PortAventura World facts for kids
| Previously known as * Universal Mediterranea (2002–2004) * PortAventura (2005–2012) * PortAventura: European Destination Resort (2013–2015) |
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| Location | Salou and Vila-seca, Catalonia, Spain |
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| Coordinates | 41°05′13″N 1°09′26″E / 41.086839°N 1.157272°E |
| Opened | 13 June 2002 (resort) 1 May 1995 (first park) |
| Owner | Investindustrial KKR |
| Operated by | Investindustrial |
| General manager | Sergio Feder |
| Slogan | Parks & Resort |
| Operating season | Spring through winter |
| Attendance | 5.2 million (2019) |
| Area | 119 ha 294 acres |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 53 |
| Roller coasters | 9 |
| Water rides | 5 |
PortAventura World is a super fun entertainment place in Salou and Vila-seca, Spain. It's located on the beautiful Costa Daurada in Catalonia. This huge resort grew around the PortAventura Park theme park.
PortAventura Park is super popular! It gets about 3.5 million visitors every year. This makes it the most visited theme park in Spain. It's also the sixth most visited theme park in all of Europe.
In 2017, something new opened: Ferrari Land! With this new park, the whole place changed its name to PortAventura World. Now, the resort has three theme parks, six hotels, a big meeting center, and even a place for RVs. It's easy to get there too! Reus Airport is only 15 minutes away. Barcelona Airport is about an hour away. There's even a train station, Salou-Port Aventura, just 750 meters from the entrance.
Contents
History of PortAventura World
When the original Port Aventura first opened in 1995, different companies owned parts of it. These included The Tussauds Group and La Caixa.
In 1998, Universal Studios bought most of the shares. The park was then renamed 'Universal's Port Aventura'. This made it the first Universal Studios theme park in Europe!
Growing the Resort
In 2002, the resort got even bigger. A water park called Costa Caribe was built. Two new hotels, Hotel PortAventura and Hotel El Paso, also opened. The whole place was then called 'Universal Mediterranea'.
However, in 2004, Universal Studios sold its part of PortAventura. The park went back to being called 'PortAventura' in 2005. They even removed the space in the name for trademark reasons! By 2009, the resort welcomed over 3.3 million visitors.
New Owners and New Parks
In 2013, a company called KKR bought a big part of PortAventura. Another company, Investindustrial, still owned most of it. In 2016, the resort changed its name again to 'PortAventura World Parks & Resort'.
The second theme park, Ferrari Land, opened on April 7, 2017. Also in 2017, PortAventura Dream Village opened. This special place offers vacations for guests with extra needs.
PortAventura Park: A World of Adventure
PortAventura Park has five cool areas, each based on a different part of the world. These are Mediterrània, Far West, México, China, and Polynesia. There's also a fun area based on Sesame Street! Mediterrània is where you enter the park.
Main Rides at PortAventura Park
- Furius Baco: This super-fast roller coaster opened in 2007. It can go up to 135 km/h (83.9 mph)!
- Stampida: A thrilling wooden roller coaster with two tracks that race each other.
- Tomahawk: A smaller, faster wooden roller coaster that runs next to Stampida.
- Silver River Flume: A classic log flume ride where you splash down into the water.
- Grand Canyon Rapids: Get ready to get wet on this whitewater river rapids ride!
- Hurakan Condor: This is a giant drop tower ride. It's one of the tallest in the world, at 330 feet (100 meters) high!
- El Diablo – Tren de la Mina: A mine train roller coaster that goes about 60 km/h (37 mph).
- Dragon Khan: This roller coaster used to hold the record for having the most loops (8 inversions). It's a very popular ride and was one of the first roller coasters when the park opened.
- Shambhala: This huge roller coaster broke three European records! It was the fastest (134 km/h) and tallest (76 meters) roller coaster in Europe. It also had the longest drop at 78 meters.
