PortAventura is the premier theme park destination in Spain. This park reminds me of a Busch Gardens
because of how it blends theming and thrills. The resort opened back in 1995 with just one
park in PortAventura, but the resort added a second theme park in 2017 with Ferrari Land.
The latter feels more like a large theme park land rather than a full-fledged theme park,
so in this video, I will rank the top 20 rides at the entire PortAventura resort.
Before starting the list, I want to note a few rides that will not be included.
One, I have not visited the Caribe Aquatic Park. So none of those water slides will be featured.
Two, I will not be including any shows. These are a key component of any PortAventura visit,
but I don’t think it’s fair to include them on this list since I have only seen a few
of them and they can change year-to-year. Three, I unfortunately haven’t gotten to
experience Templo del Fuego. This unique attraction has been closed
for refurbishments in all my visits. 20) Thrill Towers- Up at Ferrari Land-
This S&S space shot blasts riders 18 stories into the air. The launch isn’t too intense and you
only get a little floater airtime at the top, but the views of the surrounding area are stunning.
19) Crazy Barrels at PortAventura- This Huss breakdance has an interesting cycle.
It lasts for a decent amount of time. It starts slow, but the speed is cranked up
in the second half, so you get some nice whip as you’re flung around the platform.
18) Tea Cups at PortAventura- This Mack flat allows the user to spin the cup as much or
as little as they please. I decided to spin the wheel as much as possible for a dizzying ride.
17) Tomahawk at PortAventura- This junior CCI wood coaster is intertwined with the bigger Stampida
and it has some exciting bits. The big turn midway through the ride has some good sustained laterals
and then there are some tight turns towards the end giving quick jolts of laterals like Pegasus
at Mt. Olympus. Then if you ride in the back, you’ll even get some floater airtime on the
final drop as well. And no matter which row you ride in, this coaster is fairly smooth.
16) El Secreto de los Mayas at PortAventura- This is the world’s best mirror maze and quite
possibly the hardest. The attraction takes place in a giant room. What makes it particularly evil
is that there’s a turntable in the center of the maze that leads to different parts of the
labyrinth. So it’s near-impossible to tell where you already went. Prepare to get lost!
Then if that’s not enough, there is a room with a dozen doors later in the attraction
and only one will lead you to the exit. 15) Racing Legends at Ferrari Land- This
motion simulator feels like an old simulator at Universal.
You sit in a small motion platform. You then shake and get spritzed with water at points.
The visuals are fine. My biggest gripe with this attraction is the pre-boarding experience,
you have 4…yes 4…pre-shows. It takes forever to board!
14) Grand Canyon Rapids- This Intamin rapids ride is light on the rapids. Only one of them is able
to get you wet. However, this ride does other things well. The ride has fantastic rockwork
throughout and the rafts move at a pretty fast clip. And there is one effect that can get you
quite wet. There’s an evil water cannon right before the final lift that randomly goes off.
You’re playing Russian Roulette with that one. 13) El Diablo at PortAventura- This is the longest
mine train Arrow ever built. I like the first and final third. You have some fun turns with a bit of
force to them. And you have a neat setting going over rides or through tunnels. But this ride’s
pacing struggles from all that length. You have not one, not two, but three different lift hills.
And the second third is a pretty dull bit. You have some bland elements over a maintenance road.
But the visuals and reasonably smooth ride make it the best family coaster at the resort.
12) Serpiente Emplumada at PortAventura- This Schwarzkopf spinning ride is one I haven’t seen
elsewhere. You ride in discs. They spin very fast at the start, inducing strong centripetal forces
that pin you to the seatbacks. The arms start to spin and bob while the discs are still spinning.
You get some nice whip on the downward motion since it seems to enhance the spinning. This ride
runs a long cycle and is sure to leave you dizzy. 11) Silver River Flume at PortAventura-
This Mack log flume has some neat interactions with El Diablo and also offers three drops.
The first two are small, but the final one is sizable and decently steep. Then you are sure
to come off this ride very wet. Not only do the drops get your upper-body wet, but the logs tend
to fill with water, getting you feet drenched. 10) Thrill Towers- Down at Ferrari Land-
This is the superior S&S drop tower. This one slowly lifts you up, giving you more time to take
in the sights. Then you have a solid drop. There’s some suspense and the start of the drop gives
some decent airtime. But as fun as this is, the resort has a better drop tower I’ll get to later.
9) Stampida at PortAventura- This dual track CCI wood coaster does some things very well.
The racing aspect is excellent since the tracks remain next to each other for much of the course.
And the tangled mess of track makes it hard to determine where you’re going next.
This ride has some great laterals, particularly on the low turns and turnarounds. However,
this ride’s pacing really suffers in the second half. A trim was added to the first drop after
the ride’s inaugural season, so by the end of the ride, the airtime is gone and you’re crawling.
The other issue is that Stampida can run quite rough if you ride further back in the train.
So definitely try for the front if possible. 8) Flying Dreams at Ferrari Land- This is a good
flying theater. The motion is well-synchronized and you have some nice visuals between the Ferrari
Factory, famous landmarks, and finally Ferrari Land. But as with Racing Dreams,
the pre-boarding experience is infuriating. You have 4 different pre-shows and holding rooms.
