PortAventura PTR - 9/4 - 11/4

[FaceYourNemesis]

*warning, this is long*

After a brief delay at East Midlands airport, I finally arrived at Hotel Portaventura after 11.00pm at night. Tired and very hungry, we grabbed a drink at the on-site café before heading to bed.

I wolfed down a quick breakfast the next day before eagerly heading out into the park.

Straight away you’re greeted by the gorgeous lake, with a lovely view of the B&Ms sitting proudly on the skyline. I just knew at this point that I’d fall in love with the place.

So, the first ride of the day was Furious Baco. I’d already heard how terrible this was, so wasn’t exactly disappointed by the awful ride experience (the launch is incredible, I’ll say that). The thing that really struck me was the vile cattlepen queue system – it seems to go on forever. The heat was uncomfortable in the queueing area as well. 5/10

My plan was to do the park slowly and take everything in. Unfortunately, excitement got the better of me, and I found myself running up to Shambhala to see what all the fuss is about. One word – wow! You actually have to see this beauty up close to appreciate its size and grandeur. This was my first hypercoaster, and I’ll admit to being a tad nervous due to the height.

Gorgeous themeing <3

Yay for the splashdown

*Ride experience*
Shambhala rides as good as it looks. The first drop is akin to being on Oblivion, yet without the intensity. You float to the tunnel at the bottom, and what follows is endless airtime. I'm happy to crown Shambhala as my favourite coaster. It just didn't disappoint at all. 10/10.

Dragon Khan next! I found this to be incredible, too, although maybe a little too intense after the brake run. The zero g is one of the most powerful elements I’ve ever encountered, and is easily up there with the Nemesis helix. The ride just doesn't let up. 10/10

China was by far my favourite area of the park. The attention to detail in all areas is incredible. It’s very surreal with the traditional Chinese music and Far Eastern style architecture.

I stopped for a bit of lunch next before having a look at Hurakan Condor. Now I love drop towers more than anything, but found myself really put intimidated by the height at first. It took some courage to get myself on this thing, surprisingly. Hurakan Condor ticks the right boxes in every other department, but the actual drop is forceless. Certainly nowhere near as intense as the drop on Apocalypse. Still, not a bad ride at all! 8/10.

It was down to the Far West area next, and my first ride on Stampida. Only the blue side was operational for some reason. This is easily the worst coaster I’ve ever been on. I found Stampida to be so rough, that I had a terrible headache for much of the day afterwards. I’m told that the red side is marginally smoother, so I won’t write the whole ride off just yet. For now though…4/10

Silver River Log Flume next! There’s not much to say about this, except that it’s a flume and does what it does superbly. The three drops are fun and there’s no pointless meandering. The interaction with El Diablo was great. 9/10

Next up was Polynesia and Tutaki Splash. This was my second favourite area of the park. The themeing and lush foliage transport you to another world – it’s unreal.

Tutuki queueline

Tutaki Splash was great fun. The temperature was just over 20 degrees, so it was perfect for a good soaking. It was over to Bora Bora for a coffee and then up to China for another session on Khan and Shambhala.

*General thoughts and comments*
The themeing is absolutely incredible. I’ve often been blasé about it in the past, but this trip really opened my eyes. Themeing MAKES a park.

The staff were really lovely. The ride hosts regularly engaged in conversation with people in the queuelines. Everyone was helpful and appeared to enjoy their individual roles. That’s what I love to see in a theme park.

Total ride count:
Shambhala x10
Dragon Khan x3
Silver River Log Flume x1
Stampida x 1
Hurakan Condor x 4
Furious Baco x1
Tutuki Splash x1

Merchandise bought:
Shambhala T Shirt
Shambhala ORP.

Thanks for reading!

 

[furie]

The red side of Stampida is probably worth another point, so 5/10 :lol: It's a fun coaster to ride with friends racing though. I found that the red side I could have gone on several times happily, but blue I just needed to avoid like the plague - that double up on the blue side was crippling.


I loved Port Aventura's theming, it's a gorgeous park and like you, I loved Khan (not been since Shambhala opened, but I love the B&M hypers too). My biggest issue was that most of the rides are sub-par. You have Khan and Shambhala and then a whole load of, well, stuff you don't really want to go on again.

