As a child, I frequented Warner Bros. Movie World Germany, now known as Movie Park Germany, and it left a lasting impression on me. Six years after the opening of the German park, Six Flags and Warner Bros. continued their partnership with the opening of a new park in Madrid. This park has since been on my radar, also due to the fact that it’s home to a Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang.
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Six years separated the openings of the German and Spanish parks, so differences were inevitable. Warner Bros. Movie World Germany focused heavily on dark rides, with attractions such as The Never Ending Story, Gremlins Invasion, Alien Encounter, Looney Tunes Studio Tour, and the Batman simulator. While the German park featured some impressive roller coasters at the time, the Spanish park shifted its focus to include more roller coasters and fewer dark rides. I was especially curious about the ‘feel’ and atmosphere of the park, and whether or not, having remained Warner Bros. licensed all these years, it could recreate the feeling I had as a child at the German park.
Let’s take a closer look at what the park has to offer and what ultimately made us fall in love with it so much, going beyond simple personal ties to the sister park as my childhood favorite. Additionally, don’t forget to check out the vlog at the end of this article, which contains footage of rides not shown below!
Hollywood Boulevard and Warner Bros. Studios
We will begin on Hollywood Boulevard and Warner Bros. Studios (according to the website is Movie World Studios, but the signage inside the park says WB). The Hollywood Boulevard entrance features a Starbucks, gift shops, photo opportunities, a classic art deco motif, and the unmissable Chinese Theater. This leads naturally into the Warner Bros. Studios section of the park. These areas relate most closely to the fact that the park is themed after a successful Hollywood film studio. The area is filled with stereotypical topics such as filmmaking and a tour of California. The area features a Yogi Bear-themed Splash Battle as well as Cine Tour, a car ride through California. Both are enjoyable rides. The area is also home to Hotel Embrujado, a madhouse that serves as a seamless transition to the next area. This area is also home to the park’s signature stunt show, Police Academy, as well as the park’s current featured musical, “Dreamers” (more on that in our vlog).
Stunt Fall is the real reason we love this area, not just the well-maintained art deco and Hollywood theming. It is all about the insanity of the early 2000s coaster wars, when insane rides such as X2, Xcelerator, Stealth, and Deja Vu dominated the Californian coaster skyline. Add to that the fact that we now had large hyper and giga coasters, as well as enormous loopers. It was a wild time for coaster enthusiasts. However, twenty years later, rides such as Stunt Fall (a clone of Six Flags Magic Mountain’s defunct Deja Vu) continue to stand out as exceptional designs. The 54-meter-tall Giant Inverted Boomerang from Vekoma features two completely vertical drops while suspended beneath the track. The size of these roller coasters is often overlooked, but they are enormous. As die-hard fans of these roller coasters, Stunt Fall was another crucial reason for our trip to Madrid. You must travel to obtain these while they are still operating, as there are not many left. Needless to say, the experience was incredible and exactly what we desired: Stunt Fall is our favorite roller coaster in the nation. The park’s efficient and impressive operations of the roller coaster is commendable. We only saw it down for a few hours during our two days there due to wind. The popularity of this ride, as evidenced by the early morning lines, was heartening.
Old West Territory
Old West Territory is another of the park’s expansive lands, complete with a major wooden roller coaster and two water rides. Overall, the area is one of the better Western areas in Europe due to its excellent theming, entertainment options, and dining (Spanish parks have a surprisingly good feel for this). Let’s discuss Coaster-Express. This RCCA (Roller Coaster Corporation of America) wooden coaster from 2002 is nobody’s favorite. As simple as that. It is frequently referred to as the worst wooden coaster in Europe, alongside Movie Park Germany’s Bandit, due to RCCA’s poor wooden coaster production. (Son of Beast at Kings Island was yet another of these mistakes) However, Parque Warner Madrid has invested a sufficient amount of money to keep this roller coaster operational. It has been completely retracked, and a sprinkler system has been installed to prevent the wood from drying out too quickly in the dry climate of Central Spain. Was this roller coaster operating exceptionally? No. But it certainly wasn’t terrible. The unique trains are more spacious than most wooden roller coaster trains, which I especially liked. In addition, the layout is so unusual, consisting of what appears to be a series of giant helices and two hills, which makes it somewhat more intriguing. Wheel seats (also known as the front or rear rows of any car) are somewhat uncomfortable, whereas the middle rows of any car provide a pleasant experience. Allow me to go out on a limb and say that my ride in row two was actually enjoyable and that I now actually appreciate this roller coaster.
