Tom’s 13 So Let’s Try to Do 13 Theme Parks this Year
PortAventura Part 1- Tuesday 29th May 2018

The Index is here

This was the first day of our May half term Port Aventura week - I'm writing a full trip report for this: More (Port) Adventures in Salou

What follows, is basically a cut and paste from Day 1 of the trippie (minus breakfast and our evening meal / walk on the beachfront) so if you have already read about our day, you can give this one a miss.

We made 5 visits to the park during our trip, so I have put placeholders as posts 2-5 in the thread, where I will add the other days as I get to writing them up in the main trippie

PortAventura Part 1- Tuesday 29th May 2018

After flying into Salou the night before, we were up at 7:30am and were headed down for breakfast by 8:15. This was the view from the hotel stairs across to Ferrari Land...



The weather had been forecast for last night’s rain and thunder to continue through until about Wednesday, but it was looking good so far.

After breakfast, we popped out to the nearby shops to get a few room snacks and drinks and some bottles of water to take with us and we were on our way to PortAventura by 9:35...











We had gate ready tickets (which we’d bought from ATD - £107 each for 7 day passes which gave us 4 days at PortAventura, 1 day at Ferrari Land, with access to PA on the same day and 2 days at Caribe Aquatic Waterpark). I’d printed these off at work this time, so we could head straight for the turnstiles and we were walking into the Mediterranea area by 10am on the dot...



We decided that we’d get Furious Baco (aka Furious Backache) out of the way first before the queue got too long, and as Shambhala (Shammy B) and Dragon Khan didn’t open until half past...



We paid €1 for a locker and headed up through the vineyard into the queue line where we waited about 20 minutes.

We were towards the back of the train with Rich on the right hand side outside seat and Tom and I in the barrel-side seats. Like last year, it was a good but rough ride, and the more I tried to hold my head still against the seat the more it rattled about. I could feel a head / neck ache starting straight away so nipped it in the bud with some ibruprofen as soon as we got back to the locker.

Next we walked up through Polynesia and Sesamo Aventura to China - I love how amazing these two B&M coasters look together...



We grabbed another locker for €1 and popped to the loos before getting into the Dragon Khan queue, which was nice and quick at 10 mins. This was a first ride for all of us, as Tom hadn’t fancied it in October.

My restraint was a little bit loose so I got some amazing airtime on the first 3 inversions, before it clicked in another notch on the 4th inversion – I still had a bit of room for airtime though and it was a great ride which we all enjoyed 😊

Tom was really pleased that he’d ridden Dragon Khan, but still didn’t fancy the 256 foot beauty that is Shambhala (or Shammy B as we call it since we started watching Theme Park Worldwide vlogs). Me and Rich were definitely up for it though, so we kept our locker and headed round to check out the queue time.

It was 30 minutes and we didn’t think it would be fair to leave Tom waiting on his own for that long so we decided to queue together and for Tom to just leave the queue at the end. Then we spotted what we thought was the single rider queue and decided to do that instead, so Tom went back outside the station to wait. But then we couldn’t quite work out if the single rider queue was open (as the cattle pen was a bit confusing), so we gave it up as a non-ride for this morning and headed back to find Tom. However, as the queue never went under 30 minutes for the rest of the day it would have to wait until later in the trip .

After we’d got our bags and glasses from the locker we headed round to Mexico to see what the queue time for Hurakan Condor was. As we were passing we could see that El Diablo Tren de la Mina was showing 0:00 so we headed on and literally walked straight onto the train. I was going to ride with Rich, but there was a child seat on our row so I had to move forward to sit with Tom. We all agreed that this isn’t the best Mine Train, as having 3 lift hills means that it never gets time to build up enough speed.

We arrived at Hurakan Condor at 11:20. At 330 foot, this was another ride that wouldn’t be for Tom on this trip. It was due to open at 11:30am and there were only about 20 people waiting so we joined them and Tom took the bags and grabbed a bench to wait for us. At 11:25 we saw a test drop, and then the queue line opened up and we were on the 2nd ride of the day on Tower 3 (facing out towards Reus), in the sitting down seats. It was a great view at the top, but we both agreed with Shawn on Theme Park Worldwide – the drop itself is quite disappointing, with not much force!



