PortAventura Discussion Thread

[fdelhomez]

Hey fdelhomez,

 

Great to hear you had a good time and enjoyed the park (though 10 times in 2 days seems like overkill... Surely it can't be THAT good!?). Is the POV video from your first ride?

 

Also, seen as you have current-day experience with the coaster, would you care to give an opinion on the current discussion regarding seating? Did you see m/any people getting removed from the ride, or hear anything in relation to this (apparent) thigh/restraint issue?

 

Hi, yes that was our POV from the very first ride we get on Shambhala and it really was THAT good, it was my coaster number 113, and I easily rank it second behind EGF! And for the problem with the seat I Only see one guy removed from his seat because of his size (mean fat) if you look after my trip reports you'll see how fat I am (1m83 for 103 kg, let you do the weight translation ) and I was abble to ride it without any problem, compared to Raptor from Gardaland where I almost couldn't lock the seat belt it's way larger!

Hope that let's everybody know! The test seat is not referencing the good size to get on the ride, really!

Fabien

[Jivo]

Hi chokeslamcena, I'm that "Xavi" from Coaster Critic's FB comments (also known as Jivo or Bloggercoaster). And let me explain you my personal experience until today, to make clear my views on Shambhala.

 

I tried it out on the third day of operation, when it's assumed that a problem like this should have been resolved but "oh god!" It turned out to be a little hell. I tried to ride on 3 occasions and in different rows and seats, being expelled from Shambhala in all this attempts. I saw too that in each cycle they expelled 3 or 4 people per train, so it was not an isolated case of me.

 

After a few days I could talk to other park workers and ride-ops from Shambhala that indicated to me that the park received hundreds of complaints every day about it and that the ratio of expelled people was 16% (between 3 and 6 people in every cycle).

 

Apparently the park made ​​changes in operations and adjusted the harnesses, so I decided to try again a couple of weeks later and yes, I fit and could tasted the speed and hills of Shambhala!

 

Unfortunately that day it fell next to me a piece of metal (although in fact were two) and the park closed since then for a week Shambhala, apparently to change the lift chain and improve security of guests (there was some commotion on Twitter and Facebook, even Oriolat uploaded all the photos here, I think).

 

Fortunately, Shambhala now works perfectly (and great!) and it seems that the park has changed the measures of the seats to make it more "fat-friendly", although of course they can't violate the safety standards and probably still have people who can not ride it.

 

I only will give you two tips for your visit:

 

1) As fdelhomez says: don't pay a lot of attention to the test seat measures. The fact that makes you fit or not (if you are a little width of thighs) is really the effectiveness of the ride-op checking the harness, not really the sit measures.

 

2) The queue time in Shambhala is like a lottery. Maybe 10 minutes, maybe 3 hours. It depends on the number of trains (this is not Silverstar and they don't put on track the three trains from early in the day ), if the park is crowded or not on your visiting day (given that we are in summer season is more likely to be) and more random aspects such as weather or the cuts in operation (thing that is quite common in PortAventura).

 

Anyway, I think I've said all I had to say, anyway this week i will do a big review in Bloggercoaster so if you want more info, you know where to find it

 

Have a nice visit!!!

[chokeslamcena]

Fabien, you don't look very heavy at all (and 103kg isn't overly big, either, so I'd have been surprised if you'd gotten issues). I love that you really seem to be enjoying yourself in the video though.

 

 

Xavi, it's great that you're here. I was actually going to send you a message on Facebook (but thought I'd better not, incase I just ended up annoying you).

 

I don't particularly mind queuing up for a long period of time, but we'll be there in late September, so I'm hoping that the park won't be too busy during that time (though I don't mind. Last time we went was in October, and the first day we went, coincided with a Spanish holiday, and we queued 3 hours for Furius Baco. The second day we went, we were on it in less than 10 minutes, and the same for the rest of the park. It was very quiet).

 

 

It's a great relief to hear that the park made adjustments to the ride to allow it to cater for more people (and larger people). I do realise it's a security measure they have to take, in the interest of people's safety, but when I looked through your Facebook photographs, and I seen the size of you (you seem very average weight, I wouldn't consider you big at all) I was horrified to think someone of your size could be removed from the ride.

