[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Page Header” _builder_version=”4.4.7″ background_color=”#2566af” height=”534px” custom_margin=”||-258px|||” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” animation_style=”zoom” animation_intensity_zoom=”4%” locked=”off” collapsed=”off”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ admin_label=”Trip Details” _builder_version=”4.4.7″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_intensity_slide=”3%” locked=”off” collapsed=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https://coaster.club/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2003_spain.jpg” title_text=”2003_spain” admin_label=”Image” _builder_version=”4.4.8″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Trip Name” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ text_font=”|300|||||||” text_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” header_font=”Montserrat|700||on|||||dotted” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font_size=”45px” header_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”|||” animation_style=”fade” header_font_size_last_edited=”off|desktop” locked=”off”]
Coaster Dorada
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Trip Dates” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”Montserrat|700|||||||dotted” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” transform_translate=”0px|-40px” transform_translate_linked=”off” custom_margin=”|||” animation_style=”fade” header_font_size_last_edited=”off|desktop” locked=”off”]
8-14th September 2003
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Page Header” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” animation_style=”zoom” animation_intensity_zoom=”4%” collapsed=”off”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.3.2″ background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_intensity_slide=”3%”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”%22Photo Galleries%22″ _builder_version=”4.4.8″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”Montserrat|700||on|||||dotted” header_text_color=”#353740″ header_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” transform_scale_linked=”off” transform_translate=”0px|40px” transform_translate_linked=”off” custom_margin=”|||” animation_style=”fade” header_font_size_last_edited=”off|desktop” locked=”off”]
Galleries
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.3.2″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.3.2″][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”8538,8537,8536,8969,8534,8533,8976,8975,8974,8973,8528,8527,8526,8525,8524,8523,8522,8521,8520,8519,8518,8517,8516,8515,8514,8513,8512,8511,8510,8509,8508,8507,8506,8505,8504,8503,8502,8501,8500,8499,8498,8497,8496,8495,8494,8493,8492,8491,8490,8489,8488″ posts_number=”1″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” zoom_icon_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.25)” admin_label=”Gallery” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ title_text_color=”#0c71c3″ caption_text_color=”#e02b20″ pagination_text_color=”#7cda24″ border_color_all_image=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_shadow_color=”#e02b20″][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ transform_translate=”0px|-75px” transform_translate_linked=”off”]
Day 1 – Travel, Tibidabo
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”8640,8639,8638,8637,8636,8635,8634,8633,8632,8631,8630,8629,8628,8627,8626,8625,8624,8623,8622,8621,8620,8619,8618,8617,8616,8615,8614,8613,8612,8611,8610,8609,8608,8607,8606,8605,8604,8603,8602,8601,8600,8599,8598,8597,8596,8595,8594,8593,8592,8591,8590,8589,8588,8587,8586″ posts_number=”1″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” zoom_icon_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.25)” admin_label=”Gallery” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ title_text_color=”#0c71c3″ caption_text_color=”#e02b20″ pagination_text_color=”#7cda24″ custom_margin=”-50px||||false|false” border_color_all_image=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_shadow_color=”#e02b20″][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″ transform_scale_linked=”off” transform_translate=”0px|-75px” transform_translate_linked=”off”]
Day 4 – Terra Mitica, Albacete Fair
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”8716,8715,8714,8713,8712,8711,8710,8709,8708,8707,8706,8705,8704,8703,8702,8701,8700,8699,8698,8697,8696,8695,8694,8693,8692,8691″ posts_number=”1″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” zoom_icon_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.25)” admin_label=”Gallery” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ title_text_color=”#0c71c3″ caption_text_color=”#e02b20″ pagination_text_color=”#7cda24″ custom_margin=”-50px||||false|false” border_color_all_image=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_shadow_color=”#e02b20″][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″ transform_scale_linked=”off” transform_translate=”0px|-75px” transform_translate_linked=”off”]
Day 7 – Warner Bros. Movie World, Travel
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.3.2″][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”8581,8580,8579,8578,8577,8576,8575,8574,8573,8572,8571,8570,8569,8568,8567,8566,8565,8564,8563,8562,8561,8560,8559,8558,8557,8556,8555,8554,8553,8552,8551,8550,8549,8548,8547,8546,8545,8544,8543,8542,8541,8540,8539″ posts_number=”1″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” zoom_icon_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.25)” admin_label=”Gallery” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ title_text_color=”#0c71c3″ caption_text_color=”#e02b20″ pagination_text_color=”#7cda24″ border_color_all_image=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_shadow_color=”#e02b20″][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″ transform_translate=”0px|-75px” transform_translate_linked=”off”]
Day 2 – Universal Mediterranea
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”8704,8671,8670,8669,8668,8667,8666,8665,8664,8663,8662,8661,8660,8659,8658,8657,8656,8655,8654,8653,8652,8651,8650,8649,8648,8647,8646,8645,8644,8643,8642,8641″ posts_number=”1″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” zoom_icon_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.25)” admin_label=”Gallery” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ title_text_color=”#0c71c3″ caption_text_color=”#e02b20″ pagination_text_color=”#7cda24″ custom_margin=”-50px||||false|false” border_color_all_image=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_shadow_color=”#e02b20″][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ transform_translate=”0px|-75px” transform_translate_linked=”off”]
Day 5 – Parque de Atracciones
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.3.2″][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”8585,8584,8583,8582″ posts_number=”1″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” zoom_icon_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.25)” admin_label=”Gallery” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ title_text_color=”#0c71c3″ caption_text_color=”#e02b20″ pagination_text_color=”#7cda24″ border_color_all_image=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_shadow_color=”#e02b20″][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″ transform_scale_linked=”off” transform_translate=”0px|-75px” transform_translate_linked=”off”]
Day 3 – Universal Mediterranea, Travel
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”8690,8689,8688,8687,8686,8685,8684,8683,8682,8681,8680,8679,8678,8677,8676,8675,8674,8673,8672″ posts_number=”1″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” zoom_icon_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.25)” admin_label=”Gallery” _builder_version=”4.4.8″ title_text_color=”#0c71c3″ caption_text_color=”#e02b20″ pagination_text_color=”#7cda24″ custom_margin=”-50px||||false|false” border_color_all_image=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_shadow_color=”#e02b20″][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.8″ transform_translate=”0px|-75px” transform_translate_linked=”off”]
Day 6 – Warner Bros. Movie World
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”4.3.2″ collapsed=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.3.2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”%22Trip Comments%22″ _builder_version=”4.4.8″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”Montserrat|700||on|||||dotted” header_text_color=”#353740″ header_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” transform_scale_linked=”off” transform_translate=”0px|40px” transform_translate_linked=”off” custom_margin=”|||” animation_style=”fade” header_font_size_last_edited=”off|desktop” locked=”off”]
Reports
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Trip Comments” _builder_version=”4.4.8″]
Mark Riley
Our first venture to Sunny Spain kicked off bright and early with a 06:25 flight out of Heathrow! The early start was more than made up for once we arrived at Tibidabo.
Perched 1,500ft above the city of Barcelona, the Park offers astonishing views as well as some very unique rides. The suspended monorail, haunted walk through, and classic 1928 Aeroplane ride were among the highlights.
The first two nights were spent at the Universal Mediterranea Resort. Many had enough energy left to enjoy Port Aventura until midnight, with night rides on Dragon Khan as well as Stampida.
