originally posted on 11/10/2025
Photo: Jo Pools collection. View full-sized image.
What was your favorite thing about Scarefest 25?
- “Scarefest 25 was an amazing event, and it pleases me that I see more and more new faces together with old ones, which make these trips unforgettable!” —Jo Pools, Belgium
- “The camaraderie!” —Fran Damminger, Pennsylvania
- “'Horror en el Lago' was a fantastic fireworks show with boats, flying performers above the water, horror theming, fire effects, moving monsters and a giant talking zombie.” —Jan Liebricht, Germany
- “Seeing and riding Red Force.” —James, Georgia (Europe)
- “Just enjoying a weekend with a bunch of nice people.” —Dean Piotrowski, Portugal
- “For me the best was Shambala, really great roller coaster, and Red Force! If you hadn’t [been on] Red Force before … it's a cool ride, but I think the view [of it] before counts…that’s important both [of them] together, first the view, then ride…that’s the best one, so great! 😊 —Birgit Schuette, Germany
PortAventura was celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025.
Photo: Sascha Schwarzer. View full-sized image.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, PortAventura in Salou, Spain, hosted Scarefest 2025 on October 25-26. At the outset, the weather looked pretty dicey, but the only rain experienced was briefly on Sunday morning. Otherwise temperatures were perfect for a park visit.
Some attendees arrived early on Friday and checked in at Hotel Gold River, themed like the Old West. Lisa Douris from Houston laughed, “But I just left Texas!” Those who arrived by train met on the platform and took a cab to the hotel, as it was a long walk all the way around the park. The advantage to this hotel was that attendees had their own entrance at the back of the park, which was right next to the new coaster Uncharted: The Enigma of Penitence and the racing woodie Stampida. Some had time to enjoy the park before the busy weekend.
On Friday evening, the group of 27 registered attendees kicked off the weekend with dinner at the Grand Hall Buffet, followed by drinks in the Lobby Bar.
Shambhala.
Photo: Lisa Douris. View full-sized image.
Photo: Emile Van Stokkom. View full-sized image.
Saturday morning, attendees met in the lobby after a buffet breakfast and were escorted by park staff to ride Shambhala, a magnificent Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) hypercoaster. Shambhala has possibly the most intense and prolonged, powerful airtime of almost any coaster, including other B&Ms, all the way into the brake run. The uplift over the camelbacks is so extreme that riders’ arms almost fly up whether or not they want them to! At 4 p.m., the park representative met attendees again at Shambhala for another group ride.
Dragon Khan.
Photo: Jamey Frank. View full-sized image.
Another notable coaster is Dragon Khan, an eight-looper B&M sit-down coaster. This early multilooper is an extremely aggressive ride, with high G-forces and is beautifully painted flaming red in keeping with the China-themed area.
Stampida.
Photo: Jamey Frank. View full-sized image.
Stampida is a dueling woodie from Custom Coasters International (CCI) dating back to 1997. Recently, it’s had Titan Track installed on the high-speed turn after the first drop, but it still has that old-school woodie feel. The park does an excellent job consistently racing the two sides, which have different layouts and a head-on fly-by of the two trains. The layout is a circular spaghetti bowl of track among many tall trees. A junior woodie, Tomahawk, built at the same time by CCI, crisscrosses through the structure.
Furius Baco is an early Intamin wing coaster that starts with an explosive launch, then dives very low to the ground with a slow roll. It’s a bit rattly, but overall enthusiasts enjoyed it. El Diablo Tren de la Mina is an original Arrow mine train from when the park opened in 1995; it contains three lift hills for a lengthy 1,008 meters (3,306 feet). Tami-Tami, a smooth and fun Vekoma junior model, rounds out the coaster collection in the very adorably themed area Sésamo Aventura. Nearby is a whimsical dark ride, Street Mission, in which riders shoot at moving “Cooooo-kieeeeeeees.”
“Halloween Factory.”
Photo: Jamey Frank. View full-sized image.
“Horror en el Lago” is a special effects show that included fireworks and monsters.
Photo: Jan Liebricht. View full-sized image.
Halloween attractions had significant extra charges, so most attendees focused on the coasters, for which they had an express pass on Saturday. All the shows were free, however, including the Chinese Scare Zone, “Halloween Factory” show, Halloween Birthday parade and fireworks and special effects show "Horror en el Lago.”
Photo: Jo Pools. View full-sized image.
At PortAventura’s sister park, Ferrari Land, stands the tallest coaster in Europe, Red Force, at 112 meters (367 feet). A linear synchronous motor-launched coaster by Intamin, it reaches 180 kph (112 mph) in five seconds. Potential riders will definitely want the Express Pass for this one! Inside its footprint is Junior Red Force, a delightful spiraling family SBF-Visa model.
After a day of coaster riding, attendees met for a delicious dinner at Ristorante Cavalino in Ferrari Land that included some tasty beef carpaccio, Iberian pork sirloin escalope with Marsala sauce and tiramisu dessert. Afterward, there was just enough time for a night ride on Shambhala before park closing.
Photo: Jo Pools collection. View full-sized image.
Sunday, everyone met at the hotel park entrance to ride Uncharted: The Enigma of Penitence. Even though it was sprinkling rain, there was already a one-hour wait. Uncharted is an indoor multilaunch coaster from Intamin, with rotating cars, giant projection screens and some surprise twists and turns in almost total darkness.
After time for one more coaster credit, attendees visited Iron Horse Restaurant in the Wild West area for a delicious meal of Caesar salad with chicken and anchovies, grilled flank steak with chimichurri sauce and creamy potatoes, and brownies with vanilla ice cream. The food was noticeably above average for a theme park. Jan Liebrecht’s birthday was also celebrated!
Although admission to the Halloween attractions was an upcharge, Halloween theming throughout the park could be seen by everyone.
Photo: Jamey Frank. View full-sized image.
Some headed back to the airport, and a few chose to stay over until Monday and enjoy the rest of the day at either park. And, of course, meet again in the lobby bar afterward.
For future visitors, there is a direct bus from the Barcelona airport straight to the hotels and park for just €13 through busplana.com or Flybus.com. Visitors can also take a train from Barcelona for about €11, with combo train/park tickets that are very reasonable, through Renfe.com.
Park admission is reasonable, but express passes can be expensive. However, attendees were glad they had them owing to exceptionally long lines during Halloween weekend. At park hotels one-night reservations include two days of admission to PortAventura and one day to Ferrari Land.
“Come for the coasters; stay for the friends” is ACE Europe’s motto, and with multiple events and group meals, attendees made friends from all over the world. ACE Europe hopes to see all at the region’s upcoming events.
— Jamey Frank, ACE Europe Assistant Regional Representative
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