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PortAventura World is an entertainment resort in Salou and Vila-seca, Tarragona, on the
Costa Daurada The Costa Daurada (, es, Costa Dorada, meaning in English "Golden Coast") is an area on the coast of Catalonia, Spain, between Cunit and Alcanar on the Mediterranean Sea. Its traditional banks are the deltas of the Foix and Ebro rivers, althoug ...
in
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
. It was built around the PortAventura Park
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
, which attracts around 3.5 million visitors per year, making it the most visited theme park in Spain and the sixth most visited theme park in Europe. The resort includes a second theme park, Ferrari Land, since 2017 and also includes PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park, five hotels, a convention centre and an RV park. It is the biggest resort in the south of Europe which attracts around five million visitors per year.
Reus Airport Reus Airport is located by the beaches of Costa Daurada, equidistant in relation to the town of Constantí and the city of Reus and approximately from the city centre of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The airport receives a large amount of tour ...
lies within 15 minutes driving distance and Barcelona Airport within one hour. The train station ''Salou - Port Aventura'' is 750m from the resort entrance, and is served by line R17 trains to Barcelona and Tarragona.


History

When
Port Aventura A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
opened in 1995 in Salou, The Tussauds Group owned 40.0% of the park while
La Caixa La Caixa, also known as the "La Caixa" Foundation ( es, Fundación ”la Caixa”), is a not-for-profit banking foundation based in Catalonia. Originally a savings bank (''caja''), it reorganized in the 2000s and 2010s: Its commercial assets are ...
had 33.2%,
Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...
had 19.9%, and FECSA had 6.7%. In 1998 the majority of Tussauds Group's shares in the park were sold to
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...
and the park was rebranded as 'Universal's Port Aventura', which made it the first Universal Studios Theme Park in Europe. In 2002, a water park (''Costa Caribe'') and two hotels (''Hotel PortAventura'' and ''Hotel El Paso'') were constructed, and the resort was further rebranded as 'Universal Mediterranea'. In 2004,
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primar ...
(Universal Studios' parent) sold all interest in PortAventura. It is owned and operated by
La Caixa La Caixa, also known as the "La Caixa" Foundation ( es, Fundación ”la Caixa”), is a not-for-profit banking foundation based in Catalonia. Originally a savings bank (''caja''), it reorganized in the 2000s and 2010s: Its commercial assets are ...
banking group's investment vehicle
Criteria Criterion, or its plural form criteria, may refer to: General * Criterion, Oregon, a historic unincorporated community in the United States * Criterion Place, a proposed skyscraper in West Yorkshire, England * Criterion Restaurant, in London, En ...
, 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 2009, the resort hosted 3,310,000 visitors. In December 2013,
private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
firm
KKR KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...
picked up 49.9% stake in PortAventura from Investindustrial, which still owned 50.1%. In 2016 the resort was renamed as 'PortAventura World Parks & Resort'. The second theme park, Ferrari Land, was inaugurated on 7 April 2017. PortAventura Dream Village, an exclusive vacation for guests with additional needs, opened in 2017.


PortAventura Park

The park features five theme areas based on civilizations (Mediterrània, Far West, México, China and Polynesia), and one theme area based on
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...
. Mediterrània is the main entrance area of the park. ;Main rides * Furius Baco, an Intamin Accelerator Coaster with
winged A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is express ...
seating, which opened in June 2007. It has a top speed of 83.9 mph (135 km/h). *
Stampida Stampida is a racing, wooden roller coaster built by Custom Coasters International at PortAventura Park in the resort PortAventura World, Salou, Catalonia, Spain. It is a very rickety roller coaster with many drops and 2 tunnels. It features two ...
, a dueling
wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden Rail tracks, track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, b ...
. * Tomahawk, a junior version of Stampida and which runs parallel to it. * Silver River Flume, a traditional log flume. * Grand Canyon Rapids, a whitewater river rapids ride along the Grand Canyon. * Hurakan Condor, an Intamin drop tower ride. This ride is one of the tallest in the world at 330 ft. * El Diablo – Tren de la Mina, an Arrow Dynamics mine train roller coaster. The top speed of the coaster is around 60 km/h. *
Dragon Khan Dragon Khan is a steel sit-down roller coaster located in the PortAventura Park theme park in Salou and Vilaseca (Tarragona), Catalonia, Spain. Dragon Khan boasts eight inversions, which was a world record until the opening of the ten-inversion ...
, with 8 inversions this formerly held the record as having more inversions than any other
roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are ...
. It also held the world record for the tallest vertical loop on any roller-coaster. The ride built by Bolliger & Mabillard was one of the two roller coasters that Port Aventura had when it opened. It consistently ranks among the world's best roller coasters in polls. * Shambhala, this B&M
hypercoaster A hypercoaster can mean one of two things: *Any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet Or, more narrowly: *Any complete-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop between 200 and 299 feet ( ...
beat three European records as it was the fastest (134 km/h) and tallest roller coaster in Europe. It is 76 m tall and had longest drop in Europe at 78 m (2 m underground). * Angkor, a large splash battle themed in the Angkor ruins that opened in 2014. * Tutuki Splash, a Shoot the Chute themed along an erupting volcano. * Tami Tami, a roller coaster for children. * Street Mission, an interactive Sesame Street dark ride.