We didn't do the shows though and Temple of Fire was closed too (as where the other water rides). So there's a lot I missed there in "general atmosphere/park experience", but it's not the kind of place I'd want to go when its busy either. I don't know how busy it was when you were there?

It's a stunning park though, absolutely stunning and it has my favourite patterned concrete floors you go there and then return to our "premier" parks here and the difference is so stark.

Glad you enjoyed the park, it's definitely one of those places all enthusiasts should visit at least once to get the chance to experience everything it has to offer and to make up their own minds about the rides

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

The park was dead when I went. At most I queued around ten minutes for Shambhala (I didn't notice the SRQ until the day I was coming home lol).

I wouldn't want to visit the park during a busy period, either. Heat and crowds just don't go together.

 

[CookieCoasters]

How rough was Dragon Khan? I rode it in 2010 and it was getting a bit rough then which is a shame because it is an amazing coaster.

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

For the most part it was pretty smooth, but there's several areas after the brake run which knock you about a bit. It's very noticeable on the banked turn.

 

[Ian]

Some great photos there, James! I love your "Shambhala x 10" ride count. It seems that everybody finds the coaster thoroughly additive and re-ridable. It was my personal favourite Best New Coaster of 2012, I'm still waiting for somebody to slag it off. I think I'll be waiting a long time!

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

Thanks Ian! I found Shambhala just perfect. It's everything I want from a ride.

 

[fefa]

I visited Port Aventura 1x in 2003 and 3x in 2005 and thought that Stampida was right up there with Dragon Khan - so sad to hear that the new trains make this ride such a terrible experience :|

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

The trains do absolutely nothing to compliment what is a pretty thrilling layout. Such a let down.

 

[Lofty]

Stampida was incredible pre the Kumbak **** up.

Glad to see you liked the park. I think everyone has that feeling of, "I'm going to love this place" soon as you walk through the tiny Mediterranean streets and are thrown into the lake view. I really don't think that the red side of Stampida is any worse than the blue. They're both completely dire. I'm seriously hoping for a RMC makeover.

 

[Smithy]

Did you not ride Tomahawk? Was my favourite of the woodies there, such an awesome kick for a supposed kiddy woody.

Actually so excited to book this later on in the year purely for Shambhala

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

^ I didn't, no. I was so wrapped up with Shambhala, I completely forgot about some of the other rides.

 

[Rob]

Well, well, well, well. Do not slag Baco until you've tried it front row. It's an absolute beastie and, the experience just overwhealms the shake so much you can forgive the fact you have slipped a couple of disks. I adore that ride and it easily ranks as my favorite. People moan about it without experiencing it smooth, and yes, I totally understand the, if it doesn't ride well every time then it's only as good as it's worst argument, and yes, I'd follow that if it was mediocre. But it isn't. It's 11/10, and it's the only coaster, anywhere in the world, that I've ridden, that I'll say that about. It makes The Swarm look like a kiddie coaster and boy does the launch feel incredible.

Just for clarity, I'll add the reason for the roughness is wheel flats; when even the smallest flat on the wheels develops, the ride vibrates(true for any ride), exaggerated by the (needless, but more or less the main selling point of the ride) speed, and further exaggerated by the fact that, a 1cm bounce at the wheel, becomes amplified when you're sat 2m's away from it. It's something that DOES happen on The Swarm, but for a number of reasons is worse on baco; namely elevated seating above the wheelset, smaller wheels, higher temperatures in Spain, and excessive speed. If you get a row with fresh wheels, you'll love the ride. If you get a row with knackered wheels, hello broken ribs.

SO, as for Stampida. In terms of what the actually does, the layout, drops, airtime, it's brilliant. It's everything, to me, a duelling woodie should be, from the fly past, to the double drops and double climbs, to the intense first drop, and all with the racing element. The problem is not so much the trains, as the staff insisting on well and truly stapling you. It doesn't matter which train you're on, I've ridden both well in excess of 20 times and they can both be as horrible as each other, it's all down to the amount of space between you and the lap bar. If your pinned, you get every time vibration straight up your spin, if you slouch a little as they push down on the old bar, then sit up straight, you'll give yourself the necessary inch or two to actually enjoy the ride. The roughness still plays a part, but to me, it's the difference between 'what a good ride in principle', and 'what a great ride'.