Terra Mitica beckoned on day four. An hour long ERS on Magnus Colossus, the park’s giant cliff-side wooden coaster, kicked off the day. The park also supplied an enormous group lunch! The amazing standard of theming as well as their dark rides certainly made a great impact.
The trip would end in Madrid, with two parks. Firstly there was Parque de Atracciones, a city park, much like Tivoli Gardens and Liseberg. Secondly there was the Warner Bros. Movie World, with its large ride collection, including a woodie, two B&M’s, and a Giant Inverted Boomerang.
Day by Day Reports
Day 1 – Travel, Tibidabo, Universal Port Aventura
Greg Pearn
I wasn’t expecting much from Tibidabo, but what a surprise! An amazing park packed with some great attractions – the perfect park to compliment a great city!
Tom Marshall
Tibidabo – what an amazing park, nothing special in terms of rides, but as every Estate Agent says, Location, Location, Location! Superb start to the trip, and now we’re off to Port Aventura…
Chris and Claire Mcfarlane
What a lovely park Tibidabo is. Having visited the park back in 1997 it was nice to visit again.
Jen O’Rourke
Classic park, lots of fun, and tons of laughs watching Keith get scared silly in the Haunted House!
Stuart Milton
First day at Tibidabo, and after 12 hours travelling I can confirm it is well worth it. Though not the biggest park it has a good selection of historical rides, and views like no other. Seeing Barcelona from thousands of feet above sea level while whizzing around a coaster, is unique! Great start to what I’m sure will be a fantastic trip.
Phil Ariss
If I was perfectly honest, I was not really looking forward to Tibidabo, but after the afternoon on park, I can see why the Team spoke so highly of the park, simply incredible, and worthy of the praise.
Daniel Spooner
A great little park, with some very interesting rides. The views are exceptional, overall a great start.
Tim Herre
I luuuurve Tibidabo! Krueger Hotel was just as good as I remembered it. And with you, Sonja, it could have been even better!
Mick Fryer-Kelsey
Amazing first day, an unusual park in a beautiful Setting on top of a hill surrounded by forests overlooking the city with some unusual rides. Miss you Liz & Crystal.
Tony Pycroft
Yet another fantastic park. This is a very unique and picturesque place. For anyone visiting Barcelona it is a must visit attraction.
John Musk
When do I get some sleep? I’ve been up since 12:30 AM!
Stuart Wright
Its been a long day since Sunday breakfast but tibidabo made it all worthwhile. Chilli God.
Bart Van Goethem
Strangely we met Chucky at Krüeger hotel; a scary but nice walk through. I also liked the unique coasters, especially the “banked” one
Unexpectedly the suspended dark ride was really good.
Cynthia Burkee
What a charming old park!! Definitely worth the visit. Don’t miss the marionette show – it’s wonderful!! Great start to the trip.
Lorna & Adrian
Great Park, excellent start to the holiday!
Chris Hull
A great start to the holiday with Tibidabo proving to be a totally unique park. Fantastic setting overlooking Barcelona. Nice to see a park keeping some traditional rides too.
Robert Harries & Lisa Rowland
Great place, what a find make sure you visit if you’re in the area. The Pirate Ship was mental. Note to Andi: Dodgems were poor, but could be made to drive backwards!
Rich Holmes
Tibidabo – WOW! What an amazing little park!!! The atmosphere was incredible and the views of Barcelona below were utterly fantastic! I’m so glad that we made a visit to this park at the start of our trip!
Elaine Harper
Tibidabo is a great little park – has some good rides and gives you some great views of Barcelona. Perfect for day 1 of the trip
Andy Hygate
Proof that the best things come in small packages. Tibidabo is small but very very beautiful. Really cool park.
Ralf Lindhorst & Jan Stoehlmacher
Great start of the tour with just the right park. Highlight (surprise surprise): Waveswinger-ERS ande of course the Krueger Hotel… Our regards go to the ones we had to leave at home…
Stephen Knight
Hola amigos! Tibidabo was a great park. Unusual rides, amazing views, and a scary haunted house! Now, how about a Sky Skater going off the cliff? That would be a great addition – hint, hint! Adios.
Gary McMillan
A great start to the trip. An interesting multi story park with the most surreal suspended monorail I have ever ridden.
Chris Simon
The world’s first near-vertical amusement park! Built onto terraces on the side of a mountain high above Barcelona, many rides designed to emphasise the height. Great family park with nice atmosphere. Rather brutal powered coaster though!
Jeff and Leslie Graham
Delightful park on top of the mountain. Great traditional rides and spectacular views of the city below. A great way to start the trip. Shout out to Mike and Doug.
John Fidyk and Brad Haller
Great park. Nice selection of rides sprinkled about as well as some unique rides. Awesome views from just about everywhere in the park. Cool museum with models of past attractions at the park. Great start to the trip!
Martin Valt
Portmeirion with rides really. Stunning location, quirky rides, crap hot-dogs.
Jeff Holmes
A most enjoyable and unusual little park with the most unusual rides ever experienced pity the view wasn’t better though?!
Jeppe Nygaard
A very need park with some very unusual rides, excellent view to downtown Barcelona. Hilsen til Johanne & Annette.
Paul Orsmond
An excellent park, with some of the best views of Barcelona. The Rides are also good with some excellent scenery too! Well worth the visit
Lewis Cox
This park is like nothing you have seen before. It’s truly unique rides along with staggering views of barcelona from its position high on a hill is truly breathtaking. Plus, it also has a dark ride almost as disturbing as Blackpool’s “Magic Mountain” – note the word Almost! A fine park with fine views and fine rides. A great way to start the trip.
Keith Johnson
Talk about your classic park. I thought that I’d seen everything until I arrived at Tibidabo. The view from the park was absolutely magnificent. I have to go back there one day!
Malcolm Marr
Nice views.
Day 2 – Universal Port Aventura
William Buckley (Webmaster du Jour)
There were no member comments from today’s park trip — folks were too busy riding!
Day 3 – Universal Port Aventura, Travel
Tom Marshall
Port Aventura is a superb park, let down in a few small ways – unfortunately one of those is the “stapling” of riders into Stampida – when the lapbar is so tight that you can’t breathe and walking is difficult afterwards, it’s too tight. The food was also very hit and miss, in terms of both quality and temperature…
Lindsey and Darren Hoy
Port Aventura is very well themed park. Rides are good, but unfortunate instances of Stapling does take away some of the enjoyment. Still, good couple of days and looking forward to the rest of the trip.
Chris & Claire McFarlane
Nice to be back at Port Aventura after a six year absence. So much has changed around Salou, but not much inside the park with the only noticable additions being Sea Odyssey, Tami Tami and the excellent Templo Del Fuego (which should not be missed!). If only Stampida was running as well as it was six years around, the trim brake on the first drop takes a lot out of the coasters ride. The parks El Paso hotel was very nice as was the theme park and well worth staying in.
Tony Pycroft
Port Aventura – This could easily be a “six-Flags” park in terms of staff and stapling of riders on just about all the rides especially Stampida. This is now just a painful ride, it cannot be done twice in a row. The park layout is also very poor in the fact that you have to walk around the park in a circle and there are no cut thru’s to different areas. Some aspects of PA are excellent, but overall I cannot recommend this park as there are so many better ones out there.
