Costa del Force II: Complete Shambles Trip Reports

[furie]

They'll be back soon, and once recovered from budget airline fatigue, time for reports...

 

[oriolat2]

I have just got home. My review will be posted soon (I hope) but I can say I thoroughly enjoyed this Live, and even more because my last meet-up was like 5 or 6 years ago... :lol:

 

[Nic]

Nearly home. Thanks everyone for a fab weekend. Oriol, it was lovely to meet you, and i'm really upset we didn't get more time to hang out.

me: "what's orgasm in Spanish?"
Jordan: "Shambhala!"

 

[Mike]

This weekend was Shambhaliciously amazing!

Thanks to Dan for booking up the hotel room, to Ian for organising the meet, and to everyone else that made it such an amazing weekend!

It was excellent to actually sit down and talk to people properly, Jordan especially. <3
Good to see everyone else again as well after so long, especially if you weren't on the PWH Live. I'm now very tempted to make an appearance at the Christmas meet, but still not sure monetary-wise.

Shambhala was an airtime machine and easily makes it into my top 10.
It's a shame the rest of the rides weren't that great and the operations in places were beyond useless, although it was awesome watching Oriol have an amazing rant at Stampida's op, as well as learning a lot more about the park from him.

The night-time Christmas show thing on the lake was utter tosh; I should've whored Shambhala with everyone else really!

So, yeah, once again, thanks again everyone and see you soon.

 

[caffeine_demon]

one word to describe the weekend - Shamazeballs!

 

[nadroJ]

I'll write a proper report when I'm more awake, but obviously, some highlights (see: in jokes):

"It's Shambhalicious!"

Everyone making sex noises on Shambhala

"What the **** is this?!"

Richard getting ON Shambhala, yay!

"Is Tutuki Splash open? NO! ALL THE WATER RIDES ARE SHUT!"

Christmas Wet Dream show.

"Shambalaayyaaaaa Shambalaayyyaaaa"

Jimmy Land.

Wet Fish ride.

Sodyssey.

"1 lift hill, hah hah hah, 2 lift hills, hah hah hah, 3 lift hills, hah hah hah!"

Temper Tantrum Child (TTC for short).

Temple del Fabbo being fab (Oooooh! Aaaahh!).

Sue's unfortunate umbrella incident XD

Tami-Tami-Gate.

"Poisonous dyke!"

Ian sitting at the head of the table at dinner and order the most indulgent meal ever.

More will probably come to me over the next hour or two, but what an awesome weekend! Shambhala was amazing, whoring it at night was definitely a highlight! The hotel Gold River was lovely, I'd definitely recommend it and stay there again ;] So much fun with the park being dead we did everything we wanted to do and then some!

 

[Nic]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mifnMC_Kn1Q#t=0m47s[/youtube]

 

[Mysterious Sue]

My goodness what a uniquely relaxing Live! It was pure bliss to just bob along and take our time getting the creds and enjoying the park. The only snag was missing the last train back to London last night and being stranded in Southend! Ohh well, who cares...there was Shambhala and Khan avec friends and Christmassy things. I feel all warm and glowy inside. I WILL do a trip report this time as I promised Ian, but obligatory initial in-jokes and highlights include...

Bouncy travelators (and Mike and I finally finding out what they were last night)

Walking into the gorgeous hotel and seeing Peep go mental

There's theming in the toilet!! (pronounced 'themmming')

Trying to work out if the train was real

The fab quiz and Nic dancing. 'Volvare...oh,oh,oh..Cantare...oh,oh,oh!!!' HUGH GRANT!

Waking up to an orgasmic view from the hotel window and waving at Elmo

The hollow Christmas tree

The EPIC, EPIC themmming of the park in general and me boring everyone by constantly saying how realistic it was

Dragon Khan blowing me away. Such a quality ride.

Too much German beer and fighting the urge to vom on Khan

Awesome night-riding on Shambhala

Shambalishous!!

Shamboleia, Shamboleia!!

Being snubbed by the cookie monster

Meeting the charming Oriol and finding out loads of cool stuff about the park like the secret short-cut through the theater and the AMAZING inside of the pryamid

The mad professor in Temple del Fuego using Ian's head as a table

Fake snow dandruff

Ridiculous pink cocktails

How do you say 'cheers' in Spanish?

¿Hay un buzón por aquí? Sí, está al lado del Banco!

The spite of having to trek though Sesame St all the time, and then the double spite when it was closed

Baco being better than I'd expected and yet truly, truly vile all at once

An actual vineyard in the queue line and a wine shop in the exit <3!

Richard being spited by Shambhala...and then being let on!

Subsequent merg spasm on front row

Shambhala making my trouser legs ride up all the time

Ian looking backwards for the whole ride to try and freak me out

Being the only one to get spited by the rapids

Having the courage to finally go on Hurricane Condom

Thinking the top of HC was broken

The hideous santas everywhere and the dodgy Hawaiian flower baubles

Lifthill Force! One lifthill mahhaha...

