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PortAventura Revisited
- Thread starter Rojo
- Start date
Rojo
TS Member
PortAventura
Last time I was at PortAventura it was still owned by Universal, so I was certainly interested to see how the park had changed through multiple purchases. InvestIndustrial are the current owners and they do have previous theme park experience with Gardaland, before they sold to Merlin.
As far as I can tell Angkor, Shambala and Sesame Street are the big changes since my last trip. I'm aware of the reputation that PA has regarding fast track and its not surprising when every park including the water park has its own passes. These can also be purchased in vending machines across all parks and hotels.
Luckily for me my trip consisted of heading in at the cooler evenings starting at 18:00 and staying until the parade and firework display in the evening (approximately midnight). Queues were never more than 30 minutes and there were some shows still running in the evening.
We used our last day to catch the western stunt show and spend a bit of time in Sesamo Aventura. On the last day we went in from 11:00 to 16:30 and the park was noticeably busier than it was in the evenings with queues averaging 60 minutes plus, this seemed to be mainly made up of school trips but also seemed more representative of the real PortAventura.
The food and drink throughout the park is standard throughout, however the best choice for food I found was in the Mediterranean area. That being said a lot of the better places to eat weren't an option due to lack of vegetarian options on the menu, I would have loved to gone to the Iron Horse but having a steak whilst my partner picks at snacks isn't exactly fair on her.
I think the buffets are ~€23 and if you buy a burger/sandwich/Pasta you can upgrade it to a 3 course meal with a drink for €17.50. Most food outlets have express machines which are handy if you don't speak the language or there is huge queue for the counter, however most seemed to be broken or turned off.
Taking your own food and drink is not permitted, that being said security never stopped us with bottles of water and didn't do any deep dives of our bag. So it might be possible take a sandwich in if you wanted to take it in with you. All the toilets have water fountains or my partner was filling them up from the cistern and not telling me, either way it was a real saver in the heat. Snackwise its standard fare except for the frozen yoghurt and choco milk shops. There is Estrella available across the park and can be bought in plastic "yards" containers, these are refillable at most snack counters.
The park has 6 main areas;
Mediterrania
You walk straight into this area from the entrance and you'll head towards the lake. Like the lake at Towers its a main focal point as you enter and it doesn't disappoint. If you are lucky on your arrival the fountains will be dancing away to PortAventura theme songs. To enhance the view of the lake you have both Dragons Khan and Shambala towering above the rock work behind the lake. Mediterrania is made up of shops, bars, restaurants, a train stop, a boat stop and its only attraction Furious Baco.
Furious Baco - This was a ride I wasn't looking forward to. I spent some time watching it sweep across the lake before returning to the station and noticed that most riders seemed to be enjoying the ride. Not something I had expected from a ride that has affectionately named as Furious Backache! I'd read reports of how rough this ride was and saw nothing redeeming about the ride.
So as I pottered through the vinyard queue with some amusing bucket headed scarecrow I started to worry about starting off my journey in PA on this super fast tumble drier. I convinced myself it wouldn't be rough but when I got to the station and saw the restraints my heart sunk a little. The train itself is a wine barrell themed wing coaster and seems like something plucked from Tripsdrill, however the downside is the the restraints being almost identical to those found on RITA. I can handle a rough rollercoaster, a childhood at BPB will beat that into you but I'm not a fan of smashing my head like an alarm clock. So we get out of the station for a short video, some mishaps from an animatronic and woosh!
Launched out of the station to 83mph within 3 seconds into the long right hander down into the tunnel you could really feel how rough and bouncy the ride was. Admittedly though I expected worse given its reputation. You carry quite some speed up out of the tunnel before veering left into the corkscrew, which does cause you bash you head if you don't brace. After exiting in the corkscrew you glide into a left hander across the lake and returning to the station. This is section is easily the nicest bit of the ride, aesthetically and in comfort. Personally I didn't think the ride was as rough as I thought it was going to be, mainly because my fillings were still intact. However we only went on it once in 5 days which probably says a lot.
Polynesia
The Polynesia area is themed as you'd expect and is a great family area of the park. There are were plenty of Polynesian dancing and warrior shows throughout the evening and a regular exotic bird show. If you take the boat from the mediterranean area to China, you pass throught this area and encounter some theming not seen from the paths and pass the attractions from a different angle. Speaking of attractions;
Dino Escape 4D - A ride I had looked forward to in all honesty. Mainly because I remember this being an under the sea simulator from my previous visit. We entered the queue and encountered some model Dinosaurs before being batched and waited for the 3D glasses. Then we entered the attraction and I found apart from a dinosaur head, it was exactly the same, even the submarine was in the next batching area before entering sub dock 4.
Were then strapped into simulator seats, unlike racing legends they weren't themed but at least the ops were better on this.
Then the barriers dropped and the film started, well not quite. What ruins the immersion of course? An advert from the studio that made the film. What follows is terrible cartoon parody of the best bits of Jurassic park, whilst throwing you around to choreographed air and water effects. Maybe its the nostalgia but I remember the old film being soo much better.
