Benidorm in a different light

Terra Mítica

The Terra Mítica theme park is located on a hillside above the city of Benidorm on the Coasta Blanca. This amusement park, which is now eleven years old, once bore the subtitle “a Paramount Park”, which was the result of the management of the park in the first years, until the group decided to sell its shares to the Valencia region.

Cataratas del Nilo

After paying your entrance fee, you enter the mythological world through an ancient Egyptian gate and find yourself right next to a lake, around which you will find several thematically related buildings, as well as various statues and a monolith. There are not many rides in this area, so you will find a lookout tower, whose gondola once found its use in the Lüneburg Heath, the children’s log flume Akuatiti and a boat ride, as well as the log flume Cataratas del Nilo from Mack Rides.

The latter ride is rather untypical for a log flume, as the first downhill run is also the big shot. The second descent leads backwards back to the same level as the station, which is located at about half the height of the first slope. The boats appear in the form of an elaborately designed sacrophate, but the rest of the ride is less involved in the theme.

Following the path further up, you will find three entrances to various water basins. In the upper one there are a few benches, in the basin below there are some water cannons and in the lowest basin, best to be seen from the rides La Colera de Akiles, there is the deepest basin where some water toys are available. With the temperatures that prevail during the season, a very useful addition to the offer, so be sure to pack bathing clothes. Furthermore, there are always some possibilities to cool down along the paths.

Laberinto del Minotauro

Further up, you will come across the first major highlight of the Terra Mítica theme park, the Laberinto del Minotauro, an interactive dark ride from the Sally company with individual chaises, as used in Walibi Belgium. The ride itself offers a few metres of route full of elaborate animatronics and scenic images that make your mouth water. Although the interactive aspect unfortunately didn’t work properly, this ride is clearly the best Sally dark ride in Europe and a must ride for every amusement park fan.

Synkope

Another highlight in the Greek themed area is the Mondial Revolution Synkope, which can do much more than a HUSS Giant Frisbee. Although the ride time is quite short, it is much more intense, which is also due to the faster rotation of the gondola. The monotonous turning in only one direction is unfortunately also present on this ride.

Titanide

The suspended looping coaster Titanide used to be called Tizona and was located at the other end of the Terra Mítica theme park in the Iberia theme area, which now only has a show stage and two beautiful bumper cars. Due to the land sales, which have lifted the park out of debt, some restructuring in Terra Mítica also followed, which in the case of the SLC was quite positive. This is now less out of the way and was wonderfully integrated into the Greek theme, and the ride now has an inner courtyard, which is quite positive for one or the other photo opportunity. The ride itself is good for a roller coaster of this type, but could be upgraded immensely by the new train generation.

La Furia de Triton

For the water enthusiasts in us there is the spillwater La Furia de Triton from Intamin, which has two slopes of 10 and 17m. The design of the ride has been successful and if the timing is right, it is the wettest ride in Spain, otherwise the degree of wetness is on the same level as the Cataratas Salvajes from Parque Warner, although the boats displace the water to the side rather than up. If the timing is correct, one boat must be immersed in the pool while the second boat is on a quarter of the lift, the water that manages to hit the gaps between the decoration now floods the boat to be carried on the lift in its entirety.

Templo de Kinetos

If you have always wanted to test a Maxi Motion Seat Simulator from Intamin, you can do so at Templo de Kinetos. The single rows for four people moving have quite a high degree of movement and the film they moved to this year was outstanding, albeit absolute trash. In that sense absolutely recommendable.

Los Icarus und Alucinakis

Next to the wave swinger Los Icarus, which offered a pretty good ride with a beautiful view and a pleasant breeze, is the children’s hybrid roller coaster Alucinakis in Terra Mítica. After the great downward helix first drop, the rest of the track is only oval, but since the ride produced by Zamperla is quite fast, the whole thing is even fun.

Magnus Colossus

After leaving the Greek area, one finds oneself in a Roman fort. Here you can see the big roller coaster of the Terra Mítica amusement park, which can be seen from far away. To get to it, however, you have to climb a few metres, as Magnus Colossus is located at the highest point of the park. The ride, built by the Roller Coaster Corporation of America (RCCA), takes you up one more level and then down again with a double drop. This is followed by a few turns and slopes and there is also airtime until you are released into the brakes after the Big Helix. The ride itself is not bad at all, only the trains are anything but suitable for a wooden roller coaster. The upper body swings back and forth in the last row between bar and backrest in such a way that the whole thing, although you hold on to the provided bar, is not as funny anymore. In terms of ride quality Parque Warners Coaster Express is better, but the ride in Benidorm has the better layout.

