| Thoughts

PortAventura is a modern theme park built entirely from scratch set in five different lands each themed to a different region of the world, the lavish amount of themeing and landscaping create some extremely absorptive environments

The realistic rather than fantasy approach helps to keep the experience more believable and feel more genuine, offering guests a more refreshing escape from their everyday reality

A great amount of thought has gone into the design of the park, the very large walkways and plazas are more than capable of handling the high volumes of guests, while there is often a side path or distraction to keep the experience interesting and add a sense of exploration to the park

The main attractions are well spaced throughout, supported by clusters of well presented flat rides and shows all which work together to effectively ensure good crowd management and that waiting in line will be kept to a minimum

Explorers embark on their voyage through a Mediterranean style Port, rather than a traditional linear "main street" park entrance, PortAventura has very much broken away from the customary Disney-esque theme park mould, zigzagging the entrance through a village and around the side of a focal lake which in the evening comes alive with an explosive fireworks show

Furius Baco exploded into PortAventura in 2007, waking the quaint sleepy harbour themed entrance area. From the moment that mischievous monkey pulls the lever, the trains soar like winged beasts, low to the ground, boring down into the arid terrain and rolling over the vineyard terrace before a graceful g heavy glide over the lake. Baco is brutal but breathtakingly brilliant.

Tall trees, dramatic rocks and charming cascades fuse to create the exotic jungles of the Polynesia, the two big rides making a splash in this area are the Sea Odyssey an amazingly well presented simulator and the Tutuki Splash a chutes ride around a volcano, also nestled away in the far corner is the Tami-Tami a thrilling junior coaster twisting around a lush feature pond.

Onwards to China, after a very uphill climb, explorers reach the first tier of the land which contains a small collection of family rides and an adventure playground for children, continuing onto the upper most level of the park which is home to the legendary Dragon Khan

In the age of launched and gimmick coasters, it's almost refreshing to ride to a traditional sitdown looping coaster, clanking up the ominous chain lift really builds the tension to fever pitch as you reach the top and take a wonderful sweeping turn, which gives you a chance to appreciate how high up your really are and a beautiful view out towards the Mediterranean Sea. But it doesn't last too long as you lunge down the straight first drop into a breathtaking huge loop followed by some wonderful large sweeping smooth inversions, eight in total, Dragon Khan is fast, intense, exhilarating ride that still can warm the heart of any thrill seeker

Mexico is the next stop on PortAventura's world tour, it really is a land of extremes from the insane 300ft freefall of Hurakan Condor to the milder thrills of the El Diablo family mine coaster, the great rides are overshadowed by the immersive Templo del Fuego an explosive inferno of special fx, which leads adventurers deep into a temple putting them in eyebrow singeing proximity to the fiery action that unfolds

Far West is the final land and brings alive the spirit of the American west with an impressive western street set, stunt shows and Stampida a twin track rampaging wooden coaster in which the two side by side tracks furiously race and duel their way to the finish line. The western adventure continues into the Grand Canyon where you'll find two of the park's water rides, the Sliver River log flume and the churning white water of the Grand Canyon Rapids

The breath-taking attractions and awe-inspiring themeing make PortAventura one of the most immersive and impressive theme parks in Europe