Kontiki - Huss pirate ship themed like a tiki boat. Not much else to add.
Canoes - A mini log flume for little ones. The boats would have fitted me like roller skates, so wisely left this one.
Tutuki Splash - An Intamin shoot-the-chute which starts at an elevated station, so no initial lift hill. As you leave the station you will drift around to a chewing gum lined cave, on exiting the cave you will splash down a tiny drop and into probably the biggest pool of water on earth. I had my empty "yard" of beer container by my feet that was considerably filled and my beige shorts were now a mahogany wet mess. We still had another lift hill and drop to go! Somehow the second drop under the bridge wasn't too bad and we seemed to soak more people on the bridge than ourselves. A great little ride that offered some relief from the soaring temperatures, just make sure your phone is water proof and in tupperware before riding.
Last time I was at PortAventura it was still owned by Universal, so I was certainly interested to see how the park had changed through multiple purchases. InvestIndustrial are the current owners and they do have previous theme park experience with Gardaland, before they sold to Merlin.
As far as I can tell Angkor, Shambala and Sesame Street are the big changes since my last trip. I'm aware of the reputation that PA has regarding fast track and its not surprising when every park including the water park has its own passes. These can also be purchased in vending machines across all parks and hotels.
Luckily for me my trip consisted of heading in at the cooler evenings starting at 18:00 and staying until the parade and firework display in the evening (approximately midnight). Queues were never more than 30 minutes and there were some shows still running in the evening.
We used our last day to catch the western stunt show and spend a bit of time in Sesamo Aventura. On the last day we went in from 11:00 to 16:30 and the park was noticeably busier than it was in the evenings with queues averaging 60 minutes plus, this seemed to be mainly made up of school trips but also seemed more representative of the real PortAventura.
The food and drink throughout the park is standard throughout, however the best choice for food I found was in the Mediterranean area. That being said a lot of the better places to eat weren't an option due to lack of vegetarian options on the menu, I would have loved to gone to the Iron Horse but having a steak whilst my partner picks at snacks isn't exactly fair on her.
I think the buffets are ~€23 and if you buy a burger/sandwich/Pasta you can upgrade it to a 3 course meal with a drink for €17.50. Most food outlets have express machines which are handy if you don't speak the language or there is huge queue for the counter, however most seemed to be broken or turned off.
Taking your own food and drink is not permitted, that being said security never stopped us with bottles of water and didn't do any deep dives of our bag. So it might be possible take a sandwich in if you wanted to take it in with you. All the toilets have water fountains or my partner was filling them up from the cistern and not telling me, either way it was a real saver in the heat. Snackwise its standard fare except for the frozen yoghurt and choco milk shops. There is Estrella available across the park and can be bought in plastic "yards" containers, these are refillable at most snack counters.
The park has 6 main areas;
- Mediterrania
- Polynesia
- Sesamo Aventura
- Mexico
- Far West
- China
Mediterrania
You walk straight into this area from the entrance and you'll head towards the lake. Like the lake at Towers its a main focal point as you enter and it doesn't disappoint. If you are lucky on your arrival the fountains will be dancing away to PortAventura theme songs. To enhance the view of the lake you have both Dragons Khan and Shambala towering above the rock work behind the lake. Mediterrania is made up of shops, bars, restaurants, a train stop, a boat stop and its only attraction Furious Baco.
Furious Baco - This was a ride I wasn't looking forward to. I spent some time watching it sweep across the lake before returning to the station and noticed that most riders seemed to be enjoying the ride. Not something I had expected from a ride that has affectionately named as Furious Backache! I'd read reports of how rough this ride was and saw nothing redeeming about the ride.
So as I pottered through the vinyard queue with some amusing bucket headed scarecrow I started to worry about starting off my journey in PA on this super fast tumble drier. I convinced myself it wouldn't be rough but when I got to the station and saw the restraints my heart sunk a little. The train itself is a wine barrell themed wing coaster and seems like something plucked from Tripsdrill, however the downside is the the restraints being almost identical to those found on RITA. I can handle a rough rollercoaster, a childhood at BPB will beat that into you but I'm not a fan of smashing my head like an alarm clock. So we get out of the station for a short video, some mishaps from an animatronic and woosh!
Launched out of the station to 83mph within 3 seconds into the long right hander down into the tunnel you could really feel how rough and bouncy the ride was. Admittedly though I expected worse given its reputation. You carry quite some speed up out of the tunnel before veering left into the corkscrew, which does cause you bash you head if you don't brace. After exiting in the corkscrew you glide into a left hander across the lake and returning to the station. This is section is easily the nicest bit of the ride, aesthetically and in comfort. Personally I didn't think the ride was as rough as I thought it was going to be, mainly because my fillings were still intact. However we only went on it once in 5 days which probably says a lot.
