Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Hi guys. Most enthusiasts probably have a favourite park, and in many cases, it might be a park from the likes of Disney or Universal. These parks arguably have some of the world’s best theming and some of the world’s most envelope-pushing immersive attractions right now, and whether you personally like them or not, they really do offer an experience quite unlike any other parks in the world. But an important point to note is that these parks are expensive. Disney and Universal may offer high-quality experiences, but that is arguably you simply “getting what you pay for” to some extent, with ticket prices and annual pass prices to these parks also being some of the highest on Earth.
Most countries around the world are currently suffering a cost of living crisis, so value for money is arguably getting more important than ever. Visitors want bang for their buck; they want to feel like their hard-earned money is being spent well, and they want to make the most of the money they have. With this in mind, I’d be interested to know; which theme park do we think offers the best value for money? Which park do we think is offering visitors the best bang for their buck? For clarity, I’m not necessarily referring to your “best park” here; I’m asking about the park that you feel offers its guests the best output relative to its price point.
I’ll get the ball rolling with my answer.
People are probably going to come at me for this, as I can sense it being quite a controversial view, but I’d honestly struggle to look much further than PortAventura, based on my experience there last September. Both parks are gorgeously well-themed, and the resort has some absolutely brilliant attractions, including Shambhala, Red Force, Uncharted and Street Mission. The hotel complex we stayed on, Gold River, was also absolutely gorgeous, the food was really nice… and I genuinely have very few complaints about our entire time at PortAventura! Yes, the operations could be faster, but I didn’t think they were nearly as bad as expected and queue lengths were mostly still reasonable. Express also didn’t seem nearly as oversold as I was expecting and there was never a shortage of attractions on a short (less than 20 minutes) queue during my visit. In terms of money, our whole trip was ridiculously cheap compared to what you’d expect for a European park trip; our whole package, including flights, transport to and from the park, hotel stay, park tickets and half board food, cost a bit over £1,000 for 3 adults, and that was with us upgrading to better flight times and slightly nicer rooms in the hotel! We worked out that our buffet meals in the hotel worked out at around £4 per head per night, which was just ridiculously cheap given that the food was actually very nice and very expansive in range, changing every night and offering a pretty wide amount, and drinks were also Wetherspoons-level cheap, which you never complain about!
So based on my personal experience there, I’d honestly struggle to argue against PortAventura for pure value for money. My parents were saying to me the other night that while they loved Europa Park, they’d honestly be more inclined to return to PortAventura purely because Europa Park is so expensive by comparison.
But I’d be interested to know; which theme park do you feel offers the best value for money?
Most countries around the world are currently suffering a cost of living crisis, so value for money is arguably getting more important than ever. Visitors want bang for their buck; they want to feel like their hard-earned money is being spent well, and they want to make the most of the money they have. With this in mind, I’d be interested to know; which theme park do we think offers the best value for money? Which park do we think is offering visitors the best bang for their buck? For clarity, I’m not necessarily referring to your “best park” here; I’m asking about the park that you feel offers its guests the best output relative to its price point.
I’ll get the ball rolling with my answer.
People are probably going to come at me for this, as I can sense it being quite a controversial view, but I’d honestly struggle to look much further than PortAventura, based on my experience there last September. Both parks are gorgeously well-themed, and the resort has some absolutely brilliant attractions, including Shambhala, Red Force, Uncharted and Street Mission. The hotel complex we stayed on, Gold River, was also absolutely gorgeous, the food was really nice… and I genuinely have very few complaints about our entire time at PortAventura! Yes, the operations could be faster, but I didn’t think they were nearly as bad as expected and queue lengths were mostly still reasonable. Express also didn’t seem nearly as oversold as I was expecting and there was never a shortage of attractions on a short (less than 20 minutes) queue during my visit. In terms of money, our whole trip was ridiculously cheap compared to what you’d expect for a European park trip; our whole package, including flights, transport to and from the park, hotel stay, park tickets and half board food, cost a bit over £1,000 for 3 adults, and that was with us upgrading to better flight times and slightly nicer rooms in the hotel! We worked out that our buffet meals in the hotel worked out at around £4 per head per night, which was just ridiculously cheap given that the food was actually very nice and very expansive in range, changing every night and offering a pretty wide amount, and drinks were also Wetherspoons-level cheap, which you never complain about!
So based on my personal experience there, I’d honestly struggle to argue against PortAventura for pure value for money. My parents were saying to me the other night that while they loved Europa Park, they’d honestly be more inclined to return to PortAventura purely because Europa Park is so expensive by comparison.
But I’d be interested to know; which theme park do you feel offers the best value for money?
