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PTR - Shambhala Opening Day!

oriolat2

Giga Poster
Here's my little TR of Shambhala's opening day. I know it's been more than two weeks but you know what they say: better late than never, right? cool)

I won't write that much since I know that most of you will skip to the pictures anyway.

I started my day a little late because I had been working until noon, so I got to the park at 2pm, when the Media Press preview was over. However, thanks to a friend (Jaume, thanks!) I got a Press pass. I hung out with some coaster friends in the press room and waited for Jaume to finish uploading the press material on his website. At 5pm we entered the park again and went straight to Shambhala through Sésamo Aventura's entrance. Stunning and unusual view of Khan!

I was expecting the queue to be really long (some people stated that the line had reached 2 hours) but waited a lot less thanks to a special pass. As for the ride and area, here's a small description.

The ride area is visually stunning and the coaster is jaw-dropping for those not familiar with 200+ feet structures. The fact that the coaster sort of interacts with Khan adds to the thrill and both coasters look a bit better than expected. There are lots of photo opportunities both for Khan and Shambhala and the splash viewing zone seemed to be a hit with non-riders.

The coaster itself is what you would expect from a B&M hyper: rather tame in terms of forces but still very enjoyable and especially rerideable (I rode 5 times). I must agree with Joey; Shambhala is not meant to be a huge adrenaline machine. Just a big-ass coaster aimed at everyone in the family. The public seemed to absolutely love it because all trains would pull into the station with cheers and clapping. Although the lift seems endless, it goes up quite fast. The drop is a lot more intense than DK's or Silver Star's, especially back row. Tunnel makes for an amazing head-chopper. The first hill doesn't really have airtime and gives you a nice break. The ampersand turn is what makes the ride, really; it gives a disorienting sensation I have not felt on any other coaster: you see the train turning to the right but thanks to the irregular banking you don't really know where you are! Then there's an array of hills which starts with the speed hill (sudden pop of floater), followed by three hills, each with some moderate airtime. The MCBR hardly take any speed of the coaster and the turn after them comes unexpectedly with nice laterals. Then you have the final small hill, a bump (a la Goliath – SFOG) and then brakes. Although it's the second longest B&M it feels "short" and ride time is just over a minute.

As for operations, it felt like the crew needed a bit more training because even with only 2 trains they were stacking them. Granted it was their first day, but even loading and unloading seemed a bit chaotic. I am sure this will improve now that (after two weeks) count-down clocks have been placed so that the bar checkers know how much time there's left to avoid stacking. Hopefully we will see regular 3-train operation soon!

In terms of themeing, the coaster is not themed. The area is nicely landscaped (although it needs shade) and have some random pieces of themeing scattered throughout the splash plaza and the queue itself. Inside the queue building is nothing more than a bunch of cattlepen. Nice looking building, like the station, but don't expect anything like Expedition Everest's queue area.

Onto the photos:

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That's the view you get entering via SésamoAventura

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And that's the view you get from Khan's plaza

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Bits of themeing past the entrance arch.

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You get to walk under Khan's big-ass loop through this random-yet-decently-themed tunnel.

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Unusual shots of Khan

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Dueling B&Ms, unlike some other coaster from Orlando :lol: Getting both trains to duel on the first drop was the money shot I didn't get :(

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Signage!

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Queue building and random man #1

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Test seat for you fatties! I am sorry to say that Shambhala is quite an ass when it comes to acommodating larger riders...

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You have up to four different lines to choose: Express line, first row, regular line and also single rider. First row line was insanely long so we skipped it!

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I am sure Ben will wet himself just looking at this HUGE cattlepen. <3

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Single Rider abuse! <3<3 This was a nice surprise. They were not really running efficiently though since I spotted trains being dispatched with up to 9 empty seats. Spanish operations at their best!

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One of the two bridges connecting the station to the queue building. The back one has the regular and single rider lines, and this one has front row and Express lines.

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Random queue building photo

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Station shot!

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Station also reminds me of Baco's or Diablo's. Nicely themed but a bit narrow.