Polynesia
The Polynesia area is themed as you'd expect and is a great family area of the park. There are were plenty of Polynesian dancing and warrior shows throughout the evening and a regular exotic bird show. If you take the boat from the mediterranean area to China, you pass throught this area and encounter some theming not seen from the paths and pass the attractions from a different angle. Speaking of attractions;
Dino Escape 4D - A ride I had looked forward to in all honesty. Mainly because I remember this being an under the sea simulator from my previous visit. We entered the queue and encountered some model Dinosaurs before being batched and waited for the 3D glasses. Then we entered the attraction and I found apart from a dinosaur head, it was exactly the same, even the submarine was in the next batching area before entering sub dock 4.
Were then strapped into simulator seats, unlike racing legends they weren't themed but at least the ops were better on this.
Then the barriers dropped and the film started, well not quite. What ruins the immersion of course? An advert from the studio that made the film. What follows is terrible cartoon parody of the best bits of Jurassic park, whilst throwing you around to choreographed air and water effects. Maybe its the nostalgia but I remember the old film being soo much better.
Kontiki - Huss pirate ship themed like a tiki boat. Not much else to add.
Canoes - A mini log flume for little ones. The boats would have fitted me like roller skates, so wisely left this one.
Tutuki Splash - An Intamin shoot-the-chute which starts at an elevated station, so no initial lift hill. As you leave the station you will drift around to a chewing gum lined cave, on exiting the cave you will splash down a tiny drop and into probably the biggest pool of water on earth. I had my empty "yard" of beer container by my feet that was considerably filled and my beige shorts were now a mahogany wet mess. We still had another lift hill and drop to go! Somehow the second drop under the bridge wasn't too bad and we seemed to soak more people on the bridge than ourselves. A great little ride that offered some relief from the soaring temperatures, just make sure your phone is water proof and in tupperware before riding.
Rojo
TS Member
Sesamo Aventura
Childhood Nostalgia achieved! I'm not sure how relevant Sesame street is in the UK these days but this area seems extremely popular in the park. Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie are prevalent across the area. Big bird, Count and Oscar Grouch are used sparingly or in the latter's case, seemingly not at all. There are also some recent characters that have made the cut, there's one dressed like a fairy that is very popular. The area is as you'd expect from a children's area with shows, character meets, play park, flat rides and small coaster.
La Granja de Elmo - Postman pat style ride with some Sesame Street characters interaction.
Tami Tami - A small Vekoma kids coaster. I seem to remember this being in the Polynesia area on my last visit, given the length of the coaster and the large queues I didn't get back on this time. Looking off the ride it looks nippy if a little short, probably an ideal first coaster for young ones.
Coco Piloto - A nutty squirrel ride that offers a great view across Sesamo Aventura. Seems to have a very strict height limit for this ride as the poor girl in front of us was refused and she didn't even appear to be that small.
Mariposas Saltarinas - A flat ride similar to wolkes luftpost at Phantasia. Themed planes that you pedal as it spins round.
Magic Fish - Another flat I never went on this because I've been on a similar ride in Legoland. Yep just a different themed Squid Surfer.
Waikiki - Mini chair swing, not sure I'd fit, so I didn't ride.
One thing to note for us is that the restaurant here was one of few that offered multiple vegetarian options, well different variations Pizza anyway. If you time it right you can also see the show as well as it backs on to the theater.
Mexico
Feels like a natural step out of the Far West into Mexico which kind of gives both areas a natural spaghetti western feel. As you get closer to Hurakan Condor the area transitions from Colonial Mexico into a Mayan jungle.
Los Potrillos - One of the single rail horse rides. It didn't appeal to me!
Armadillos - One of the kids spin rides themed as Armadillos. Like the canoes, I might of got in but I certainly wouldn't get back out.
Yucatan - In writing my first draft I lablled this as "hurty spinny". One of the many spinning serpent rides at the park, because you can never have too many of them! Anyway its a catterpillar ride which forces the outside riders into the jagged edge of the seats and holds you there for an eternity. I've had dental work without anaesthetic that was less painful. My partner said it was fun, yeah thanks for that.
Serpiente Emplumada - Another spinning serpent ride, a feathered one this time. I found out it is a specific Gerstlauer polyp - The polyp sombrero, not to be confused with the Zamperla Sombrero I guess.
You have a totem pole centre piece with 5 maybe six arms connected to some circular cars. I can't remember how many it seats, but its probably between 8-12 people per car and the seats have OTSRs. The arms and cars rotate at some speed before the arms also start to raise and drop.
Its a great flat ride that offers a good amount of force. It's definitely a flat that I would happily help drive to Alton Towers if they decide to sell it.
Hurakan Condor - For those who read my Ferrari Land review I am not a huge fan of drop towers anyway. So to go on one that has different riding methods and drops 300+ft was something I was dreading.
