Slogan Parks & Resort General Manager Sergio Feder Opened 1 May 1995 | Owner InvestIndustrial Operating season | |
Previous names Port AventuraUniversal's Port AventuraUniversal Studios PortAventuraPortAventura Rides Profiles |
Portaventura world theme park holidays with barrhead travel
PortAventura World ([ˌpɔrtəβənˈtuɾə]) is an entertainment resort in the south of Catalonia, in Salou, Tarragona, Spain; on the Costa Daurada. It was built around the PortAventura theme park, which attracts around 4 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in Spain. PortAventura Park is also the 6th most visited theme park in Europe. The resort will include a second theme park, Ferrari Land, from 2017 and also includes PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park and six hotels. It is the biggest resort in the south of Europe. It has two airports within 30 minutes of it, including Reus Airport. There is a train station for PortAventura which has connections to Barcelona and Salou.
Contents
- Portaventura world theme park holidays with barrhead travel
- Areas
- Mediterrnia
- Far West
- Mxico
- China
- Shows
- Polynesia
- SsamoAventura
- Ferrari Land
- PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park
- Rides
- Kids rides
- Seasonal events
- Summer Nights
- Resort hotels
- References
It was conceived and built as a joint effort by a Spanish Consortium and Anheuser-Busch (Busch Entertainment Corporation). When some of the Spanish Partners left the consortium the Tussauds Group replaced them as investors, finished the development and became the first operators. In 1997, Universal bought up most shares in the park and the park was rebranded as 'Universal's Port Aventura'. In 2000, two hotels and a water park (Costa Caribe) were constructed, and the resort was further rebranded as 'Universal Mediterranea'. In 2004, NBC Universal (Universal Studios' parent) sold all interest in PortAventura. It is now owned and operated by La Caixa banking group's investment vehicle Criteria, but as of 2005 the Universal name has been dropped from the branding, and the resort was once again named 'PortAventura' (the space in the name is deliberately left out for trademark reasons). In December 2013 KKR picks up 49.9% stake in PortAventura from Investindustrial that still owns 50.1%.
The second theme park, Ferrari Land, is planned to be inaugurated on April 7, 2017.
Areas
The park features five theme areas based on civilizations (Mediterrània, Far West, México, China and Polynesia), and one theme area based on Sesame Street, which was opened for the 2011 season of the park.
Mediterrània
Mediterrània is the main entrance area of the park it features three rides but there are several restaurants and shops reproducing a typical coastal town in Catalonia.
Attractions
Shows
Far West
Themed as an old wild west town, this area features many western buildings and sculptures. The area boasts nine attractions which makes it the biggest area in the park. Other attractions in this area includes a wild west version of Break Dance ride and Dodgems.
The area is also home to these thrill rides:
México
This area is themed exclusively on pre-Columbian Mexico, Mayan Mexico. It features temples, statues and a Great Piramide that is the entrance to the Gran Teatro Maya, the biggest show zone of the park.
Attractions
Shows
China
China is one of the biggest theme lands of the park – The area includes a Chinese buffet called Marco Polo with a good range of dishes available. The main path through the area is themed in the same style as the Great Wall of China.
The rides are:
Shows
Polynesia
The Polynesian area is different from the other rides in the park as it is a more laid back area with less thrilling rides. Polynesia is home to two shows and a few attractions. Polynesia is one of the smallest themed areas.
The two main rides in the area are:
SésamoAventura
Themed to the Sesame Street characters, this area is aimed for the younger visitors of the park. It opened for the 2011 season, and it was built between China and Polynesia in former lands of the Polynesia area, maintaining some of its attractions. The investment was around €12 million. PortAventura joined Universal Studios Japan and Busch Gardens with an area dedicated to Sesame Street, being the only theme park in Europe.[3]
It is home to 11 rides including:
The shows: It is also home to two shows and street animation starring Ernie, Bert, Elmo and company.
Ferrari Land
InvestIndustrial and Ferrari signed a deal to build a new area themed to the Italian sports car brand in the PortAventura resort covering 75,000 m2, including new rides, a 250-room hotel, designed by Creative Kingdom Inc. with restaurants, shops and car racing simulators. Ferrari Land will be a new theme park, separate from PortAventura Park. Its entrance will be adjacent to PortAventura Park's main entrance. The Mediterranean theme will be common to both entrances, as Ferrari Land will also be inspired by Italy, including recreations of Venice's Piazza San Marco and Rome's Colosseum. The main ride of Ferrari Land will be a 112 m tall vertical accelerator coaster that will surpass Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya as the tallest coaster in Europe and will also be the fastest coaster in Europe. The park is expected to open on April 7, 2017, after an investment of more than €100 million.
Ferrari Land will be the second amusement centre themed to Ferrari in the world, after Ferrari World theme park in Abu Dhabi.
PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park
PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park is a water park which is adjacent to PortAventura Park. It has an area of 50,000 m2, which includes 16 attractions and slides, as well as over 8,500 m2 of water-covered surface area. It is themed to the Caribbean, with beaches, palm trees, and Latin and reggae music, and it also includes shops and restaurants.
Rides
Kids rides
Seasonal events
During seasonal events like summer nights, Halloween (September–November) and Christmas (November–January), PortAventura Park opens seasonal walkaround rides or shows, including the mazes: [REC], Horror in Penitence, La Selva del Miedo and the nighttime Halloween show Horror en el Lago.
Summer Nights
Resort hotels
The resort features six thematic hotels: