PortAventura vs Parque Warner Madrid for Young Children: Which Suits Your Child's Height?
PortAventura Park or Parque Warner Madrid with a toddler or young child? We compared every ride by height, from babies to 140cm, with the with-adult and alone rules and a verdict for each height band.
Park ComparisonTheme Park Height Guide11 min read
- portaventura
- parque warner madrid
- park comparison
- toddler rides
- spain theme parks
The Short Answer
For babies and children under 100cm, PortAventura Park offers more. 13 of its attractions have no minimum height, and a 90cm child can ride 21 rides with an adult, against 12 at Parque Warner Madrid.
At Parque Warner, 105cm is the height that changes the day. Many Cartoon Village rides take a child of any height with an adult, and from 105cm a child can ride most of those alone. Children under 100cm also get in free.
From 132cm, Warner's first big coasters open, including Superman Atracción de Acero and Shadows of Arkham. PortAventura's headline coasters, Dragon Khan, Shambhala and Furius Baco, wait until 140cm.
How We Counted
Our data covers 45 rides and attractions at PortAventura Park and 32 at Parque Warner Madrid. A ride counts at a given height if your child can board it, alone or with an adult. Shows and character meetings are not counted.
PortAventura's figure includes its steam-train stations, boat trips and play areas, but not Ferrari Land or Caribe Aquatic Park, which are separate parks in the same resort. Warner's figure does not include its water park, Parque Warner Beach. A few children's rides also have a maximum height (140cm on most of them), so the counts dip slightly for a child just over it.
Height by Height: The Two Ladders
PortAventura Park
| Child's height | Rides they can go on | Share of 45 rides |
|---|---|---|
| 80cm | 19 | 42% |
| 90cm | 21 | 47% |
| 100cm | 29 | 64% |
| 105cm | 31 | 69% |
| 110cm | 34 | 76% |
| 120cm | 37 | 82% |
| 130cm | 39 | 87% |
| 140cm | 44 | 98% |
Parque Warner Madrid
| Child's height | Rides they can go on | Share of 32 rides |
|---|---|---|
| 80cm | 11 | 34% |
| 90cm | 12 | 38% |
| 100cm | 19 | 59% |
| 105cm | 21 | 66% |
| 110cm | 24 | 75% |
| 120cm | 25 | 78% |
| 130cm | 26 | 81% |
| 140cm | 32 | 100% |
The ladders do not show who has to sit with your child, and that is where the parks differ most. At PortAventura, 13 attractions have no minimum height and no with-adult height either. At Parque Warner, all 10 attractions with no minimum height ask for an adult below 105, 110 or 120cm.
Head to Head at 90, 100, 110 and 120cm
At 90cm
| # | Park | Rides at 90cm | All rides | Share | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PortAventura Park | 21 | 45 | 47% | Catalonia |
| 2 | Parque Warner Madrid | 12 | 32 | 38% | Community of Madrid |
At 100cm
| # | Park | Rides at 100cm | All rides | Share | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PortAventura Park | 29 | 45 | 64% | Catalonia |
| 2 | Parque Warner Madrid | 19 | 32 | 59% | Community of Madrid |
At 110cm
| # | Park | Rides at 110cm | All rides | Share | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PortAventura Park | 34 | 45 | 76% | Catalonia |
| 2 | Parque Warner Madrid | 24 | 32 | 75% | Community of Madrid |
At 120cm
| # | Park | Rides at 120cm | All rides | Share | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PortAventura Park | 37 | 45 | 82% | Catalonia |
| 2 | Parque Warner Madrid | 25 | 32 | 78% | Community of Madrid |
Under 100cm: What Each Park Offers
PortAventura Park
The attractions with no minimum height are the steam-train stations, the boat trips from Port de la Drassana and Waitan Port, three play areas, and small children's rides that list only a maximum height, such as Kiddie Dragons, Canoes and Waikiki.
Another group takes children of any height with an adult: Angkor, Cobra Imperial and Kiddie Balloons (alone from 130cm), La Granja de Elmo and Carousel (alone from 120cm) and Los Potrillos (alone from 115cm).
At 90cm, Street Mission, the interactive Sesame Street dark ride (alone from 120cm), and Tea Cups (alone from 130cm) open with an adult. El Salto de Blas, a children's drop tower, follows at 95cm with an adult (alone from 130cm). Much of this is in SésamoAventura, the park's Sesame Street area.