But it's great to see some love for PA. It's by far and wide, miles better than the dire excuses for theme park Britain has. It's collection of shows, attention to detail, themeing and ride collection make Britain's best look like over-enthusiastic fair grounds. To me, it's the fact that you don't even have to step foot on a single ride to feel the magic of PA. You could simply walk through the park and you'd know it was something special. It receives way too little appreciation on these forums, and all I can say is, get yourself back in the summer and cherish 14 hours of PA (or if your in the on site hotels, 5 hours of pool, 2 hours of all you can eat dining (did you know you can dine around and eat at any of the hotels?) and then 7 hours of theme park and one of the worlds best firework displays to end the day). Or if you're feeling really ambitious, why not try an 18 hour stint when they're open 10am - 4am next Saturday? (Yeah, TP can f**k right off with claiming 9pm is a 'late opening').

 

[Lofty]

^ I'm a BIG fan of Baco, but if you have to sit in a certain seat, in a certain row, on a certain train; that doesn't exactly constitute a good coaster, does it?!

 

[furie]

I sat on the front and it was still a huge turd of a ride. Launch IS fantastic, but the rest of the ride is just a hideously rough pile of crap (though very photogenic). Launch and airtime, fantastic; corner and shaking, **** (and still would be **** without the shaking); more corners and shaking, yawn; unpleasant inversion while shaking, dull; lovely raised corner over the lake - fin.

I just honestly don't get it. Even without the shaking, the good bit of the ride ends seconds after it starts. It's absolutely no different to Rita, only with less ejector and a hangy inversion.

Having said that, I think Rita is actually a real thrill. The launch is a decent blast of adrenaline and the rest of the ride is pretty wild. It doesn't really appeal to me (I prefer airtime these days to high speed corners), but I imagine that maybe with the really good feeling off the launch, that the high from that could make the rest of the ride feel much more than it is - but only if you don't have the ride trying to shake your brains out of your nostrils.

Also, Joey has commented before how what is "rough" for one person is "intensity" for another. I think that Baco is the absolute definition of a Marmite coaster experience. You do also tend to find that people who enjoy Baco are also a little more forgiving towards Stampida - which I think kind of rounds it up as a roughness/intensity thing. Certainly when I was younger, I loved to be bashed around on rides and bruising was all part of the excitement - but it wasn't for everyone and it's something I crave for less and less as I age.

I know a lot of people on here have only experienced PA over the autumn/winter/early spring season, which will be why it doesn't get quite so much love. That's not the fault of PA, as they go into a semi-slumber during those periods so the park doesn't quite offer the full range of entertainment you would get in higher season. For me though, the theming is hit and miss (when it's hit, it's fantastic, when it's miss it's still pretty good :lol: ), but it's mostly the rides I take issue with. Two fantastic coasters and... Erm.... Maybe three if you like Baco - that's it though. The park doesn't really offer much in the way of anything "special" beyond those two or three coasters. It makes me weep to see Alton still using such sad and tired old rides like Ripsaw, Submission and Blade - but PA has Mexican hats even Drayton replaced, a Himalaya Express fair grounds no longer offer and the worst Wave Swinger after Gulliver's Warrington.

When compared to other parks across Europe, it doesn't have the top quality levels of consistent theming of a lot of the German parks, or places like Efteling. It doesn't have the ride "breadth" of most other European parks (including UK parks).

It's unfair to judge it though without experiencing it as a complete "package", but the two days I spent there were enough in terms of rides.