 

16% is a massive number for a roller coaster (in my opinion). To be honest, all I'd like to be assured of is that if someone can fit in (but not exceed) the seats of Furius Baco or Dragon Khan, that they will also fit into Shambhala (this would resolve my issue as I know my friend can ride those).

 

You've obviously ridden on Baco and Khan, when you (eventually) got to ride Shambhala, did you find there was much of a difference in seating (was it a significantly tighter fit, for example?).

 

I will keep my eyes peeled on Bloggercoaster for some Shambhala related news. From what I've seen of your site (I won't pretend that I've read it all, but I have taken a good look at it) you seem to provide pretty decent coverage and go in-depth (which is always a bonus).

 

Cheers for posting on this thread, Xavi!

[Dj-Javixxxxx]

Just to make some comments:

 

- The problem with the harnesses has been minimized, and in fact, the number of people who can't ride has been significantly decreased. Ride CM's have also improved the way they close the harnesses.

 

- Before ride, be sure you check the seat outside the main queue. Keeping the head back to the seat while raisings the knees will help to close the harness.

 

To add some freshly news, the 30th of June was PortAventura's first White Night, featuring extended opening hours from 10am to 04am (18h of fun!). During the day, Shambhala's queue was from 1h to 1h 45min. In the night, it increased to more than 2h!

 

Even the park was flooded with people, it was a great new experience. The park also added new street animation (flamenco, music bands, capoeira, foam party, batukada, electronic music with DJ Ernest Codina...). FiestAventura (PortAventura's night show) was performed at 03:30 am.

 

Here is a little video that I made with some photos. Enjoy!

 

[Prinston]

Hi! Here I bring you some photos which I taked a few days ago in my yearly visit to PortAventura. I hope you'll like them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[6flagsbrad]

Those photos are simply amazing! This park looks so beautiful.

[Werner]

Those are some really great photo's of Port Aventura! Can't wait for my summer holiday to start, and finally taking my 'real' camera to this amazing park!

[TDR62]

Some of those Photos are really nice (some could do with a bit of WB adjustment), making me look forward to my trip at the end of the month even more.

[Noxegon]

A quick review of Shambhala...

 

Considerably more intense than than Silver Star with some great floating airtime.It does have a bit of a B&M rattle though, and having assigned seating sucks -- especially when front row is basically reserved for those on the top of the line express pass.

 

Is it a number one? No. Is it the new best hyper in Europe? Depends on whether you like Expedition GeForce or not.

[oriolat]

A quick review of Shambhala...

 

Considerably more intense than than Silver Star with some great floating airtime.It does have a bit of a B&M rattle though, and having assigned seating sucks -- especially when front row is basically reserved for those on the top of the line express pass.

 

Is it a number one? No. Is it the new best hyper in Europe? Depends on whether you like Expedition GeForce or not.

 

My thoughts exactly. I am especially concerned about the first row express issue.

 

When you went was Shambhala on 2 or 3 trains? I have seen it just once run 3 trains, and they were stacking all the time and some times even double-stacking...

 

BTW, I haven't noticed the B&M rattle you're talking about. Perhaps you caught a train with a bad wheel or something but I have had smooth-glass rides on Shambhala...

[Noxegon]

It was running two trains and for the most part not stacking.

 

As regards rattle, I rode six times, so unless I was really unlucky it has a B&M rattle. I didn't get a front (not willing to pay thirty euro for a single front seat ride, thanks) so I can't comment beyond that.

[JJLehto]

Man, I wanna get to this park!

Looks such a cool place, and Dragon Khan & Shambhala <3

[Shambhala]

That is strange regarding the rattle. I rode it six times at the end of May, mostly on the back seats, and it simply was the smoothest rollercoaster I have ever been on.

 

Even the ageing Dragon Khan is mostly rattle free.

 

Now if only Furius Baco was as smooth.... then again, it's not a B&M.

[Trevor]

It does have a bit of a B&M rattle though

 

Rattle on Shambhala? that definitely doesn't exist. Is the smoothest ride of the park, thousands and thousands of people, and myself can corroborate it. I think it's a paranoya to find fails on a ride that is almost perfect.

