Photo TR - Gutterflower Goes To Spain

Gutterflower · September 1, 2006

Howdy all

I recently went to Spain for 6 weeks to do a mapping project for my dissertation at university (I am studying Geology and Oceanography). Of course i couldnt resist the temptation to goto some parks while i was there.

I am going to split this report into 4 sections as i want to include a bit of everything. the first 2 sections wont be very park orientated but the last 2 will be all parks . you'll see as i go along. this is also the first TR ive ever written so bear with me on this

Section 1: Madrid Mania

Having Landed in Madrid me and my 3 mates had 2 nights to do some of the sights and get supplies. So of course having spent about 10mins buying supplies we decided to goto the zoo.

Having taken the quite random Cable car out into the middle of the park we headed down the hill to the zoo. Little did i know but the route takes you straight past "Parque de Attraciones de Madrid". So close but so far.

The rest of the day was spent seeing some various tourist sights and eating some very nice spanish food.

Overall i found madrid to be a lovely city. it does seem to have a bit of a graffiti problem but the people are generally very nice and the zoo is well worth visiting. its quite large and although a few of the enclosures could do with being bigger/better maintained. i found the average standard pretty good.

Ill set up the next sections as soon as i choose photos (i took well over 1000)

In the end we returned to our not so large Room :S

The Palace and their gardens were lovely too

The Madrid Metro System is awesome. and nice and cheap

I swear ive seen this guy in some TPR Trip reports before.

So close... but so far...

Me (Far Right) and my mates looking cheesy

A Cable Car in a city. now thats cool.

The Cathedral is very impressive

Madrid has some interesting architecture. but unfortunatly not much of it.

Gutterflower · September 1, 2006

Right got the next lot sorted

Section 2 Off to the mountains

After our 2 days in madrid we headed to the Cantabrian Mountains in the north of spain to do our mapping.

We stayed in a small town called "La Polla De Gorden" just north of Leon. The area is incredibly beautifull and features some of the most incredible terrain ive had to cross on my field trips so far.

It all looks amazing but when you have to treck up over 1000m of mountain almost daily it gets quite annoying . fortunatly the with over 30 other students there from other unis such as Oxford, Dublin, Keele and Imperial (im from Southampton uni) there were always plenty of students around to socialise with in the evening. (thank god wines so cheap there)

There may be no parks here but its an amazing part of the country. everyones really nice and the fiestas that occasionally grace the local towns usually have small fun fairs that are worth a go.

Next up Parque Warner

Me and my mates fancy dress costumes for a friends birthday (i'm a man upside down... (just put your finger over my head and ull see )

proof we made it up there on occasion

but climbing up there was annoying. This is the highest peak we had at 1997m tall

the area was truely stunning

I promise we did some work

My mapping partner and one of the areas many tunnels

Welcome to the mounains

My humble abode for over 5 weeks.

Gutterflower · September 1, 2006

Section 3 Loony toons

Now what uve all been waiting for.

After the mapping we headed back to madrid for a few days.

Unfortunatly i was unable to convince my friends to come to the parks but i went anyway lol.

first up was Parque Warner.

Now this park really is in the middle of nowhere. i got the train out of Madrid's Atocha Station and headed south. i then changed on one stop along the way and took the next train direct to the parks very own station

When i got there the park had just opened and i got almost straight in.

I headed straight to Stuntfall only to be told the ride wouldnt open untill 2 that afternoon. Still feeling overjoyed to actually be at Parque Warner i headed straight down the street to Superman

Superman

Now i had heard great things about this ride and it was my first floorless so i had high hopes. The queue line is quirky but not amazingly well done but it gives a lovely view of the the ride leaving the station and heading up the lift hill.

The Ride itself is superb and really benifits from a lack of MCBR. There appeared to be one trim i found noticible but it didnt really affect the ride that much. theres some air time to be had on both the drop and the airtime hill and the final 2 helixs are superb.

Overall a great ride but slightly less great than i hoped.

8/10

As i was the only one in the station for about 5mins i got my first ride alone in the front. And the ride ops let me stay on for the next 3 rides untill a queue actually appeared.

Next up i headed to Batman but there was also an attendent here saying the ride would open later in the day. So i made my way to the notorious Coaster Express and with no queue i hopped straight on to the back seat.

Coaster Express

Now ive heard awfull things about this ride. but i honestly didnt find it THAT bad. it was poor agreed and it really does five you a beating. I dont think ive seen cars shuffle like that before. :S. The layout although not a great ride is one of the most aestheticly pleasing ive ever seen. with its swoops and spirals. The cars themselves are quite comfortable but they really bump along on the bottom of the 2 main helixs.

Overall an ok ride with a serious smoothness issue

5/10

After taking a pounding (from Coaster express not ryan) i headed over to the parks log flume. Again nice themeing and a few supprises on the way. Not a bad ride by any means. but it does get you wet..

Next up was the ACME river rapids. These rapids are superb. they not only get you soaked but the themeing is top class. and its one of the few rapids ive seen with the lift at the start and not the end.

After this double soaking i headed to Batman. and was in luck. Empty station and straight on the front row.

Batman

Now these rides have always recieved rave reviews. And ive always wanted to ride one. And WOW now i know why they get those reviews. The sheer speed and power of the rides final section is awesome and the first half is no slouch either. The queue line is excellent but the station is a bit under done itself. This ride jumped straight to my number 2 spot behind Nemesis.

Overall : a ride that deserves its status.

10/10

Next i tried the parks batman simulator. i may not of understood a word but the ride itself was pretty good. well worth a look.

I then headed to the Haunted Hotel Themed ride. Now if anyones been on a Mad House they know what to expect. for me this was better than Hex but not as good as the one at De Efteling. ALso does anyone know the actuall story? i couldnt understand a word.

After coming out of this i noticed Stunt Fall was testing, so i did something a coaster entusuast only does in a park and sprinted to the entrance (down some back ally) and jumped straight on

Stunt Fall

THis ride took me completly by suprise. Its superb. the ride was smooth and fast (although it does go slowly on the return cobra roll). it provides an amazing rush. The engagement of the 2nd spike is perfect and the trains although not amazingly comfortable do provide a nice ride. The one problem with the ride was its ride ops and the fact the park has blocked off several rows. (anyone know why?) other wise a near perfect shuttle coaster

Overall: Much better than i thought it would be

9/10

I then headed over to the kiddie area to try out the kiddie coaster. I rate this higher than Coaster Express. Its a good ride for kids and it has enough themeing and drops to keep me entertained too . Credit Whoring? naaaah.

I then tried the ride i was most scared of. Riddlers Revenge... THis thing is HUGE when the biggest one uve been on is Apochalyspe at Drayton Manor. It was in Space Shot Mode at the time which is a little less nerve wracking. the ride provides awesome views of the park and provided the longest queue of the day as they were only running one tower (10mins).

As for the rest of the park. the food was pretty awfull but the staff were generally very helpfull and would always try and chat. The themeing throught is top notch and in places excells any ive ever seen.

Overall for the park: 9/10

A must for any coaster entusiast and has plenty to entertain the family aswell.