The thing is, if somebody said "tomorrow, we're going to magically swap Alton Towers for Port Aventura" - I'd be joyous. I DO think it's a better park than anything we have here, but not "better enough" to justify the expense and effort of travelling to Spain for it. Though to be fair, I find it hard to justify the cost and effort involved in going to Thorpe Park either

I guess the way I look at it is this. If I went to PA with the family, they'd go "this is a nice Spanish version of Alton Towers". If I went to Europa Park with them, they'd go "this is a fantastic park, thanks for bringing us." :lol: Though they'd rather go to Disney than either because they're idiots

 

[Rob]

I'll pick up on a couple of things there;

Firstly, I think it's unfair to say all PA have are 2 great coasters. If we're applying the same rule to Alton, they only have 2 good coasters and 3 mediocre ones. So that's just not true. We have totally neglected to mention the 328ft drop tower, the 3 above-par water rides, the host of shows that give a large degree of added value, and also the fact that, a walk around PA has the same worth as a ride on duel (in terms of themeing and attention to detail if nothing else). Then we're discounting the scenic rides which Britain just doesn't have anymore, so to say it has nothing other than the big 2, is a little ignorant to say the least.

As for Baco, I totally disagree. The ride is all about head choppers/foot choppers/near misses, and the terrain hugging layout does all of these things well. It's like comparing Nemesis to PMBO and concluding Nemesis is the poor one, because it doesn't have height. Baco is all about the near misses, the feeling of speed and the excitement of hurtling along just feet off the ground. It's not trying to be an airtime machine (nor nemesis), it's not trying to be rip your feet off forceful, it's pure purpose, and a fact from which it doesn't hide, is to go really really fast, really really close to things. And that it certainly does. The shake is unfortunate, but without it, it is a really good ride. Unlike Rita, everything is there for a purpose (bar the breeze block.. tunnel?), it fits into the area and most importantly has a solid theme, they didn't just go, hmm, I know, lets plonk a badly themed roller coaster, with no real purpose after the launch, straight down the middle of the main street in Mediterrania. To compare Baco with Rita, and see Rita win, is almost offensive. It's like comparing a shopping mall santa experience with a visit to Lapland and saying the mall wins because in Lapland it's too cold.

But as for Rita, really, it offers nothing. The launch is slow, the hills are pointless, even if you float a little bit, and it's all over before you can say 'where did bone shaker go?'. But that's not for this topic.

Touching on Stampida, I'll first state, categorically, it's nowhere near as bad as a bad ride on baco. It's all about riding it right and once you figure it out it really is enjoyable. I hated it at first, but after a few re-rides and forgiving it a little for the domestic violence, I learned to love it. Because the fact remains, that the roller coaster it self, as pointed out by Lofty among others, is pretty darn good, just, the trains cause pain (damn love those trains though, they are so open and offer so much freedom, just a shame they can't master smoothness).

Finally, to return to the age old Alton vs PA arguement. It's really quite unfair to consider the cost in your experience because, when we compare a park we should really just be comparing the park, not where in the world it is. I understand your point about the effort to get there (which isn't ACTUALLY that bad, 6 days for £500 in August (as family of Rob are looking at going), doesn't compare too unfavorably with a day for day cost of visiting, say TP. Plus it's a holiday. But in terms of the parks, it's not a Spanish AT. No where near. Alton Towers has no depth of themeing, no immersion at all, look to that original picture of China, the one from Waitan Port area, how can you say Alton has anywhere near that level of themeing? It's a cleverly designed park where the themeing is consistent and thorough. There are no gaps (if you disagree, please name one!), unlike Alton, where you go from 'area 1' - broadly themed to british countryside with an alien in a hole, through no mans land, into area 2, broadly themed as british forest with a scary house, back into no mans land, into area 3, broadly themed as british decorative garden. There is no element of that at PA, everything actually fits in, it looks believable to the extent that you could pass off the areas as genuine. Alton doesn't have that in any single part of the park. There is no valid comparison between the two at all.

 

[marc]

I'm with Furie on this one but tbh we went out of season and the water rides were shut and there were no shows.

As for Baco I tried a number of seats and I just hated the coaster. It does nothing for me at all other than hurt. Some people in the group liked it some did not, I just did not. Everything about it I did not like, the layout the seats everything. Does look nice though.

I found the drop tower lame as I did all the coasters bar karn. The rapids were dire.

The park is a perfect RCT park, everything laid out in areas etc. It is a nice park there is no doubt about that. The ride ops let it down though.

I just did not get the love of the park but do need to visit in season plus try the new coaster. Only problem is I'm in no rush to, but I will go when they get more rides.

Funny thing is I can get there in 2.5 hours flying from Southend, it's quicker and cheaper to get there than Alton is lol.

