PortAventura Discussion Thread

[djboss302]

Looks like a prototype water ride. Whatever it could be.

[coasterfreak101]

It just looks like a Splash Battle?

[SharkTums]

In fact, the direction of Port Aventura has already started construction of the new facility, which will take much of the 70 million of new investment plan. The machines are already working on the grounds that the park is still unoccupied by Shambala, in the south of the site.

 

The objective of Port Aventura is that the new attraction is ready for the start of the new season, in April 2014, so the work has been accelerated. A park spokeswoman confirmed the construction of the new attraction, but declined to reveal the features of it.

 

However, unofficial sources indicate that Investindustrial has decided to build a new water attraction might even give rise to a new thematic area within the enclosure (now divided into five: Polynesia, China, Mexico, Western and Mediterranean). According to some sources, it is a watercoaster (a roller coaster that combines stretches of water to dry) and will also become the highest in Europe (the highest installation of this style is in the Brazilian park mirabilandia and has a height of 60 meters).

 

People are hoping it's more than a Splash Battle based on this part of the article posted on the previous page.

[_koppen]

Its taking shape.....whatever that shape is

 

 

taken by Francesc Torres

 

Yeah, that looks kind of splash battle like, but if that's the case it sure would be the worlds longest one.

 

Can't wait for 2015 and the new coaster! I sure hope this one will be an Intamin similar to DiVertical.

[Meteornotes]

The whole white water thing intrigues me. I love white water rafting, and would be curious to see how this works as a theme park attraction. Certainly hoping it's something more than a Splash Battle...

 

dt

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Well, could there be more that we dont know about? Maybe a splash battle and this coaster? Cause the route shown above doesn't seem it could be what was described in the article.

[Bane]

PortAventura are giving very little away about this attraction at the moment but my contact tells me there will be a press release about it in the coming weeks, certainly something to look forward to.

 

For those interested, PA's Halloween season has started today!

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.catalannewsagency.com/business/item/investindustrial-which-owns-portaventura-theme-park-joins-bcn-world-by-building-3000-hotel-rooms

 

On Wednesday, the Italian investment group Investindustrial announced that it will build and manage 3,000 of the 6,000 hotel rooms of the ‘BCN World’ mega resort, the competitor to Madrid’s Eurovegas that is being developed by Veremonte in Salou, in Catalonia’s Costa Daurada. The $6 billion entertainment resort will be located next to the beach and to the PortAventura theme park, which has been owned by Investindustrial since 2009. After a year of talks, the Italian company has finally decided to join the mega resort project, which will have casinos, luxury shops, restaurants, convention centres, theatres, golf courses, beach clubs, hotels, parks and a broad smart city residential area. Investindustrial will build and run 1 hotel of 500 rooms in each of the 6 hotel areas of ‘BCN World’, which are distributed along a large avenue. The 6 hotels run by the Italian group will total 3,000 rooms and will mainly target families. In fact, the CEO of ‘BCN World’, Xavier Adserà, emphasised the importance of bringing a company expert in family tourism into the project, in order to strengthen this dimension. Adserà also confirmed that ‘BCN World’ will begin building in the first half of 2014, employing 17,000 people in the construction. A few months ago, Veremonte announced the first partner of the project, which will be in charge of developing the first of the six hotel resorts. Melià, through its luxury brand ME, will build a 1,100-room hotel. The UK company Value Retail, which manages shopping malls throughout the world, will be running the luxury shops on offer. Finally, the Chinese casino group Melco Crown Entertainment will run the first mega casino in ‘BCN World’. Once unveiled, this first phase will create 5,000 direct jobs. Besides, the Catalan Minister for the Economy, Andreu Mas-Colell, confirmed that the Catalan Parliament will have approved the town planning project and the new gambling legislation before the end of the year, in order to enable the construction of the resort to start in early 2014.