Ferrari Land

InvestIndustrial and
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
signed a deal to build a new area themed to the Italian sports car brand in the PortAventura resort covering 60,000 m2, including new rides, restaurants, shops and car racing simulators. Ferrari Land is the resort's second theme park, separate from PortAventura Park. Its entrance is adjacent to PortAventura Park's main entrance. The Mediterranean theme is common to both entrances, as Ferrari Land is inspired by Italy, including recreations of
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
's
Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...
and
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
's
Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world ...
. The main ride of Ferrari Land is Red Force, a 112 m tall vertical accelerator coaster that surpassed Shambhala as the tallest coaster in Europe and is also the fastest coaster in Europe. The park was opened on 7 April 2017, after an investment of more than
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
100 million. Ferrari Land opened a kids area in 2018. Ferrari Land is the second amusement centre themed to Ferrari in the world, after Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.


Partial list of rides and attractions


Roller coasters

File:Furius baco.jpg, Furius Baco File:Vertical Accelerator.jpg, Red Force


Flat rides


Water rides


Amusement rides using motion pictures


PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park

PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park is a
water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other bare ...
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 The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
, with beaches, palm trees, and Latin and reggae music, and it also includes shops and restaurants. The park has been closed due to the coronavirus outbreak and currently is remaining closed throughout 2020.


Rides

* King Khajuna – Europe's tallest free-fall slide of 31 meters and 55-degree descent by
ProSlide ProSlide Technology, Inc. is a Canadian designer and manufacturer of water rides and water park resorts. They design and manufacture both traditional slides and innovative rides such as water coasters, funnel-shaped Tornado slides, and Bowl sli ...
. Opened in 2013. * Ciclón Tropical – MultiBUMP slide by ProSlide opened in 2013. * Rapid Race – ProSlide ProRacer opened in 2013. * The Mambo and Limbo – Two corkscrew waterslides by ProSlide. Opened in 2002. * El Tifón – Two ProSlide body waterslides opened in 2002. * El Río Loco – Lazy River opened in 2002. * El Torrente – A ProSlide Mammoth river with four-passenger round tubes, opened in 2002. * Barracudas – A pair of ProSlide tube chutes with two-passenger inline tubes, opened in 2002.


Kids rides

* Zona Indoor with Junior Slides – Indoor play area including pool and slides by
WhiteWater West WhiteWater West is a manufacturing company based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1980 and manufactures a variety of products for water parks including water slides and water play areas. The company also owns Flow ...
. Opened in 2002. * La Laguna de Woody – Woody Woodpecker-themed play area by WhiteWater West. Opened in 2002.


Resort hotels

The resort features six themed hotels: * PortAventura Hotel PortAventura: Mediterranean theme (4*) * PortAventura Hotel Caribe: Caribbean theme (4*) * PortAventura Hotel El Paso: Mexican theme (4*) * PortAventura Hotel Gold River (including 'The Callaghan's'): Western theme (4*) * PortAventura Hotel Colorado Creek: Rustic Western theme (4*) * PortAventura Hotel Mansión de Lucy: Victorian-style Western theme (5*) * Hotel Ferrari: Ferrari theme (5*) (future)


Seasonal events

During seasonal events like summer nights, Halloween (September to November) and Christmas (November to January), PortAventura Park opens seasonal walkaround rides or shows, including the mazes: EC Horror in Penitence, La Selva del Miedo and the nighttime Halloween show Horror en el Lago.


See also

* Incidents at European amusement parks


References


External links

*
– Official English site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portaventura Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies CategorY:1995 establishments in Spain