PortAventura Park

PortAventura Park is a theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort, 85 km 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.
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.
Removed attractions include:
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.[1]
It is home to 11 rides including:
Removed attractions include:
The shows: It is also home to two shows and street animation starring Ernie, Bert, Elmo and company.
China is the biggest theme land of the park – The area includes a Chinese buffet called Marco Polo with a good range of dishes available. The main path through the area is themed in the same style as the Great Wall of China.
Removed attractions include:
This area is themed primarily on pre-Columbian Mexico. It features temples, statues and a Great Piramide that is the entrance to the Gran Teatro Maya, the biggest show zone of the park.
Removed attractions include:
Themed to an old town of the American Wild West, this area features many western buildings and sculptures. The area boasts nine attractions which makes it the biggest area in the park. Other attractions in this area includes a wild west version of Breakdance ride and Dodgems.
The area is also home to these thrill rides: