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PortAventura: General Discussion

Just got back to the hotel from PA...... damn the operations are dire...worse than last year..... most queues 90 mins +

Also staff faffing around when adding a 3rd train for Dragon Khan. (Was 2 trains from the station).

One staff member closing OTSR on new train and other then opening them.... que staff member moving arms to say we can't send it with the restraints up.

Did Red Force as damn it crests so slow.

Ok day on park. Just Operations need a kick up the arse.

Queue for water rides 2 hours and rest mostly 60 to 90 mins.

EXPRESS PASS all sold out at start of day.

BLoody Queue jumpers and a couple constant vaping in front of me on uncharted que
 
Maelstrom said:
will be interesting to see what it turns out to be, would think you could fit an Intamin gyroswing and queue line etc, always thought a large Intamin gyro swing would fit the park well.
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Just did PortAventura a month ago and come back from Parque Warner yesterday. I think either or both parks would benefit from an Intamin Gyro Swing.

I saw this on CoasterForce and thought Family Boomerang: https://coasterforce.com/forums/threads/what-is-portaventura-doing-in-the-mexico-area.47622/
 
DavidRock said:
BLoody Queue jumpers
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See i said i was hesitant to visit the park because of this and some people defended it but i've never heard this complaint anywhere near as much as i've heard it about PortAventura.

Actually that reminds me, a group of youths tried to do this at Chessington on my sons school trip and the headteacher was in the line who went nuclear on them and somehow managed to get them thrown out the park!
 
DavidRock said:
Just got back to the hotel from PA...... damn the operations are dire...worse than last year..... most queues 90 mins +

Also staff faffing around when adding a 3rd train for Dragon Khan. (Was 2 trains from the station).

One staff member closing OTSR on new train and other then opening them.... que staff member moving arms to say we can't send it with the restraints up.

Did Red Force as damn it crests so slow.

Ok day on park. Just Operations need a kick up the arse.

Queue for water rides 2 hours and rest mostly 60 to 90 mins.

EXPRESS PASS all sold out at start of day.

BLoody Queue jumpers and a couple constant vaping in front of me on uncharted que
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The lore of PA was they that sell unlimited Express Passes.. Shocked to hear they have actually sold out. It's rep is warranted on queues and ops which is a shame because this park clearly has so much potential to be one of the best in Europe.. it's a beautiful place with great rides
 
Poisson said:
PA and Towers are in a similar place. Beautiful parks, the bones of being great but one has poor leadership and budget, the other horrendous ops and greed.
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I do wonder if it's a Merlin park in disguise, in all seriousness - I anticipate Merlin buying them out honestly
 
I don’t think PA’s poor reputation is deserved myself, based on my experience there.

I went for the first time last September having heard very mixed reviews and had a brilliant time!

The operations, while not astonishingly fast by any means, were not nearly as horrific as I’d feared, Express usage also didn’t appear excessive, single rider queues were well managed, rides mostly ran multiple trains, the water rides ran lots of boats, and I also didn’t think queue jumping was a big issue either. I should also add that queues did not seem overly excessive for the most part (I didn’t wait longer than an hour for anything), and that’s with one of the days I visited being on a public holiday in Catalonia!

General ride availability was also mostly absolutely fine; I would have said it seemed better than Alton Towers and Thorpe Park’s was at points in 2024, and they also seemed to struggle less with getting things open on time than Alton, for the most part.

And the resort itself was absolutely lovely! The theming throughout both parks was absolutely gorgeous, and there were also some really good rides; Shambhala was my personal favourite, but I also liked Uncharted, and Red Force is also a fantastic ride!

The hotel was also lovely; we stayed in Gold River, and that is such a gorgeous complex, being immaculately clean and ornately themed throughout! The food in the hotel was also really nice; I found the buffet at both evenings and breakfast time to taste nice and offer an expansive range of things to eat. And when you consider that PortAventura’s hotels are a lot cheaper than those of places like Europa Park, I’d genuinely struggle to name a theme park on-site stay that offers better value!

Our buffet evening meal, we worked out, was the equivalent of something stupidly cheap like £5 per head each time we ate. When you consider that it was legitimately nice food and a really expansive range, you can’t quibble with that in the 2025 restaurant pricing climate!

I know PA gets mixed reviews, and I may have had a particularly favourable experience. But I could not speak more highly of the place, and we had a lovely visit! My parents actually said to me that they would return to PA before returning to Europa Park, which is praise indeed!
 
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