The giant head

Lala Christmas...ohh ohh Christmas...ahah Christmas...

Magic Fish ride and Jordan's first Wavesurfer!

Jordan's dirty secret

The Christmas wet dreams show

Only being allowed to order bisteak at the airport, 'pepper wars' and the modes of transport game

Leaving my umbrella on the coach

And finally just chilling, being with friends, getting in the Christmas mood and enjoying such a gorgeously landscaped park.

Ohh and that skyline! <3<3<3<3<3

 

[nadroJ]

Ahaha fab Santa!

 

[Ian]

I took nearly 700 photos for the guide and it's taken me three hours to sort them into rides groups :

Instead of doing a chronological report and listing the in-jokes and funny moments, I'll post photos ride by ride and fill in the gaps inbetween. I'll also do it in parts so there's not a Shanormous amount of photos/text to skip through!

When I saw Shambhala under construction, I wanted to to ride it. It was my reason for visiting PA; I wouldn't have returned to the park unless they got something decent and I had a sneaky suspicion that Shambhala would be it. It has certainly changed PA's skyline! I took this photo from one of El Diablo's million lift hills.

PA stagger ride openings (which is annoying) and Shambhala was scheduled to open at 11am so we rode Dragon Khan first thing.

The new paint job is striking. It looks good as new!

There was no queue so we got on in the front seat (complete with Goon-Pro chest harness). When I rode it several years ago, I found it a bit lame and "by the numbers", therefore I was looking forward to riding it again with a more matured, experienced and sober frame of mind.

With Shambhala's new ride area, DK is more expose than ever allowing more photo opportunities....

...which means I could get a photo of the amazing dive loop!

I really, really LOVE dive loops. They're graceful. I love the sweeping change of direction and forces involved. There's something very sexy about a dive loop. It's a perfect element imo <33333

The rest of the inversions are "boring" in comparison. Ok, not boring, but not as personally enjoyable. By about the fifth ride I had on Khan, it started to bash my ears and make me feel sick. Yes, I know DK is all about the g-forces, but it doesn't sit well with my stomach...whereas I adore Kumba at BGT.

A special mention must go to the turnaround between the two corkscrerws. Where it's low to the ground and tight, the force and speed around it is phenomenal. It's a satisfying breather between two ear-reddening inversions.

Dragon Khan did improve in my personal rankings after riding it several times at the weekend. I understand why it gets tonnes of praise, but it doesn't doesn't sit right with me. Perhaps it is too intense and the inversions (except the fab dive loop) bore me. Pass.

Anyway, moving on...

As with the rest of PA, Shambhala is wonderfully themed. It fits perfectly on the edge China area.

Oriol informed me that they've recycled some of the items from the Mexico area in Shambhala's area, however, this broken pillar is made from fresh chicken wire and plasterboard. Very plastically. It still looks fit though.

The new coaster obviously dwarfs Dragon Khan. I like the way the lift hills "interact".

The station looks good. There is a VILE cattlepen but thankfully the queue on both days we were there never exceeded 20mins; our average waiting time was probably 5mins and on some occasions we had re-rides without getting off! Not bad for one train operation That ride op on the platform is the Poisonous Dyke because that's what she is.

How about a few photos before I tell you how brilliant it is.

Shambhala is brilliant. Shamazing. Shambhalicious.

The first drop is breathtaking. It powers down the drop and through the headchopping tunnel, the airtime is long and floaty over every hill and the speed is relentless and immense. There's not a boring moment. It's not trying too hard to be an amazing ride - it just is. It does die out a little after the airtime hill after the water splash, but it's still more than acceptable.

The "ampersand" (the & shaped bit of track is almost like an inversion - sort of like a sexy dive loop! The way the train crosses the other parts of the track really brings the riders close to the supports and track. There's one support that almost acts as a head/hands chopper. The track so looks so big and impressive through the ampersand. It feels beautiful as it swoops around itself. Gorgeous!

Then there's the watersplash. It's the first B&M watersplash I've done. Admittedly they're more of a visual thrill than a ride thrill but it certainly adds to the whole experience. It looks amazing at night - the jets light as as the train passes.

I really like the seats and train layout. They made me feel so exposed. I felt apprehensive putting my hands in the air during the first drop. With all the floatyness, mega speed and exposed seats, it felt like I was being pushed through mid-air by a mysterious force. It's brilliant.

I'm not sure how many times I rode Shambhala. 10? 12? Whatever, I enjoyed every single ride, in every seat that I tried. Front seat was the best. Out of the four new-for-2012 coasters I've ridden this season, Shambhala was the best. It's a pure airtime and speed machine with a great layout and no "gimmick"* in sight. I loved it!

*unless you count the water splash.

 

[Nic]

Having the courage to finally go on Hurricane Condom

Freudian slip? lol!