We got to the front of the queue and realised that there wasn't a choice on the method of being slammed at the tarmac. We were placed into standing, which was when I realised the wedgie from King Khajuna was about to become a wedgie on HC. Luckily I someone who spoke spanish wanted to stand up and the host agreed to swap us out for a seated drop instead. Which to me was still like being told you were going to be given a lethal injection rather than being shot. There is apparently a tilting option but I didn't see it personally, pretty glad I didn't. Its another whoofing great big intamin drop tower fare, if you like others, you'll like this.
El Diablo - Tren de la Mina - Onto the only Arrow mine train in Europe, choo-choo. I suspect it's the only one Europe for good reason. On boarding the train the lap bars dropped back down, meaning we had to limbo to get in whilst bashing in our knees. In hindsight I kind of wish they had dropped shut and we didn't get on. Despite the long layout, multiple lift hills and ride interaction with the log flume, its not a very quick or interesting ride. At times the seats were like sitting against a cactus, especially as the trains stuttered up the lift hills. In fact I watched xXx in 4DX where the seats vibrated anytime Vin Diesel breathed let alone someone got punched, that was more comfortable than this. If this ride was to be replaced with a Vekoma mine train I would happily reride, as it is never again.
El Secreto de los Mayas - A fun little mirror maze, probably the first one where I had to wear plastic gloves. I got totally lost in this and after getting to the spinning floor in the middle I ended up heading back to the entrance. My girlfriend who can't find shops in a straighline seems to gain pigeons instinct in every maze we have been in. She had to come back in and rescue me. I think I would have been in at closing had it not been for that.
Temple de fuego - Spoiler alert it translates to "Temple of Fire". This seem to be closed a lot during our trip and would then randomly open. After waiting at the pre-batch doors for what felt like an eternity in the heat, we got lead into a pretty lengthy pre-show (which now contains the floss dance to appeal to the yoofs). After solving the mystery puzzle and some pretty standard effects we proceeded to the final room. In there was some pretty cool effects which I'll refrain from spoiling. Basically it's an Indiana Jones/Lara Croft-esque show. Not exactly a great idea in 30+ heat but still glad we caught this.
Childhood Nostalgia achieved! I'm not sure how relevant Sesame street is in the UK these days but this area seems extremely popular in the park. Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie are prevalent across the area. Big bird, Count and Oscar Grouch are used sparingly or in the latter's case, seemingly not at all. There are also some recent characters that have made the cut, there's one dressed like a fairy that is very popular. The area is as you'd expect from a children's area with shows, character meets, play park, flat rides and small coaster.
La Granja de Elmo - Postman pat style ride with some Sesame Street characters interaction.
Tami Tami - A small Vekoma kids coaster. I seem to remember this being in the Polynesia area on my last visit, given the length of the coaster and the large queues I didn't get back on this time. Looking off the ride it looks nippy if a little short, probably an ideal first coaster for young ones.
Coco Piloto - A nutty squirrel ride that offers a great view across Sesamo Aventura. Seems to have a very strict height limit for this ride as the poor girl in front of us was refused and she didn't even appear to be that small.
Mariposas Saltarinas - A flat ride similar to wolkes luftpost at Phantasia. Themed planes that you pedal as it spins round.
Magic Fish - Another flat I never went on this because I've been on a similar ride in Legoland. Yep just a different themed Squid Surfer.
Waikiki - Mini chair swing, not sure I'd fit, so I didn't ride.
One thing to note for us is that the restaurant here was one of few that offered multiple vegetarian options, well different variations Pizza anyway. If you time it right you can also see the show as well as it backs on to the theater.
Mexico
Feels like a natural step out of the Far West into Mexico which kind of gives both areas a natural spaghetti western feel. As you get closer to Hurakan Condor the area transitions from Colonial Mexico into a Mayan jungle.
Los Potrillos - One of the single rail horse rides. It didn't appeal to me!
Armadillos - One of the kids spin rides themed as Armadillos. Like the canoes, I might of got in but I certainly wouldn't get back out.
Yucatan - In writing my first draft I lablled this as "hurty spinny". One of the many spinning serpent rides at the park, because you can never have too many of them! Anyway its a catterpillar ride which forces the outside riders into the jagged edge of the seats and holds you there for an eternity. I've had dental work without anaesthetic that was less painful. My partner said it was fun, yeah thanks for that.
Serpiente Emplumada - Another spinning serpent ride, a feathered one this time. I found out it is a specific Gerstlauer polyp - The polyp sombrero, not to be confused with the Zamperla Sombrero I guess.
You have a totem pole centre piece with 5 maybe six arms connected to some circular cars. I can't remember how many it seats, but its probably between 8-12 people per car and the seats have OTSRs. The arms and cars rotate at some speed before the arms also start to raise and drop.
Its a great flat ride that offers a good amount of force. It's definitely a flat that I would happily help drive to Alton Towers if they decide to sell it.
Hurakan Condor - For those who read my Ferrari Land review I am not a huge fan of drop towers anyway. So to go on one that has different riding methods and drops 300+ft was something I was dreading.