Elaine Harper
Port Aventura was not as good as I expected, but having Dragon Khan made it worth the visit
Rich Holmes
In my opinion, PA is a great park in terms of atmosphere and theming…the rides however are not so great, with the exception of Dragon Khan. With DK being my first big B&M, i didn’t know quite what to expect…i was however pleasently suprised, and am really glad that i have now ridden it. This now brings me to Stampida, great ride, but…the staff, In my opinion leave a little to be desired, on several occasions i experienced extreme “stapling”, but on our 3rd day, i had an experience which i don’t wish to repeat, a ride assistant not only wanted 1 more click on my already touching lapbar, but 2, now to get this, i was made to cross my legs, and slip my size 14 feet under the seat infront…on several occasions through the course of this particular ride, my ankle nearly snapped in two…when we hit the final brakes, i thought i had broken it, basically,i couldn’t walk, and i’m still struggling now. The male staff aren’t too bad, but the females love getting that next impossible click, i have absolutely no problems with obeying park rules, but this was gross neglegence, as a staff member told me to do it, and a complaint has gone in. Great ride – Crap staff.
Phil Ariss
Superb park and staff (in certain areas). Good two days
David Haralambou
Awsome Bumper Cars. Red Stampida slow, but smoother than blue side. No fish in lake.
Jeff and Leslie Graham
two highlights of Port Aventura: one, our “mini-ers” on tami tami in the POURING rain. The ride op thought it was funny and would not let us off, so he sent us around 5 times. 8 members were on the train and we were all soaked to the bone. The park was gigantic and took forever to walk between the 2 star coasters, Stampida and Dragon Khan. The express pass really helped us rack up the rides at nights. second highlight: after waiting 3 days for my first ride on Dragon Khan, i was able to get a double ride in the front seat as my first ride. the locals were chanting, “otro, otro” (again, again) and the ride ops sent us around a second time. a very nice park.
Jeppe Nygaard
My 2nd time in Port Aventura. It’s a great park, very huge and well themed. Dragon Khan is a masterpiece from B&M. One of my top 5 looping coasters. A new ride in PA was the “temple del fuego” witch was now less then superb. It’s SO good I had to try it out 6-7 times. Stampida is still an OK woodie, especially the blue train. Sea Oddesey is not as good as is shold be for such an investment. Glad we had the 3.rd day due to the bad weather yesterday. Hilsner til dem derhjemme.
Cynthia Burkee
First time at Port Aventura and found it to be a very pretty park. Enjoyed both Dragon Khan and Stampida, as well as the new Templo del Fuego. Particularly liked taking a side trip to Taragonna to see the spectacular Roman ruins there.
Lorna Cromarty and Adrian Dade
First visit to the park and we were both thoroughly impressed, some of the staff were not very helpful, But highlights were the tower of rings floating round the lazy river, riding front seat on Dragon Khan 3 times, Tomahawk was quite fast for a kiddie coaster, Stampida was great,and so were the shows.
Majkel van Eekeren
Never been to PA before and I can’t find a good reason for that. IT IS MARVELOUS! Dragon Khan and Stampida (both red and blue) are very good. There is an immense amount of shows and they’re very well staffed. Go visit Tarragona at a NON coasterday.
Keith and Judi Turnbull
Last week Basingstoke and Bracknell, so far this week, Barcelona and now off to Benidorm. Something of a change – very hot now wind has dropped, and all missions accomplished at Port Aventura. Loved Dragon Khan, Temple del Fuego, Sea Odyssey, and Stampida. Many thanks to Mark for the organisation, really appreciated. That’s all for now.
Tim Herre
Port Aventura again – what can I say? The park is just perfect, maybe a bit too perfect for me. Each time I’m there I do think that the place needs a certain something. But I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there. Now the part of the trips begins with the parks I do not already know. Looking forward to the first decent bar session of the trip, which should take place tonight in the Alicante hotel. Cheers! I`ll have a drink on you, Sonja!
Gary McMillan
Port Aventura is a nice themed park with very distinctive areas. Dragon Khan was ridden the first evening in the middle of a massive storm complete with stair rod rain and thunder / lightning, gave it an interesting perspective. Stampida was good but spoilt by ultra keen staff who staple the restraints down far too tight. Overall fun – now for the trip to Alicante.
Chris Simon
Beautiful park, great atmosphere, bewildering array of nice food. Would be the perfect park if it wasn’t for ride operators and wind speed detectors!
Stephen Knight
Port Aventura is a great park. Well themed, with excellent rides, good food, and fun shows.. I thouroughly enjoyed both Dragon Khan and Stampida! The waterpark was also great fun. After the first go on the El Tifon slide, I decided that holding my breath for the entire slide was the best option second time round so as to avoid mouthfuls of water!!!
Stuart Milton
Picture the scene, the sun shining down, sun tan lotion on and legs out! Only a 2 minute queue for Dragon Khan and it’s running like a dream! 7 rides in less than half hour, what a ride! What a park! Does it get any better?
Robert Harries & Lisa Rowland
Port Aventura was fantastic, with a great collection of rides and glorious theming. Dragon Khan 5 times on the trot was a highlight for us, and getting heckled for getting back to the coach a low point! Who will ever forget the tube stack on the Lazy River
Sue Barlow
Stampida was a brilliant duelling coaster, esp. blue train at back. It was so good in fact that I almost took my shorts off! Also liked little Tami Tami ride. Park very pretty and well themed.
Darren and Mary
Darren did a thorough assessment of some rides, he liked the rides but did not enjoy the food too much. Mary rode the Stampida, and the Dragon Khan and even bought the tee shirt. Both of us enjoyed the park.
Elaine Harper
Port Aventura?
Crap…..
Crap…..
Crap…..
Well, not bad really is it?!
Martin Valt
Port Aventura’s well-themed with superb attention to detail. Much better than I expected. Stampida and Dragon Khan both v good, especially during impromptu ERSs. Hotel and waterpark nice but food pants again. Yo to Nige – Terra Mitica next matey! Can’t wait for Magnus Colossus.
Keith Johnson
Great theming, great coasters, great fun.
Malcolm Marr
Nice theming.
Lewis Cox
A park I had heard much about, and did live up to expectations. Theming was outstanding. Unfortunately, many rides on our 2nd day were down due to excess wind, however everyone managed all coasters at some point. The best ride in the park? Oh, Tami Tami, without any hesitation at all!
Chris Hull
An enjoyable few days at this park where the attention to detail certainly exceeds that of Disney. The rides aren’t bad either ;¬) DK and Stampida proving to be the highlights. Nice break at the water-park – shame the number of slides was a bit limited.
Richard Bannister
Some of the best theming I’ve seen in a theme park, second only to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Due to severe weather conditions (blazing sunshine, albeit with high winds) four out of five coasters and quite a few flat rides were down. However I did get all five coasters in the end. Temple del Fuego deserves special mention for being an absolutely fantastic attraction. For my full thoughts, take a look www.bannister.org/coasters/trips/200309-dorada/ here if I can get my Internet connection to work tonight!
Andy Hygate
After dark – brilliant Disney-esque atmosphere, would recommend Stampida at midnight to anyone! I quite liked the chicken – unlike everyone else obviously.