Too much German beer and fighting the urge to vom on Khan

In no way, shape, or form was that beer anything other than Spanish. Whilst I think of it, here's the advert with the fab song that I kept banging on about <3 Actually, looking at their channel, all their ads have pretty fab music! I <3 Estrella!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VRZlSSIrwY[/youtube]

Less in jokes, more trip report later, promise!

 

[Jordanovichy]

Looks like you all had fun, so wish I could have come. Maybe next time.

 

[Mysterious Sue]

I was drinking something dark in bottles which for some reason I was convinced was German, but you're right, it was Estrella as well. Must have been pissed.

And I was calling it Hurricane Condom all day - thought it was apt - all drop towers are phallic

 

[Rach]

The whole weekend was just fantastic! Thanks to everyone that was there for such an awesome time!

When I went to PA last year I didn't rate it that highly. I wasn't impressed by it at all really. I thought Khan was very overrated and that the best thing there was Baco closely followed by Condor.
I went over this time with an open(ish) mind and was hoping the park would impress me a lot more. I'm very glad to say that this visit was a good 50 times better than last year. So glad I went!

I also never rated Khan highly last year, I found it very bland and forceless until my last couple of rides. That was out of the window this time around! She is getting a big rough around the edges, I find the entrance to the first loop and the exit of the MCBR to be the worst bits, but it was still a much much better experience this time around! The forces around the corkscrews were something else!
I still find it a little overrated, but now I can see why people love it so much (something I couldn't see well last year)

My photos have taken me the best part of the afternoon to sift through and sort out! But there was nothing better than doing it with the PA soundtracks on full blast! [/goon]

I had not really looked into the reviews of Shambhala before going. I know it got a lot of good praise but wanted to wait until I rode it to have my say on it!
So before riding, I didn't know what to think about it and was hoping for a good coaster! And that is certainly what I got!
The airtime is orgasmic from start to finish! I swear my arse never touched the seat on any of the 10+ goes on it from the moment it left the hill to the bottom of the ampersand!
Loads of floaty airtime, speed and so much more!

I still prefer the front of the coaster for the airtime, but the back is just as good a ride experience, especially on that first drop!
The night rides were something else, especially when they added a 2nd train an hour before closing! Amazing and one of my all time coaster highlights! Khan was subsequently forgotten about during the night whoring!

I kept giving myself loads of space with the restraint by sitting forward with my belly sticking out so even the poisonous dyke couldn't staple me!
Just pure brilliance. Like Ian said, it doesn't try to do anything gimmicky and it's just a fantastic coaster!
It's made my Top 10 at #9!

Baco was a lot rougher than what I remember it being! I still can't stop laughing at Vadge screaming it's **** around the track!
I still really like Baco though even with the roughness of it! The shaking on the outside seats is not nice, but it's bearable! The speed is amazing, it's just the bloody trains!

The rest of the park was bloody well done as well! Here's a few more photos!

Smiler makes an appearance in Spain! Que: Goongasm at breakfast!

Rich and Sue on the front there!

Once again, brilliant trip! Thanks everyone for making it so! Until the next one! Port Aventura Feliz Navidad!!!!!

 

[Nic]

I’ll start with an apology. On Sunday morning, my camera ate all of my photos from friday and saturday (of which there weren’t actually that many) then I kinda forgot to take any more on Sunday. Consequently, I have a grand total of 8 photos from this trip. Sorry for the massive lump of text that’s about to follow.

Friday

Friday for John and I started with our flight being delayed by an hour and a half. We eventually landed in Barcelona, and emerged into arrivals to find a fed up looking Sue standing outside. Oh well, made a change for her to be the one left waiting!

We’d already decided to make our way into the city for a few hours, as John had never been. After arriving at Sants, we got the metro to the Sagrada Famillia. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go inside, but we did walk round the outside. It’s an imposing, and incredibly impressive building. It’s also got the added bonus of looking different on every visit. I still adore it as much as I ever did. We found a lovely little cafe next and had a great lunch, washed down with my first (and only San Miguel) of the trip. We then walked to Casa Batlló via Casa Mila. When I was at school, I spent about 6 months doing various bits of artwork based on Casa Batlló. It was lovely to see it in the flesh again <3 Finally, we decided to head on down to El Corte Ingles, for the purposes of another one of mine and Sue’s 17 year old school Spanish lesson in-jokes. We were so busy looking at their fab xmas lights that we didn’t actually make it inside, but it still amused us. I think John was confused.

After some more train faff (“¡CERRADO!” “No, it’s very much ABIERTO!”) we arrived at Port Aventura. We wandered down the path towards the park entrance until we saw a sign - “El Paso, aqui. Port Aventura Hotel, 800m. Hotel Caribe, 400m.” Next to Gold River, our hotel, was just a picture of a stick man walking with a big cross through it and a phone number. Bugger. Fortunately, some Spanish people had followed us, so called the hotel, who sent someone to pick us all up. I think it was about 9pm by the time we got there. As we walked into the hotel, we were greeted with a very grand and shiny lobby. It was incredibly impressive, especially as we’re more used to Travelodges.

