Show Notes
Port Aventura is a park I've loved for over 25 years. It's home to some great rides and attractions including the incredible Shambhala. But recently it's started to get a bad rep for operations, essentially destroying some of the experience for guests. Alex Brindley joins me again this week - he's a big fan of the park and has just returned from a week there. So does his experience tell us the park is improving or getting worse, and is it one you should still be looking to visit?
More from Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast
Marcus Delo is living the theme park enthusiast dream. He started his instagram account to document his park photos and got spotted by the industry. Now he takes shots and films for some of the biggest parks in the UK. We chat about how it happened, and why he thinks enthusiasts are the best people for the job in this episode. Follow Marcus on Instagram and TikTok - @Thrillriders
Fright Nights at Thorpe Park is celebrating 25 years and I was invited along to experience it for the first ever time with Dean Stokes. Conveniently he'd just got back from HHN in Orlando - so when Universal is here, assuming they bring the event with them, have our parks really got anything to worry about? Dean thinks there's definitely things we do better.....
Something a bit different this week as Parkcast comes to you from the IAAPA Expo Europe in London! This was my first visit to this hugely important event for the industry and I met lots of new and old friends along the way. In this episode I catch up with RMC, The Gravity Group, Adam Hattan, Andy Hygate and more....
I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to get Ride Comparisons on Parkcast. As we were both nominees in the UK Theme Park Awards Content Creator category for 2026 - this seemed like the perfect time. In this episode we chat about some of the big winners, and whether the parks won the awards we thought they would. There were definitely a couple of controversial ones! I also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who nominated and voted for Parkcast in the awards this year. It means a huge amount for you to spend an hour a week with me. We may not have won this year - but Parkcast isn't going anywhere and that's only thanks to you.
As theme park enthusiasts we've all probably heard of IAAPA - especially their incredible expos. But the organisation does so much work behind the scenes in the attractions industry. I'm joined by Peter van der Schans who is the Executive Director and Vice President of IAAPA ESA for this episode to chat about why IAAPA exists, what it's done for theme parks and amusement parks globally and what we can expect from the Europe Expo in London in 2026.