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Oct 2021
Two years ago, a dream was born with a single objective: to make other types of dreams come true. PortAventura Dreams emerged as an initiative of the PortAventura Foundation with the intention of giving a break to all those families with children who have spent a long period of time in hospitals.
The anniversary of its creation is approaching and we invite you to discover the essence of PortAventura Dreams, PortAventura’s most exciting project.
What exactly is PortAventura Dreams?
The illness may still be there, but we can combat sadness with a dose of joy. PortAventura Dreams is a programme that offers a free six-day stay to children between 4 and 17 years old who have suffered or are suffering from serious illnesses, so that, together with their families, they can live an unforgettable and revitalising experience.
Dreams Village covers a surface area of 8850 m2 and is home to six houses that every year welcome around 200 families. The stay includes access to all three parks of PortAventura World but offers even more unique experiences to these brave guests with recreational and therapeutic activities that promote family bonding, in addition to play areas, a football pitch and multipurpose rooms for children to meet other children with similar life stories.
The PortAventura Foundation programme seeks to highlight the importance of emotional wellbeing in the fight against disease, and provide affected families with support, unity, and encouragement. Based at the hospitals collaborating in the project – the Niño Jesús University Hospital in Madrid and the Sant Joan de Déu and Vall d’Hebron hospitals in Barcelona – a medical committee made up of psychologists and social workers select families that are in need of intense recovery on a psychological and emotional level. Before the stay, a team of specialists works with the children for three months to define the psychological objectives on which they should focus their efforts before, during and after their time in the village. Dreams is a key part of recovery therapy for the child and combines the right dose of work with fun, while offering a complete therapeutic accompaniment.
168 families have already benefitted from the PortAventura Dreams programme, and thanks to the satisfactory results of these first two years, another 200 families are expected to be welcomed next year. PortAventura Dreams will continue to write stories together with the amazing little superheroes who teach us to be brave.
This dream is just the beginning.