JordyC

Ferrari Land - April 2017 Hello everyone! From April 10th - 12th 2017, I went for my first ever time to PortAventura World to visit the new Ferrari Land and - of course - PortAventura Park itself. I spent one day in Ferrari Land, and the other two days in the main park. On April 11th I visited Ferrari Land. When the gates opened, literally everybody ran to Red Force. But big disappointment at the entrance of the ride; Red Force was down for technical reasons. So after 30 minutes of just standing in front of the entrance, hoping for a miracle or something, we decided to try out all the other rides at the park. At 13:30, we heard the sound of the launch and everybody left the queue line for whatever ride they were waiting for and ran to Red Force. The queue line soon reached 60+ minutes (which is not too bad, in my opinion). I was able to get 3 rides on it, before it broke down again at 16:30 (park closed at 17:00). Honestly, I am not too sure what to think about Ferrari Land. Red Force is clearly the highlight of the park. All the other rides are pretty standard, nothing special. Although, I have to say that Flying Dreams was pretty awesome! Yes, the park looks fantastic and has some great theming, and if you love fast cars, this is the place to be. But in general, I don't think it is possible to spend a full day in the park. Unless you want to ride Red Force over and over again, but in my case that wasn't possible for obvious reasons. Overall, I think it's a great addition to PortAventura World, and I really hope that it all goes well for this park. Red Force (9/10) This ride is just insane! Not is it only super tall and fast, but on top of that it also has great theming around the ride and in the station. Because it uses an LSM launch, it doesn't have that initial kick to it like you get with the hydraulic launches on for example Furius Baco. It is about halfway the launch when you are accelerating insanely fast. It is just crazy, especially in the front! The top hat provides some decent airtime, and you are out of your seat during the whole vertical decent! Seriously, that straight drop down is just INSANE! If I really have to say something slightly negative about Red Force, it would be that it gets a little shaky at the end of the launch, but nothing too bad. Apart from that, it is butter smooth! Even the weird camelback at the end. Also, the trains are super comfy. All of this makes Red Force a top 10 coaster for me, and the reason to visit Ferrari Land! Welcome to Ferrari Land! You get this stunning view when you enter the park. Beautiful Italian theming all over the place. A look inside the gorgeous (and expensive) Ferrari Shop. The entrance to Maranello Grand Race. There are two sides, both follow a similar route. Great views from PortAventura Park in the backgound. It's a fun relaxing ride, that lasts about 5 minutes, depending on how fast you want to go. I bet that in a few years this park will look even better, when all the trees and plants are fully grown. The main building itself, located right in the middle of the park. Ferrari Experience is home to two simulators. Flying Dreams is a Flying Theatre, where you fly around the world following a Ferrari. The other simulator, Racing Legends, takes you around the world's most famous race tracks. While in the queue line, there is this very cool Ferrari car that changes colour. OMG, now it's yellow! The buildings look great! You also have this simulator, where you can race like a real F1 driver. Fun little kiddie ride. Yes, we are still in Spain, not in Italy. For some inexplicable reason, my car was here.. Fancy one ice-cream? B-E-A-UTIFUL! Red Force really dominates the park! Still no launching.. You can also experience what it's like to be a real pit stop mechanic. Show off your skills! Ferrari Land Gallery tells you the history of Ferrari. There are also some very cool cars in here. No photos were allowed inside, though. It's time for Thrill Towers. The towers are themed to pistons. Most of the time, they "duel" perfectly! One tower is a free fall tower, the other shoots you up. Going up or down? Guess we will never know.. They are pretty much your standard S&S Towers. Not that much airtime. Red Force finally opened! Chop-chop, get in line! Shooting up for the sky! Because of the pigeon incident on opening day, riders in the front have to wear glasses now. That drop is huge! Maximum velocity! It looks beautiful with the two towers next to it. Really, pictures don't show how impressive this looks in person. Going up! And going straight down! The sound that the launch makes, is absolutely perfect! They really thought about the location of these rides. Did I already mention how tall this ride is when you stand in front of it? They take a photo of you at the moment that the launch kicks in - guaranteed for some awesome onride photos! The launch does some pretty weird things to your face. Some random people going super fast! I mean, look at that drop! Straight down! I really love the Ferrari logo on the tower! Hands up if you love Red Force! Do you dare to challenge the wind? You can see Red Force from pretty much everywhere in the resort. One last look at Red Force! Thanks for reading! I will soon upload my report from PortAventura Park.

I just came back from PortAventura and Ferrari Land, so my next park will be a bit closer to home. Either Movie Park Germany or Slagharen.

I could have told you months ago that Symbolica's opening date is the 1th of July. They open almost every new ride that date. But who is there to blame them really? Ow well, I guess it will be another busy day at the park then.

^I never had any kind of problems when I visit this park on my own. I've never even heard of it. So that's no problem at all. I think the best time to visit is the general rule: avoid weekends. In my experience, the end of April, May and early June are the best times to go. In the summer it can get very busy at the park. I hope I gave you some helpful advice.

Red Force - Ferrari Land!

Blue tornado. Just kidding. Raptor! PortAventura?

That's exactly what I did! First ride was with Express Pass, and my other two rides with the standard line.

^Exactly! For the time it was open, the queue time was 1 hour. The Express Pass was 5 minutes. Though, you can only use the Express Pass once for Red Force (and all the other rides as well).

I was at Ferrari Land today. Red Force was down until 13:30, then it opened and broke down again at 16:30 (park closed at 17:00). At least I was able to get 3 rides on it. Expect a full trip report soon, from both FL and PA! Also, the undersite of the trains were "immersed" in water when they were in the station for loading/unloading. I don't know if this was already installed before the ride went down on opening day. Thought it was interesting.

Yes, Plopsa knows how to theme a ride! Most other parks can learn from this.

El Toro! PortAventura and Gardaland?

It's looking better and better with every update! I can't wait to experience this ride this summer.

Agreed! Looks like a great park for families, with enough big rides to keep teens and adults busy. Exactly! The last few years they really invested in some big rides, such as Anubis, the Disk'o and now Heidi. It now really is a park where everyone can have a great time.

It sure is! Anubis has always been a good reason to visit, but now that they have Heidi I feel like this park is finally complete.

Dwervelwind - Toverland

That is some fantastic news! I absolutely loved Lost Gravity at Walibi Holland.

If that's the case, they are in for a very big problem! Especially since it's only 20 degrees (68F) in Spain today. Source

This past week, the last segment of track has been put into place. This means that now the electronics can be installed and the bridge can be finished. Source

ICYMI, here's my trip report from Plopsaland De Panne, and Heidi The Ride.

First test run from Gold Rush!

The new park map is now available on the park's website. It shows Star Trek: Operation Enterprise on it. Still no opening date announced. Shouldn't be long now, though.

I rode it back in 2012. It's a very good ride but just not the best in the world, there are better rides out there imho. I was a bit let down when I rode it compared to all the review. Still one of the best coasters I have ever ridden. This! It's a very good coaster, with a fantastic drop and some awesome airtime. But as you said, it's just not the very best coaster out there. Still a top 10 ride though, and my number 3.

^Thanks for the updates! The art concepts sure look great. I am really hoping that someday I'll be able to visit this park.

^That's fantastic news! I can't wait to experience this park in a couple of days.