Greg Pearn
Fantastic park! The temple with all the fire (crap at names!) was simply amazing. DK great, Stampida better than expected and even the Mine Train (Diablo) was good fun late at night. Will be back.
John Musk
Saw the Polynesian show. The women come on in tiny tops and short skirts and proceed to cover themselves up with a wrap. Not quite what I was expecting. Stampida is incredible. Great park.
Jan Toolmaker
Brilliant theming and great atmosphere…but unfortunately a very very uncomfortable walk to get around the park. Perhaps the longest ways in a park of that size. Great rides and with Templo del Fuego an absolute must-have-seen experience. Dragon Khan is fun but a little rough in the backseat, and Stampida gave us a wild ride during a thunderstorm…
Ralf Lindhorst
Been here quite a few times now, but it is always great to see first timers experiencing this park. Highlight: Templo del Fuego (mighty mighty hot…!). Guess the hard times we had keeping Tim away from the scene to jump in the roll of the greedy explorer!
Mick Fryer-Kelsey
Room key allowed access to water & theme park and keys was fast track for rides that we thoroughly enjoyed. Amazing theming. All my love to Liz and Crystal.
Paul Orsmond
Port Aventura is an amazing park, I had wanted to visit this park for years and I was not disapointed, The theming is absolutly fantasic and puts most British parks to shame. Dragon Khan was brilliant, a very enjoyable B&M which is still quite smooth, Stampida is also very good and smooth too. I also saw plenty of shows all of which were very good also. All in all a fantastic day with not too many big crowds either.
Day 4 – Terra Mitica, Albacete Fair
Robert Harries and Lisa Rowland
Wow, way beyond expectations. Magnus Colossus as a real surprise and getting a surprised ERS was a real bonus. Some bizarre dark rides and seriously wet log flume, rapids and Giant Splash (ridden 4 times without getting off!) add up to a great park.
Darren and Mary
Park was nicely themed, Darren managed 13 rides on ‘Colossus and would have ridden more times so he gives the park a thumbs up. Water rides were good and refreshing. ERS was a nice surprise as was the enormous meal they provided. Good day.
Sue “Cacklin” Barlow
‘Colossus surprisingly very good but only at front end – back was too bone-rattling! Water rides excellent, esp backwards Log Flume. Didn’t enjoy the SLC Tizona which bashed my head about too much but good smooth first drop and loop. All in all, good park but not as good as Port Aventura.
Geoff Smith
Got jerked off by a COLOSSUS!!!
Martin Valt
Very impressed. Probably the best construction quality I’ve seen yet in a park. Just needs a real show-stopping ride now. ‘Colossus not as bad as everyone (that’s you Nige!) said – Rattler in Texas is much worse – but needs different trains. Overall another very good day; onwards to Madrid.
Jeff Holmes
Another great day and a surprisingly good park fairly decent rides although coasters could be better. Theming was outta this world absolutely fantastic and food and hospitality were of high standard also.
Keith Johnson
What a wonderful surprise that Terra Mitica was. Never in my life was I so severely beaten up and having my hat stolen and thrown to the back of ‘Colossus as was done to me today:) I would like to thank all those involved for making my day such a memorable one. Now I can go back to America and tell everyone that I really did get beat up on a coaster in such a great park such as Terra Mitica.
Lewis Cox
This park was a huge surprise. The park’s setting along with the quality of its theming and the thought put into the presentation of its rides really does have to be seen to be believed. It has a some a really surprisingly unique dark rides that I particularly enjoyed. It is a shame that the park’s two major coasters don’t quite match the high standard that the rest of the park enjoys. That said, I did not find ‘Colossus the waste of space that some had made it out to be. It has some great visuals, and is at least re-ridable. Which is more then can be said about the SLC…
Paul Orsmond
Terra Mitica really surprised me and have become one of the highlights of the trip. ‘Colossus really wasn’t as bad as everyone says it is and I found it just about rideable. The whole park though is wonderful though with some fantastic theming and some good rides too, however the new SLC is already very rough which is a shame but It was a very enjoyable day all round.
Malcolm Marr
Nice architecture.
Chris Hull
A nice park with some impressive theming and an interesting assortment of rides. Never before have I been on a coaster that has seemed to bounce like ‘Colossus. Some good dark/indoor rides and a good choice of lunch made it all an enjoyable day. I am however surprised that Vekoma can still provide an SLC that’s as rough as anything.
Greg Pearn
A great selection of “different” dark rides made up for a couple distinctly average coasters. A big thanks to the park for their hospitality.
Andy Hygate
‘Colossus looked good against the mountain and gave “good vibrations.” The SLC had a cool colour scheme – the only good thing to say about it. On the plus side the thing in the pyramid was weird but fantastic in a funny kind of way. Couple of other odd dark rides filled the gap of a decent coaster.
Stuart “Chilli God”
Terra Mitica’s theming is superb. Magnus Colossus is a most spectacular wooden roller coaster. Travel at more than 60 mph along its track and have an unforgettable experience. They say so! And, IT’S TRUE.
John Musk
All my internal organs have been rearranged by ‘Colossus. Its so rough . It should be great I`d love to know whats wrong with it.
John Fidyk and Brad Haller
Excellent park. Great theming comparable to Universal’s IOA. Beautiful views of Benidorm from just about anywhere in the park. Minotaur was a great interactive dark ride.
Jan Stoelmacher
That park really was a surprise! Never seen such a perfect theming before… The park only needs a killer ride – then it would be my new favorite! Even the SLC looks incredible… Only the bumpy ride on the backseat of ‘Colossus during the ERS was a bit, let`s call it, confusing…
Ralf Lindhorst
Finally an ERS! Maybe Tizona – the new SLC (which is not so bad by the way!) – should have been picked for the exclusive riding time: As John Musk mentioned before a ride on ‘Colossus rearranges your internal organs. Can’t wait for better coasters to come.
Tim Herre
Terra Mitica completely blew me away! It`s my new favourite park theming- and landscaping-wise! This place is so much underrated: Everyone keeps talking about soul lacking Port Aventura instead of raving about marvellous Terra Mitica. They just need a killer ride! You have to see this place, Sonja! Still missing you…!
Chris Simon
Not quite as lusciously landscaped as PA but with stunning architecture that makes all other theme parks (with the possible exception of Europa!) look plasticky. A handful of spectacular dark rides (that PA lacks), and Magnus Colossus – yes, this is bumpy and rattly but not really painful, and a tremendous double-down first drop which is best experienced in the back. The park is tainted a little with the introduction of an SLC…
Gary McMillan
Terra Mitica is blessed with exceptional theming, I particularly like the Egyptian area. The ride selection is good but does lack a signature attraction. I love the dark rides, some of which are very obscure! We had a great day, staff looked after us very well and provided us with a good meal which we did not expect. Well done Terra Mitica – keep up the good work!
Keith and Judi Turnbull
We were very well looked after with a surprise ERS and an excellent lunch. The theming is excellent throughout and the water rides were all terrific. Some of the dark rides were theming over content, and the ride in the pyramid was really strange. But a well run park, with pleasantly short queues.