We got to the front of the queue and realised that there wasn't a choice on the method of being slammed at the tarmac. We were placed into standing, which was when I realised the wedgie from King Khajuna was about to become a wedgie on HC. Luckily I someone who spoke spanish wanted to stand up and the host agreed to swap us out for a seated drop instead. Which to me was still like being told you were going to be given a lethal injection rather than being shot. There is apparently a tilting option but I didn't see it personally, pretty glad I didn't. Its another whoofing great big intamin drop tower fare, if you like others, you'll like this.
El Diablo - Tren de la Mina - Onto the only Arrow mine train in Europe, choo-choo. I suspect it's the only one Europe for good reason. On boarding the train the lap bars dropped back down, meaning we had to limbo to get in whilst bashing in our knees. In hindsight I kind of wish they had dropped shut and we didn't get on. Despite the long layout, multiple lift hills and ride interaction with the log flume, its not a very quick or interesting ride. At times the seats were like sitting against a cactus, especially as the trains stuttered up the lift hills. In fact I watched xXx in 4DX where the seats vibrated anytime Vin Diesel breathed let alone someone got punched, that was more comfortable than this. If this ride was to be replaced with a Vekoma mine train I would happily reride, as it is never again.
El Secreto de los Mayas - A fun little mirror maze, probably the first one where I had to wear plastic gloves. I got totally lost in this and after getting to the spinning floor in the middle I ended up heading back to the entrance. My girlfriend who can't find shops in a straighline seems to gain pigeons instinct in every maze we have been in. She had to come back in and rescue me. I think I would have been in at closing had it not been for that.
Temple de fuego - Spoiler alert it translates to "Temple of Fire". This seem to be closed a lot during our trip and would then randomly open. After waiting at the pre-batch doors for what felt like an eternity in the heat, we got lead into a pretty lengthy pre-show (which now contains the floss dance to appeal to the yoofs). After solving the mystery puzzle and some pretty standard effects we proceeded to the final room. In there was some pretty cool effects which I'll refrain from spoiling. Basically it's an Indiana Jones/Lara Croft-esque show. Not exactly a great idea in 30+ heat but still glad we caught this.
Rojo
TS Member
Far West
As alluded in the Mexico review this area transitions very nicely into Mexico. It feels like the area could have been ripped Unforgiven or True grit. The wooden saloons and shops are sandwiched between cacti and the whole area is adorned in American flags. They have some water running into buckets that you could refill your drinks at or simply just put your head under, this was very popular in the relentless heat.
Wild Buffalos and Buffalo Rodeo - Adults and kids buffalo themed bumper cars - standard stuff.
Silver River Flume - It's a fun flume. It does has some ride interaction, shame its with the terrible mine train. The station is really well themed with its big working water wheel on the outside of the station. Watching off ride from the iron bridge whilst enjoying some FroYo is full recommended.
Tomahawk - I remember this being a great small woodie coaster on my previous visit. We never got round to it this time and I kept forgetting about it. Purely because of how tucked away it is behind Stampida.
Grand Canyon Rapids - Should probably be called the canyon rapids. Nothing of real note all the way around and was a rather bland journey around.
Stampida - Dueling wooden coaster themed around a wagon race and another ride I had fond memories on from many moons ago. This was my first experience of the new KumbaK trains and they look terrible, granted the old ones weren't picturesque but they had a second chance and bought trains that look like they belong to a seaside restort. Which seems totally out of character given how good the rest of the park looks. They also ride as bad as they look, for me the only way to save the ride is to RMC it.
I have no idea if the ride has aged badly or whether PA has straight up butchered it with the new trains. Its saving grace is the speed and interaction between the 2 trains. Frustratingly I know there is a fun rollercoaster in there but nostalgia is ruined by how badly it runs now.
Horror in Texas - An upcharge of €5 for a pasaje del terror experience. Given that my better half is a wimp at these things and half the fun is getting scared with others I give this one a miss.
Crazy Barrels - A Huss breakdance themed as horses...Only joking barrels. It seem to run slow compared to other breakdances but still better than the next ride...
VolPaiute - Quite possibly the worse ride of the trip, if only due the state it was in. Only half the cars were available and the ride ran on such a slow setting standing in the queue was the best thrill of this ride.
Wild west stunt show - Great fun despite not being in English. The whole thing was slapstick and funny for the most part with some weirdly interesting cameos. Mainly in Spanish but easy enough to follow.
We caught the tail end of a dance show here that had 60's music and some dancers dressed as hippies. Seemed weirdly out of place.
As alluded in the Mexico review this area transitions very nicely into Mexico. It feels like the area could have been ripped Unforgiven or True grit. The wooden saloons and shops are sandwiched between cacti and the whole area is adorned in American flags. They have some water running into buckets that you could refill your drinks at or simply just put your head under, this was very popular in the relentless heat.
Wild Buffalos and Buffalo Rodeo - Adults and kids buffalo themed bumper cars - standard stuff.