Inferno

Passing a few children’s rides, we descend to the entrance of the Intamin ZacSpins Inferno, only to climb the mountain again immediately afterwards. After you have taken a seat in one of the two groups of seats, the ride is already going uphill. What follows is a fun and crisp but short ride, in which you can make your rollover on the last hill or before, depending on the load. Basically the smaller Zac Spin rides are the second part of the bigger brother, but here not braked to death. Concerning the turnovers, I think it could be much more intensive, however for most people the ride is probably good enough the way it is.

El Vuelo del Fenix

Next to the Circo Maximo, another show theatre, is El Vuelo del Fenix, a beautiful Giant Drop by the company Intamin with three tracks and a height of 54m. This tower is in a kind of dead end since the connection between Rome and Iberia was lost. The Spaniards themselves, however, do not seem to be averse to the free fall, as there were longer waiting times here, mainly due to only one open lane.

La Colera de Akiles

If you follow the path now downhill, you will enter the Las Islas themed area. Here you will find not only another show theatre on one level, but also the carousel Mythos and a Mondial Supernova called La Colera de Akiles. The latter ride is the first of its kind I have come across and I have to say I am thrilled. The ride programme is quite well done for a park, only the swing could be a bit higher.

Rapidos de Argos

Furthermore, there are two rafting rides in close proximity to each other, while the Intamin ride is intended to get you wet, the Hafema ride called La Rescate de Ulises functions as a dark ride, which unfortunately was closed at the time of the visit. The Rapidos de Argos, on the other hand, ran without any problems and can wet you quite well, which was mainly due to the continuous waves sloshing into the boat. The concrete channel, as with the park’s spillwater, shines in a strong shade of blue, which reduces the visual impact of the rafting, which in itself is quite beautiful.

Pictures Terra Mítica

Conclusion Terra Mítica

In general, Terra Mítica looks like new paint everywhere, everything is well maintained and clean. Except for the lack of interaction during the interactive dark ride, everything is in more than good condition, the atmosphere in the park is top notch, the dispatch is surprisingly fast and at every corner there are opportunities to cool off, which by the way could not hurt a certain park in Salou. If you are ever in the vicinity, you should definitely visit this park, the airport of Alicante is not far away.

 

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A few hours on the unmagical island

Isla Mágica

Located in the centre of the city of Seville, on a large part of the former 1992 World Exposition site, is the Isla Mágica theme park. This park, existing since 1997, offers a few rides, but a lot of shows, food stalls and a lot of vegetation combined with many thematic elements.

The first impression you get in this park is quite positive, but this changes relatively quickly when you take a closer look at the park’s manageable rides portfolio.

The park itself is built around a lake, on which there are two attractions, a boat ride and a self-built splash battle, probably one of the newer rides in the park. Similarly cheap is the boat swing, which was apparently lovelessly smacked onto the lake.

Anaconda

The first big attraction you will come across is the log flume Anaconda from Mack Rides. It has three shots of not exactly low altitude and has been wonderfully integrated with the park area and the waiting areas of the log flume. The wetness level seemed to be quite dry from the outside, we unfortunately did without a ride at the beginning of the day, a few hours later we stood here for half an eternity.

Tren de Potosi

A few metres further on you will find the park’s first roller coaster, the Tren de Potosi. This roller coaster of the company C&S is quite close to a Big Apple, but has a downward helix after the, here at least, funny hills. The ride itself is a lot of fun and is not only an enrichment for the small kids.

Llamas

It takes quite a long walk until you reach the next attraction, the more disappointed you are that the Llamas are only allowed to be ridden by children, after all, this ride is quite original for an electronic horse track.

Iguazú

Right next to it, you will find Iguazú, a spillwater of Intamin, which makes very good use of its surroundings, but does absolutely nothing at all. From the water, which the boat (by the way the same construction as already known from the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid) diverts to the side, you will only get drops inside the boat.

Jaguar

Located in a dead-end street you can ride the second roller coaster of the park. The ride, named Jaguar, has not only a surprisingly open area below the roller coaster, but also the latest generation of trains by Vekoma. Although the ride is absolutely no good and the bonus helix just deserves the label “nice”, the train is simply ingenious. It is not only absolutely comfortable, but can also keep its head from all side blows thanks to the new brackets. The waistcoats themselves are a little more comfortable than on the MK1200 trains, as used for example in Gardaland and Walibi Holland. At least the trains are a worthwhile investment for any reasonable park, only here in Isla Mágica they are a complete waste.