We checked in then popped up to our rooms before heading to the bar. As we got into the room, John wandered into the bathroom to have a nosey. I heard this shriek, followed by laughter, followed by a cry of “There’s theming in the toilet!!!” hahaha! When we got back downstairs we went for a wander around the hotel complex. Rather than being just one building, it’s a whole western village, with numerous elaborately themed buildings, a wooded area full of log cabins, play areas and random theming features all surrounding a huge swimming pool. We were skipping around like kids on Christmas morning, noticing a new bit of theming, then running off to look at it. We were most impressed by the fallen bridge of awesomeness which provides an excellent backdrop for the top of the pool area.

We eventually headed into the saloon where we were greeted by Estrella (lessthanthree) on tap and a family quiz night. It pitted one half of the bar (the rojo team) against the other half (azul - where we were sat). Whilst the whole thing was in Spanish, many of the questions were audio, visual, or interactive so we could mostly follow what was going on and join in. The highlights were probably singing along to “Volare, oh oh” and being dragged up to dance by some random woman at the next table. Twice. Haha! I think our team lost in the end, but who cares, it was a laugh.

The others eventually arrived after a burdenous journey, and everyone headed for bed. For us at least, it had been a fun start to the trip.

 

[oriolat2]

Before I start my review, I must say that even though I only spent a few hours with the CFers, I had a blast and I am eager to go to a Live again soon!

Since I was working on Saturday, I couldn't do the full weekend, so I decided to join the gang on Sunday to spend their last day at PA. I drove to PA and reached the park 10 minutes before opening. Lucky me, I was able to park right next to the fountain by the entrance! I proceeded to scan my pass and it was still 20 good minutes until I had to join everyone by Khan (at 10:15 am). I decided to try my luck on Baco and see if it rode as rough as in summer (Lofty can tell you it was unbearable) and it turned out to be great! Oddly, they were running two trains yet there was nobody in the park (PA operations at their finest). Great ride to wake me up!

I ran through Polynesia because I thought I'd be late but then it turned out that everyone had gone to the lockers at the front of the park to drop their luggage. Oh well, more time for me to recover and enjoy the views of Khan and Shambhala. At 10:40ish everyone showed up, did a round of presentations and then headed for our first ride on Khan. Here is where I had my first rant with a ride attendant (there were plently to be had during the day). Even though there was literally no one in two rows and nobody queueing, they were assigning rows, so I basically said that this was bollocks and kindly requested to sit where I wanted to sit (second to last row). The ride attendant eventually agreed xD Rode Khan with everyone and then headed to Shambhala, which had just opened. Richard was afraid he wouldn't be able to ride because of the restraints (this is something that strikes me as odd seing that the American new generation hypers don't have this issue with people with big thighs) but I told him I would help him "the Spanish way " by talking to the ride attendants (rant number 2). In the end, he was able to make it on Shambhala and we were all happy! I must say that Shambhala was running a tad slowly in our first Sunday run, but got better as the day went. We rerode Shambhala a couple more times and faffed around the area looking at the splashdown.

Then we headed to Mexico where I showed the group one of the hidden gems of PA: the Mexican pyramid. Even though you might think it's just a facade, it's not! The pyramid used to house the queues for the Mayan theatre and the inside is like a secret chamber with Mayan paintings on the walls and it feels quiet and peaceful. After this, we braved Hurakan Condor. In the queueline we had some amusing time with Spanish lessons ("How do you say…?"). Then it was our turn to ride: long story short, there was a ride attendant being trained and she didn't really have that much of an idea of how to load the ride. When I politely asked if we could choose where to sit (again, NO queue whatsoever) she said no. After a bit of rant we ended up being seated on the stand-up tilting side. For some reason, caffeine_demon was swapped to another gondola so we got to ride with a randomer: total loading time, up to 5 minutes...
After Hurakan, we walked up to Templo del Fuego: la Maldición Maya (this is not the regular version, but the one they used for Halloween, with new props, music and slightly changed story). We had some laughs in the batching area because one of the actors took Ian's head for a table. Some CFers also made their contributions to the themeing of the ride by dumping a broken umbrella somewhere in the queueline (I think?). Overall, the ride is the same (amazing effects) but the acting is not, and neither are the characters, who are plain cheesy.

Then, we decided to give Los Potrillos a ride (pony ride). It was hilarious seeing everybody pulling hysterical expressions as the ponies took off: the jolt was noticeable it was like being launched, hence the photos that Rach took LOL Good times. (Rach, I hate you for posting that pic!! :redhotevil: :lol: )

Then we decided to head to Diablo for a relaxing, endless ride with multiple lift hills on the way. I was laughing so hard at "one lift hill mwahahaha, two lift hills mwahahahah". I ended up seating next to Sue and every time we would go through the brakes (also many) I would shout " brakes brakes brakes brakes brakes brakes brakes brakes brakes!" :lol: :lol: Embarrassing, I know!