Silver River Flume - It's a fun flume. It does has some ride interaction, shame its with the terrible mine train. The station is really well themed with its big working water wheel on the outside of the station. Watching off ride from the iron bridge whilst enjoying some FroYo is full recommended.
Tomahawk - I remember this being a great small woodie coaster on my previous visit. We never got round to it this time and I kept forgetting about it. Purely because of how tucked away it is behind Stampida.
Grand Canyon Rapids - Should probably be called the canyon rapids. Nothing of real note all the way around and was a rather bland journey around.
Stampida - Dueling wooden coaster themed around a wagon race and another ride I had fond memories on from many moons ago. This was my first experience of the new KumbaK trains and they look terrible, granted the old ones weren't picturesque but they had a second chance and bought trains that look like they belong to a seaside restort. Which seems totally out of character given how good the rest of the park looks. They also ride as bad as they look, for me the only way to save the ride is to RMC it.
I have no idea if the ride has aged badly or whether PA has straight up butchered it with the new trains. Its saving grace is the speed and interaction between the 2 trains. Frustratingly I know there is a fun rollercoaster in there but nostalgia is ruined by how badly it runs now.
Horror in Texas - An upcharge of €5 for a pasaje del terror experience. Given that my better half is a wimp at these things and half the fun is getting scared with others I give this one a miss.
Crazy Barrels - A Huss breakdance themed as horses...Only joking barrels. It seem to run slow compared to other breakdances but still better than the next ride...
VolPaiute - Quite possibly the worse ride of the trip, if only due the state it was in. Only half the cars were available and the ride ran on such a slow setting standing in the queue was the best thrill of this ride.
Wild west stunt show - Great fun despite not being in English. The whole thing was slapstick and funny for the most part with some weirdly interesting cameos. Mainly in Spanish but easy enough to follow.
We caught the tail end of a dance show here that had 60's music and some dancers dressed as hippies. Seemed weirdly out of place.
Rojo
TS Member
China
The "China" area of the park should probably become Asia given that Angkor and the Himaylayas feature in this area now, albeit as kind of sub areas that contain a single ride. That fuax pas out the way, this area is home to a few flat rides that spin around, a Splash Galleons and a pair of B&M coasters wrapped around each other. The area has a mini Great Wall (The OK wall of china?) which hugs the area and is the main pathway between Mexico and Sesamo. There is also a boat stop here from the Mediterrania area. It's a beautiful area with Imperial era Chinese architecure and statues, an expedition-esque area of the Himaylayas with statues, tents, jeeps, etc... and finally the Angkor area which is like a little slice of Cambodia on the outer reaches of the park. Orrrrrr what I imagine those places are like from pictures having never visited them. The Chinese area looks especially beautiful at night when lit by an abundence of Chinese lanterns across the area.
Tea Cups - Quite possible the most amazing ride in fine China ever! Not sure if ours was broke but these teacups did not have any kind of braking mechanism applied until the end of the ride. We saw some Yoofs on this spinning like mad, so we made a beeline straight for their tea cup. I promise you from when it unlocked, until we stopped, I did not stop spinning at seemingly unrestricted speed. My partner refused to re-ride with me on these for the rest of the trip. Think I might have broken her.
Cobra Imperial - Another spinning serpent ride you say? oh go on then! This one like the a name is themed as a Cobr...ermm..Dragon?! Another caterpillar ride at the park, good fun for the family.
Balloon ride - This ride is hidden away behind the childrens play area, so hidden away I couldn't find name for it anywhere. We only spotted it at first because it's lit up at night. The balloons are sponsored by chupa chups so the balloons have similar decoration to the lollipops. The ride itelf is no different to any balloon ride you have been around and is just gentle spin around at height.
Escuela de Conducción Kids&Car - An up charge driving school for kids. The attraction sits within the shadow of the OK wall and is themed with lots of panda's. I don't think I saw anyone on it, maybe it was only open in the day.
Angkor - As stated it seems to be in a sub area of its own and feels cut off from the rest of the park, especially with the construction of the new sesame street dark ride at its entrance. It is a Splash galleons ride with wonderful theming throughout.
As with SG its also great fun to watch off ride, shame the off-ride guns weren't free as nobody was using them. Its a ride in 2 parts, the first is shooting the targets whilst cruising through a small fishing village much like Whale adventures at EP. Once you go under the bridge to exit the village and get soaked by the overhead bucket, thats where the fun begins. Its boat vs boat combat with very few places to hide. There are a few rocks that offer some brief respite but with a carefully placed shot you can find a way to still get people.
One guy on the opposite boat took it really seriously and was shouting at us all the time, presumably in Spanish but it wasn't very clear so it could have been Scouse. Despite the language barrier all of us aimed for him all the way around, apparently he could be heard muttering "no estabas allí, hombre! No estabas allí!" in the exit gift shop. To be fair his competitiveness really made the ride fun for everyone. Such a shame the ride broke after our boat left the station, as we had no-one to aim at for 50% of the ride with no trailing boat.