- Angkor: A big splash battle ride that opened in 2014. It's themed like the ancient Angkor ruins.
- Tutuki Splash: A water ride where you go down a big drop, themed like an erupting volcano.
- Tami Tami: A fun roller coaster just for kids.
- Street Mission: An interactive ride where you help Sesame Street characters on a mission.
Ferrari Land: Speed and Style
Ferrari Land is the second theme park at PortAventura World. It's all about the famous Italian sports car brand, Ferrari! This park covers 60,000 square meters. It has exciting rides, restaurants, shops, and even car racing simulators.
Ferrari Land opened on April 7, 2017. It cost over €100 million to build! The entrance to Ferrari Land is right next to PortAventura Park's main entrance. The park looks like Italy, with parts that remind you of Venice and Rome.
Main Rides at Ferrari Land
The most exciting ride at Ferrari Land is Red Force. This roller coaster is 112 meters tall! It's even taller than Shambhala, making it the tallest roller coaster in Europe. It's also the fastest roller coaster in Europe! In 2018, Ferrari Land added a special area just for kids.
Ferrari Land is only the second amusement park in the world themed to Ferrari. The first one is Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.
Exciting Rides and Attractions
Roller Coasters
| Name | Manufacturer | Speed | Height | Length | Location | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shambhala | Bolliger & Mabillard | 134 km/h (83 mph) | 76 m (249 ft) | 1,649 m (5,410 ft) | China | 2012 |
| Dragon Khan | Bolliger & Mabillard | 105 km/h (65 mph) | 45 m (148 ft) | 1,270 m (4,165 ft) | China | 1995 |
| Furius Baco | Intamin | 135 km/h (83.9 mph) | 4.6 m (15 ft) | 850 m (2,789 ft) | Mediterrània | 2007 |
| Junior Red Force | SBF Visa Group | 45 km/h (28 mph) | Unknown | Unknown | Ferrari Land | 2018 |
| Red Force | Intamin | 180 km/h (112 mph) | 112 m (367 ft) | 880 m (2,887 ft) | Ferrari Land | 2017 |
| Stampida | CCI | 74 km/h (46 mph) | 26 m (84 ft) | 950 m (3,127 ft) | Far West | 1997 |
| Tomahawk | CCI | 48 km/h (30 mph) | 13 m (44 ft) | 440 m (1,444 ft) | Far West | 1997 |
| El Diablo – Tren de la Mina | Arrow Dynamics | 60 km/h (37 mph) | 16 m (54 ft) | 1,007 m (3,306 ft) | México | 1995 |
| Tami Tami | Vekoma | 35 km/h (21.7 mph) | 8.5 m (28 ft) | 207 m (679 ft) | SésamoAventura | 1998 |
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Furius Baco
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Red Force
Other Fun Rides
| Name | Manufacturer | Height | Speed | Length | Location | Opened |
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| Kon-tiki Wave | HUSS Park Attractions | 20 m (66 ft) | Unknown | Unknown | Polynesia | 1995 |
| Serpiente Emplumada | Schwarzkopf | 3 m (9.8 ft) | Unknown | Unknown | México | 1995 |
| Yucatán | Mack Rides | – | 13 revolutions per minute | Unknown | México | 1995 |
| Hurakan Condor | Intamin | 100 m (330 ft) | 115 km/h (71.4 mph) | 113 m (370 ft) | México | 2005 |
| Maranello Grand Race | C&S | – | Unknown | 570 m (1,870 ft) | Ferrari Land | 2017 |
| Thrill Towers | S&S Worldwide | 55 m (180 ft) | Unknown | Unknown | Ferrari Land | 2017 |
| Street Mission | Sally Corporation, ETF | – | Unknown | Unknown | SésamoAventura | 2019 |
Water Rides
| Name | Manufacturer | Speed | Height | Length | Location | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tutuki Splash | Intamin | 56 km/h (35 mph) | 14 m (45 ft) | 438 m (1,438 ft) | Polynesia | 1995 |
| Silver River Flume | Mack Rides | 56 km/h (35 mph) | 15 m (50 ft) | 690 m (2,260 ft) | Far West | 1995 |