By that time, it was time for Nic and peep (or was it Peter? I can't remember *shrughs*) to leave because they had to catch their train back to Barcelona. The rest of the group headed to Far West. On the way down some of us (Jordan, Mike and I) stopped by Serpiente Emplumada (Sombrero ride) and we had a nice spinny ride (the running joke on Diablo evolved into "spin spinspinspinspinspinspinspinspin" (god I love my spinspew rides!). After that, we all knew it was happening, it *had* to happen. Stampida. I didn't really want to ride because I had my share this summer but for some reason I tagged along and ended up riding the blue side while Richard and Sue rode the red side. At Stampida we also found weird operation policies like loading only 4 out of the 12 rows on the blue side and about 10 on the other side, for no apparent reason. When I kindly asked the ride attendant if we could board on the train sitting in the station she just said a cold "no" to which I answered with a small rant. She ended up admitting that she didn't want to run out of people in line, because otherwise she would not be able to launch the train (lies! I have ridden Stampida with just 2 people on board...). So, no good luck this time around and we were stuck having to wait another cycle for us to board. The girl was a real witch. Her colleague on the red side was doing a much better job at loading since she allowed a lot more people on board. Anyway, after exiting Stampida we had lunch at the country-themed self-service restaurant where I ate some average pork ribs. Everyone complained because the live music they were playing was loud to the point of being annoying, so as soon as we finished, we went.

We then headed to China bypassing Mexico through the preload area of the Chinese/Mexican theatre. We rode Khan once again (good for digesting!) and rerode Shambhala. I only rode once because I was starting to feel a bit sick and I had to (safely) drive back home. So Ian and I waited for the rest (nice talk!) while watching Khan and Shambhala cycle and waiting for some dueling action.

After the group left Shambhala, we went to Mediterranea through SesamoAventura and Polynesia to ride Baco. I had my good share of Baco in the morning and I didn't want to risk having a really rough ride so I passed that and bagladied for everyone (forever alone!). Then we went to the gift shop where Mike and I tried the Coke tube-coaster vending machine. It was rather cool but so no worth 2.60 €. Then we sat down while others were still in the shop and that's when Richard decided to hang "Sue's burden" from some Christmas lights in the street as long as an umbrella. It was hilarious watching Sue having to deal with the situation while every guest was giving her evil glares lol

At 4.30 pm we were by the lockers at the front of the park and so I said goodbye to everyone, hoping to see them again in the near future! (Next year, perhaps?)

Overall, relaxing day, plenty of rerides on Shambhala, average-to-bad operations but excellent company which made the whole day for me! I am really looking forward to my next CF Live! Thank you Ian for organizing this and to the rest of the group for putting up with my constant rants! [/goon]

 

[caffeine_demon]

After a bit of rant we ended up being seated on the stand-up tilting side. For some reason, caffeine_demon was swapped to another gondola so we got to ride with a randomer:

They couldn't squeeze the restraint down far enough (I just got on on the saturday, but it was rather uncomfortable, so it was a relief to get a seat with a bit more give) - They had to try another 2 sides, before success - I appreciated that they tried 2 more seats rather than just turf me away (and I did want sit down anyway)!

Anyway - Highlights - Shamazebhala! - A really cracking ride, first go on the saturday was a little slow and lacking in airtime, but it really warmed up with every further ride! Glorious airtime on the first drop in the back, great "whoosh" at the front on all the hills, the ampersand turnaround was incredible, and felt almost like an inversion! The whole layout was a lot cleverer than most airtime coasters, so I think it will just make my top 10! (Was glad Rich managed to get on on the sunday)

Dragon khan - I still think it's a bit overrated (I'd take nemesis any day!), but I enjoyed it more than last time when I had to use the big boy seats, I Love the dive loop too, and the interlocked corkscrew is excelent!

Jimmy land / Saville row...

the wine shop in Baco's exit (Lowlight - not being able to buy a souvenir due to the airport security)

The rapids - got a good spin on them , and I did get a lil dousing from one of the sprays!

Getting on "condor" this time - Although Fritt fall at grona lund is still my fave drop tower

Tomahawk - fun little kiddy coaster

My first "porn pony" cred, seeing the surprise as everyone started with the "launch" and beiung the first not to go "woah".. And then realising why they're called "porn ponies"...

Oriol's "secrets"

Fun times with the group

The breakfast frankfurters and churros


Lowlights:

The lack of steak in the steakhouse.

Furius baco - Last time I can remember it being rather rough, this time, it was awful - first ride was outside seat, second inside on row 4 - the launch is good, and the drop then is quite nice, but then it shakes, rattles and rolls throughout the rest of the ride - 2nd ride was even worse than the first! My teeth were shaking so much I feared I may chip one!

http://www.portaventura.es/parque-temático/far-west/far-west-atracciones/volpaiute
(AKA the completely pointless ride - did nothing, could have brought a pillow on and had some kip)

Stampida - Last time I can remember it being rough but quite fun, this time the red side was awful, and the blue side seemed a little better - actually, I bizarrely enjoyed the ride on sunday

Diablo - The bit between the top of the second lifthill, and the start of the third lifthill is just turd, and the first to second, and third to finish are ok, but only in comparison - so it's kind of a turd sandwich, made with stale, only just edible bread.