Capitán Balas

Passing the tea cups, we go to some ugly concrete buildings that date back to 1992. In the basement of one of the buildings is the pirate darkride Capitán Balas. This is an interactive ride by Mack, which can also be found in a similar form in the Avonturenpark Hellendoorn. The scenes themselves are beautiful and detailed, moreover, you can get your inmates wet at the right moment, unfortunately only yourself at the wrong moment.

Rapidos del Orinoco

Back out of this concrete complex, where there are also two cinemas, we now enter an area where the vegetation seems to have taken over. Here you will find the Rapidos del Orinoco, the last major attraction of the park and one of the most beautiful rapid rides in Europe. The beauty of the park is not necessarily wet, as is often the case in Europe, despite the waterfalls that are still sticking out into the boat. The curve around the wave flyer is particularly worth mentioning.

El Desafío and Ciklón

Apart from a children’s land, a merry-go-round and the Power Tower El Desafío by Maurer Söhne – which has different programmes running at different times, but even in the most intensive version can do less than the prototype in Hansa-Park -, as well as the beautiful Giant Disk’o Ciklón by Zamperla, there is basically nothing left here. The only, more or less, traditional dark ride of the park has been replaced by a Maze that costs 5€ entrance fee and is probably not worth the extra charge, even if you get a voucher at the park entrance.

Pictures Isla Mágica

Conclusion Isla Mágica

For those who love a theme park for its shows and theming, Isla Mágica is certainly a really good and successful park. For all the other park guests the offer of the park is simply too low and the price compared to the other Spanish parks is simply too high, even though you don’t even have to pay the full entrance fee until the age of 25. In my ranking of the worst amusement parks Jaderpark was knocked from its throne, because I don’t want to go here a second time voluntarily.

 

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A day in Madrid’s amusement park

Parque de Atracciones de Madrid

Located in the heart of Casa de Campo, the largest public park in Madrid, next to Madrid Zoo is the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, the city’s amusement park. Since 1969, it has attracted crowds of visitors to the site of the group of shares now known as Parques Reunidos. Where the Tivoli principle used to apply in the past, today there is a one-off entrance fee to pay. Annual ticket holders of several Parques Reunidos parks can go directly to the entrance. Once in the park you now have the choice of three routes: Turn left into the area called Maquinismo with the roller coaster Abismo, straight on to Gran Avenida or turn right into the area called Naturaleza.

La Lanzadera

As the Maurer Söhne roller coaster Abismo was already attracting us from far away, we turned left for the time being. Passing a very nice and elaborately designed, but broken Top Spin we went straight into the first attraction we came across, the Intamin Giant Drop La Lanzadera. This rather small tower pulls quite neatly and is very convincing compared to larger European rides.

Abismo

The urge for a certain roller coaster of German manufacture became stronger and stronger, but for that an abyss must be conquered – the Abismo. The XT 450 ride manufactured by Maurer Söhne is characterised by the fact that the SkyLoop is followed by a few more metres of track. From the outside, the ride looks quite impressive and the added elements look quite promising, but that’ s not the way Abismo wanted to ride. After a good first part, there were some rough descents and – thanks to unfavourably closed bars – no airtime at all. The braking, however, was surprisingly gentle, which has caused me some concern since the SkyWheel of Skyline Park. Thanks to the higher intensity and the fun backwards part, the SkyWheel convinces me much more than its extended version.

Tarantula

Practically speaking, the entrance of one of the rides is located directly at the exit of the other, at least in the case of Tarantula and Abismo. Unfortunately this roller coaster had a small defect at the beginning of the day, but luckily it was still running. Here you may invest some minutes in the queue, but it moved quite fast. After taking a seat in the single chaises we went up the fast, but very loud and well audible lift. Some downhill runs and curves in airy heights follow until you enter the funny second part of the ride. Here the course is very intensive and the car spins very fast. Compared to Dragons Fury from the English Chessington World of Adventures, the Spanish Spider definitely gets the short end of the stick, but nevertheless it stays high up in the ranking.

El Aserradero

Right next to it and Abismo runs the Zamperla log flume El Aserradero through the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid. The steep lifts are very hard to get used to, as you can hardly hold on to them, at least at the front of the boat. After the tunnel at the end of the ride you might get a good shower through the waterfall, which either turns off in time or simply turns on above the heads of the passengers or even stays on from the beginning.

Tyfon

Where once a HUSS Enterprise and a swing boat used to stand, there is now a Zamperla Disk’O called Tyfon. Unfortunately, the placement of the ride was not really thought out, so there is a lot of open space around the ride and it seems that something is missing here.