| Grand Canyon Rapids | Intamin | 16 km/h (10 mph) | – | 850 m (2,800 ft) | Far West | 1995 |
| Canoes | Zamperla | 16 km/h (10 mph) | – | 850 m (2,800 ft) | Polynesia | 1995 |
| Angkor | Mack Rides | 16 km/h (10 mph) | – | 850 m (2,800 ft) | China | 2014 |
Motion Picture Rides
| Name | Manufacturer | Height | Length | Location | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dino Scape 4D | Thinkwell Group, Universal Creative | 2 m (6.6 ft) | Unknown | Polynesia | 2000 |
| Flying Dreams | Brogent | Unknown | Unknown | Ferrari Land | 2017 |
| Racing Legends | Simworx | Unknown | Unknown | Ferrari Land | 2017 |
| Street Mission | Sally Corp, ETF Ride Systems | Unknown | Unknown | SésamoAventura | 2019 |
PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park: Splash into Fun!
PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park is a fantastic water park right next to PortAventura Park. It's a huge area of 50,000 square meters! It has 16 different attractions and slides. More than 8,500 square meters of the park are covered in water!
The park is themed like the Caribbean. You'll find sandy beaches, tall palm trees, and hear Latin and reggae music. There are also shops and restaurants to enjoy.
Water Park Rides
- King Khajuna: Europe's tallest free-fall slide! It's 31 meters high and has a super steep 55-degree drop. Opened in 2013.
- Ciclón Tropical: A fun MultiBUMP slide that opened in 2013.
- Rapid Race: A fast ProRacer slide that also opened in 2013.
- The Mambo and Limbo: Two twisty corkscrew waterslides that opened in 2002.
- El Tifón: Two body waterslides that opened in 2002.
- El Río Loco: A relaxing lazy river where you float along. Opened in 2002.
- El Torrente: A big river ride where you go down in four-person tubes. Opened in 2002.
- Barracudas: A pair of tube slides where you ride in two-person tubes. Opened in 2002.
Kids Rides at the Water Park
- Zona Indoor with Junior Slides: An indoor play area with a pool and slides. Opened in 2002.
- La Laguna de Woody: A fun play area themed around Woody Woodpecker. Opened in 2002.
Resort Hotels: Stay and Play!
PortAventura World has six amazing themed hotels where you can stay:
- PortAventura Hotel PortAventura: Has a lovely Mediterranean theme (4-star).
- PortAventura Hotel Caribe: Feels like a Caribbean getaway (4-star).
- PortAventura Hotel El Paso: Designed with a cool Mexican theme (4-star).
- PortAventura Hotel Gold River (including 'The Callaghan's'): Takes you back to the Wild West (4-star).
- PortAventura Hotel Colorado Creek: A rustic Western-themed hotel (4-star).
- PortAventura Hotel Mansión de Lucy: A fancy Victorian-style Western hotel (5-star).
- Hotel Ferrari: A future hotel with a Ferrari theme (5-star).
Seasonal Events: Fun All Year Round!
PortAventura Park hosts special events during different seasons. These events often have unique shows and attractions.
Halloween Fun
From September to November, the park celebrates Halloween! You can find spooky mazes like [REC], Horror in Penitence, and La Selva del Miedo. There's also a scary nighttime show called Horror en el Lago.
Christmas Magic
From November to January, the park transforms for Christmas! You can enjoy special shows like PortAventura Christmas World and Cuento de Navidad, which features amazing ice skaters. There's also a family area just for Christmas. Don't miss the Christmas Parade and the arrival of the Three Kings helpers with a fireworks show!
See also
In Spanish: PortAventura World para niños
- Incidents at European amusement parks
