Hi - well we're back from our holiday in La Pineda - got back very late last night. There were no I.D problems with the tickets for Universal Mediterranea (no signatures required and no passport photos to show). There was a hell of a 'queue' for the lockers and no shelter from the baking sun.
We had taken picnics with us (which had been arranged by our all inclusive hotel 'Estival Park' ) we thought that we would have to put the food in a locker. There was only one bloke dealing with the lockers, it was very hot and the queue wasn't moving so we decided not to bother with a locker. As we already had tickets, we skipped the long queues for purchasing tickets and went straight to the entrance where the staff checked our tickets and put them into the scanner machine before returning the tickets to us. They wanted to check what was inside our rucksacks because apparently you are not allowed to take food inside the park. Our food was hidden inside another bag within a rucksack, and my husband told them a white lie saying that we just had water with us - which you are allowed to take inside. I suppose they want to force people to purchase food inside the theme park - which in my opinion is wrong. We thoroughly enjoyed our day at the Port Aventura part of the theme park, the rides were absolutely fantastic! There weren't many queues, and we kept going on the water rides just to keep cool (by getting absolutely saturated). I surprised myself by going on the Stampeda ride (not been on a roller coaster for ** years). Our eldest daughter and my husband went on the Dragon Khan (and they have got the photo to prove it!). Being bird lover (we have an African Grey), we thoroughly enjoyed the bird show too. What a day - though we were rather disappointed with our visit the next day to the Costa Caribe waterpark as it was much smaller than what we imagined It was extremely busy and there didn't seem to be enough sunloungers for everyone. The 'lifeguards' seem to like to blow their whistles a lot for the slightest thing. Some people were sitting on a stone wall just having a rest and they were told to move after the stern shrill of a whistle. I suppose having a whistle is a great power trip for some people.

There is no competition as far as the best water park is concerned - it has to be the Aquapolis in La Pineda, which was just 5 minutes away from our hotel and wasn't expensive to get in - in fact it represented excellent value for money. This is a BIG water park with lots of slides, pools, rapids, children's pools etc and plenty of space for sunlougers (which are hired as are the inflatable rings - though unlike Costa Caribe there are some rides that provide the rings for you to use, but you do have to queue up). There are lots of sheltered areas too for people (like me) who burn easy, and there are plenty of toilet facilities dotted around. This water park allowed you to take in food and water - though there were a number of places inside to purchase food, drinks and ices. They also take photos of people on the slides which are for sale afterwards. This park is well supervised by lifeguards and it is kept very clean. One of the highlights of this visit were the dolphin shows and the sea lion shows which are on a few times throughout the day - a must for families. If you wear glasses then I recommend wearing contacts for both the Universal Mediterranea (rides and
waterpark) and the Aquapolis water park. We purchased tickets at the gate for this park - there was a bit of a queue but we didn't have to wait long.

Hope this information is of some help for your website - just one last thing
- what did you think of Reus airport? Having been to Mahon and Palma airports on the Balearics, we couldn't believe the state this airport was in
- it was like a ramshackle shed in a third world country. It was filthy, hot, smelly and overcrowded. Passengers were treated like cattle not paying customers! First Choice really should get there act together and do something about this in view of how many passengers are using this airport.

Janice

Our visit was superb. The park is immaculate. Dragon Khan is amazing, and the
queues weren't too bad. I would recommend using the local bus, rather than
the road train type vehicle. The bus is only 1 euro each way, while the road
train is 2.50 euros each way. Also, the service bus is air conditioned which
was a god send.
The photos taken by the park photographers are very high quality, and can be
picked up when you leave. They crop them to get the best framing and then
frame them for you.
A night visit is a must at the weekend as the show is amazing.
The best bit for me was the Templo del Fuego. Just superb. Our kids loved it.
Queues for La Stampida were a bit tiresome, and no guarantee you will race
other family members if their queue goes faster than yours.
The best food was the Chinese area and the American fried chicken.
I found the beer and soft drinks weren't cold enough from the small stands
dotted around the park, though that may be my preference.
Don't bother with the waterproof poncho's at the splash rides, as, during the
summer it is warm enough to dry out quickly, and actually makes the hotter
days more bearable.
I didn't think the Express tickets made much difference as the crowds in late
June/early July this year were pretty fast moving.
If you're a big lad like me, prepare to be squashed in with the safety bars
by ruthless, but very pleasant ride attendants. I worried when they produced
a metal bar, but this was to release the lock mechanism.

Jim Scott and family.