We were back with Tom by 11:30 and continued our mooch around Mexico. Just around the corner from Hurakan Condor we found a flat-ride that we’d missed last time – Serpiente Emplumada. None of us had any idea what this was going to be but as there was no queue we headed on. Rich clicked that it was going to be a spinny one as soon as he saw the overhead restraints – and it was quite fast. Me and Tom enjoyed it but spinny rides aren’t Rich’s cup of tea at all (pun intended). I didn't get a pic of this today, but did get it as we walked past tomorrow, so here it is...



Tomahawk was next, with a 5-10 minute wait and we were on the front 2 rows. This is a good little family woody and I love how the track interacts with Stampida (the main woody). The two ladies behind us were very confused by it, saying how disappointed they were and wondering why not all the track was used – hopefully they found Stampida and had a more exciting ride afterwards.

We were all really thirsty by now and had gotten through all of our bottles of water, so we bought a large Coke to share (€4.20) and sat in a nice little shaded / picnic area behind the drinks stand...



It was at this point that my camera battery died. I’m not sure why and can only think that I'd left it switched on at some point yesterday, so I’d have to rely on my phone for the rest of the day.

We saw that there was a bit of kids play area / shack here and encouraged Tom to have a look – Rich went with him. This turned out to be a great little labyrinth sheriff’s office and Tom enjoyed climbing and Rich even got me to have a go...





I hadn’t checked the time for a while, but it must’ve been around 12:15 by now. We decided to leave Stampida for another day and got on the train as it was waiting at Penitence Station, stopping at these water buckets to cool off on the way (another pic from later in the week, as I missed it today)...



By the time we were on the train my left (lazy) eye had been stinging and watering for about an hour. It usually hurts for the first few days on holiday, but it was the worst it has ever been today – especially since I’d topped up my suncream, as the combination of tears, cream and mascara wasn’t good. I kept my eye closed for most of the train ride and luckily my sunglasses his the half make up look that I was now rocking .

It was a great train ride and we did a full loop, I took quite a few pics, but they came out just as blurry as my vision - these are the best of a bad lot...







It was really hot by now, so we all agreed it was time for some water rides and Tom and I changed into our flip flops and the trusty FootAsylum carrier bag came out to protect our bags.

Silver Flume was the closest so was our first choice. It was technically a walk on, but we followed some other guests the wrong way in the cattle pen and couldn’t figure out the right way to go. We ended up having to climb over a few barriers to get back on track. Loads of quests were riding either shirtless (boys) or in bikinis (girls).

We had a great ride and got a really good soaking – mostly from drop 2 for me and Tom and drop 3 for Rich who was right at the back. This is a great log flume!

Grand Canyon Rapids was a walk on too – there were just the 3 of us in our dinghy and we got a few little splashes. We fancied another go, so went straight back on (this time riding with a boy and girl who looked about Tom’s age). We had a few small splashes again – it’s a good rapids, but could do with a few more Bilge Barges style features so that you get a really good soaking...



We were nice and cooled down now and decided to do a couple of shows next. We were initially heading back to Mexico for the 2pm Dance Revolution 2 show, but there was a Bang Bang Wild West at 2 too, so as it was closer we decided on that. We grabbed 2 cokes, a bucket of popcorn and a bag of Jamon Ruffles on the way in (approx. €12)...







We sat in the splash zone in the middle of the bleachers, but it looked like we’d just missed the splashy part of the pre-show. The pre-show guy was great fun and he reminded us a lot of the old pirate mime from the Clyde and Seymore show at SeaWorld. He was much more camp though and really hammed it up and had fun with the guests coming in

The show itself was really good too (probably the best of all the shows we ended up seeing during the trip). It is mostly in Spanish, but there are a few English phrases mixed in and the plot is easy to follow, and the stunts and funny / good too...





During the finale, we caught €4 of PortAventura money which made for a nice little souvenir...