 

Investindustrial, which already manages 2,000 hotel rooms in PortAventura, will start building the first of the 6 new hotels in a plot of land which is part of the ‘BCN World’ project but immediately next to the theme park. As Xavier Adserà explained, the new 500-room hotel will act as a natural bridge between the two resorts, connecting them and setting a geographic continuity that should enable people to easily transit from ‘BCN World’ to PortAventura and vice-versa. Therefore, Investindustrial will build its first hotel next to Melià’s luxury 1,100-room hotel, the shopping area managed by Value Retail and the Melco Crown’s casino. Therefore, the first phase of ‘BCN World’ already has 1,600 hotel rooms, the construction of which will start in a few months. The entire $6 billion mega resort will have a total of 6,000 hotel rooms once the project is fully completed.

 

A project that changes the “tourist landscape”

 

The CEO of Investindustrial in Spain, Carlo Bonomi, emphasised the company’s commitment to Catalonia and the area of Tarragona, where PortAventura and ‘BCN World’ are located. Bonomi explained that talks with Veremonte on joining the mega resort have been ongoing for an entire year because they wanted to “calmly” study the project. Bonomi also highlighted how they feel very “comfortable” with the rest of the partners, since they are all “leaders” in their own sectors. The CEO of Investindustrial also emphasised that ‘BCN World’ will change the “tourist landscape” of the Costa Daurada and the areas of Tarragona, Salou and Vila-seca.

 

Xavier Adserà, CEO of Veremonte, stressed how Investindustrial and the company he leads have “gone from being neighbours to partners”, since as of Wednesday “they are walking together” with the ‘BCN World’ project. Adserà justified the incorporation of the Italian group by stressing the good management of the PortAventura theme park since 2009 and the need to have a partner expert in family tourism. This way, Investindustrial will help Veremonte to organise an alternative entertainment programme for families visiting the mega resort.

 

‘BCN World’ does not request any legislation changes

 

In addition, Adserà explained that ‘BCN World’ is a totally private project, which does not need public grants or the construction of transport infrastructures, since they already exist. In addition, “the project does not need any change in any law, either regarding health issues – since the project will fully respect Spain’s tobacco consumption law – or regarding labour issues” he stated in a clear reference to Eurovegas. The project developed in Madrid by the casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and Las Vegas Sands Corporation is demanding the modification of the anti-tobacco law in order to allow people to smoke in the casinos. In addition, Adelson is also requesting changes in labour legislation to make working conditions more precarious in order to have a cheaper labour force. Adserà had already announced months ago that ‘BCN World’ will totally respect the European labour legislation, as well as the concern for healthcare.

 

On top of this, Veremonte’s CEO stated that the Catalan project will be environmentally friendly and will make “an additional effort” to protect especially sensitive areas. Finally, he also emphasised that ‘BCN World’ will create many jobs. The construction of its first phase alone will generate 17,000 jobs, 10,000 of which will be direct positions. Once this first phase is up and running, 5,000 people will be hired directly, and the 5 other phases will still have to be built.

 

The Catalan Parliament will give the project a green light before the end of the year

 

In the presentation of the partnership with Investindustrial, the Catalan Minister for the Economy, Andreu Mas-Colell, explained that the definitive approval of the town-planning project of the mega resort is about to be approved by the Catalan Parliament. In addition, the modifications regarding gambling taxation and tourist centres are also in the final stage of their parliamentary approval. All things considered, Mas-Colell confirmed that all the legal requirements will be totally complete before the end of the year, therefore allowing the construction to start as soon as early 2014.

[Jerseybean]

Things to come ??

 

source: http://port-aventura.pa-community.com

[Joe Cool]

Is the park seasonal or is it open year round?

[leeojUK]

Is the park seasonal or is it open year round?

 

I think it closes for two months at the start of the year if I remember correctly

[Groteslurf]

And it's closed on weekdays now till the Xmas season if I'm not mistaken. There should be a clear calendar on their website

[Zoidy]

Here is the calendar:

 

http://www.portaventura.co.uk/calendar?pestanya=00

[Joe Cool]

Bummer will be in Barcelona in February and the park will be closed. Oh well just another reason to return!!