Additionally, Old West Territory features two major water rides and a flat ride. Los Carros de la Mina is a HUSS Break Dance, whereas Cataratas Salvajes is an Intamin Shoot the Chute. Rio Bravo is the other significant attraction in Old West Territory. This enormous Intamin Log Flume features larger boats that can accommodate up to eight riders (four rows of two) and a spectacular series of drops. The theming is well-executed with a scenic tour of an abandoned town in the American west, but it’s all about the backwards double drop (with airtime hill) and the massive drop at the end coming out of the caves. Our vlog features a pov video of the ride in its entirety!
Cartoon Village
Cartoon Village is a peculiar place because, despite the fact that the park is heavily focused on Warner Bros., much like the German park was 20 years ago, MGM, Hanna-Barbera, and Looney Tunes influences are all present. The area is home to the surprisingly insane rapids ride Rápidos ACME (point-of-view in the vlog) as well as a multitude of kid-friendly flat rides. Tom & Jerry Picnic en el Parque, a decently-themed Zierer Tivoli Coaster, is one of the two notable coasters in the area.
La Aventura de Scooby Doo, a shooting dark ride, is the most popular (in terms of wait times) attraction in Cartoon Village. The newest coaster in the area is Correcaminos Bip Bip (Road Runner), a clone of MACK Rides’ Youngstar. These roller coasters provide the ideal family thrill with a strong initial drop, a variety of swift transitions, and forceful helices. The theming on Correcaminos Bip Bip could be improved slightly, but I am impressed with the ride’s station, which is a nicely sculpted cave with rockwork/fiberglass that slides along with the ride’s station.
DC Super Heroes World
The final themed land is DC Super Heroes World. As the name suggests, there are a variety of DC Super Hero (and Villain)-themed attractions here. Gotham City and Gotham Park comprise a sub-division of the area. The Gotham City area formerly housed the Batman simulator ride, which is now being converted into a pre-show and station for the impressive new Batman-themed Intamin coaster with multiple launches. The 2002 Batman: Arkham Asylum roller coaster at the theme park is a feisty B&M Inverted Coaster with an impressive Arkham Asylum-themed walk-through queue. The queue was the icing on the cake for this roller coaster, which ran exceptionally well, featured a fantastic color scheme, and had a great overall package.
Superman Atracción de Acero, our favorite B&M Floorless Coaster in the World, is also located here as well. This roller coaster’s absence of a mid-course break run, numerous airtime hills, helices, and flawless pacing are unparalleled. The area also features some flat rides, including the Top Spin ride Lex Luthor Invertatron, the wave swinger Mr. Freeze Fábrica de Hielo, and the bumper car ride The Joker Coches de Choque. On a global scale, the park’s massive S&S tower stands out the most. This is tallest S&S Tower on Earth. It features a gorgeous art deco aesthetic and a Riddler motif. The Riddler’s Revenge (La Venganza del Enigma) has three drop sequences: Space Shot mode, Turbo Drop mode, and Combo Tower mode (where it combines the first two). This alternates every hour, and there is a handy guide at the entrance to the ride to let you know which ride cycle is in operation each hour. This ride offers breathtaking views, and despite not being the most intense drop tower of its kind, it’s worth riding more than once.
Here’s to a bright future for Parque Warner Madrid
It’s no secret that, due to Six Flags’ construction of these enormous parks in Europe and subsequent withdrawal, all of these parks have had a very difficult road ahead of them. Parque Warner Madrid renamed itself from Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid to be more in line with the audience’s preferences for theme park names, and was fortunate enough to retain the licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Few parks can make the same claim. However, Parque Warner Madrid has also endured a difficult 20 years. Clearly, the park excels in the ways that I value the most. The park exudes a sense of passion. Despite financial setbacks, the closure of the park’s dedicated train line, maintenance, etc., the park has performed admirably in achieving its current status. The park is in great condition, the buildings are well-maintained, the rides are operating suitably, and most importantly, you can feel the team’s pride and enthusiasm in everything they do.
Is this park flawless? No. Does this park possess a promising future? I’d like to believe so. They’ve opened an impressive water park (Parque Warner Beach), they’re building a coaster the size of Jurassic World: VelociCoaster, they’re actively repainting and maintaininv existing infrastructure, they’re planning to construct a hotel, their dedication to entertainment and meet ‘n greets is impressive, etc. We’re excited to see where the park goes in the coming years, but we’d be fooling ourselves if we said we didn’t have an amazing time at the park.
And in comparison to Bros. Movie World Germany from when I was a child, it is a very different park, but the differences are fascinating, and the franchises and themes did make the park a bit more special for me.
Photos can’t necessarily do Parque Warner Madrid justice, so make sure to check out our vlog of our visit to the park full with POVs and video footage of rides we didn’t capture on photo:
Also don’t miss our most recent Intamin Batman coaster construction update, here.