Parque Warner Madrid
Small children spend most of the day in Cartoon Village. Its rides with no minimum height need an adult below 105cm (Cartoon Carousel, Looney Tunes Correo Aéreo, Convoy de Camiones, Emergencias Pato Lucas and others) or below 110cm (¡A Toda Máquina! and La Aventura de Scooby Doo). Cine Tour, the slow vintage-car ride in Movie World Studios, needs an adult below 120cm.
Scooby Doo's Tea Party Mistery opens at 80cm with an adult (alone from 105cm). At 90cm, Hotel Embrujado, the haunted-hotel ride, opens with an adult (alone from 120cm), and Wile E. Coyote Zona de Explosión follows at 92cm (alone from 105cm). Pato Lucas Coches Locos, the children's bumper cars, is 99cm with no adult option.
Verdict under 100cm: PortAventura Park. It has more for a toddler. Warner works too, and under-100cm children get in free, but expect to ride everything alongside your child.
100cm to 119cm: More Rides, or Riding Alone Sooner
PortAventura Park at 100cm to 110cm
PortAventura's biggest step for young children comes at 100cm: 22 rides at 99cm, 29 at 100cm. With an adult, a 100cm child can now ride the Silver River Flume log flume and Templo del Fuego (both alone from 140cm), Wild Buffalos (alone from 140cm), Crazy Barrels (alone from 130cm) and the SésamoAventura rides Coco Piloto and Tami Tami (alone from 130cm).
At 105cm comes Tomahawk, the wooden family coaster in the Far West, which has no adult option, plus Mariposas Saltarinas with an adult (alone from 130cm). At 110cm, with an adult: Uncharted: The Enigma of Penitence (alone from 130cm), the El Diablo - Tren de la Mina mine train (alone from 140cm) and Grand Canyon Rapids (alone from 130cm).
Parque Warner Madrid at 100cm to 110cm
At 100cm, with an adult: Correcaminos Bip Bip, the Road Runner family coaster (alone from 130cm), Tom & Jerry Picnic en el Parque, a children's coaster (alone from 120cm), the Río Bravo rapids ride (alone from 120cm), Mr.Freeze Fábrica de Hielo (alone from 120cm) and Academia de Pilotos Baby Looney Tunes (alone from 140cm).
At 105cm, The Joker Coches de Choque opens with an adult (alone from 140cm) and Escuela de Conducción Yabba-Dabba-Doo with no adult option. More importantly, the adult requirement ends on Scooby Doo's Tea Party Mistery, Wile E. Coyote Zona de Explosión and the Cartoon Village rides that need an adult only below 105cm. At 110cm, two water rides open with an adult, Rápidos ACME (alone from 140cm) and Cataratas Salvajes (alone from 122cm), along with He visto un Lindo Gatito (alone from 130cm).
Age rules at Parque Warner
Warner's user guide adds age rules for a few rides. Tom & Jerry Picnic en el Parque and Correcaminos Bip Bip do not take children under 4; Tom & Jerry needs an adult for ages 4 to 6, and Correcaminos for under-8s. Hotel Embrujado needs an adult for children under 10. A tall three-year-old cannot ride the two children's coasters. PortAventura's published rules are almost all by height.
Riding with an adult
Both parks use a two-tier rule: a lower height with an adult, a higher one alone. At PortAventura, many rides that open at 90 to 110cm with an adult only let children ride alone from 130 or 140cm; in Warner's Cartoon Village, the alone heights are mostly 105 or 110cm. With two young children and one adult, that matters. Our guide to with-adult and alone heights explains how the two numbers work.
Verdict at 100cm to 119cm: PortAventura Park. At 110cm it offers 34 rides against 24, including Tomahawk and Uncharted. Warner's point in this band is the switch to riding alone: at 105cm and 110cm many Cartoon Village rides stop needing an adult, while most of PortAventura's with-adult rides stay that way until 130cm or 140cm.
120cm and Up
At 120cm, PortAventura adds Stampida, the wooden coaster, with no adult option, and Tutuki Splash and Magic Fish with an adult (both alone from 140cm). Warner adds Los Carros de la Mina with an adult (alone from 130cm), and Coaster Express, its wooden coaster, opens at 121cm with no adult option.
From 130cm the parks part ways. PortAventura adds Yucatan, VolPaiute and Kontiki, all with an adult until 140cm. Warner opens Superman Atracción de Acero, Shadows of Arkham and the La Venganza del Enigma tower at 132cm, then Stunt Fall at 137cm, none with an adult option. A 132cm child can ride 29 of Warner's 32 rides, and 39 at PortAventura.
