Wanting to surprise visitors, many with a high rate of repetition, Port Aventura is launching its first dark ride, an undercover roller coaster that immerses passengers in a dark world for a while, among special effects, accelerations and surprising turns in any direction . The long-awaited attraction, Uncharted, based on the successful Sony video game and the Tom Holland film, is the resort’s big card to try to beat its historical record this year: 5.3 million customers.
“The investment, of 25 million, shows that our shareholders continue to bet on Port Aventura”, emphasized David García, the general manager. Before the opening to the public, yesterday was the world premiere of the attraction with special guests, media, journalists, influencers and content creators. A group of twelve workers were also able to try it, in this exclusive first pass, after participating in a raffle.
The experience is different from everything offered by the other Port Aventura attractions. Although you get on a carriage of what might seem like another roller coaster, the ride starts almost in the dark to immerse the passenger in a kind of parallel reality. Light and color appear with special effects and images more typical of a video game than an attraction. The passenger loses track of the space on the stage, of nearly 5,000 square meters, inside a mountain that forms a new sky line of the FarWest themed area.
“You don’t know when you will accelerate or where, backwards or sideways. The darkness and the launches are combined to create a unique experience”, emphasizes Luis Valencia, director of development of the park.
The trip, Hollywood, in search of gold inside a mountain, in an old mining prospect. The two-minute journey keeps the passenger in awe, as if suspended on the rails. Among the most shocking novelties, lateral accelerations, pioneers, inverted falls or backwards marches.
There are five sudden changes in speed that see the sensations multiplied thanks to the darkness or the lack of light, as the case may be.
The attraction is designed for all audiences, with the only requirement being 1.30 metres. For those who regularly go up and down big attractions, such as Shambala or Dragon Khan, Unchartedés a new experience that will not physically push them to the limit, but in which they will experience a different kind of sensation, exciting.
For those who prefer less physically demanding attractions, and who look down on the great falls, it is an ideal immersive space. On the way down, the feeling of having experienced something very intense but without dizziness or feeling weak legs. It gets short.
Port Aventura has devised a route that starts long before you get on the attraction, to make the queues more bearable, which will be long especially this opening season. At the same time, virtual queues have begun to be tested throughout the park. A tour with little light, full of surprises, will accompany the visitor up to Uncharted.
The park has doubled down on a special season, the longest in history, with the opening for Carnival. The rate of bookings in July and August is better than that of 2022, thanks to the local public, the French (one million visitors), with a rise of 42%, and the British: 500,000 customers.
