PortAventura Launches $10 Million Water Park Expansion

PortAventura theme park and resort, located in Tarragona, Spain, has had a rather busy couple of years.  They've added an entire new Sesame Street themed children's section to the park, and this past season debuted Europe's tallest coaster, the massive Shambhala B&M hyper coaster.

The park, which is part of a larger resort consisting of other activities, hotels, and amenities, is in the middle of a $75 million expansion plan that will last several years.

This year the resort will see a major, $10 million expansion to the water park on property, known as Costa Caribe Aquatic Park.  Featuring a Caribbean theme, the water park already features many slides and attractions, as well as an indoor section.

This year, however, the park will be expanded a great deal - the art above shows off the full new collection of attractions.  Breaking records again, the star attraction of the expanded park will be the highest freefall water slide in Europe which stands 31 meters (102 feet) tall at its peak.  Riders will plummet down at a 55 degree angle as they race toward the finish.  Attached to the same launch tower will be another slide, staring from about 60 feet in the air and featuring several hills on the way down.

Another new addition, and quite popular in the industry these days, will be a six lane mat racing slide.  Families will be able to race each other down a series of hills and slopes until one is declared the winner at the finish line.

As if those new slides weren't enough there is a large pool area that can be seen in the concept art.  This will feature a children's area with a enormous pirate ship, seen above, themed to the Sesame Street characters.  There will be several small slides coming from the ship's deck, which is also filled with play elements.  A small splash pad will also be build adjacent to the ship.

Finally, located a small level up from the children's area will be a more secluded adult pool.  Meant as a place for grown ups to both take a swim or relax in the water, it will feature "water beds" and plenty of waterfalls.  The entire expansion area will be heavily themed to match the existing Caribbean theme, which includes more than 50 species of plants and palm trees.

When the expansion is complete the Costa Caribe Aquatic park will feature sixteen attractions and slides.  I can't wait to see what's next for the resort!