TS Member
This is unexpected! Did anyone forsee this?
tayspru
TS Member
I think they only sold up in the aftermath of 9/11, things still weren’t great for NBC Universal in the mid 2000s, so they sold the park in 2004
They’ve been here before and it’s a no brainer for their expansion plans
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John_P
TS Member
An existing park which already has numerous hotels and 3 gates and plenty of space for expansion. Even if its just dropping in some cloned attractions. Maybe add in a city walk area with bars, restaurants, and shops.
Seems like a no brainer if they are looking at returning to the European Market.
Seems like a no brainer if they are looking at returning to the European Market.
venny
TS Member
I would love to see Universal reacquire PA. There have been some significant drops in quality across certain aspects of the resort since their departure. I’m thinking specifically in the hotels which really need some attention in service and maintenance. It seems like a perfect fit, not just because of their fingerprints on the original design, but also there being scope for improvement and expansion that is naturally built into the original design.
I’d also hope that the park shows return to something a little more traditional, rooted in story and theme, as some of the shows (for example those in Far West) have lost their way over the years. In fact, one would hope they’d bring back some more consist thematic installations throughout the park, rather than the incongruity of additions like Furius Baco, Rec, Sesamo Aventura etc.
Perhaps they could even bulldoze Ferrari Land and start again…
I’d also hope that the park shows return to something a little more traditional, rooted in story and theme, as some of the shows (for example those in Far West) have lost their way over the years. In fact, one would hope they’d bring back some more consist thematic installations throughout the park, rather than the incongruity of additions like Furius Baco, Rec, Sesamo Aventura etc.
Perhaps they could even bulldoze Ferrari Land and start again…