7) Tutuki Splash at PortAventura- This is an extended Intamin shoot-the-chutes. It’s very
atmospheric with the lush trees and rockwork. Then you have two drops. The first is small, but it has
some zip. The second one is a far larger double down. If you’ve ridden Congo Falls at Kings Island
or Whitewater Falls at California’s Great America, this drop rides similarly. The second hump gives a
very good pop of airtime, especially since you have no restraint. As for how wet you’ll get,
it depends on chance. The drops themselves offer a comfortable amount of wetness.
But you could get hit by a stray splash on the lift, which can drench you.
6) Street Mission at PortAventura- The main park sorely needed traditional dark ride
and this ride more than fit the bill. This is a really strong shooting dark ride. Sesame Street
fans will be in love with all the details and characters. Most of the ride is screen-based,
but you have the occasional animatronic plus a few physical targets to take aim at.
I like how each scene has its own look, feel, and theme. It prevents the ride from
feeling repetitive. There was no shortage of targets and the guns worked flawlessly.
The one weird thing with this ride is that the larger targets were worth more points.
I’m used to it being the other way, which made this one a bit easier than I would have liked.
5) Furius Baco at PortAventura- This is a weird launched wing coaster from Intamin.
It’s one of the fastest rides in Europe, accelerating riders to 84 mph or 135 kph in
3.5 seconds. The hydraulic launch has some good oomph to it, especially since it need to propel
those really heavy trains up an incline. Then with all that speed, Baco stays low to the ground. The
highest point is just 46 feet or 14 meters tall, which is stunningly short for a ride this fast. So
you rip through the layout. You have a nice dip after the launch with strong sustained airtime.
Then you have a series of turns. And towards the end there’s a fantastic inline twist loaded with
hangtime. It’s cool getting hangtime at speeds as fast as Baco goes. While many of the elements
aren’t too notable, the speed more than makes up for it. But this ride does have one flaw,
the smoothness or lack thereof. The ride is very bumpy, particularly on outside seats.
While you won’t get headbanging, your body will be jostled uncontrollably at several points.
I have a separate review for this coaster, as well as the other rides in my top 5.
4) Dragon Khan at PortAventura- This iconic B&M sit-down looping coaster feels like the
combination of Kumba and Kraken. The layout is nearly identical to Kraken,
just with an extra corkscrew at the end. And the forces are comparable to that ride.
Most have good force or snap. But the best element by far is the zero-G roll. The train is violently
pushed through it, inducing wicked laterals for all. This is a fairly intense ride between the
ride’s power and length. And even after 25+ years of operation, it’s still running quite smoothly.
3) Hurakan Condor at PortAventura- This has an argument as the most intense drop tower in the
world. This Intamin giant drop has immense height, as it stands 33 stories tall. So you get some
spectacular views of the resort, Mediterranean, and mountains. And you have some unique riding
positions. Towers 1, 2, and 5 are sit-down cars. Towers 3 and 4 are stand-up, floorless, tilting
cars. It’s extremely unnerving experiencing a drop tower this huge in that position.
You only tilt 15 degrees at the top, but that’s enough to force you to stare at the ground.
Then the drop is incredible. It lasts forever. You get a strong stomach drop sensation from
the position you’re put in. And you get good floater airtime the whole way down, especially
on the stand-up side since you have quite a bit of clearance between your shoulders and the harness.
2) Red Force at Ferrari Land- This is the signature ride at this resort’s second gate.
And it is an imposing one. It is the tallest and fastest coaster in all of Europe. An LSM launch
accelerates you to 112 mph or 180 kph. You don’t have the same initial kick as the accelerator
coasters with hydraulic launches, but you start accelerating at a shocking rate midway down the
track. You hear and feel the ride’s power. If you’re up front, you’ll feel the wind pushing
your cheeks back. It’s a blissful sensation. Then you have a 367 foot or 112 meter tall top hat.
You get a wonderful view plus some great airtime. You get good floater airtime at
the apex. Then the drop doesn’t have the extra twist like Kingda Ka or Top Thrill Dragster,
so you get sustained floater the entire way down. Then before you hit the final brakes, you
have a quick hop upwards giving some more floater airtime for all. This ride may be short, but it’s
a rush. I think the superior top hat and finale make it better than the North American stratas.
1) Shambhala at PortAventura- This is the world’s best B&M hyper and in my opinion, it isn’t close.
A back row ride on Shambhala is magical. This ride is ginormous, as it’s closer to a giga coaster
than the minimum threshold for a hyper. Then you have a series of fantastic drops. Each delivers
copious amounts of floater airtime. And because of their size and the long trains, the larger drops
even induce a stomach drop sensation in the back row. I rarely get that on any coasters nowadays.
Along with all that airtime, you have some great positive Gs on the pullout and far turnaround.
Then you have spectacular views of the water and mountains not only on the lift hill, but for
the entirety of the ride. It's surreal getting those views while levitating out of your seat.
Last but not least, this ride is immaculately smooth.
All these reasons are why it’s one of the most addictive and reridable coasters in the world.
Those are the top 20 rides at the PortAventura Resort. What are your favorite rides at these
Spanish theme parks? Let me know down in the comments below. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!