Parque de Atracciones Madrid - 04/29/06

Woah, what a weekend!

Saturday, April 29, Sarah, Jess, Guirllmo, and I went to Parque de Atracciones Madrid. This day included several ?????????firsts????????? for me, which made it all worthwhile. We left the Pozuelo train station at 11:30 and made the short trip to the park, which opened at 12. First off, I have to say getting through the front gate was extremely slow; we actually entered the park at 12:30-12:45. we headed to the back of the park to see that Abismo (the new X-car coaster) was testing. Instead we took out first ride of the day on the Intamin FreeFall Tower (I can't remember the name):

Free Fall 8.5/10 ????????? I love pretty much all drop rides, and this was no exception. I believe it was around 175ft. tall. No matter, the drop was amazing as it is on any Intamin tower.

We then decided to hit the Huss Frisbee:

Huss Frisbee 4/10 ????????? the ride was spinning extremely fast, which didn't impress me, as I hate ?????????spinny????????? rides. The cycle was long but by the end I was feeling pretty nauseous.

Next up was Tarantula, the Maurer S?????????hne spinning coaster:

Tarantula 8/10 ????????? My first Maurer S?????????hne spinner. I wasn't sure what to expect on this ride. I was actually quite surprised; it proved to be much more thrilling than I had first thought. To start, the car was too small for me. I found my legs to be too big to ride in comfort. I sat beside Jess on the side facing backwards. The lift is FAST, we were at the pinnicle in less than 10 seconds. Sitting backwards I couldn't see the first drop. I was a lot steeper than expected. We fell on the side which was quite unique. I couldn't help but laugh with Jessica screaming histerically beside me. The first virtical horseshoe was aswome. We ended up facing straight down with only a little bar holding us in. The rest of the ride is a blur to me. I just remember plowing through a small tunnel unexpectedly and getting some air. A solid, fun ride.

Tornado 6/10 ????????? My first full circuit Intamin Invert! Too bad, because this ride did NOTHING for me. To start, they were only running one train. The park was quite busy as it was a Spanish long weekend. This really pissed me off as the wait was over an hour. The ops were slow at loading, which made the situation worse. I sat in the second last row. The first drop is by far the best part of the ride. It grabbed my stomach more than Raptor does. Then its just loop, overbank, loop, cork, helix, brakes. Nothing special at all. The helix was pretty tame too.

As we were riding the FreeFall again, we noticed a small group of people at the entrance to Abismo. It was opening! We ran over and ended up getting on the 4th train. Within 15 min., the ride hd a 4 hr. wait.

Abismo 9/10 ?????????This ride was really amazing. To start, the X-car is extrmely comfy and roomy, and the hip restraint is ingenious. I can see this coming to a lot of new coasters in the future. I sat in the 3rd row of the first car. Also, ever seat has a great view due to the stadium seating. The vertical lift was fine, but it was the flip over the top that made the ride. I made sure to look up, extend my arms, and savour the view from 150ft. up with a mere hip restraint holding me in. There is nothing else like this, it is an amazing experience. We hit the twist and before I knew it we were freefallng down the tower. The base holds some pretty strong vertical g?????????s. We flew up into a demented overback, nearly clipping our hands on the main tower. Then into the extreme bunny hill. This hill provided me with the most extreme ejector air I've ever received. But because of the restraint, it was also extremely comfortable. The train really does move over this hill. Then into the cutback of sorts. This element can almost be considered an inversion. It's tight and heavly banked. Then a straight section into a dip that provided some more air and back up the left. There we got more air before being stopped and brought back into the station. One hell of a ride.

While Parque de Atracciones Madrid had a couple good rides, my day was just mediocre. Nothing could have prepared me for the next day, when Troy and I made our way to Warner Bros. Movie World. But that's another trip report, hopefully coming tomorrow.

Pics here - http://spaces.msn.com/jarretvank/ no descriptions yet, I havent had time.

Good to see you had a nice day, i was going to visit whilst in spain but decided to go to Terra Mitica instead.
I'm pretty sure i would have visited Parque de Atracciones but Abismo was just being constructed when i visited, so it seemed a better job going to Terra Mitica. Comparing rides without Abismo
:- Synkope, and Intamin Gyro swing is way better than a standard Huss Frisbee.
:- Where's the woody? And im sure if they did have one it wouldnt be as good as Magnus Colossus
:- A standard SLC is way fun, im sure it will compete with Intamin Invert with that drole layout.
:- El Vulvo Del Pheonix is a Intamin Drop tower, so ill call that on a draw[lol].

Also Terra Mitica's themeing is wonderful, so i made a good choice.
Abismo is unique in every sense so im glad you got to ride!.
EcG[:)]

Nice pics. The girl with the brilliant blue eyes makes me miss my girl. Blue eyes rule.

Where can i find the pictures. Im not used to using MySpace at all.

In the photos section, n the upper left, click the tab and find Parque de Atracciones section. Just click on it and the pics will appear.