<<<pic here>>>

After the show, we headed straight round to Mexico for the 3pm showing of Dance Revolution 2. This is in the Gran Teatro Maya but can also be accessed from China through the Gran Teatro Imperial entrance. We were surprised how big and professional looking it was inside this theatre. The seating was very comfortable and as we were 20 minutes early, I took the opportunity to rest my eye which was still watering off and on. Just sitting with my eyes closed for 20 minutes really helped.

The show itself was very cheesy but good, with a mix of different styles of music, dancing and acrobatics. The only downside was that the lip-syncing wasn’t the best, but the show is definitely worth seeing . Sorry, no pics, so here are a few from Google...





It was still really warm after the show (about 3:30) so we headed back to China to check out Ankghor, which is a splash battle that had been closed for maintenance during our October trip. We watched Shambhala for a few minutes on the way (the queue was still around 40 mins), and took a few more pics...





Anghkor was another walk on and we had a great time shooting water at our opponents and getting really wet. It was so good that we all headed straight back around for another go, this time choosing seats on the other side of our boat to see if it was any different. However Tom’s squirter didn't work so I let him have mine and moved round to join the family on the other side. It wasn't quite as fun for me being apart from the boys but they really enjoyed it and we were all soaked by the time we came off

Again I didn’t make a note of the time, but according to the photos it was 5:20 and we decided that now was a good time to start making our way out of the park.

Our final ride of the day was Tami Tami, the junior coaster in Sasamo Aventura, which WS ok as far an mini coasters go.

We continued making our way out via Polynesia, and stopped off for a look around Records de Port Aventura in Mediterranea to check out the merchandise. I really liked this peach hoody that I’d already seen on one of the TPWW Vlogs, and in some of the other stores during the day, and I decided that I’d probably get it later in the trip...


Rich liked a few t-shirts and mugs but didn’t see a hoody that took his fancy. We'd all decided we wanted hoodies for this 13 Theme Parks in 1 year challenge but Rich and Tom hadn't seen anything they really wanted yet. They did love the Dragon Khan mugs though.

We walked back to the hotel and arrived just after 6pm.

Coming soon - Ferrari Land, Costa Caribe Waterpark and more time at PortAventura...

Tom’s 13 So Let’s Try to Do 13 Theme Parks this Year
PortAventura Part 2 - Wednesday 30th May 2018

We spent the morning in Ferrari Land, which you can read about here...
The Ferrari Land day of our ticket included a same-day visit to PortAventura, which was open until 7pm tonight, so once we'd done everything we wanted to, we headed over at 3:30.

There was a 4pm BubbleBau show in China, so we headed straight there, taking a few photos on the way...





This photo looks like Rich and Tom are having a sweet father & son moment here, but they were actually mucking around...









It was getting quite hot by now, so we had a bit of a water fight on the way...



Tom and I changed into our shorts and we all topped up our sun spray before heading into the Temple Magic Ling Chow theatre at 3:50...





The show was really good – just one man, a few silent gestures, lighting and a lot of different ways to make bubbles...





It was still very hot when we came out of the theatre, so we headed round to Tutuki Splash next. It was about a 10-15 min wait, but it was worth it as we got soaked on the front row...







We watched a few boats go down the drop and then headed for Dino Escape 4D (via the loo for the boys).

This was a first-time ride as back in October this ride had been rethemed as REC as part of the Halloween theming. The theming in the queuing area was quite good...





I was expecting something a bit like Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, but we actually went through to a simulator style vehicle with a big screen. The story and 3D were ok, but it wasn’t quite up to Universal standards. Not a bad effort though .

We walked back up to China...







Shambhala was still showing as a 40-50 minute queue, so we wouldn’t be riding again today – definitely a head to it at park opening ride for us, we agreed.

Instead we decided that the 20-minute wait for Stampida would be better, so we had a nice walk through Mexico and stopped off to do the Mirror Maze next door to Hurakan Condor - you have to wear plastic gloves for this - it was fairly underwhelming!

We gave Hurrakan Condor a miss...





We carried on round to Far West and headed on at 5:45, choosing the Red track...





Whilst we were waiting we watched and waved to lots of cast members from the water park and Horror in Texas scare maze walking out via the back road at the end of their shift

We got the back row and it was fab – rough and rickety but Tom and I both think it’s a much better woody than Wicker Man at Alton Towers. Our red train won the race too !