Richard Bannister
Terra Mitica is a beautiful park, with the nicest theming I’ve ever seen, putting even Busch Gardens Williamsburg to shame. I have to wonder about the sanity of certain club members – myself included – who took four consecutive rides on the giant splash, Triton’s Fury. Tizona is still a Vekoma SLC though; why the park couldn’t have gone for a B&M instead is something I’ll never understand
Jeff and Leslie Graham (USA)
‘Colossus is much better than its reputation …it is bouncy and not rough. the park is wonderfully themed and has great views of the sea. there are also lots of unique rides, but the park was hot as blazes.
Albert and Martha Amborn
Having a great time on our first ECC trip. Enjoying riding new coasters for us, and swimming in the Med.
Lorna Cromarty and Adrian Dade
Excellently themed park. Rough coasters. Adrian did his first Giant Drop. Loved the two kiddie coasters. Queues were nice and short. An enjoyable day.
Derek and Val Cromarty
Excellent park. An exceptional roller coaster. Loved the powered kiddie coaster. Stunning theming – probably the best I have seen. Great trip up until the present.
Mick Fryer-Kelsey
Hi Liz and Crystal. After a rough start the park was quite a surprise. Beautifully laid out. Well themed. It reminded me of a film set – but then it is a Paramount park!!! To round it up – a fantastic day.
Kev Winkley (cameo appearance!)
Breath taking park. Fantastic weather. Beautiful setting. Oh, and there’s some rides too!! Great to see everyone, in the middle of your tour. Sitting writing this with a cold beer by the pool, while everyone else enjoys a three hour coach trip! Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Bart Van Goethem
What a lovely day it was! Really loved the throwing off feeling of the Magnus Colossus first drop. The park looks like they picked some stunning monuments from Greece and Italy and put in some great dark rides.
Andrew Masterton
The Park is set against a stunning backdrop and has first rate theming. Despite a great selection of water rides the Park lack the one big signature ride to really draw the crowds and put it on the international map. I am looking forward to Saturday to see how the other RCCA woodie on the trip, Wild Wild West at Warner Bros compares to Magnus Colossus.
Stephen Knight
Terra Mitica has theming of a very high standard. The water rides are great, especially on hot days like today. However I thought that the roller coasters and some of the dark rides were rather mediocre. Magnus Colossus needs new trains if the park expect the public to have more than one ride on it! The food portions were great though!
David Haralambou
Beautifully themed cue lines. Really enjoyed the Bravo Train. Cute concept.
Jennifer O’Rourke
Beautiful park, lots of flowers, friendly staff, high quality merchandise, and even went on a horse ride. Note from the lower level of the bus: Bloody Hell someone buy Tom a new battery for his PC!
Phil Ariss
ERS on Magnus Collosus and the meal voucher was a welcome surprise. Magnus Collosus was superb or average depending on seat position, giving the weirdest sound for a woodie. Water rides were excellent, and staff were the best yet, which was needed after the Stampida stapling.
Rich Holmes
Terra Mitica is a park with a huge potential in my opinion, it is beautifully themed and the queue lines are all nicely sculptured. Magnus Collosus in our ERS was better than I had personally expected after what i had been told by various people. all the parks staff were very friendly. Basically, TM is a nice little park, with rides that have the right idea, they’re just not executed to the height of the abilities.
Tom Marshall
To Keep it quick… a stunning park in a great location, but the rides could be so much more… on the plus side, the dark shoot-em-up ride was superb and the giant splash provided welcome relief from the relentless heat!
Darren n’ Linz
Great park with amazing theming. I enjoyed the ERS and found ‘Colossus to be twice as smooth as being stapled into Stampida. The dark rides and water rides were superb too. Quote of the day from Keith when coming off the SLC “That was so rough it could be a Vekoma.”
Tony Pycroft
Simply a superb park. This is the best park of the trip so far. The staff were so friendly and the rides are pretty good. The theming of the entire park is absolutely first class. Highly reccommended for anyone visiting Benidorm. I for one will definitely return. This park is so much better than Port Aventura!!!
Day 5 – Parque de Atracciones
Phil Ariss
The atmosphere at the park, at first was very dull, but as the park got busier the atmosphere improved. The Wildcat (7 Picos) was very, very good. Tornado, though, was a little disappointing, but still impressive. The locals though, seemed to enjoy queue jumping and spitting on the Top Spin, not nice. The fair the night before was amazing, and such a surprise, Superb!
Rich Holmes
Parque de Atracciones seemed to take a few hours to “get going”, but once it did, it was a really fun little park. The classic Wildcat was superb, and also on the park was an Intamin Inverter – my first of this type of ride, my impressions of it were that it could be better. The Enterprise on park was absolutely insane! this was the most forceful example of this type of ride that i have ever ridden! In Albacete, we found a fair, which had a Reverchon Inverted Mouse that was extremely fun, and the stand-up pirate ship was crazy!
Linz and Darren
Parque de Atracciones was a superb park, with a great atmosphere. The rides were well maintained, and the Schwarzkopf Wildcat was fabulous. Takeovers of the Dodgems, Tornado, Jungle ride and Crazy House had the staff scratching their heads in confusion at the “Mad ECC People!!” The evening before, at a local fair at Albacete, the rides were really wicked. A great Pirate Ship with cages at either end to stand in was wild, and the Big Wheel was the fastest I have ever seen! Great time being had!
Chris and Claire Mcfarlane
Terra Mitica is a lovely themed park with a good selection of attractions,as was Parque de Atracciones. The local fair at Albacete was a good find.
David Haralambou
Great time, reasonable prices for souvenirs. Liked the wildcat better than the Intamin.
Jennifer O’Rourke
Quirky little city park that could use some TLC. I wanted to take home the Schwarzkopf in my luggage. Best moment getting even with Martin on the bumper car & witnessing the drive-by mugging. (Note from the lower level of the bus: Why do I keep dreaming I’m in Bedrock?)
Richard Bannister
Parque de Atracciones has an unusual scheme of using a Tattoo rather than a wristband as an unlimited ride pass. The Wildcat uses a traditional type of chain rather than what you normally see on a Roller Coaster; did anyone get a picture of it? I uploaded my full diary for the day last night right here.
Robert Harries and Lisa Rowland
Great place, that didn’t look like it would hold our attention, but it did.
Mary Wilkinson
A good variety of rides for me – a non-rider. The staff were really helpful. Darren was impressed!
Sue Barlow
My favourite ride was the rapids, very fast and very wet. Generally a nice park.
Martin Valt
Cheap fridge magnets.
Jeff Holmes
It felt like a public park. Tornado was fairly good.
Keith Johnson
Great bumper car take over. Wonderful park. Never in my life have I experienced a haunted house where I almost lost my (American) pants.
Malcolm Marr
Wet Rapids Ride.
Chris Hull
Another great day. Nice selection of rides to keep us amused.
Lewis Cox
The Wildcat was the best ride at the park.
Paul
Very nice park. Tornado was excellent.
John Musk
Tornado was a beautifully smooth coaster.
Greg Pearn
Cheapo and cheerful.
Andy Hygate
Tornado – ugly but rode well. Nice cars on the Wildcat.
John Fidyk and Brad Haller
Great park. Wonderful brakeless wildcat. Nice views of the downtown skyline. Impressive ride line-up.
Ralf Lindhorst
Had a great time. Wildcat was best ride at park. Can’t wait to see the faces as members stroll into Movie World.
Jan Stoehlmacher
Really nice park. I especially enjoyed the Wildcat, which was the first coaster I ever rode. I liked Tornado too.
