Terra Mítica
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 | |
| Location | Benidorm, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°33′37″N 0°09′32″W / 38.56028°N 0.15889°W |
| Opened | 27 July 2000 |
| Owner | Aqualandia-Mundomar |
| Operating season | April to November |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 25 |
| Roller coasters | (4) 1 standing but not operating |
| Water rides | 3 |
| Website | terramiticapark.com |
Terra Mítica (Valencian: [ˈtɛra ˈmitika], also [ˈtɛrɛ ˈmitika]) is a theme park located in Benidorm, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain. The park is divided into five themed zones: Egypt, Greece, Rome, Iberia, and the Islands (of the Mediterranean). The park opened in 2000.
In 2001, a year after park opening, Paramount Parks entered into an agreement to manage Terra Mítica, and the park was branded as a Paramount Park for the following season. In 2004, the park filed for the Spanish equivalent of bankruptcy protection from its creditors. Since then, the park has operated independently. Terra Mítica emerged from temporary receivership in 2006, after restructuring its expenses, reducing labor costs, and canceling debt through the sale of unused park land. After generating an average negative operating profit of 8 million € per year from its inception, Terra Mítica produced positive EBITDA in 2006.[1]
For the 2008 season, Terra Mítica added a new free access area including major branded food chains and shops as well as an outdoor adventure park. Plans for the 2009 season included the addition of shopping outlets adjacent to the Iberia section of the park. A hotel was planned to be built by Ortiz Hijos in the area just behind the Egypt section of the park.
For the 2013 season, the park was divided into two separate parks: Iberia Park and Terra Mítica. Iberia Park is a free-admission area that requires tokens to be bought to access the rides. It covers half of the Egypt zone and all of the Iberia and Islands areas. Terra Mítica is a pay-to-enter area where all rides are free while inside. For the 2014 season, Iberia Park became gated, requiring a ticket to enter. Iberia Park is only open for two months from 2016 onwards.
In 2016, the Luxor Hotel was opened. To coincide with the hotel's opening, the season was reduced to three months, but prices were increased, causing many season pass holders to complain.[citation needed]
It appears as if in the 2021 season only Iberia Park reopened, as the map of Terra Mítica and all its attractions were removed from the website. In addition to that, some of Iberia Park's more elaborate attractions, such as El Rescate de Ulises (Ulysses' Rescue), also stayed closed. A new show, Fantasia was premiered in the auditorium in the islands section. The former Barbarossa arena was heavily refurbished to house a new show, Iroko. The show would run for the 2021 season but would not continue into 2022. The arena is now unused and still features the refurbishments for the show.
In 2022, the whole park opened up again with the addition of a new, high production show in the Circus maximus venue. Espartaco, Honor y coraje makes use of: projection mapping, stunts, horses, chariots and gladiator battles. The Fantasia show continued on in this season and performed alongside Espartaco.
In 2023, a new horror passage, Arde Troya, opened in the queue line of the former ride, El Rescate de Ulises. The maze lasts around 6-7 minutes with the inclusion of around 7 actors. In addition to this, 3 new shows were added on top of Espartaco Honor y coraje and Fantasia. These include, El sueño de Egipto, a multidisciplinary show in the parks main entrance, La magica de Los dioses, a magic show featured in a temporary venue in the Greece zone, and The Spanish Horse, a dance show featured Infront of the Fantasia auditorium.
Park Structure
[edit]
The park is organized into five thematic areas, each influenced by their respective origins:
- Egypt
- Greece
- Rome
- Iberia
- The Islands - This area is influenced by the ancient Mediterranean cultures and history.
In 2008, the following areas were added to the park:
- Ocionía - A free access area with themed shops, branded restaurants, and pay-as-you-go attractions. Ocionia is located just before the park entrance area.
- Atalaya - An outdoor adventure and obstacle course with challenges for adults and children alike. Atalaya is adjacent to the park entrance.
Rides
[edit]In total, there are 25 rides at the park. The list of rides by complexity is given below (strong - red colour, medium - yellow colour, easy - green colour, children - blue colour).
| Park | Ride | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Greece | La Furia de Tritón (Triton's Fury) | A Shoot the Chute ride with two drops built by Intamin |
| SynKope | A flat ride, 35 metres in height, reaching a velocity of 90 km/h. Built by Mondial in 2004. | |
| Titánide | A Vekoma SLC roller coaster | |
| El Laberinto del Minotauro (The Labyrinth of the Minotaur) | A dark ride built by Sally Corporation featuring an ETF ride system.[2][3] | |
| Los Ícaros (The Icarus) | A swing ride built by Zierer | |
| Templo de Kinetos (Kinetos' Temple) | A motion simulator | |
| Alucinakis | A children's roller coaster built by Zamperla | |
| Arriarrix | Ride on the backs of unicorns and pasting into a meadow of Ancient Greece. | |
| Iberia | Arietes | A children's carousel ride |
| Jabato | A children's carousel ride | |
| Egypt | Cataratas del Nilo (The Falls of Nile) | A log flume ride built by MACK Rides. It has two drops, one in reverse, with its biggest drop being 20 metres height. |
| Akuatiti | A children's log flume | |
| La Batalla de la Pirámide (The Battle of the Pyramid) | An indoor paintball game | |
| La Pirámide del Terror (Horror Pyramid) | A haunted maze | |
| Puerto de Alejandría (Alexandría's Port) | A boat ride from Egypt to Iberia | |
| Infinnito | A 100-metre observation tower built by Intamin in 2007 | |
| Rome | A wooden roller coaster built by the Roller Coaster Corporation of America with a double drop. It's 36 metres high and reaches a speed of 92 km/h. The roller coaster is 1,252 meters long.