Rotor

A few meters further on you will find a HUSS Condor called Rotor. The clearance took what felt like an eternity and before you could enjoy the view in the air you first had to overcome the treetops in the upper third of the flight altitude. This unfortunately causes the ride to lose some of its charisma.

Tornado

A bit off the beaten track, in a dead end street, is the Intamin Suspended Looping Coaster Tornado. The layout is unusually long for an inverted coaster of this height and occupies much of the area around it. The ride in the rather long train turns out to be slightly rough and not really exciting, only the corkscrew may be mentioned as the highlight of the ride. From the outside the ride is a forest of pillars without equal, especially the loops deserve special recognition.

Sillas Voladoras and La Cueva de las Tarantulas

If you climb the way out of the cul-de-sac, you can take a lap on the wave swinger Sillas Voladoras, and if the crowd is too big, you can even queue for a single seat. Beneath the spinning coaster Tarantula is La Cueva de las Tarantulas, an interactive dark ride through a mine filled with spiders. The ride itself is well designed and the one or other effect is quite frightening. The ride system itself seems to be a bit older and so the ride has a certain nostalgic charm.

La Maquina

The last attraction in this area is the HUSS Frisbee La Maquina, which not only catches the eye with its outstanding design, but also offers one of the most intense and balanced riding programs. Rarely is a park version better than the traveling specimens of the same type, and so La Maquina can be seen as the showpiece of a HUSS Frisbee.

Los Rapidos

As the weather made cooling off a reasonable option, Los Rapidos was considered in the Naturaleza area. This ride, built by O.D Hopkins, is something different, since in Europe you will usually only find rides by Intamin. The level of wetness of the ride in the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid is given, at least if the big fountain really gets you, otherwise there are still some water jets towards the end which protrude directly into the boat. The cave in the middle of the ride looks a bit bare, otherwise this rafting ride is definitely one of the more beautiful and wetter ones in Europe.

Vértigo

You can ride an old famous one from the Bobbejaanland in a much more beautiful design. However, if you think of the gap left by the left side in the Belgian amusement park with a rather critical look. Vértigo’s greatest weakness is in its dispatching, where all four cars are loaded at the same time, instead of the more fluid loading of other mice. Thanks to this, there were unnecessarily long breaks and very long queues. The journey itself is no longer as brute as it was in Lichtaart at the time – a pity for the great braking.

Los Fiordos

The second water attraction in this area is the Spillwater Los Fiordos, which offers a slightly longer route compared to other spillwater installations. The reason for this is that the park boundary of the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid is virtually next door. After you have taken a seat in the boats and the bars have been closed, you are ready to go. After a bend, one climbs up the lift, whereupon, after a 90° bend, one gets closer and closer to the water pool. Unfortunately the boat itself only displaces the water to the side and not to the front as in the Spillwater Cataratas Salvajes in Parque Warner, which is why you get out here relatively dry (about the same degree of wetness as a good log flume) and even on the bridge you don’t get wet at all.

Vagones Locos and Turbulencia

In the children’s area you will find two children’s roller coasters. To our great amazement we could get on both roller coasters straightaway. While the Vagones Locos beat you up wonderfully, the small suspended coaster Turbulencia could convince with its high swing and was even a lot of fun.

Zeppelin

Remarkable in this area is the park railway, which was built in an unusual way just above the heads of the park guests. Apart from that, the area also offers a lot for the very young guests. In the last area of the park, called Tranquilidad, you can find the Zeppelin Monorail with which you can get a good impression of the park, the old and rather ugly Ferris wheel, as well as an ugly and broken swing boat. The dark ride Fantasia, a copy of Disney’s It’s a small world, was unfortunately closed, there was a waiting time of one hour for the star flyer and the Maze El Viejo Caseron, established since 1989, charged 5€ admission.

La Jungla

The boat trip La Jungla can score with its ancient animatronics, which are all known from various other rides and even the sound effects of well-known German rides can be found here. The ride itself is quite long, passes through some African scenes until you drive through Asia and is all in all quite trashy, but quite nice.

Pictures Parque de Atracciones des Madrid

Closing Words

Through the Gran Avenida, where there is only one motion simulator, we went down to the park exit. The Parque de Atracciones de Madrid itself has its own charm, but also some unattractive or just empty corners. The roller coasters are, except for Tarantula, all middle class and only a few of them can really convince, e.g. Abismo or Tornado.  Nevertheless you should definitely plan a visit.

 

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