PortAventura Park

About

PortAventura Park is a theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort, 85 kilometres (53 mi) southwest of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca, on the Costa Daurada. The park opened on 1 May 1995 under the management of the Tussauds Group which had a 40.01% share in the park, La Caixa (33.19%), Anheuser-Busch (19.9%) and FECSA (6.7%). It opened to the general public on 2 May 1995.

Anheuser-Busch and Grand Tibidabo, S.A., owners of Tibidabo Amusement Park, in Barcelona, along with other Spanish investors, made plans to build a 'Tibi Gardens' outside of Barcelona, Spain, in the late 1980s. Busch Entertainment announced in November 1992 its joint venture with Grand Tibidabo to build this park with other adjunct developments. It was conceived by Busch Entertainment Corporation. During construction, Grand Tibidabo backed out, and investors from The Tussauds Group, La Caixa and FECSA stepped in. When it happens the Tussauds Group replaced them as investors, finished the development and became the first operators. The park was renamed 'Port Aventura' and when it opened in 1995 in Salou, Tussauds Group had a 40,01% in the park while La Caixa had 33,19%, Anheuser-Busch had 19,9% and FECSA had 6,7%.

In 1995 and 1996, the park hosted 2.7 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in Spain and the fifth in Europe. In 1997 Port Aventura has received 8 million visitors. In 1998 the majority of Tussauds Group'shares in the park were sold to Universal and the park was rebranded as 'Universal's Port Aventura', which made it the first Universal Studios Theme Park in Europe. The park was under the management of Universal Studios.

The park won a number of prestigious awards, including the 2000 Thea Award for Live Event for Fiestaventura and the 2003 Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement for Templo del Fuego.

In 2002, the area became a resort with the construction of two hotels and a water park. It was named ' Universal Mediterranea '. In 2004, NBCUniversal (Universal Studios' parent) sold all interest in PortAventura. It is owned and operated by La Caixa banking group's investment vehicle Criteria, but as of 2005 the Universal name has been dropped from the branding, and the resort was once again named 'PortAventura' (the space in the name is deliberately left out for trademark reasons). In December 2013 KKR purchased a 49.9% stake in PortAventura from Investindustrial that still owns 50.1%.

The park features five theme areas based on civilizations (Mediterrània, Far West, México, China and Polynesia), and one theme area based on Sesame Street, which was opened for the 2011 season of the park.

Mediterrània is the main entrance area of the park. It features three rides but there are several restaurants and shops reproducing a typical coastal town in Catalonia.

- Furius Baco : An Intamin Accelerator Coaster with winged seating, which opened in June 2007. It has a top speed of 83.9 mph (135 km/h). The ride is themed along a hay-wire grape collecting machine, launched by a professor's pet monkey.

- Port de la Drassana: One of the boat ride station which takes visitors from the Mediterránia area to the Chinese area.

- Estació del Nord: One of the three stations of the 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow-gauge Ferrocarril Tour, PortAventura's railroad attraction. Shows

- FiestAventura : The lake becomes the site of a show featuring fireworks and floats representing PortAventura's zones of Polynesia, China, Far West and Mexico (only during July and August).

- Sésamo Parade Special Light (during July and August, also Halloween September to November).

The Polynesian area is different from the other rides in the park as it is a more laid back area with less thrilling rides. Polynesia is home to two shows and a few attractions. Polynesia is one of the smallest themed areas.

- Tutuki Splash : A water ride themed along an erupting volcano, riders experience being shot out of a volcano in a flume style boat.

- Makamanu Jungle: The Adventure Trek : Outdoor adventure trail opening summer 2026. Removed attractions include:

- Tifon : A Waikiki Wave Flip ride. It opened with the park in 1995, and closed in 1998.

- Dino Escape 4D Experience : Built in 2000, five years after the opening of the park, riders are taken into a dynamic cinema themed as a submarine and taken on a journey to the bottom of the ocean. Labelled as a 4D theater attraction because of surround sound and motion platforms. Since 2010 it is able to play several different films throughout the day. There is a submarine over a pool as part of queue line theming. For the 2017 season, this has been rebranded as Dino Escape 4D Experience. The ride is based around a Jurassic Park Jeep journey which takes a turn for the worse, resulting in the need to escape from the dinosaurs on the loose.

Themed to the Sesame Street characters, this area is aimed for the younger visitors of the park. It opened for the 2011 season, and it was built between China and Polynesia in former lands of the Polynesia area, maintaining some of its attractions. The investment was around € 12 million. PortAventura joined Universal Studios Japan and Busch Gardens with an area dedicated to Sesame Street, being the only theme park in Europe.

- SésamoAventura Station – One of the three stations of the Ferrocarril Tour, PortAventura's railroad attraction.

- Street Mission - An interactive shooter dark ride where guests help Detective Grover solve a mystery. Removed attractions include: