View source for Stampida

{{Short description|Roller coaster at PortAventura Park}}
{{Infobox dual roller coaster
| name                 = Stampida <!--The name of the entire coaster.-->
| image                = Stampida – Drop 01 (cropped).jpg <!--Use ONLY the filename, not a full [[File:]] link-->
| caption              = Stampida's first drop
| location             = PortAventura Park <!--Must not be linked, will auto-categorize the coaster.-->
| section              = Far West <!--Must not be linked.-->
| coordinates          = {{coord|41.0904|N|1.15658|E|source:kolossus-eswiki|display=title,inline}} <!--Use {{coord}}-->
| type                 = Wood <!--Must be "Steel" or "Wood", nothing else. Must not be linked.-->
| type2                = Racing <!--Must not be linked, will auto-categorize the coaster.-->
| type3                = <!--Must not be linked, will auto-categorize the coaster.-->
| status               = Open
| opened               = {{start date|1997|3|17}} <!--Use {{Start date}}-->
| closed               = <!--Use {{End date}}-->
| manufacturer         = Custom Coasters International <!--Must not be linked, will auto-categorize the coaster.-->
| designer             = [[John Wardley]], Dennis McNulty, Larry Bill
| model                =
| track                =
| lift                 = Chain [[lift hill]]
| name1                = Red <!--Name of the left track.-->
| name2                = Blue <!--Name of the right track.-->
| height1_ft           = 84 <!--Must be expressed in feet and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| height2_ft           = 84 <!--Must be expressed in feet and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| drop1_ft             = <!--Must be expressed in feet and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| drop2_ft             = <!--Must be expressed in feet and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| length1_ft           = 3127 <!--Must be expressed in feet and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| length2_ft           = 3127 <!--Must be expressed in feet and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| speed1_mph           = 46 <!--Must be expressed in miles per hour and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| speed2_mph           = 46 <!--Must be expressed in miles per hour and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| inversions1          = 0
| inversions2          = 0
| duration1            = 1:40
| duration2            = 1:40
| angle1               = 52 <!--Do not include "degrees", it is added automatically.-->
| angle2               = 52 <!--Do not include "degrees", it is added automatically.-->
| acceleration1        =
| acceleration2        =
| gforce1              =
| gforce2              =
| capacity             = <!--Total capacity of both sides-->
| cost                 =
| restriction_ft       = <!--Must be expressed in feet and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| restriction_in       = <!--Must be expressed in inches and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| restriction_cm       = 120 <!--Must be expressed in centimetres and may contain only numeric characters.-->
| trains               = 4 <!--Must contain only numeric characters.-->
| carspertrain         = 6 <!--Must contain only numeric characters.-->
| rowspercar           = 2 <!--Must contain only numeric characters.-->
| ridersperrow         = 2 <!--Must contain only numeric characters.-->
| virtual_queue_name   =
| virtual_queue_image  = <!--Use ONLY the filename, not a full [[File:]] link-->
| virtual_queue_status = <!--should be available if above fields are used-->
| single_rider         = <!--Must be "available" if available.-->
| custom_label_1       =
| custom_value_1       =
| custom_label_2       =
| custom_value_2       =
| custom_label_3       =
| custom_value_3       =
| custom_label_4       =
| custom_value_4       =
| accessible           = <!--Must be "available" if available.-->
| transfer_accessible  = <!--Must be "available" if available.-->
| rcdb_number          = 759 <!--The number in the URL of the coaster's RCDB page-->
}}

'''Stampida''' is a [[Dual-tracked roller coaster|racing]] [[wooden roller coaster]] at [[PortAventura Park]] in [[Salou]] and [[Vila-seca]], [[Catalonia]], Spain. Designed by [[John Wardley]], Dennish McNulty, and Larry Bill, the ride opened in 1997 and was built by [[Custom Coasters International]]. The ride is located in the Far West section of the park, and is themed to a duel in wagons to claim land in the American frontier. Standing at a height of {{Convert|84|ft|m|order=flip}} feet, Stampida features a 52-degree drop, reaching a top speed of {{Convert|46|mph|km/h|order=flip}}. Each track measures {{Convert|3127|ft|m|order=flip}} in length and offers approximately one minute and forty seconds of ride time.

