WillBCN

Great updates, great poems, great MS Paint updates, great videos, great "photoshopped Jeff Johnstons"... I think I'd better start saving now for the next Europe trip... (I won't be able to pay the mortgage for some months and will have to live under a bridge but, who cares if I can be part of it!) PS: The Sex-Shop-and-Pizza-Hut-combo is mandatory (by law) in some cities here in Spain. Don't ask why...

Hi from the sunny, mediterranean, olympic, incredibly expensive and -last but not least- proud home of the "Plane-on-a-stick"... Barcelona! Nothing else to say (right now).

Hi from Spain! My local parks are Tibidabo (10 min) and Port Aventura (1hr).

Hi, a few months ago some footage of Barcelona from the 1910's was discovered in Amsterdam. This film is a documentary of Barcelona, used to promote the city and attract tourists from that age and, apparently, this wouldn't be related to theme parks and/or roller coasters. However, in this film you can see the first amusement park in Spain, located next to the site where the Tibidabo lies today (see The Official "TPR Spain Trip 2007" Thread for more info). This is the link to the website of a Spanish newspaper where you can watch part of this documentary --> Watch it Here. If you skip the video until 6'20'' (unless you also want to see some images from Barcelona at the early 20th century, of course!), there you will see the amazing "Casino de l'Arrabassada" (now in ruins), with the first roller coaster and water ride in Spain! It is really cool seeing how people, 100 years ago, also enjoyed their first (thrilling?) rides... The coaster looks quite long (for that age, at least) and the water ride looks great! (Notice the clothes the passengers are wearing and the operator on the boat balancing it...!) Well, I thought it might be interesting (at least for roller coaster fans). Hope you like it! Will PS: I hope I posted it on the right place...!

True. And Spain is not Mexico, but you'd be amazed at the tons of tourists wearing Mexican hats in Barcelona... I understand there will always be stereotypes but please, do NOT mix them up!!! By the way, MORE MSN PAINT UPDATES (please)!!! It IS worth the wait...! (Did I say BIG MIKE?)

Tibidabo really is an old park, but it's a symbol of Barcelona. Some of the rides are almost 80 years old and it's amazing they are still there! (By the way, Tibidabo is now the oldest amusement park in Spain, after the first one, located near Tibidabo, disappeared back in the 1920's. There is some vintage footage of that park, too). I used to enjoy Tibidabo a lot when I was a kid, since the first theme park we ever had in Spain was Port Aventura back in 1995 (and it didn't even have half the rides it has today!). ------- Regarding Furius Baco, let me point out that the monkeys are NOT drunk. Actually, it is only ONE monkey (called "Manàs"), which is the inventor's assistant. And I can assure you that monkey is not drunk because I've never ever seen a drunk monkey riding a bike... yet... For those who have been there, you may have seen that comic strip story outside the ride and inside the queues building. There you have the story behind Furius Baco, which is unfortunately only in Catalan and Spanish, but that I could translate, if anyone is interested. Will

Yeah! Port Aventura IS amazing! And what about Furius Baco? I was one of the lucky people who had some exclusive ERT (even before the soft opening) and I can say that pictures and/or videos do not do justice to what you feel riding it! It is short, sure, and the path may look simple, but the airtime right at the beginning, the curve over the lake and, of course, the almost never-ending inline twist are GREAT!!! And what about the preshow? Not just a red-red-green traffic light, right? I simply love the preshow and the story behind this ride is really funny! It's a pity that "comic strip" you see in the queues is only in Catalan and Spanish, but you can get the gist of the story. And please, let's not forget the poor dummies crashed all around the ride... Well, I'm really glad you are enjoying Port Aventura that much and I hope you'll see "Chinatown", as many said, one of the best shows ever! Will