[rcjp]

I got these pictures from PAfans of the construction. Source

[_koppen]

This new attraction is so cool, because we still have no clue what it is!

[Groteslurf]

Still not clear (source :Gabri999 @ http://www.pa-community.com/)

[Moose]

The tight turns and the fact that so much if what appears to be a trough is so compact and near itself, it realllly looks like a splash battle. I hope it's more.

[Jon Sabo]

This does look like a splash-battle. I am looking forward to the theming!

[coasterfreak101]

Yeah, I'm having a hard time imagining it being anything other than a Splash Battle...but people keep saying that it's more than that, so hopefully there's something left.

[A.J.]

It does look suspiciously like a Splash Battle, but it could be more. Fuga da Atlantide at Gardaland is an Intamin Super Splash ride but it has an extended "float down the river" section - I really hope that PortAventura's new attraction is something along the lines of that.

 

EDIT: Could it be a spinning raft/rapids ride?

[TPDave]

Wow, that development looks insane! Hopefully it'll be a really good boost for the area.

 

This mystery ride looks pretty cool as well, if it's a splash battle that's a good scale to do one on!

[_koppen]

I have also been thinking about a splash battle, but it just seems a little bit to much of a major project to be just that. I'm really curious about this one!

[Dj-Javixxxxx]

Two important news for today!

 

 

- Bonomi family sells 49,9% of PortAventura to KKR

 

- Cirque du Soleil show KOOZA will be performed in PortAventura for summer 2014 for july and august (with the aim to keep a permanent CDS show in the future)

 

For summer 2014 Cirque du Soleil visits PortAventura to present Kooza, one of the most impressive productions of the Canadian troupe. Port Aventura is planning this spectacular new attraction for the whole family to enjoy in summer 2014.

 

Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian entertainment company par excellence, is an international leader in the world of shows. Since 1984 it has attracted millions of spectators worldwide with its unique performances capable of awakening unimaginable emotions.

 

In these 2014 summer holidays, after passing through Paris, New York, Moscow, London, Las Vegas ... Cirque du Soleil, the most successful theatre company in the world, will arrive at Port Aventura, at south of Barcelona.

 

With the show Kooza, Cirque du Soleil returns to its circus origins with breathtaking acrobatics and amazing clowns, featuring incredible acrobatic performances on the Costa Dorada, for summer 2014 at PortAventura.

 

Kooza tells the story of the lone Innocent, who is searching for his place in the world, a narrative thread that leads to incredible scenes full of strength and splendour without forgetting traditional circus slapstick humour. Laughter and guffaws mingle with scenarios of fear, identity and power, amongst adrenaline-filled stunts within a bizarre realm.

 

Do not miss out from your 2014 summer holidays this unique performance that makes PortAventura the first European Resort to play host to Cirque de Soleil and join forces with this great Canadian company to present their fantastic show Kooza (with daily performances and capacity for up to 2,400 spectators).

 

Discover the fantastic new world that will arrive at PortAventura this summer 2014, an impressive spectacular performance born of the union of Port Aventura Resort and Cirque du Soleil to show you strength and fragility, smiles and laughter, confusion and equilibrium. An exciting and exotic visual universe, full of surprises, thrills, chills, large doses of bravado and your total participation.

- See more at: http://www.portaventura.co.uk/cirque_du_soleil#sthash.khkIe9nH.dpuf

 

Official info in spanish about KOOZA in PortAventura: http://www.portaventura.es/cirque_du_soleil

Official info in english about KOOZA in PortAventura: http://www.portaventura.co.uk/cirque_du_soleil

 

Here are some sources of the news (in spanish) about Investidustrial selling 49,9% to KKR

- http://www.lavanguardia.com/economia/20131205/54395194245/familia-bonomi-vende-49-9-port-aventura-fondokkr.html

- http://www.finanzas.com/noticias/empresas/20131205/cirque-soleil-presentara-espectaculo-2560929.html

 

Other sources:

- http://www.pafans.com/actualidad/2013/kkr-y-cirque-du-soleil-llegan-a-port-aventura-90431/

[_koppen]

Source