Tim Herre
Parque de Atracciones esta una atraccion just like you, Sonja! Especially loved the Wildcat, with typically evil Schwarzie Airtime on the third hill.
Keith and Judy Turnbull
Fabulous day. Never forget the rapids with the five screaming Spanish girls, or our moment of fame for evicting the queue jumpers on Tornado! If you’re ever in Madrid, don’t miss this park.
Majkel van Eekeren
Parque de Atracciones was a real city park. The rapids were a lot of fun and wet (@ 31 degrees). I enjoyed all the rides. The ride take over of Tornado and Siete Picos (Schwarzkopf Wildcat) was impressive.
Jeppe Nygaard
PdA was a very neat park. I thought that Tornado was excellent and very smooth. Discovering the Schwarzkopf Wildcat was very fun for me seeing as I had not rode one for 25 years since being a small child. Looking forward to Movie World with the two B&Ms. The trip so far has been wonderful and I hate to think that tomorrow it will be all over.
Derek Cromarty
PdA was a great park with good rides.
Adrian Dade and Lorna Cromarty
A lovely theme park with chewing gum and graffiti. An enjoyable day.
Mick F-K
Hi Liz & Crystal, a fun park family orientated with many portable rides and had a feel of Tivoli.
Stuart Milton
Parque de Atracciones was an unknown quantitiy before we arrived, I was pleasantly suprised. The park was mainly a family park, though you can spend a good day there, I did! Tornado was a fairly smooth coaster and gave a decent ride in the front.
Jeff and Leslie Graham
Tornado was a good unique Intamin inverted the park has an unusual wristband in that they make you apply your own temporary tattoo. Be sure to leave the park and ride the Teleferico skyride.
Stephen Knight
Parque de Attracciones had an excellent selection of rides. Tornado was fantastic, very smooth, and quite thrilling, especially at the back. The park also had a good haunted house walk through, freefall tower, top spin, and a very wet Hopkins rapids amongst other rides. Unfortunately the park was spoilt by graffiti, spitting teenagers, and chewing gum stuck all over the place.
Gary McMillan
Nice park, great staff, balanced selection of rides. Pity the Frisbee was down!
Tom Marshall
Parque De Attracciones, a great little park, for me the highlight of the park was the Wildcat…
Day 6 – Warner Brothers Movie World
Richard Bannister
Riddler’s Revenge is the first time I’ve ridden a tower ride which hasn’t scared the bejesus out of me. Over the course of the day I took six rides, enjoying each one more than the last. Batman la Fuga is superb. Though on paper a clone of the other ones in the US, it runs far faster than any of the others, turning it into a superb but very intense ride. A wonderful park overall, if a little understaffed.
Tim Herre
Movie World. Great coasters in an frighteningly understaffed park. Six Flags are doing their very best to ruin a place that is very nicely done in general. But Stunt Fall really blew me away, and so did Superman. But bring another operator in, and the park would be much more enjoyable. Warner Brothers should be aware of what this means for their name. Shame, but the coasters were certainly worth the travel. Now it is almost time for the thrills of Cologne!
Darren Wilkinson
A good variety of bigger rides. Particularly enjoyed Superman.
Chris Penn
I really enjoyed Stunt Fall and Superman. Also the River Rapids are very wet!!!
Jeppe Nygaard
Great park. The best coasters so far, especially Stunt Fall, and Superman. I can’t wait to get a floorless in my own country (Denmark). The best rides of the trip, but not the best park – that honour goes to Port Aventura and Terra Mittica. The trip has been no less than perfect, and I can’t believe it is over.
Robert Harries and Lisa Rowland
Beautiful theme for a delightful park. A collection of rides that any park would be proud of. The Boomerang (Stunt Fall) is out of this world, and Superman is fabulous particularly in the back seats (air time heaven).
Paul Orsmond
An absolutely wonderful park with some great theming and some great rides. Superman was absolutely superb and so was Batman, I also thought the woodie was good too. Stunt Fall also operated all day with no known problems so please take note Six Flags
Malcolm Marr
Awful Stunt Shows.
Keith Johnson
It reminds me of my home park, Great Adventure – queue jumping and bad attitudes.
Martin Valt
Two superb B&Ms. 1 scary Vekoma. 1 dull woodie. Thousands of Spaniards. New park attraction invented – watch this space!
Jeff Holmes
Great steelies especially Superman and Batman but not so good woodie… but the beer made up for that Hic!!!!!
Lewis Cox
Very poor park operations and very little shade from the sun, but this park is all about the coasters. Superman is a great ride with airtime, Wild Wild West is a poor ride with no airtime. Stunt Fall is entertaining… but it’s not as good as Batman.
Chris Hull
Pretty standard Six Flags operation. However saved by the advantage of having some great rides – Superman, Stunt Fall and Batman. Wild Wild West didn’t live up to its image – where’s the first drop and not exactly wild. Log flume and rapids added some relief and a lot of laughs in the heat of the day.
Jan Stoehlmacher
Good and bad this day…. The park was incredible under-staffed (a Six Flags staple?), the capacity on the rides far too low and queue-jumping seems to be a new sports-discipline in spain. But now to the good: Batman is the most intense ride of its kind, and Superman my favorite on this trip. Stunt Fall surprised me as the most impressive and best ride Vekoma ever build..had a lot of fun on this one!
Ralf Lindhorst
As ever Batman and Superman rocked the scene as two of B&M`s most intense coasters. Thanks to the almighty as Stunt Fall was finally operating and I got to ride it as it took four attempts to ride it. Park was badly understaffed and operators as well as sells-people need to adept to the English language. Crowd-control seems to be unknown at this park! Six Flags needs to change it really soon.
Keith and Judy Turnbull
Fabulous day. loved the park. greast rides. shame about the woodie.
Gary McMillan
A B&M with airtime. A class inverter, and a rapids that are great fun. A great day.
Chris Simon
Disappointing ride operation with all rides running at a fraction of their capacity on a busy Saturday, S&S combo towers not running the drop cycle (what *is* the point of that?), etc. However, 3 tremendous coasters – B&M floorless with 3 amazing airtime moments, an intense BTR clone, and a Super Invertigo. Also a log flme with a very unique element…
Andrew Masterton
Excellent Vekoma. Two words you wouldn’t expect in the same sentence but it’s true! Stunt Fall is a very enjoyable ride which is probably the highlight of the trip for me. A very good selection of water rides especially the Sea Coaster with its suprise on the reverse drop.
Stephen Knight
A well themed park with an excellent selection of rides. Great rollercoasters,and water rides. Not bad for Six Flags! Shame that some of the operations are a bit slow, and that rather a lot of visitors were queue jumping.
Stuart Milton
The park has some great coasters, notably all the steel ones. The woodie Wild Wild West, was of a lower standard and the ride turn over was very poor. The park has got excellent theming The only downer was the queue jumping which was rife.
Day 7 – Warner Brothers Movie World, Travel
Robert Harries and Lisa Rowland
Fantastic trip, not a moment wasted. Thanks to all those involved in the organisation, and especially to Justin for all his work on the trip to ensure we were in the right places at the right times. Nice to meet new people and make some new friends.
Even the smaller parks were worth the time, and a good haul of coaster credits. High light for me was Stunt Fall, as it is so different from anything else ever ridden before. See you all in Germany 2004!