Dragon Khan - John Wardley and B&M, name a more iconic duo...I'll wait. Dragon Khan is the red coaster that you'll see weaving its way through any skyline shot of PA. A previous record holder for it's inversion with 8 of them, until JW broke that record with Colossus. It's a ride I previously spammed with unlimited fastrack on my first previous visit to PA, this was my first experience of fast track and even then I could sense I was annoying people in the normal queue by running straight back around from the exit.
Luckily I think we managed to do this in double figures throughout the evenings without fast track, due to some fantastic operations. Not a phrase that goes hand in hand with PA but this ride was nailing it all week. I absolutely loved this ride 14 years ago and I still love it now. Sure its aged a little and at times it can get a little rough but its very minimal compared to other rides at PA. A lot of the ride contains signature B&M design but its still a great ride. As with most coasters it was soo much fun in the dark.
Shambhala - This is the white coaster you'll see in the skyline pictures of the park. The station is lovely from outside but inside its just a covered cattlepen. Its redeeming feature inside is the view of across the trees to the Angkor temple.
My only comparison of this is Silver Star and I find that after the first drop that's just a series of bunny hops in a car park, still fun but there is better out there. Enter Shambala!
So after praising the Dragon Khans's ops team, its only fair to lambast the shambolic (sorry) ops on Shambala. There is a countdown clock as soon as the train parks at the station and is set for 1 minute. Not once did they look like getting everyone sat down before that minute was up. If having to get people out of their seats to put their flip flops on is as much as a problem it seemed to be, surely a sign or having an op pointing this out before people enter the airgates be useful. The ride was on 2 train operation yet due to the shambles (sorry again) both were usually in the station at the same time. For you football fans the trains are set in a weird wide 2 in wing back positions behind a central 2 forwards formation. The restraints are silimar if not the same as silver star. The ops do like to ensure you are pinned into your seats and on one of my rides I got speared into my seat by one over zealous op, she had decided to jump and push down. Who needs blood in their toes?
The ascent on the lift hill seems slow but it adds to the tension as you start the reach the top. The first drop is amazing and scary in equal amounts, especially as our first ride was in the dark. The ride carries soo much speed into the turn arounds and camel backs without ever feeling like its slowing down until the last section. Floating into the drop down into the splash section and then exiting over the hump at great speed is as good as it looks off the ride. You never feel like you have been thrown out of your seat as such, you just seem to float before thundering towards the next bit of airtime.
My only grip which is very minor is the last section. It feels like they ran out of park space in RCT and had to return to the station. The ride was easily my favourite of the whole trip and was absolutely terrifying at night when you could barely see the track in front of you.
Closing thoughts...
Given it's proxity to the Costa Brava you will encounter more British and Irish people than you would expect at a foreign park and as a result a lot of the staff speak very good English throughout. Handy for laughing at my broken attempts of Espan yol.
We only had a taste of the poor operations, so it's hard for me be as critical as others have been about the fast track. That being said when at 22:00 and the queues are 10 minutes, watching the staff load the main queue, single rider and fasttrack was pointless. Closing the fasttrack queue at 9pm would have made sense for me.
If they sorted this out then for me it would be a visit every year. As it is I think we're all PA'd out for a few years atleast, even as tempting as a much needed Sesamo dark ride is.
Adios PA
To end on a high PortAventura is a beautiful park, has some fantastic shows, plenty of flats and has some pretty decent rides too.
The "China" area of the park should probably become Asia given that Angkor and the Himaylayas feature in this area now, albeit as kind of sub areas that contain a single ride. That fuax pas out the way, this area is home to a few flat rides that spin around, a Splash Galleons and a pair of B&M coasters wrapped around each other. The area has a mini Great Wall (The OK wall of china?) which hugs the area and is the main pathway between Mexico and Sesamo. There is also a boat stop here from the Mediterrania area. It's a beautiful area with Imperial era Chinese architecure and statues, an expedition-esque area of the Himaylayas with statues, tents, jeeps, etc... and finally the Angkor area which is like a little slice of Cambodia on the outer reaches of the park. Orrrrrr what I imagine those places are like from pictures having never visited them. The Chinese area looks especially beautiful at night when lit by an abundence of Chinese lanterns across the area.
Tea Cups - Quite possible the most amazing ride in fine China ever! Not sure if ours was broke but these teacups did not have any kind of braking mechanism applied until the end of the ride. We saw some Yoofs on this spinning like mad, so we made a beeline straight for their tea cup. I promise you from when it unlocked, until we stopped, I did not stop spinning at seemingly unrestricted speed. My partner refused to re-ride with me on these for the rest of the trip. Think I might have broken her.
Cobra Imperial - Another spinning serpent ride you say? oh go on then! This one like the a name is themed as a Cobr...ermm..Dragon?! Another caterpillar ride at the park, good fun for the family.