But the major lowlight was the "inconsistent" ride op'ing - Condor has been mentioned, and there is also the preassigned rows, even though the park was empty, and the godawful loading on stampida, but the worst was on my second ride of baco - admittedly I'm a tight fit for the restraints (They are MUCH tighter than any other intamin accelerator), I needed about an inch of extra "squish" to clip in, it could have easily been done by a single op - but he called the other op over and they both gave three big squeezes, not checking inbetween goes - I had about 1.5 inches of spare belt, and was really uncomfortable!

Thanks to Ian for organising things! an ace weekend!

EDIT: - 1 further highlight - pick and mix haribo
1 further lowlight - not being able to find a sombrero to go with the mexican tache!

edit 2 - lowlight - the alarm going off on monday morning and thinking "shoulda asked for today off!"

 

[Kebab]

Really enjoyed reading your reports of Shambhala, it's great to see that you guys found it just as good as I did. I love PortAventura, it has its own unique atmosphere that I haven't found in any other park yet, and I always have a warm feeling seeing the park in the distance as I board the plane home.

Glad you all had a great time! I'm holding back until the next big rollercoaster hits the park, with all the money they're reeling in from visitors I'm pretty sure the next investment will be just as grand as Shambhala!

I also agree with what Ian said, that Shambie doesn't try hard to be amazing, and that it just is, I felt the same way when I rode it, it doesn't rely on its numbers (sure its the tallest in Europe, but only marginly, they could've easily made it 300' if they wanted), plus it doesn't gloat about the fact it's the 'most intense' or 'greatest' rollercoaster in the world.

 

[Ian]

Seeing as I've posted about the two big attractions which are arguably PA's signature rides, this part of my report is dedicated to the Surprisingly Fab and Disappointing Turds at the park.

Christmas plays a big part at PA. The Gold River Hotel had a massive tree in the foyer and pretty lights all over the balconies.

In the courtyard, there was another tree!

A cowboy statue is also in the courtyard and he looks as camp as Christmas, too. Fab! Hopefully somebody who took a photo of it will post!

The Wild West area is heavily decorated.

The Santas were everywhere in the Wild West area. I mean EVERYWHERE. There must have been a thousand. If there was a window or a pole for them to climb through/up, or a roof to sit on it - they were there. Some of them were in fabulously camp poses, too.

Even the irritating vulture outside Tomahawk has a Santa hat on.

There were seemingly spontaneous Christmas parades and dance routines taking place. I saw Santa parading through on his plane-cum-sleigh several times. There was also a random Woody Woodpecker dance routine in Mexico. There was also a Christmas (wet) Dreams show in the Wild West Restaurant (Westaurant?) which Sue was rather desperate to see... We never did!

The most irritating thing about Christmas at PA was the soundtrack. Instead of having ride/area music pumping out of the many "hidden" speakers, the same **** section of six **** Christmas songs was played on repeat throughout the day. They weren't the "classic" Christmas tunes wither, instead it was "Independent Women Sing Christmas" with festive tracks by Mariah **** Carey and Beyonce (who, coincidently, shares the same birthday as me). The Independent Women Sing Christmas album often had me and Vadge doing the Independent Woman Finger Dance. We also devised an Amanda Thompson version of one of the songs and a goon version of Band Aid. Yes, the same **** six tunes drove me insane.

For me, one of the surprisingly good fab moments came in the shape of Templo del Fuego. I can't remember if I bothered with it when I visite dPA last time, so I was intrigued to find out what it was all about. The entrance still has the Halloween themming above the sign.

I had no idea what Templo del Fuego was all about. I guessed it was a dark ride but not sure what type. When the others confirmed that it wasn't a madhouse, I decided to do it. The queue line themming was great.

We entered a holding area similar to Hex at Alton Towers, which prompted me to think it was a madhouse. After a short 10min wait, we entered a smallish tomb like room where a mad scientist waffles on in Spanish, asks the crowd to chant a few words and then a door opens.

I was quite relived not to find a madhouse, instead it was a strange temple tomb thing with with an Indian stood in front of the altar.

The Indian was real! He stood motionless as everybody walked in. When the doors shut, a soundtrack with a haunting voice (again in Spanish) started going on about **** whilst the Indian mimed and moved about.

As the Indian pointed his staff at various things, they either caught fire, squirted water or mechanically moved. I had no idea what was going on. Whatever it was, I got the impression he and the Gods weren't happy.

The Indian disappeared and the temple went mental! The ceiling was on fire, fire balls were shooting out all over the place, water geysers were exploding, the music got louder, statues were popping up from under the water...it was terrifying, intense and ultimately awesome!