Paul Orsmond
What a fantastic trip, I had an excellent time despite losing my wallet(DOH). All the parks were excellent and the ERSs were a nice surprise too despite being told we would not be getting any. The highlight for me has to be Dragon Khan. I had waited to ride this B&M for a good few years and it certainly did not disappoint me. Lastly thanks to all involved in the trip and I hope to see everyone again in Germany next year.
Darren Smith
Absolutely great trip, I enjoyed all the rides especially Dragon Khan and Superman. Thanks to everyone who organised the trip.
Mary wilkinson
Fantastic trip, thanks to everyone for their good company, and to those who supported me to do so many rides esp. Martin and Justin. Also thanks to all who were involved in organising the trip and well done Justin you are a good tour manager.
Geoff Smith
Movie World Stunt Fall VG, Batman loads of Gs. Great Parks Excellent Holiday, Cheers.
Malcolm Marr
I shot some Spaniards today………and felt no remorse. After enduring their queue jumping behaviour they deserved it! (OK, so I’ve kept my reports to 2 words so far but I feel it necessary to expand for the final report).
The trip itself has been great. Although the club has never been here before everything has gone really well and to schedule. The Albacete fair was a bonus and which gave me the high point, the caged pirate boat which was just insane.
A big thanks to all those involved in the organisation of the trip, it’s just a shame that those who did a lot of the work didn’t make the trip.
Chris “Tickle Me and I’ll Punch Your Lights Out!”
A great trip with today’s ERS on Superman ending it all off nicely. OK, shooting Jesus with a water gun on the rapids was also quite a highlight! Thanks as always to all involved for making this another memorable trip and look forward to the next one!!
Greg Pearn
Three great steel coasters going to waste in a very badly managed park!
Andy Hygate
A triumph of corporate rules and regulations over enjoyment, however the coasters were of a very high standard. My first Batman coaster! Stunt Fall delivered a clunky punch and Superman was just superb.
Lewis Cox
It’s not everyday that you find a dragon who breathes mist from its nose but is able to fight a super hero with fire when required. I didn’t find one today either.
Martin Valt
Wise-ass New York broads, haunted toilets and lots of water.
Jeff Holmes
Heeeeeey!!!!!!!! (with a New York accent) That sums it up really.
Sue Barlow
Batman best inverter with hi speed g force. Superman fun front seat flying. Must wear super-bra next time on Wild Wild West. Good trip overall.
John Musk
Madrid – what a beautiful city, and the parks are not bad either. Superman is just brilliant. You float through the inversions. Great trip!!!
Stuart ‘Chilli’ God
Many thanks to all concerned for a brilliant trip.
Jan Stoehlmacher
One week could be so short. Great parks, great people, great weather, great rides – guess how I liked the trip! Thanks go to the ones who did a really good job in organising this unique experience. Can’t wait for the next trip!
Bus Driver
Great trip but I don’t like gate posts or wing mirrors and prefer to drive my little mini-bus.
Tony Pycroft
Another Great ECC trip. As usual! Thanks to all the team especially Kev!!
Tom Marshall
What coasters! Two superb B&M’s and the fantastic Stunt Fall (Vekoma Giant Boomerang). A park with excellent theming and superb rides. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made these trip reports possible, including everyone on the trip who has made the comments, those who lent us the laptops to carry round the bus, and of course to Bill Buckley for all his work!
Linz and Darren
Fantastic day. Had great fun teaching the Superman Ride ops how to do a “proper” ERS!!! Park is very, very well themed, which is not hard when you have a host of films spanning so many eras to “theme” from! Dodgems takeover was good fun, if not a little violent, and even more amazing that we were allowed 3, yes 3 repeat rides! Very sad now, as on the way to airport to go home.
Phil Ariss
Wow! By far the best park of the trip, and the perfect way to end a wonderful week. The coasters were all stunning (excluding Wild Wild West) in particular Superman which is practically perfect (kill the trims!!). Batman was very intense and never let up, and Stunt Fall was extremely surprising and the vertical spikes make the ride what it is. My only criticism of the park is the lack of ride staff and the abundance of queue jumping. Now we are at the end of the trip, I’d like to thank all those who made it possible and for everyone on the trip who made it a lot of fun.
Rich Holmes
Superb! The perfect ending to a fantastic trip. The 2 B&Ms were very good rides, and with Superman being my first floorless I was very impressed (despite the trim brakes!). Batman was an intense inverter, and a very good one in my opinion. Stunt Fall impressed me, despite it being a Vekoma! Both front and back seats gave good rides. The theming of the overall park and queue lines were of a very high standard, and added to the whole experience. one bad point about the park is the amount of flies that are around, which got kind of annoying after a while! Also, queue jumping in Spain as a whole is very bad, and that needs sorting. Finally, thanks to everyone who organised this trip and made it possible, and also to all the other members who made the trip really good fun!!
Chris and Claire
A good end to the trip, a very nice park although a shame that it is in the Six Flags family. As you would expect some silly rules about standing well behind gates and yellow lines and loads of announcements with the Wild Wild West operators being the worst.
On the Batman Simulator we arrived in the queue just to find that some people had entered the first pre-show before they should have done, the staff made all of the people get out walk around some of the queue, wait 10 seconds before allowing them back into the first pre-show. A bit of common sense from the staff would be nice.
Two good B&M coasters with pops of airtimes on Superman. Stunt Fall was another good ride and a surprise element on the flume style ride. Sadly only one dark ride in the park, which was a haunted swing, it would have been nice for a Looney Tunes studio like in the German sister park. Overall a nice park that could do to look at the queue jumping problem and tackle it.
Richard Bannister
Some fun Six Flags Moments during our Superman ERS this morning but I still managed five rides in total, one of which was in the front. Took five rides on Riddler’s Revenge before I got assigned to the best of the three towers, but it was worth it! Thanks to Justin, Mark, and everyone else involved for organizing a superb trip. Looking forward to Japan next year!
Stuart Milton
Sadly it is the end of the trip, I am typing this on the coach to the airport. It has been a fantastic trip, all the parks have been good. Movie world was a great park, a fitting end to a great trip. Roll on the next one!
Dan Spooner
Brilliant trip. One I would love to do again.
Helen Young
I had a great trip. Red hot weather. Shame it’s all over.
Martha and Albert Amborn
Great trip. Thanks to Justin for his smooth coordination of the itinerary. Had fun making new friends and riding new coasters. Adios muchachos.
Lorna Cromarty
Excellent trip. Brilliant coasters (some!). Well organised as always.
Andrew Masterton
A short but enjoyable second day at Warner Bros. Rounded off a very enjoyable Spanish trip.
Gary McMillan
A brilliant trip. Thanks to all involved for the organisation. And thanks to Justin for making sure we were all in the right place at the right time. Roll on Germany 2004!
Stephen Knight
Another exhilarating day at Warner Bros. Thanks to all those involved in organising another superb trip. I might dry out from the rapids in the coming year.
Mick Fryer-Kelsey (for Yesterday and today)
Hi to all Club members. An end to a fantastic trip, and thanks to everyone who organised it. The park was very good for a Six Flags – well themed. Staff either idiots or too officious. The Spanish need to learn how to queue – pushing in seems to be the norm.
Keith and Judy Turnbull
What, over all ready? Special thanks to Mark and Kev for the organisation. Gentleman, it’s been emotional.