 

[furie]

I'll pick up on a couple of things there;

Firstly, I think it's unfair to say all PA have are 2 great coasters.

Well it is true, because that's all PA have in the way of good coasters (IMO and lots of other people's)

If we're applying the same rule to Alton, they only have 2 good coasters and 3 mediocre ones. So that's just not true.

I completely agree though. Alton does not have a good coaster line up either That's why I would swap parks in an instant

We have totally neglected to mention the 328ft drop tower, the 3 above-par water rides, the host of shows that give a large degree of added value, and also the fact that, a walk around PA has the same worth as a ride on duel (in terms of themeing and attention to detail if nothing else). Then we're discounting the scenic rides which Britain just doesn't have anymore, so to say it has nothing other than the big 2, is a little ignorant to say the least.

Alton Rapids are as good as PA. The flumes were closed when I was there, but they're all "same rides as you get everywhere" - nothing "special".

We didn't see any shows, but I have absolutely no doubt that they're superior to any show put on in UK at any time

As for Baco, I totally disagree. The ride is all about head choppers/foot choppers/near misses, and the terrain hugging layout does all of these things well. It's like comparing Nemesis to PMBO and concluding Nemesis is the poor one, because it doesn't have height. Baco is all about the near misses, the feeling of speed and the excitement of hurtling along just feet off the ground. It's not trying to be an airtime machine (nor nemesis), it's not trying to be rip your feet off forceful, it's pure purpose, and a fact from which it doesn't hide, is to go really really fast, really really close to things. And that it certainly does. The shake is unfortunate, but without it, it is a really good ride. Unlike Rita, everything is there for a purpose (bar the breeze block.. tunnel?), it fits into the area and most importantly has a solid theme, they didn't just go, hmm, I know, lets plonk a badly themed roller coaster, with no real purpose after the launch, straight down the middle of the main street in Mediterrania. To compare Baco with Rita, and see Rita win, is almost offensive. It's like comparing a shopping mall santa experience with a visit to Lapland and saying the mall wins because in Lapland it's too cold.

Okay, comparing it to Nemesis because Nemesis absolutely benefits from the near misses and "environmental atmosphere". However, the nearest alternative would be, say, Nemesis Inferno or great Bear or Talon - which even without the near misses and environmental atmosphere are still superb rides.

But as for Rita, really, it offers nothing. The launch is slow, the hills are pointless, even if you float a little bit, and it's all over before you can say 'where did bone shaker go?'. But that's not for this topic.

The point is, take Baco out of the environment and you have a ride much the same as Rita, only bigger and faster. Take Nemesis out of the hole and you still have a superb ride. Take Baco out of the hole and you have a rough as a cat's tongue turd with a great launch. I couldn't tell if there were near misses or anything about the speed, I was too busy holding my head and trying not to cry in pain. No matter how complete the "experience", if you miss it because you're taking a beating equivalent to upsetting a mob boss with a baseball bat.

Touching on Stampida, I'll first state, categorically, it's nowhere near as bad as a bad ride on baco. It's all about riding it right and once you figure it out it really is enjoyable. I hated it at first, but after a few re-rides and forgiving it a little for the domestic violence, I learned to love it. Because the fact remains, that the roller coaster it self, as pointed out by Lofty among others, is pretty darn good, just, the trains cause pain (damn love those trains though, they are so open and offer so much freedom, just a shame they can't master smoothness).

I found Stampida okay. I think it's a brilliant design, but just a little too much on the painful side. It wasn't a deal breaker on the red side at all - I rode it several times on that side. The problem was the red side wasn't quite as much fun as the blue, but the blue had a couple of horrendous back breaking moments that really did cause me major issues (significant pain off the coaster). It's a long, long way from being the worst wooden coaster I've been on