Balloon ride - This ride is hidden away behind the childrens play area, so hidden away I couldn't find name for it anywhere. We only spotted it at first because it's lit up at night. The balloons are sponsored by chupa chups so the balloons have similar decoration to the lollipops. The ride itelf is no different to any balloon ride you have been around and is just gentle spin around at height.
Escuela de Conducción Kids&Car - An up charge driving school for kids. The attraction sits within the shadow of the OK wall and is themed with lots of panda's. I don't think I saw anyone on it, maybe it was only open in the day.
Angkor - As stated it seems to be in a sub area of its own and feels cut off from the rest of the park, especially with the construction of the new sesame street dark ride at its entrance. It is a Splash galleons ride with wonderful theming throughout.
As with SG its also great fun to watch off ride, shame the off-ride guns weren't free as nobody was using them. Its a ride in 2 parts, the first is shooting the targets whilst cruising through a small fishing village much like Whale adventures at EP. Once you go under the bridge to exit the village and get soaked by the overhead bucket, thats where the fun begins. Its boat vs boat combat with very few places to hide. There are a few rocks that offer some brief respite but with a carefully placed shot you can find a way to still get people.
One guy on the opposite boat took it really seriously and was shouting at us all the time, presumably in Spanish but it wasn't very clear so it could have been Scouse. Despite the language barrier all of us aimed for him all the way around, apparently he could be heard muttering "no estabas allí, hombre! No estabas allí!" in the exit gift shop. To be fair his competitiveness really made the ride fun for everyone. Such a shame the ride broke after our boat left the station, as we had no-one to aim at for 50% of the ride with no trailing boat.
Dragon Khan - John Wardley and B&M, name a more iconic duo...I'll wait. Dragon Khan is the red coaster that you'll see weaving its way through any skyline shot of PA. A previous record holder for it's inversion with 8 of them, until JW broke that record with Colossus. It's a ride I previously spammed with unlimited fastrack on my first previous visit to PA, this was my first experience of fast track and even then I could sense I was annoying people in the normal queue by running straight back around from the exit.
Luckily I think we managed to do this in double figures throughout the evenings without fast track, due to some fantastic operations. Not a phrase that goes hand in hand with PA but this ride was nailing it all week. I absolutely loved this ride 14 years ago and I still love it now. Sure its aged a little and at times it can get a little rough but its very minimal compared to other rides at PA. A lot of the ride contains signature B&M design but its still a great ride. As with most coasters it was soo much fun in the dark.
Shambhala - This is the white coaster you'll see in the skyline pictures of the park. The station is lovely from outside but inside its just a covered cattlepen. Its redeeming feature inside is the view of across the trees to the Angkor temple.
My only comparison of this is Silver Star and I find that after the first drop that's just a series of bunny hops in a car park, still fun but there is better out there. Enter Shambala!
So after praising the Dragon Khans's ops team, its only fair to lambast the shambolic (sorry) ops on Shambala. There is a countdown clock as soon as the train parks at the station and is set for 1 minute. Not once did they look like getting everyone sat down before that minute was up. If having to get people out of their seats to put their flip flops on is as much as a problem it seemed to be, surely a sign or having an op pointing this out before people enter the airgates be useful. The ride was on 2 train operation yet due to the shambles (sorry again) both were usually in the station at the same time. For you football fans the trains are set in a weird wide 2 in wing back positions behind a central 2 forwards formation. The restraints are silimar if not the same as silver star. The ops do like to ensure you are pinned into your seats and on one of my rides I got speared into my seat by one over zealous op, she had decided to jump and push down. Who needs blood in their toes?
The ascent on the lift hill seems slow but it adds to the tension as you start the reach the top. The first drop is amazing and scary in equal amounts, especially as our first ride was in the dark. The ride carries soo much speed into the turn arounds and camel backs without ever feeling like its slowing down until the last section. Floating into the drop down into the splash section and then exiting over the hump at great speed is as good as it looks off the ride. You never feel like you have been thrown out of your seat as such, you just seem to float before thundering towards the next bit of airtime.
My only grip which is very minor is the last section. It feels like they ran out of park space in RCT and had to return to the station. The ride was easily my favourite of the whole trip and was absolutely terrifying at night when you could barely see the track in front of you.
Closing thoughts...
Given it's proxity to the Costa Brava you will encounter more British and Irish people than you would expect at a foreign park and as a result a lot of the staff speak very good English throughout. Handy for laughing at my broken attempts of Espan yol.
We only had a taste of the poor operations, so it's hard for me be as critical as others have been about the fast track. That being said when at 22:00 and the queues are 10 minutes, watching the staff load the main queue, single rider and fasttrack was pointless. Closing the fasttrack queue at 9pm would have made sense for me.
If they sorted this out then for me it would be a visit every year. As it is I think we're all PA'd out for a few years atleast, even as tempting as a much needed Sesamo dark ride is.
Adios PA
To end on a high PortAventura is a beautiful park, has some fantastic shows, plenty of flats and has some pretty decent rides too.