Spain 03/18 – Ferrari Land + Tibidabo
No wonder I didn’t sleep well that night…
Day 2 – Ferrari Land
Kept forgetting this ride has actually been built, even while it was staring us in the face throughout the previous day. Last I remember knowing about it was mocking some wonky track installation and the weirdness of the brake run. That and this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB2YPFOd5pM
Amazing.
But here we are, the tallest and fastest coaster in Europe. It was alright.
Launch had a bit more kick than I expected, partly due to the ride not stopping at all before it hits. My 2nd experience with an intense face wobble at high speed, which is getting quite funny now.
Ended up in the front row for the first lap and therefore had to wear the pigeon goggles. Eww.
Didn’t get the feel of the height for whatever reason, but I liked the ride a lot more than I expected to with the awfully uninspired layout.
They added a train shortly after our first lap, so gave it another crack before the queue got too bad.
Wasn’t that fussed about the other rides here, but figured we may as well try some of it out while we were there.
The flying simulator was first up. Queue building was very flashy. The Mr Ferrari being up his own arse pre-show was not.
A second preshow with a fair amount more faff followed with lots of safety instructions and a couple of failed jokes about how rich some people are. Then we got on.
Movements were crap, visuals were poor and everyone clapped at the end. Terrible.
Tried the other simulator ride in the same building as it was down to a ‘0 minute’ queue. The park had been open a couple of hours now and it seems like everyone was finished for the day. Says something about the lack of attractions in this second gate of the resort so far.
Entered the same preshow room as the previous ride thinking no… this cant be… Yes. Same preshow.
Then there was another one that kept banging on about how good this simulation was and how real racing drivers failed it and we were a cut above the rest. On and on, even into the next room.
Sat on some Ferrari thing and jiggled about in front of some racetracks on a screen, overtaking generic unbranded cars. They should have had the balls to slap a Mercedes logo on the side or something. Better than the last ride but far from good.
Walked into the food place opposite. Pizzas for £28. Goodbye.
And that was Ferrari Land. Not impressed with the place. It doesn’t deserve to be a park in it’s own right with so little to do and the star attraction is as lazy as record breakers can be, it all just feels like a cash grab to pay for that big ugly logo.
PortAventura
Slithered through the special entrance between the 2 parks.
Walked into the pizza restaurant. Pizzas for £10. Deal.
With many stories of how bad the food is lingering in the back of our minds, tucked in with trepidation. It was lovely.
Phoned Tibidabo while waiting to be served, just to check they were back in business. They were.
Had a little sit down on the train.
Rerode some stuff.
Had a 4th straight win on Stampida.
Then jumped in the car and swept back up to Barcelona. There’s a different road that runs north of the city and takes you to the park from the top end of the mountains. This road has less tolls on it, so that was an added bonus.
Tibidampo
Parked up near the top of the hill again, ticket window was actually open now, got some wristbands and headed in.
This thing looks great and it is. Vekoma in their mental years.
Forceful turns and a good deal of twisty, you simply can’t beat a good ride built on the side of a hill. A fantastic view and well worth the trip alone.
The Virtual Reality plague strikes again on their powered mine train, #2 Tibidabo Express. Really can’t understand why you’d want a headset on a ride with this location.
The visuals are done by Mack and from the queue video looked to be very similar to the Europa Park version, featuring the same characters and one of those pumpy mine carts.
RCDB says no VR is NOT an option, but it’s amazing how far a simple ‘nope’ can get you.
Did it without and had great fun racing along side some cars down on the road below and twisting round the better Mystery Castle.
Staggered up towards the top of the hill to see what else was on offer. Spent 5 minutes trying and failing to get a lift to work.
Spite.
Stumbled across L’embruixabruixes (go on, try and say it), which is a little suspended ride with outdoor and indoor sections. Very quirky and enjoyable, with an extra surprise at the end.
Braved the bucket on a stick ride as the sun was beginning to set. Not often I get scared these days, but trying to reposition myself to get some more photos at the very top while desperately trying not making this sway was rather terrifying. Great stuff.
Tibitabby.
The plane on a stick ride looked interesting, so gave it a spin. The cramped interior is intense and the mini toilet in the back behind a curtain was a nice touch.
Announcements were going off about the park closing at this stage, so rushed back down to the coaster for one final dusky lap.
Tabbydabo.
Glad it worked out this way in the end really. By coming back for an evening visit, we were treated to an enhanced atmosphere and able to take the park at a more relaxed pace. Covered more than we would have planned to do on the first day and had a much better time for it.
Lesson (probably not) learnt.
Day 3