It was starting to get a bit cooler by now, so I decided I was definitely going to buy my hoody for the walk back to the hotel.

We were mooching back through Far West when we spotted the parade vehicles about to come out of the gate just near to the Rapids. We were surprised to see an empty bench, so grabbed it and it was just a few minutes until the first float came out.

However, it turned out that the parade music didn’t start until the floats and dancers got to a bit further down, so we didn’t get the full effect – we sat and watched it all though and there was lots of waving and interaction, and it was good to see the stars of the various shows as well as Woody and the Sesame Street characters...







We followed Elmo down to Medditerranea, where it was a bit more crowded, and we could hear the cheesy but very catchy song now. A random kid stood on the back of my flip flop and pulled out the thong , so I had to hobble along for a bit whilst I fixed it.

We followed the parade right round to the stage area near the entrance. Most people were leaving the park and Rich was heading that way too, but I knew that there was a little Woody Stage show to finish things off, and we got to the front for the stage for that...



I wanted to go into Records de PortAventura for my hoody, but it was too crowded to double back on ourselves. I hoped I’d be able to get it in the little shop outside, and luckily they had a few and one in my size - €32.95 + 5c for a bag. I paid on my card and was able to pay in GBP which was handy. I put it staright on for the walk back as there was a slight nip in the air.



We were walking out of the park just before 7pm and arrived back at the hotel by 7:20, where I took a balcony selfie in my new hoodie...



Although we only had a couple of hours in the park today it was a great afternoon

Tom’s 13 So Let’s Try to Do 13 Theme Parks this Year
PortAventura Part 3 - Friday 1st June

We left the hotel a bit later than planned this morning at 9:45. Even so, we still made it to the gates by 10:10, which was ok as Shambhala was opening at 10:30.

We powerwalked to China, getting to Shambhala by 20-past and Tom found a bench to wait with our bags whilst Rich and I headed on. We didn’t have to wait too long and made it onto the 3rd train of the day, around 2/3 towards the back and in the inside pair of seats. It was absolutely amazing! So many airtime hills, fast, exciting and we both agreed that it was our number 1 coaster EVER!



We met back up with Tom and headed for Dragon Khan, via the loos...







Dragon Khan was about a 20-minute wait and we had another great ride, with Tom coming off saying that it was his number 1 coaster. When we got off, Rich told us that he’d had a wasp between his back and the seat for the first part of the ride – I looked, and he had a red mark where it had stung him!

It was already hot, so we headed over to Angkhor...







We had 2 rides in a row, getting a boat to ourselves on the second go, so we could keep running around to work both sides for maximum squirting and lots of fun! It was my turn to get bitten this time, possibly by a mosquito as it got very itchy later...









It was 12:15 by now and, as we were already wet, we headed to Tutuki Splash via Sesamo Adventure. As we were passing, Tom and I decided to have a go on El Salto de Bla, which is a funny little parachute drop where you have to pull yourself up with a rope – it was quite hard work but good fun...











We were on the back row for Tutuki Splash and had another good soaking.

It was 1pm by now and Tom was hungry. We decided to ride Kontiki (the pirate ship) first though as we all thought it would be better on an empty stomach . We were on with a fairly big school group, and the operator had to stop our ride for a few seconds because one of the girls was using her phone! Really?

We ended up back in China in search of food and stopped at Altai as we liked the look of the toasted sandwiches they were selling. Rich and I both went for Cheese & Ham and Tom had Bacon & Cheese. We also had a large Coke and a bag of Elmo cheese-puffs to share, and it came to €20...









We found a nice shaded area to eat and chilled out a bit until 1:40. We were looking at the show times whilst we were eating and decided on the 2pm showing of Los Rituales Mexicanos, so we walked around to Mexico...



I stopped for a quick pic with Betty Boop on the way, as no one was taking any interest in her and I felt a bit sorry for the cast member making an effort to wave at guests walking by...

<<<pic here>>>

We got to the theatre / canteen a few minutes early. We had to buy something as it was a dinner show, so we just got a Large Coke to share from the bar (€4.20). It was a pretty area, but quite noisy as lots of school groups were eating their lunch...



The show was ok – a mix of fire dancing, a contortionist and lots of singing and dancing...







After the show, we mooched our way around to Far West, seeing Mexican Woody & Winnie on the way...





Stampida was only a 10-minute wait so we headed on, going for the blue train this time. It was a lot rougher than the red train the other day, but still great and Tom decided that this was actually his number 1 coaster (ahead of Dragon Khan).

We continued mooching around Far West for a bit...





Tom and I had a ride on the Carousel...





I met Woody...



Then Rich and Tom had a go on the Shooting Gallery (€1 each), which they both said wasn’t very good...





We had a slow stroll back around to Mediterannea...













...and we were out of the park by 3:30. It was a hard walk back to the hotel this afternoon – it was hot, my legs were tired, and I was thirsty and we were all tired by the time we got back to the hotel .

Tom’s 13 So Let’s Try to Do 13 Theme Parks this Year
PortAventura Part 4 - Sunday 3rd June 2018

We'd spent a (drizzly) morning at the beach and mooching around town, and got back at the hotel for 2:15pm. After a quite rest until 3pm, we got ready for the parks and headed out at 3:40pm, arriving at PortAventura by 4pm...



Rich had brought his iPad out today to get some photos, so we took our time ambling around, stopping for lots of photos ops…













We watched the 4:30pm Can-Can show in Far west, ordering some Nachos, chicken Fingers and a Large Coke to share whilst we watched (€14.50)…

The food was ok (sorry no pics) and the show was good, the pics don’t do it justice as it was quite dark…









After the show, I met cowboy Woody and Winnie, and we watched the characters from the Bang Bang Stunt Show doing some funny sketches…







It was 5pm by now and time for some rides. We did Yucatan in Mexico first – this was hilarious as the centrifugal forces were making Rich crush into me and he was trying so hard not to – we laughed all the way through…













Then me and Tom had a ride on Los Portrillos.

Next was Dragon Khan for all of us, which was only a 10-minute queue, followed by a single-rider go each on Shambhala for me and Rich (we really do love this ride)…









It was 7pm by now and Tom wanted a go on Ankhor, so I went on with him whilst Rich looked after the bags and took more pics on his iPad. I got bitten again – the water must attract the beasties .

Into the SesamoAventura area next, where Tom and I went on Magic Fish, which was really good for a kiddie ride, and we also did El Salto de Blas as it was good fun last time .

We were all done by now, but had a good mooch around Records de Port Aventura on the way out, and the boys got a Dragon Khan mug each (€21 for the two)…







A quick change back at the hotel…



…and we headed down to KFC for tea tonight (we do love a KFC). We got there at 9:15 and ordered a mix of chicken strips, pieces, fries and mash – costing approx. €21…





We had intended to pop down for a quick drink at the Cocktail bar that Jonny at Roadshouse had told us about last night, but we were all shattered so decided to head back to the hotel, stopping at the Simply convenience store on the way...



We got some cans of pop for tomorrow, plus some M&Ms for Tom and a few biccies (€5), and were back to our room by 10:30pm...



I spent an hour getting most of the packing sorted, as we were going home tomorrow . Then had a quick social catch up and wrote some brief notes about our day until midnight.

Tom’s 13 So Let’s Try to Do 13 Theme Parks this Year
PortAventura Part 5 - Monday 4th June 2018

Today was our last day . But our flight wasn’t until 9pm, so we still had a whole day to enjoy the parks ...



Tom and I went down for a quick breakfast at 8:10am, back to the room at half-past for a last-minute sweep and toiletries in the case, and we were ready to check out just after 9am, leaving our luggage in the hotel storage area.

We made our final walk up to PortAventura, getting there just after 10am. The queue for Furious Baco (back-ache) was only 10 mins, so Tom and I went on. I didn’t bother putting my bum-bag in the locker (as Rich had the valuables), so managed to get a few pics in the queue-line…





We were on the back row, and it wasn’t too bad on my back or neck this time, so I enjoyed it more ...











We walked up to China for a single-rider go on Shambhala each for me and Rich (Tom still wasn’t feeling the mega-coaster love just yet).

We were all going to go on Dragon Khan next..