John Fidyk and Brad Haller
Superman had nice surprise airtime. Stunt Fall ran surprisingly consistently, but sadly ran as efficiently as the US versions.
Tim Herre
Goodbye sunny Spain – and good job John, Justin, Mark and Kevin. Now it’s finally back to the lovely SonjaLand. Woohoo.
Ralf Lindhorst
This goes out to the organisers of the trip. We had an excellent time – thank you guys for the trip, and everything that came along. Too bad that Mark couldn’t join us (Ed: Tim does not agree with this bit – he says the best bit of the trip was that Mark wasn’t here!). I can’t wait for the next trip to come, and hope I can make it to Japan.
Justin Garvanovic
A final note on the trip. I was a little worried about this trip. I had not really known much about the planning, so was sort of “dumped in the deep end” with regards how the trips was to go. I knew as much about the itinerary as everyone else going into it. This shouldn’t have been a problem though, as the driver would know what was happening, and I’d have the detailed itinerary, so we (the driver and I) could work out any needed changes… As those on the trip will know though, this proved to be near impossible, as the driver spoke no English. We did ask for an English speaking driver!!!
This leads me to my first “BIG THANKS”, which has to go to Majkel. Without his ability to speak some Spanish, there would have been so many problems it’s scary. We all owe Majkel a huge pat on the back, and a drink in the bar the next time we see him.
The trip, from my point of view looked like this:
Tibidabo
An amazing park. A location not bettered by any I can think of. Someone here mentioned its lack of “different rides” I believe… Well this park has more unique rides than any I can think of. The Airplane ride, the spinning arm ride, the suspended monorail are the obvious three, but there’s also the weird electric buggy thing to get you back up the hill. Unfortunately the food was just awful, and some staff had maybe studied under the Six Flags at some point… This park is so close to being something extraordinary it’s untrue. If they could sort the food out, and get one killer ride, a nice coaster using that terrain should do it, and they’d have a world class park that people would flock to.
Port Aventura
After the pre-trip hotel worry, it was great that everything with the hotel was fine. Our hotel keys also got us into the park, water park, and after 9pm, up the exits on the coasters. Personally I used this on Stampida pretty much exclusively – including a 2 hour plus session on the last night. I had ridden DK before, so Stampida was my main draw, and it lived up to expectations, especially at night. OK, it has that first drop trim brake, but I had never ridden it before, so had no point of reference. Even with the brake, it just flew, and some of the best times of the trip for me where had on that coaster. The water park was a good distraction, although is does need at least 4 more outdoor slides, and those killer indoor ones need removing!!! Someone is going to come a cropper on those pretty soon. I’ve done a lot of water slides in my time, but those are just too much. I sill have bruises. All in all the entire park was great, but it needs a new thrill ride (read coaster) pretty soon. Polynesia is looking pretty empty right now…
Terra Mitica
The way the Spanish parks reacted to a “coaster club” has already been discussed here, but a “BIG THANKS” needs to go to Daniel at Terra Mitica. It was the only park where we were treated pretty much as we are in other parks. On top of that, the park is just stunning. It features some of the best theming I have ever encountered, with maybe DisneySea just ahead of it, but not by much. The park though is screaming out for some investment. It needs some rides removing, and revamping – the odd pyramid ride is a good example. It has a fantastic transit system, but the ride itself leaves a lot to be desired. Oh, and can we have scores on the shooting game please. ‘Colossus was a lot better than I had been led to believe, it got a little rough as the day went on, but there are plenty more rougher coasters out there. I do feel that a new train would help the ride – it certainly did at WBMW Germany when they removed those trains on their coaster. The SLC was an obvious addition. Paramount has come in, seen that a new ride was needed, and got the biggest bang for their buck, in the smallest time possible. This is why the SLC is so popular, it’s cheap, looks great, and takes little ground space. Now though, some thought needs to be given to the next major attraction. Personally, I’d call Intamin and Werner Stengel, and say, “here’s a huge mountain, use it.” You could run a 450ft coaster up the side of it, save a huge amount of money on a lift structure, and then send the coaster all over the park. Keeping it low and fast (and hence cheaper), you could encircle the entire park, with the train making a spectacular showing over the front gate. Anyone going to Benidorm would see it, and be drawn, as would those from further afield. Come on Paramount, it’ll cost, but not as much as you’d think, and it would turn all eyes towards Terra Mitica.
Fair at Albacete
I would love to be able to claim that we knew of the fair before, but we didn’t. It was fortunate that we found out – and got the word out. I never went as I was just too tired – I am still am in fact! I do of course now regret not going – the standup pirate ship sounded “interesting”!!!
Parque de Atracciones
I like this park, as it appears, did a lot of others. City parks are something that few places can boast – Tivoli being one of the most famous, in fact Scandinavia is packed with them. GronaLund and Liseberg are also city parks. It’s a shame that London doesn’t have one, although it came close with Battersea Park 30 or so years ago. The park is full of charm, and great rides, hidden away in the trees. Tornado, the Intamin inverter is just fine, but I much preferred the Schwarzkopf Wildcat – one of the very first I believe. It was in great condition, and ran beautifully. I hope it stays there forever.
Warner Bros. MovieWorld
This park so wants to be Port Aventura, but falls flat in several areas. OK, so it has the entry fountain, and it has some great rides, but it’s there that the comparisons stop. The staff at the park, especially in operations, are few and far between. This is a typical Six Flags thing really – they seem to run their rides with the minimum of staff, and hence the rides operate well below their best. Stunt Fall is the obvious example here. It is a complex ride that needs a lot of staff to get the most out of it, but they use just 2. Waiting for everyone to get clear of the ride before letting others on is just plain annoying. The ride is being run well below its capacity, which is a real shame. As before, Wild Wild West was a very disappointing wooden coaster, which the Spanish seem to absolutely love. I have no idea why. It is a pretty dull ride, with no airtime, and no moments of particular interest. If my life depended on it, I could still not describe the layout. A shame really. On the plus side though, the tracking is superb, and it still runs very smoothly. For me, Superman is the best ride at the park, and was pleased we had an ERS on it, even though the staff tried to ruin it by making everyone go around the queue line for another ride!!! With some operational changes this park could really be something special, but before they do that they have to stop the queue jumping. In every queue you find someone pushing forward to meet up with their “friends” – unless the meet an non-Spanish elbow it must be said. As more and more non-Spanish tourists visit the park, this problem will grow as it will lead to fighting. They need to stamp it out now, and for this, they need more staff…
Well, there you go. Some interesting parks, some annoying parks, some fantastic parks, but I think most of all, some parks with plenty of potential that just needs to be realised. I am home now, and after sleeping and resting yesterday, I am still absolutely exhausted. I need more sleep!!!
Some final thanks:
Majkel – obviously!
Martin – for helping with the park payments.
Val Cromarty – for flying for the first time for this trip, and enjoying it.
Keith Johnson – for always being cheery.
Mary Wilkinson – for going on more coasters in one trip, than on all those before.
Tom Marshall – for coordinating all the day by day reports.
Bill Buckley – for posting all the day by day reports to the website.
Kevin O’Donovan – for the flights and coach.
Mark Riley – for the hotels.
To all the computer people, who helped collect the reports. It’s become quite an operation, and maybe next time we’ll have that wireless server!!!
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]