| |
| El Vuelo del Fénix (The Flight of the Phoenix) | A 60-metre drop tower built by Intamin and themed to the legend of the phoenix | |
| Inferno | A ZacSpin Coster designed by Intamin. It is 25 metres height and flies at 60 km/h producing 3 g forces for a brief but exciting moment. It possesses one inversion. | |
| Ayquesustus | A children's drop tower | |
| Rontundus | A children's Ferris wheel with dove-shaped gondolas | |
| Serpentinum | An attraction where children can pull a lever in carts pulled by geese | |
| Tentáculus | An attraction where children can go up, down, and sideways in vehicles in the form of torches chaired by the Imperial Roman Eagle | |
| Torbellinus | A children's swing ride | |
| Vertigum | A children's attraction in the form of a gondola mouse which rises and rotates in a circular motion | |
| The Islands | La Cólera de Akiles (The Anger of Akiles) | A 16-metre-high Supernova built by Mondial in 2006, previously located at Alton Towers[4] |
| Los Rápidos de Argos (Argos' Rapids) | A river rapids ride | |
| Mithos | A typical carrousel with mythological beings, such as mermaids, centaurs, sacred oxen and others | |
| El Rescate de Ulises (Ulysses' Rescue) | A dark water ride with animatronics |
Shows
[edit]| Show | Description |
|---|---|
| Acuarela | Passage around Roma. |
| Anfitriones dem Mediterráneo (Hosts Mediterranean) | Meet at the park with ancient gods. |
| Animaciones Terroríficas (Terrifying Animals) | Humorous show. |
| Arqueólogos (Archaeologists) | Two archaeologists travel through Egypt crazy in your car full of surprises in search of new mysteries. |
| ¡Baila con... las mascotas! (Dancing with... the mascots!) | Baba, mític and Cuca is a choreography of the most fun to get a big welcome. |
| Barbarroja (Red Beard) | Enter into a typical Mediterranean town and live the Captain Red Beard's attack with a real ship with 7 pirates, a town, a 20-metre cliff and a lot of special effects and surprises! |
| Danzas de Karnak (Dances Karnak) | Sinuous dance of the priestesses of Isis. |
| El Corazón de Samos (Samos' heart) | Dances from the center of the Mediterranean Sea. |
| El Encantador de Serpientes (The snake charmers) | A funny little man with his dancer and a snake, which tells his travels through India. |
| Lucha de Gladiadores (Gladiator's Fight) | In the Roman square, in front of the Circus Màximus, enjoy a battle between the most important Gladiator Schools of Rome. |
| Mític y Baba (Mític and Baba) | Interaction with pets in the park. |
| QueenWater | Multimedia evening with fountains, fireworks, laser. This show is only in high season. |
| Rock'n'Roma | Mobile Disco on the square of the Roman empire. |
| Tarantela | Inside the Circus Màximus, you'll see a fantastic history about a stupid clown who finds the Circus Maximus' God and who takes part in a special party inside the Roman theatre. Don't miss this show! |
| Teatro de Títeres (Puppet theater) | Currently is represented by 'La Pócima Mágica (The Magic potion)'. A story for the youngest of the family. |
Calendar and admission
[edit]Terra Mitica is open almost every day in June, July, August, and the first week of September from 10.30 am to 8 pm, 9 pm or 10.30 pm (closing time varies). It opens from 10.30 to 7 pm on some selected days in May, October and November. It remains closed to whole months of December to April.[5]
In 2016, a single adult ticket costs €38. A two-day adult ticket is €48. An afternoon adult ticket is €25. There are discounted tickets for juniors (5–10 years old), seniors (60 years and older), and disabled people. Children 0–5 years enter free.
Season passes are also available: adult season pass - €80 (family: €70); season pass renewal: no reduction as of 2016. For family season passes a proof of family relationship is required.
Incidents
[edit]On 7 July 2014, an Icelandic teenager was killed after his harness sprung open on Inferno.[6] All other ZacSpin across the world ceased operations pending investigation findings from Terra Mítica and later reopened.[7][8][9]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Silver, Vernon, and Charles Penty, "Spain's Banking Folly", Bloomberg Markets, January 2011, pp. 70–76.
- ^ O'Brien, Tim (27 March 2000). "$300 Million Terra Mitica To Open As The Year's Largest Park Project". Amusement Business. 112 (13): 1, 24.
- ^ Joossens, Patrick (26 February 2007). "Sally Corporation: l'intervista". Parks Mania (in Italian). Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ Lewis. "Boneshaker". TowersTimes. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ When does Terra Mitica open?
- ^ Gerard Couzens (8 July 2014). "Teenager killed after being thrown from roller-coaster called Hell at Benidorm theme park". mirror.
- ^ "Green Lantern Closed As Precaution After Tragedy In Spain". The Coaster Guy. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ^ "Gröna Lund stänger Insane efter dödsfall i Spanien". Aftonbladet. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
- ^ "Linnanmäki Park closes ride after death in Spain". Yle Uutiset. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
External links
[edit]
- Terra Mítica Official Website (in English, Spanish, and Catalan)