Paramount

Joan1

Does anyoine know where the new Paramount theme park will be built and if so how far from San Cayetano

You may want to read the attached article.

Guy

http://www.simplynetworking.es/news-4912-31-it´s_paramount_murcia_chinese_whispers_again.html

 Also there is this link http://www.polarisworld.info/paramount-murcia-plans.php ;-)

 Just found this reference to the park http://www.aplaceinthesun.com/news/feature/tabid/131/EntryId/622/Murcia-property-market-attracts-more-buyers.aspx

This morning's update on Simply Networking

http://www.simplynetworking.es/news-4985-31-spanish_press_say_paramount_land_deal_has_been_agreed.html

Guy

 Well I have my fingers crossed; if Murcia gets this as well as the top European Ice venue in San Pedro it should really help their economy.

On a selfish note though, I prefer it when there are less tourists  but on the other hand of course I'd like our property to be valued at a decent price again.......right now it's worth significantly less than it was worth  (in Euros) in 2004 when we bought it ......just as well we didn't buy it for investment purposes.

What do you think the real chance of getting the 3 billion investment is? Potential or unrealistic?

 All signals seem to indicate it will move forward, hopefully there will be some sort of formal announcement over the next month ;-)

This artcle on the Simply Networking web site will be of interest.

http://www.simplynetworking.es/news-5081-31-paramount_murcia_official_press_conference_confirms_land_option_agreement.html

Further interesting development today - see link to Simply Networking.

http://www.simplynetworking.es/news-5546-31-paramount_licensing_grant_license_for_the_murcia_theme_park.html

The only thing that surprises me about this venture is that it took so long to happen. I think the EU population is more than double that of the U.S.; and it is more compact. All the European money that went to Orlando should have stayed in Europe. Even the cllimate here is comparable. What was the flight time Florida   ...   eight hours, then all the messing about. Then they go and build one near Paris where the weather is similar to that of London.

 Orlando has:

Disneyworld

SeaWorld

Universal Studios

Busch Gardens

The Kennedy Space Centre

International Drive with hundreds of top class restaurants

Wet n Wild

Two international airports able to take wide bodied jets

Subsidised transport by monorail, ferry, tram and bus

Over 4,000 top class hotels with various themes

Dinner shows including King Henry’s feast, Pirates Adventure and Arabian Nights

Gator Land

The Atlantic coast with hundreds of miles of beaches on one side and

The Gulf of Mexico on the other side with hundreds of miles of beaches

(Plus whales, dolphins, coral reefs etc)

And much, much more.

Murcia has:

Errrmmm

A tiny little airport that can just about handle Ryanair and a couple of others

Lots of scrubland

Rip off taxis or a bus that goes to Murcia twice a day

About 3 decent restaurants

six 3* hotels and two 4* hotels

A couple of sandy beaches next to the Med which is possibly the deadest sea going

They also have...erm.....let me see......nope, that’s about it.

Wonder why they decided to build in Orlando?

Oh, and much as I love them dearly, I hardly think the customer service provided by the Spanish would come anywhere near the "can do" attitude of the Floridians.

Well hopefully they can overcome some of those issues and the Paramount Resort will be top drawer. They are building a new airport at Corvera which is planning to open in Spring 2012, there's to be the high speed rail link, the region will benefit hugely and then maybe those beaches will just get a bit more stylish. We generally use Alicante airport anyway which is expanding but the option of Corvera is great. Orlando had to grow and develop so maybe this resort has to as well and even if it remains with a theme park, a water park and four hotels its still a bonus to the area. Lets hope it happens as  its about 2hours 40minutes flight time from the UK.

Before you pooh pooh the idea of Corvera opening by spring 2012 we're already in the extention time as its should have opened long ago and they have advertised for staff- so fingers crossed Spring 2012 isnt too far of the mark.

I was not talking about what Murcia is now. I was talking about what it could be. No one was talking about like for like. I think we all know there is a difference between the two places - now.

It is a facile argument to compare the both in the present sense so why do so? If you want to advance from that direction why don't we talk about what Orlando was before there was massive investment.

Clearly the investors see Murcia's potential. The difference is, they are backing it with money - not a computer keyboard. If people who have invested in this region will benefit from the Paramount initiative then good luck to them. I for one am delighted at the likely rewards. I would prefer to see the 40,000 jobs go to the Spanish and other Europeans living here than to Americans.

 Don't get me wrong, I would love to see a regeneration of the area with the theme parks and tourist activity.  However, don't get all dewy eyed over this.  Murcia has water shortages already so they will need to vastly improve the infrastructure in that area alone.  In Orlando, at least you can drink the water which is a bit of a no-no even in the developed areas of Southern Spain.  The weather is not going to be all year round and the water parks along the coast already close for 7 months of the year and the beaches are unusable for the same amount of time whereas Florida is an all year round resort.  They just don't get the cold days we get in Spain.  A theme park is not going to attract the long stay tourists and it will be a bit like Disneyland Paris now where people come for 2 or 3 day breaks unlike Orlando where they go for weeks at a time. And at least at that Disneyland they have Paris to go to, what will they have in Murcia?  Torrevieja with its exhibitions of graffitti?  Florida already had a good infrastructure in place before the theme parks including trains and a proximity to Miami and other places.  They have natural attractions (I don't think they shipped in the whales, dolphins and coral reefs to adorn their natural hundreds of miles of beaches).  Spain has at least twice as many golf courses as Florida but they are out of reach of many due to the ridiculously high prices they charge so that won't attract the punters nor will the cost of water parks if those already here are anything to go by.  Service appears second nature to the Americans (which can get on your nerves after the 20th "have a nice day" of the morning) which is not part of the Spanish psyche.  Even top class hotels in Barcelona and Valencia have a problem with their staff attitude (it pains me to say that but it is true).  Corvera airport may improve access to the area but how do you get out of it?  It had better be better served than San Javier or even Alicante is now.  High speed trains have been promised for years but have never materialised.  You can't even get from Alicante to Torrevieja or Murcia unless you hire a car or pay twice as much as your flight did to get a taxi!

Yes, I would love it if all this came to fruition. It will take years for mayors and local town hall officials to even get their kick backs sorted out before the first hole is dug.

Again, I love it here but I do have my eyes open.  Paris (and Orlando) was picked because of the location and infrastructure.  Murcia has neither.

Better to think a glass is half full than empty! Let's hope those leading the project have a similar philosophy!!

Heard in simplynetworking that there was so much water in Murcia that they were closing the desalination plants.

 Dont need to tip every Tom Dick and Harry in Murcia either,  that is what we HATE most about USA,  why dont they just pay the staff a proper day's wage for a day's work instead leaving them to grovel and beg off customers. Very degrading practise.  Maybe the norm but not nice !!

Bobaol,

What part of the Slums of Costa Blanca do you live? 

Monica

Corvera will have a good road structure, they have made some really good routes in that area now and it can only get better. As they are starting with Hotels rather than apartments/villa's I believe they are looking at short break holidays inthe 1st instance for the theme park. In fact I'm almost certain that was in one of the early blurbs about it. That suggests many holiday makers will focus on spending their time at the theme park and then return home. For the others they'll visit from wherever they are already staying having selected that from the blurb  about the apartment or villa. Murcia is popular enough and people return year after year but the development that will follow the building of this project will see area's improved. it already has many beautiful golf resorts that will be an attraction. The Theme park isnt Disney and shouldn't be compared but I'd argue that Cartegena is an attraction, Granada and Alhambra Palace are 2.5 hours away, Lo Pagan has interest with the mud beaches, the Sierra Espuna Mountains with their adventure sports are about 40 minutes away, Puerto Mazarron is an up and coming little town greatly improved over the last 2 years with a lovely harbour and there are plenty of unspoilt beaches in the area too. Murcia city has interest if you want to spend time in a city but I think they are trying to promote 12months of short break holiday availabilty rather than the seasonal tourism the region has depended on before and the theme park has potentential to develop that. Easy to go for a long weekend.