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There are four sliding doors that lock personal items. Instead of getting them on the loading side, you get your items on the other side (like on Bluefire). This system was very efficient but lasted 2 days because people kept stealing bags and personal items. Now you leave and collect your crap on the same side, like on Khan... Shame!

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Wheels and nerdy stuff! :D

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Lift hill can be spotted from miles around the park... It has really changed PA's skyline!

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Amazing first drop!

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Almost ready... steady...

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... ready...

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... fail! I am SO bad at timing LOL

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Up and away!

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The last three hills offer nice airtime! At least better than Silver Trim's ;)

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Train coming back to the station with happy riders! You know a coaster it's a hit when everyone comes back with a smile on their faces and everyone is cheering and clapping when trains are dispatched or come back to the station :)

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Artsy shots!

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I like when Khan's legs are wide-open for me ;)

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More themeing and random man #2

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It's nice to be by the splash to cool off!

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All riders duck their head and lower their arms as soon as they enter the tunnel :)

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Saw this on the station's floor... Must be the concrete work company's signature...

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Thanks Jaume (owner of Posesionfriki.com) for the awesome day! You're the man ;)

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Overall, I'd rate Shambhala 8,5/10. Dragon Khan still stands as the king for me!

Hope you enjoyed the review and the photos! I'll try to upload a video showing a bit of dueling action and the splash!
 

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Brilliant report, it looks absolutely gorgeous. Glad the ride is at the very least standard for a B&M Hyper, so fun enough. The area looks so nice though, but that's Port Aventura in general.

Now, let the griping begin ;) :lol:
 

Lofty

CF Legend
Great review Oriol. Cannot wait to ride in July/August when I visit the park again, also meant to be meeting up with some Spanish guy that likes Khan with it's legs open or something... ;)
 

Nick

Mega Poster
Brilliant pictures, thanks for sharing. Looks epic. I think I'll really enjoy this ride, I've become a bit of an old man with high force coasters, and tend to prefer speed orientated and 'floaty' rides so I think I'll love this! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE coasters like Nemesis for their high G's, but I can only ride them a couple of times in a row these days :(
 

Kebab

Giga Poster
I'll be there this month, booked for an entire week so 7 days of whoring Khan and Shambhala <3 I can imagine night-riding this will be something quite spectacular too, can't wait!

Great report!
 

Smithy

Strata Poster
Is the park going to be open late enough for night-time riding? Didn't think it got fully dark this time of year until around 9.30-10ish. And that's if they've got it back open again. Sorry to be the buzzkill lol.
 

Kebab

Giga Poster
^I'm going there 22nd June, it's open until midnight then, but you're right it doesn't get dark until very late, but I can catch the sunset on Dragon Khan around 8ish, whore that for a bit, then night-ride Shambhala I guess... :) Can't wait!
 

Lofty

CF Legend
^ Let's not forget Stampida? Really? Are you joking? I think forgetting it is the best thing that could possibly happen ;)
 

Kebab

Giga Poster
The back row of stampida is insane, despite how violent it is. I'd whore the red train of stampida any day, baco on the other hand...

Really looking forward to riding shambhala, might experience it at night first though.
 

Lofty

CF Legend
I'd ride Baco ANYDAY over Stampida. It really breaks my heart when thinking that Stampida used to be one of my favourite ever coasters. It was fantastic. DIE KUMBAK.
 

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
I'd have Stampida ride over me any day that ride Baco again... Erm, not entirely sure what the point is though :lol:
 

andrus

Giga Poster
oriolat2 said:
The drop is a lot more intense than DK's or Silver Star's...The last three hills offer nice airtime! At least better than Silver Trim's
So is it better than Silver Star? I was dissapointed with both Silver Star and Apollo's Chariot, but Nitro on the other hand blew me away :--D So I don't really know what to expect from Shambhala!
 

oriolat2

Giga Poster
Definitely better than Silver Star. Just don't go expecting a superintense coaster because it's not. The airtime is average (no ejector I am afraid) but you get certain points of good floater (speed hill <3) and the final bunny hops.

From a rider's point of view, its trackwork is flawless: glass smooth. From a standy point of view, it's a beautiful coaster to look at and the interaction with the paths and the splash are amazing.
 
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