At 140cm every minimum height in both parks has been met. PortAventura's big rides all need 140cm with no adult option: Dragon Khan, Shambhala, Furius Baco, the Hurakan Condor drop tower and Serpiente Emplumada. Warner adds Lex Luthor Invertatron and Batman Gotham City Escape. Warner's age rules still apply: no under-10s on Lex Luthor Invertatron, and under-10s need an adult on Batman Gotham City Escape and Stunt Fall.
Verdict at 120cm+: PortAventura at 120cm to 131cm. From 132cm to 139cm PortAventura still has more rides, but Warner has the first big coasters. From 140cm, either.
The Verdict by Child Height
| Your child's height | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under 90cm | PortAventura Park | Trains, boats, play areas and kids' rides with no minimum height; every Warner ride needs an adult |
| 90cm to 99cm | PortAventura Park | More rides with an adult; Warner is free under 100cm if cost decides it |
| 100cm to 104cm | PortAventura Park | Its big 100cm step: Silver River Flume, Templo del Fuego, Wild Buffalos |
| 105cm to 119cm | PortAventura Park | More rides, including Tomahawk and Uncharted; at Warner, many Cartoon Village rides switch to riding alone at 105cm |
| 120cm to 131cm | PortAventura Park | Stampida and Tutuki Splash; Warner adds Coaster Express at 121cm |
| 132cm to 139cm | Either | PortAventura still has more rides; Warner for a first big coaster, with Superman, Shadows of Arkham and Stunt Fall |
| 140cm+ | Either | Every minimum met: Dragon Khan and Shambhala, or Batman and Lex Luthor |
Live counts for each band are in the tables above, and every ride is listed on the PortAventura Park and Parque Warner Madrid pages.
The Practical Differences
Price. At our last check, PortAventura Park's 1-day ticket was listed online from €37 for adults (11 to 59) and €33 for juniors (4 to 10), with parking from €15 a day. Parque Warner Madrid prices by height: from €32.90 online for both General (over 140cm) and Junior (100 to 140cm), €62.90 and €56.90 at the box office, and free for children under 100cm. Parking was €16 for a car. Check current prices before you buy.
Getting there. PortAventura is in Vila-seca on the Costa Dorada, off the A-7, with its own stop on the R-17 and RT2 Rodalies de Catalunya lines; Reus Airport is about 15 minutes away and Barcelona El Prat about an hour. Parque Warner is in San Martín de la Vega, south of Madrid, at exit 22 of the A-4. Without a car, take the Cercanías C-3 to Pinto and then bus 413.
The Rest of the PortAventura Resort
Ferrari Land, next door, has children's rides such as Champions Race and Junior Championship from 90cm with an adult (alone from 120cm), and Red Force at 140cm. At our last check, a 1-day ticket for both parks was from €50 for adults. Caribe Aquatic Park is the resort's water park, where Sésamo Beach, a shallow children's pool, and the Splash Port slides have no minimum height.
Which Park Suits Your Family?
PortAventura suits a toddler, or a toddler with an older sibling, on a longer stay on the coast, with a second park and a water park next door. Parque Warner suits a day out from Madrid with a Looney Tunes fan of 105cm or more, or a child ready for a first big coaster at 132cm. Our height planner shows what each of your children can ride at both parks, and our Spain theme parks height guide for young children covers the other Spanish parks.
FAQ
Is PortAventura or Parque Warner better for a two-year-old?
PortAventura Park. A child of 85cm can ride 19 attractions there, against 11 at Parque Warner. At Warner, Tom & Jerry Picnic en el Parque and Correcaminos Bip Bip take no children under 4.
What is the minimum height for Dragon Khan?
140cm, with no adult option and a 195cm maximum. Shambhala and Furius Baco also need 140cm.
What can a 105cm child ride alone at Parque Warner?
Much of Cartoon Village, including Cartoon Carousel, Looney Tunes Correo Aéreo, Scooby Doo's Tea Party Mistery, Wile E. Coyote Zona de Explosión and Escuela de Conducción Yabba-Dabba-Doo. ¡A Toda Máquina! and La Aventura de Scooby Doo need an adult until 110cm.
Do children under 100cm pay at Parque Warner Madrid?
No. At our last check, children under 100cm were free, and the Junior ticket covered 100cm to 140cm.
When can my child ride the big coasters?
At PortAventura, Stampida opens at 120cm and Dragon Khan at 140cm. At Parque Warner, Coaster Express opens at 121cm, Superman Atracción de Acero at 132cm and Batman Gotham City Escape at 140cm. None has an adult option.