...but it was a 30-minute queue. Tom said he wasn’t too bothered about going on, so we left it and walked over to El Diablo (Tren de la Mina). It wasn’t open yet (11am), so we mooched around Mexico for half an hour, grabbing a bottle of Coke to share (€3.20), and Tom bought a key-ring (€4.95)…







At 11:25am there was no queue for Hurakan Condor (which opened at 11:30am), so I jumped in and was first on – I went for the stand-up tower, which was a bit better than the sit-down ride earlier in the week, but still not very forceful…



As we were nearby, Tom and I had a go on Serpentia Emplumada – Rich gave it a miss as he really didn’t enjoy the spinning earlier in the week ...



We mooched round to Far West to ride Stampida next, but it wasn’t running .

It was 11:55am and, having skipped breakfast, Rich was quite hungry, so we walked over the The Steak House, but it wasn’t serving until 12:30pm...



We filled the time by having a go on Silver Flume, which had a 20-minute queue…





After, we headed straight back to The Steak House – the boys had burgers, I had a chicken skewer and we shared a large Coke (€29)…







I enjoyed mine, but Rich wasn’t mega fussed. The entertainment was a bit like a mini Country Bears Jamboree (even though we’ve never actually seen it on 6 Disney trips )…





We headed back over to Stampida after lunch...



It was still down, but the cast members were giving signs that it wouldn’t be long, so we rested in the shade for about 10-minutes. They eventually opened the queue line, so Tom and I joined the little crowd of waiting guests and we were held at the red and blue wagons whilst they ran a couple of test trains. Some of the waiting guests were very loud and annoying .

Eventually the queue opened properly, and we chose the blue line and we were on the first train, which they only filled the front 4 rows of (leaving the loud annoying guests to wait for the next train ).

After, we met back up with Rich and we walked back up towards China, stopping off for a ride on El Diablo (Tren de la Mina)…





Then it was time for a final single-rider go each on Shambhala for me and Rich. I went first, and then hung around the station to get some shots of Rich on the train…





It was then time to say Adios to our favourite ride ...



We walked through SasamoAventura and stopped for a Coke (€3.20) in Polynesia. Tom fancied a ride on Dino Escape 4D, so he and I left Rich to rest and went on…







After, we all chilled in the shade until 4pm when it was finally time to make our way out of the park for the final time ...

















We stopped off at Michelangelo's for some sandwich and picky bits for tea and were back at the hotel by 5:30pm, where we chilled in the lobby until it was time for our taxi to the airport at 7pm

Part 3 now added

Please help...why would you need PLASTIC GLOVES for a theme park attraction?

I straight-up never knew that there was a massive theme park in that part of Spain! That would only be a six or seven hour drive for us. I did float the idea past R.C... he made non-committal "hmm" noises and mumbled about no-one in our family "liking motorcars".

It looks really good, too - though every time I read about the price of a Coke...I cry a little.

I think it's an attempt to keep the mirrors fingerprint free, but was quite bizarre.

We all really rate PortAventura - I'd say it's my second favourite park of all time (just behind Islands of Adventure). It's so well themed, and being so accessible for us means that we'll definitely be back many times.

We are currently planning a few days just me and Rich in June, as Tom's going on a week-long school trip to Barcelona (which includes 1 day in the park) - we're keep teasing that we are going to try and find him on the day

I think I've read a trippie before where another Dibber got a train from Paris to Barcelona - could that be a way to persuade RC?

The other big pull for us, is how great value the tickets are compared to the Florida parks. It balances off the expensive Coke

We're down near Avignon and not up near Paris - we could easily drive it (it's almost all autoroute) in 6 or 7 hours. It's not the journey that bothers Hubby...it's the destination.

Perhaps I should do what I did the first time we went to Florida. I booked the flights, the car, the hotels...and then just told R.C. that we were going and gave him the dates for his diary.


Me: I went to Florida as a kid; I want [Poot] to have that experience, too.

Him: Um...OK?


I'm a bad wife.


And AH - mirrors. Not in a million years would I have guessed that. Perhaps they should hand those out at WDW for that disgusting Wall of Germs (The Honey Wall?) in the queue for Winnie the Pooh.