[SharkTums]

Sounds like the European B&M Rattle is spreading from France to Spain!

[ernierocker]

^And like France, the locals are oblivious to it.

[SharkTums]

^LOL! Yeah, I mean, I get it...think about it this way, if the Australians got the World's WORST B&M, they would still think it was god's gift to humanity because there's nothing else to compare it to and it would still probably be in the top three coasters in the country. But these places like Spain and France that are so close (or even have similar) awesome rides, I don't understand the 'sugar coating' going on.

[Noxegon]

Rattle on Shambhala? that definitely doesn't exist. Is the smoothest ride of the park.

 

It is the smoothest ride in the park. In my original post I noted that it had great airtime, and it does; I liked it a lot. But don't try telling me it doesn't have a B&M rattle; it does. If it didn't I'd have ridden more. As it was, I ended up with a mild headache after a few rides in a short period.

 

^And like France, the locals are oblivious to it.

I don't understand the 'sugar coating' going on.

 

Just for the record, I'm one of those singing the praises of OzIris, and I'm not a local. I'm going to get back there at some point in the not too distant future to validate my theory that something changed on OzIris between when the ECC was there (end-April) and when TPR was there; my bet remains wheel compound.

[SharkTums]

^For what it's worth I do believe you about the ride not having a rattle when it opened...I just find that even more disappointing and I don't know whether to blame B&M (which seems to be introducing their rattle earlier and earlier) or the park.

[Shambhala]

I remember someone once said that the new staggered trains introduce more rattle than the standard B&M trains. At the end of the day though, the first blame for rattle would undoubtedly be related to a train wheel misalignment.

[coasterfreak101]

^To back that up, I've never felt a bit of rattle on Nitro or Apollo's Chariot, but Diamondback was, in spots, headache-inducing. And I've heard similar things about the rattle on Intimidator and Behemoth.

[FJM8]

The rattle in Shambhala is even not the end of B&M (and if it was bigger, it will not be their end anyway...) , cause I' ve heard it's so small and the little people I know in person that felt it, said that it's quite little.

 

Nothing to see with Furius Baco, sometimes it transform your head into lmao.

[Noxegon]

The rattle in Shambhala is even not the end of B&M (and if it was bigger, it will not be their end anyway...) , cause I' ve heard it's so small and the little people I know in person that felt it, said that it's quite little.

 

Agreed. It doesn't cause a problem unless you're riding repeatedly, at which point it gives you a headache

[brisingr25]

Yesterday I rode Shambhala and I loved it! It's veeeeeery smooth and it has some floating airtime... Love it!

[rubysparkles]

I didn't feel a B&M rattle on Shambhala at all, but I went 4 days and only rode once a day, not repeatedly.

 

Just wanted to talk about the seats as some people were curious earlier in the thread. I found the seats VERY tight. If you are bigger around the hips and thighs, proceed with caution. You have to have two clicks to be allowed to ride. I had to have my restraints pushed down by ride ops, and from what I saw every train there was one person who needed an extra push (usually women ). I felt that they were tighter than the last B&M Hyper I rode (Apollo's Chariot 12 months ago) and I was bigger then. Like all restraints it really depends on your measurements but these seemed tighter on the hips/thighs than other B&Ms I have ridden in the last year.

 

Great airtime on the coaster, though was disappointed in the lack of forces on the turnaround element. That part looks impressive but I was hoping for something more substantial. It's a very good coaster, it is only the second B&M Hyper I have been on. I preferred it to Apollo's Chariot though. I found I got more airtime and I enjoyed the first drop into the tunnel.

 

Dragon Khan is holding up much better than Kumba. Still feels great even though it's 17 years old, was really impressed with it. Got a front row seat for Furius Baco, so didn't find it that rough. Still don't have the foggiest what monkeys have to do with wine and then why we were launched out into the grapevines, but it was a lot of fun.

 

Here's a couple of photos, I tried to get good photos of Dragon Khan and Shambhala going up the lift hill at the same time. Got a few of them going around at the same time. Meh, I'm no photographer though, shame the last one is so blurry.