An incredible European theme park has been hailed as “better than Disneyland” – and it boasts minimal queues despite welcoming over five million visitors annually. PortAventura, located in Salou, Spain, sees roughly a third of the footfall that Disneyland Paris does, so visitors often find themselves breezing through lines, even for the most popular attractions.
The park, which is divided into five spectacular themed areas, features some of Europe’s most exhilarating rollercoasters but caters to the entire family. Enthusiastic tourists have praised the theme park, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. A Sydney-based holidaymaker shared on TripAdvisor: “For us, it was all about the rides, and we were not disappointed.”
The review continued: “We stayed at the Gold River Hotel and accessed the park quickly and easily. The queue times were very acceptable – the maximum wait time that we experienced was about 30 minutes… it’s better than Disneyland.”
Another visitor from County Durham remarked: “This is much better than Disneyland Paris; the rides were super fun with short bearable queues (15 to 30 minutes). This park is well laid out and features many rides suited for all types of thrillseekers.”
The Salou park is home to thrilling rides including the Dragon Khan, which has eight loop-the-loops and the Furius Baco, which goes from zero to 135km/h in an exhilarating three seconds.
Then there’s Hurakan Condor which stands at an impressive 100 metres high, making it the most impressive and terrifying ride.
Set within the ruins of an ancient Aztec tower covered in hieroglyphics, this attraction lifts brave adrenaline junkies high in the sky before plunging them down to the ground in less than five seconds.
There are also water rides, shows, and places to eat and drink for the entire family to enjoy. PortAventura even has its own children’s area completely set in the world of Sesame Street.
Little ones will be able to meet iconic characters including Bert and Ernie, and even Big Bird! Here, you will find mini rollercoasters like the Tami Tami and exciting rides, including the Magic Fish.
Next door to PortAventura is the Caribe Aquatic Park, boasting 16 pools and attractions. It’s separate from the theme park, but many tourists buy a pass which allows you access to both parks with a reasonable discount.
Brilliant slides include the Mambo Limbo, the Barracudas, Ciclon Tropical, El Torrente and Cayo Cookie. Most of the rides have no minimum height, and there is also a wave pool and a lazy river to enjoy.