I **** LOVED it! It's so rewarding to find an attraction that is better than expected. It was a visual and aural feast. I loved it so much that I made the group do it again on Sunday (nobody seemed to object!), which is when my head became a table for the mad scientist bloke. Fab attraction.

The Christmas themming and Templo del Fuego were the two fab surprises for me on this trip, there were also two disappointing turds.

The first was Sea Odyssey, the 4D cinema.

Last time I visited PA, I was far too hungover to enjoy this ride, in fact, it made me feel sick. As I was sober and fresh on the Saturday - until lunchtime anyway

Two films were on offer, one with an 11min duration, the other is four mins. Everybody else decided for me that it would be the 4min one!

Thank **** they did! Perhaps it wasn't the hangover from last time that affected me, the ride is actually ****. The motion felt nauseating, the left eye for the 3D screen didn't work and the "story" was non-existent. Even if it was English it wouldn't have made any sense. Awful. All of that fabulous queue line themming for a dreadful attraction.

Although it's not surprising, the other turd attraction at PortAventura is...

Again, spot on, albeit it strange, themming and it looks gorgeous.

On paper, Furios Baco is brilliant - it should be the best ride ever. It's got great themeing, a pre-show, an intense launch, exposed "wing-rider" seats, it runs in close proximity to the trench, it has an inversion, a decent layout and it goes over water. So why does it fail so badly? It must be trains.

I love the launch, it's very forceful and the drop afterwards adds to the intensity. I really enjoy the closeness to the walls through the trench, it makes the already tremendous speed feel even faster. After the inversion when it BOOMS out in the open and above the water is really good but ITS TOO **** ROUGH. I rode it twice during the weekend, once in the third row, inner seat and front seat outer. Both rides felt incredibly uncomfortable. After the launch, the seats are banging up and down for the entire duration, battering my ears on the restraints. It's very unpleasant. I saw stars as I sat on the brake run. I want to love Baco but I can't it's unbearably hard wearing on my body. Hate it.

The ride op was a complete nob. He refused to let people choose what row to sit in despite the ride being empty all day. As others have said, some ride ops were rude, some were great. Some pinned down the restraints, some simply glanced at them. There was no consistency in the way they operated the ride or treated the riders. PA possibly has some of the worst staff I've ever encountered.

Oh, and as we rode it towards the end of the second day and now it's nearly December, it has the honour of probably being my last coaster of the 2012 season. Now that's turd.

 

[Nic]

Saturday

To put this into context, I’ve been to the park twice before. Once in 1998 (I think?) then once in 2009. Both times I’d enjoyed it, so was eager to get back into the park.

Woke up with a bit of an Estrella hangover and headed for breakfast. It was by far the biggest selection I’ve ever seen. The hot stuff could’ve been a bit hotter, but nevermind. Chocolate con churros <3 Over breakfast, several people had said they loved the view from their room. I assumed we didn’t really have one, so had a look when I got back up there...

CREDS!

After a bit of faff, it was time to head for the park. After a short wait, we headed in and were greeted by a collection of random Christmas decorations. This was our first encounter with FABULOUS Santa! <3

Sashay

Clearly, our first stop for the day would be China. We arrived to find that Shambhala wasn’t open for a while yet, so walked straight on for a couple of goes on Dragon Khan. My lasting memory of Khan from my last trip was that it is very good, but was kind of lacking something. I think I still feel the same really. Yes it’s a bit rough round the edges, but it’s not that bad. It’s a good solid coaster with high intensity throughout. I don’t know what it is though, I just can’t get *that* excited about it. But then, I feel the same about Katun and Black Mamba so, who knows? I do still think it looks awesome though. Actually, I’d been really worried that Shambhala would ruin the park’s skyline. Whilst it’s undoubtedly changed it (it’s now much harder to pick out Khan’s individual elements than it was) the big dense mass of track means it still looks amazing

Next up was the one we’d all been waiting for - Shambhala. First thing to note is that the only Hypers I’d done prior to this were PMBO and SFMM’s Goliath (so, basically, no decent ones). I’d also never ridden anything so big with such exposed seating. I’d purposefully not let myself get too excited about this in advance. In fact, if anything, I thought it would probably be a bit slow and boring. Thankfully I was wrong. Very wrong.

As we crested the lift hill, I held on for grim death and let out an actual genuine scream. I think the last time that happened was probably my first ride on X. It was a scream partly of delight, and partly of being terrified of being thrown out. It took me until ¾ of the way round my first circuit to really trust the restraints! Again, that’s very unlike me! As we went round the ampersand, so was born one of the weekend’s recurring jokes as, from the seat next to me, Jordan screamed “What the **** is this?!” Hehe! To be honest, I can’t really answer that. As others have said, the supports create a terrifying and unexpected headchopper effect as you enter, which is quickly followed by an incredibly disorientating sensation of feeling as if you should be upside-down, whilst actually being the right way up. It’s really hard to describe, and is a sensation that I can’t remember feeling on a coaster before. The next few hills had a lovely intensity, and great pops of airtime, followed by the water splash which I found to be really effective. On my first ride, I did feel as though it died a bit after that, but on subsequent rides didn’t notice it so much, so perhaps it just needed to warm up.