== History ==
[[File:Stampida – Hill 1.jpg|thumb|left|Stampida's KumbaK trains cresting one of the ride's hills]]
Employed by [[The Tussauds Group]] who held a 40.01% share of PortaVentura Park,<ref>{{cite news |title=Naissance de Port Aventura, gigantesque parc de loisirs près de Barcelone |url=https://www.liberation.fr/futurs/1995/04/24/naissance-de-port-aventura-gigantesque-parc-de-loisirs-pres-de-barcelone_129288 |access-date=24 March 2025 |work=Libération |date=24 April 1995}}.</ref> theme park designer [[John Wardley]] had assisted in design of the park before its opening. As a second-phase expansion, Wardley suggested a [[dual-tracked roller coaster|racing]] [[wooden roller coaster]], in part due to its high guest engagement both on and off of the ride. To make the ride more unique, he included in the design of the layout a section in which each track entered a tunnel before splitting apart, then approaching each other head-on to create a [[:wikt:near miss|near miss]] effect. Wardley designed the ride in conjunction with engineers Dennis McNulty and Larry Bill from [[Custom Coasters International]] (CCI), the roller coaster manufacturer who was hired to create the coaster.<ref name="RCDB">{{Cite RCDB |coaster_name=Stampida |location=PortAventura Park |rcdb_number=759 |access-date=24 March 2025}}</ref><ref name="Wardley" /> Wardley had worked with CCI in the past for [[Oakwood Theme Park]]'s [[Megafobia]] wooden coaster.<ref name="Wardley" /> Stampida is one of only two [[dual-tracked roller coaster]]s built by CCI (the other being the now-defunct [[Wind Chaser|Twisted Twins]] at [[Kentucky Kingdom]]).<ref>{{Cite RCDB |coaster_name=Roller Coaster Search Results |access-date=16 March 2025 |url=https://rcdb.com/r.htm?ca=104&mk=6868&ii=on&ot=2}}</ref> Stampida originally featured two-across, twelve-car trains with two rows per car built by [[Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters]] (PTC)<ref name="RCDB" /> which featured an individual mechanical [[lap bar]] for each seat, allowing a maximum theoretical capacity of 2,500 riders per hour.<ref name="Incident" /> In contrast to the {{Convert|84|ft|m|order=flip|adj=mid|-tall}}, {{Convert|3127|ft|m|order=flip|adj=mid|-long}} Stampida,<ref name="RCDB" /> Tomahawk, another wooden roller coaster built by CCI, was placed next to Stampida as smaller, single-tracked coaster aimed at a younger audience.<ref name="Tomahawk">{{Cite RCDB |coaster_name=Tomahawk |location=PortAventura Park |rcdb_number=761 |access-date=24 March 2025}}</ref><ref name="Wardley" /> Tomahawk's layout runs next to Stampida's tracks, interacting at several points.<ref name="Wardley">{{Cite book |last=Wardley |first=John |title=Creating My Own Nemesis: The Autobiography of the Man Who Designed Alton Towers' Big Rides and Brought the Theme Park to Britain |year=2013 |publisher=Theme Park Press |isbn=9781941500651 |language=English |page=161}}</ref> Both Stampida and Tomahawk officially opened on 17 March 1997.<ref name="Tomahawk" /><ref name="RCDB" />

In 2007, the park contracted [[KumbaK]] to make modifications to Stampida and Tomahawk. Stampida's original PTC trains were replaced with four trains built by KumbaK, which replicated the previous seating arrangement. Each seat featured an individual lap bar and no [[seat belt]], and each row had a video camera supplied by Ridercam of Germany. KumbaK additionally replaced the ride's control system and added [[magnetic brakes]] to the coaster, quoted to improve the ride's capacity by up to fifteen percent.<ref name="KumbaK">{{cite news |title=KumbaK upgrades Port Aventura coasters |url=http://www.parkworld-online.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/189/KumbaK_upgrades_Port_Aventura_coasters.html |access-date=16 March 2025 |work=Park World Online |date=1 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013185930/http://www.parkworld-online.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/189/KumbaK_upgrades_Port_Aventura_coasters.html |archive-date=13 October 2008}}</ref>

== Ride experience ==
=== Theme ===
Stampida is located in park's Far West land, themed to the [[American frontier]]. The ride's storyline revolves around land claims during the [[European discovery of America]]. According to the narrative, the Connery and Cranberry families built each side of the roller coaster, with the coaster's racing trains themed to [[wagon]]s in a duel to claim land.<ref name="KumbaK" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Stampida - PortAventura World Rides |url=https://www.portaventuraworld.com/en/rides/stampida |website=www.portaventuraworld.com |access-date=16 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Layout ===
[[File:Stampida – Turn.jpg|thumb|left|Trains traversing one of the ride's turns]]
After dispatching from the station, riders on both tracks climb adjacent [[chain lift hill]]s, reaching a maximum height of {{Convert|84|ft|m|order=flip}}. Riders make a right turn followed by a drop at a 52-degree angle, reaching their maximum speed of {{Convert|46|mph|km/h|order=flip}}, then climb a slope before making an ascending right turn.<ref name="RCDB" /><ref name="Incident" /><ref name="POV">{{Cite AV media |date=January 24, 2025 |title=Stampida [On-Ride 4K POV] - PortAventura Park |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t35iqFSzZY8 |type=Internet video |work=Amusement Explorer |via=YouTube |access-date=16 March 2025}}</ref> Riders then drop back to ground level before traversing a [[List_of_roller_coaster_elements#Double_dip|double up]], a left turn, and a double down. Entering a tunnel, the tracks split; the red track drops while twisting to the right before making an approximately 270-degree curve in the same direction, while the blue track traverses an enclosed elevated right turn prior to a nearly 360-degree curve to the left. This creates a [[:wikt:near miss|near miss]] effect of the trains approaching each other head-on. The tracks then join together once more for a final hill and right turn into the [[brake run]].<ref name="Wardley" /><ref name="POV" />

== Incidents ==
On 5 July 1997, a 32-year-old from the [[Canary Islands]] was ejected from one of Stampida's trains during the right turn following the ride's first drop, falling approximately {{Convert|3|m|ft}}. His lap bar was still closed and locked when the train returned to the station. He died on the way to a hospital in [[Tarragona]].<ref name="Incident">{{cite news |last1=Garriga |first1=Josep |title=La montaña rusa donde ocurrió el accidente es la más inclinada del mundo |url=https://elpais.com/diario/1997/07/07/espana/868226401_850215.html |access-date=16 March 2025 |work=El País |date=7 July 1997 |language=es}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}

{{PortAventura World}}
{{John Wardley}}

[[Category:Rides designed by John Wardley]]
[[Category:Roller coasters in Spain]]
[[Category:Roller coasters introduced in 1997]]
[[Category:Western (genre) amusement rides]]