Finally, to return to the age old Alton vs PA arguement. It's really quite unfair to consider the cost in your experience because, when we compare a park we should really just be comparing the park, not where in the world it is. I understand your point about the effort to get there (which isn't ACTUALLY that bad, 6 days for £500 in August (as family of Rob are looking at going), doesn't compare too unfavorably with a day for day cost of visiting, say TP. Plus it's a holiday. But in terms of the parks, it's not a Spanish AT. No where near. Alton Towers has no depth of themeing, no immersion at all, look to that original picture of China, the one from Waitan Port area, how can you say Alton has anywhere near that level of themeing? It's a cleverly designed park where the themeing is consistent and thorough. There are no gaps (if you disagree, please name one!), unlike Alton, where you go from 'area 1' - broadly themed to british countryside with an alien in a hole, through no mans land, into area 2, broadly themed as british forest with a scary house, back into no mans land, into area 3, broadly themed as british decorative garden. There is no element of that at PA, everything actually fits in, it looks believable to the extent that you could pass off the areas as genuine. Alton doesn't have that in any single part of the park. There is no valid comparison between the two at all.

There isn't a comparison, I totally agree. PA is the better park (I do believe I said that ). I just don't think it's a brilliant park. I also don't think Alton is a brilliant park. I think they're both great parks though and parks everyone should visit at least once.

The difference is, in 30 minutes and for a fiver's petrol, I can be at the great Alton Towers. For half a day travelling (at least) and several hundred pounds, I could be at the superior PA. The point is, PA does "the same job" as Alton. It does it better in every aspect, but it essentially fulfils the same role - it offers much the same kind of day out you'd have at Alton.

I wouldn't compare Disney to PA for instance, as Disney is much better themed, has better shows but has a much worse "thrill ride" line up. It's not a fair comparison, you go to Disney for the "Disney Experience". Efteling is the same, you don't go for the rides as much the experience. Europa Park offers huge numbers of thrill rides, so again, I wouldn't compare PA to Europa, as Europa does a much better job on "themed atmosphere", but a worse job on "number of rides". Go to Europa and you have a very different day out to what you would at Alton or PA. Dorney Park is very similar to Thorpe, but with a few more rides - yet I'd not take a trip to Dorney over a trip to Thorpe - similar park visits, one at a much greater expense (both money and time).

I don't know if you understand what I mean? I do think PA is better overall, and I know that there are some great deals for going there - but if I was spending £500 to go to a theme park abroad again, I'd always go to a park which offers something like I just can't get any down the road. I'd head to Phantasia Land, Asterix, Liseberg, etc.

It's not a problem though if you love the park and you enjoy holidaying there. I like Newquay in Wales and would go there happily each year, even though there are better experiences, better places, better resorts, etc, etc, etc in the UK to go to. If PA pushes your buttons (and the big thing to remember is that it IS a holiday for you) then that's fantastic - but it just doesn't work for me as a"theme park holiday destination" - I'll be back off to Newquay and a day trip to Oakwood :lol:

 

[Rob]

So I'll try not to make this as long as my usual caliber of post...

In essence, I totally understand what you are saying. I agree in the most part, I just hate making any comparison to Alton Towers, because you're just dragging PA down. ( )

I think the main difference between our experiences here, are the times of year we have visited. I have been 4 times at peak season, one of the stays extending into early September when the park goes from midnight closes to 8pm closes, and the difference is very stark; to the extent I wouldn't go to the expense of travelling to Spain, to visit outside the midnight closes. The main reason for that being what I find enjoyable, which for me, is the whole package, the 'theme' element. Without the shows, the vibrant and slightly busy atmosphere, and with the majority of water rides closed (I didn't realize how out of season you actually visited), I can understand your opinion being what it is. But in a similar vein, I can understand someone's opinion of Alton Towers being very (even by my standards) under whelming if they visited during adrenaline week or winter weekends.

And that's the comparison I'd really draw there. I'd visit Alton at those times, not for an amazing day out, but just to tick off the two or three rides I particularly like; get my kick, if you will. I'd have the constant knowledge that, come July, the place will be vibrant, busy and most enjoyable, and I'd make every effort to come back then.

PA being quite the same; I've seen both and like Baco, on balance, the goodness of the good, outweighs the averageness of the not so good. So to that extent, all I could say is if you ever get the chance, inclination or muster up the will power t head to PA again, get out for the midnight openings, and (I certainly hope), you'll see a massive difference.

 

[DelPiero]

Really enjoying the points in this conversation but...

I'll be back off to Newquay and a day trip to Oakwood :lol:

Long day trip bud, that's a 4 & 1/2 hour drive