Taking into account all of my re-rides across the weekend, I’d say the front is slightly better than the back. The front gives excellent floater which seems to last forever (especially on the first drop!) whilst the back is more ejector that doesn’t seem to kick in until you’re on the descent. Whilst it’s in no way a bad ride at the back, I did prefer the front, with the front seat being my absolute favourite. As Ian said, it’d probably be in my top 10, if I had one.

I think we headed into Sesame Street (aka “Jimmy Land”) next. It’s bright, colourful and has plenty of rides making it a decent enough kids area, but I don’t see what the hell any of it has to do with Sesame Street. Jordan put right her “dirty secret” by finally riding Tami-Tami, then lost her big wet fish virginity.

As we started walking towards the front entrance, we got distracted by Sodyssey. Rather than “Dolphin bollocks” it’s now showing a choice of 2 films. It helpfully stated that one was 4 minutes long, and the other is 11. So glad we chose the short one. It was dreadful.

It felt like it was time for lunch, so decided to head to Mediterranea to find food. As it was there, and was walk on, we decided to give Hideous Baco a go to make sure the people who needed it got the cred. I rode this at the very start of the 2009 season (it opened June 07) and even then remember it being painful. Yeah, it’s got worse. I remember the pre-show being a lot better than it is (I swear the doors all used to close? Did I imagine that?) The launch is good, but after that it’s just utterly vile. I did an inside seat on this run which was bad enough, then an outside one later on which is somehow even worse. For me, it’s actually got to the point of being unrideable. Different trains would help, but then the layout would seem far too short. As it is, it actually feels too long as you just can’t wait for the pain to end.

Lunch next with the first beer of the day. Did I mention that I <3 Estrella?

From here on (unsurprisingly given the last statement) it all gets a bit hazy. I think we headed over the bridge and into the western area. “Are the rapids open?” “NO! ALL the water rides are SHUT!!!!” So, yeah, then most of the group went on the rapids Caffeine Demon got spited by a shower thing, and Sue was a moist burden. Next, Peep got over-excited at seeing a Breakdancer. Apparently it was ****. We then went on the fab themed dodgems and tried to stalk the goon squad. I failed. Whilst Rich had another go at making Mike’s life a burden, Ian and I found more beer. This might be why, when Mike drove head first into a wall, making his glasses fly off, I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen in my life and had to go and sit on a bench before I collapsed.

More creds next as we arrived at Stampida. Most of the group went off to ride which took an unexpectedly long time (apparently caused by the crap batching). When the PA virgins decided to go straight back on for their 2nd cred, I decided to join them. Sue and I did front seat blue, and it was actually fine. I can totally imagine it’d be vile at the back though. It just can’t cope with corners, it spends all its time bouncing from one side of the track to the other. Eugh.

Next up was Tomahawk, the kiddie woodie. 10 rows + one adult per row = CF takeover train! I remember this being a lot of fun in 09, and was slightly disappointed. Meh. Someone then thought it’d be a good idea to do the giant ghetto flat of WTF. Seriously, what the hell is that thing? It was dreadful.

Off to Mexico and onto Hurakan Condor. I remember being really disappointed by this in 09. I remember the length of the drop making it more boring as you got halfway down and thought “oh, are we still going?” That basically still happened. I didn’t dislike it as much this time, but it still doesn’t excite me nearly as much as Apocalypse or Detonator. I think it needs to hold you at the top for longer maybe? I don’t know. Anyway, it seems like none of the effects in/on/around the station were working, which is a shame. After much begging, I was then allowed to go on Temple Del Fuego. This was SBNO on my last visit, but I’d heard good things, despite not actually having a clue what it was. It was fab. I kinda felt like it needed another room, or at least a better exit </Joey> though. Hmmmm.

On to the last cred of the trip, ‘El Diablo: Tren de Muchos Lift Hills’. Cue Jordan turning into The Count on every lift hill <3

Dunno what happened next? Khan, probably. Shambhala, definitely. I think then we all kinda wandered off before eventually converging back at Furius Burden just before it closed. Vile contraption.

Then it was back to China for yet more Stampida whorage, especially as by this point it was getting dark. The lights on the train/lift/surrounding area are fab. I headed back to Mediterranea to watch the xmas water/fireworks show thing. It was a bit turdos, tbh. Nevermind. It was still a pleasant way to round off an awesome day at the park.

Walking back to the hotel through the pretty much empty park was awesome. All the christmas lights made it look so pretty.

We had a couple of drinks in the saloon before heading to the Opera House for dinner. The food was ok, but mine was a bit cold and a bit dry. Meh. We then went into the shiny bar for more drinks including camp cocktails! I eventually just kinda disappeared and went off to bed.

So yeah, all in all, a Shamazing day <3