AstroDan
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
I thought I would write a review for the three main new 2016 rollercoasters I went on during the summer, starting with Taron! I will follow up over the coming days with the other two.
TARON
I think it's pretty safe to say that when Phantasialand, of all parks, revealed they were installing a Blitz coaster from Intamin - the hype wheel started turning pretty quickly. And, whilst there's usually alarm bells with the hype wheel for me - in this case, I think it was fair cop. We were talking about one of the greatest 'themed' parks on Earth adding one of the greatest ride systems on Earth. Having ridden Maverick and iSpeed, I knew what this system was capable of and, with the right design, it had potential to be one of the best - if not THE best - rides ever built. Of course, it had potential to go down the Cheetah Hunt route and be a tamer, more family friendly experience, or perhaps lie somewhere between. Clearly, I - and I know others - hoped for something more at the Maverick end of the scale which, for me, remains firmly in my top 3 coasters.
So, with all the above in mind, I don't think it would be unfair to say that the more that appeared of the ride, the hype dissipated somewhat. Not entirely, but I don't think come opening day, anybody expected it to be Maverick. But I think it was still a much anticipated rollercoaster - and it promised a lot. The theming and design work that Phantasialand put in, as always, being some of the best in the business.
So - the experience. Walking towards the ride is impressive. It's a mangled mess of track which intertwines with the kiddie coaster (which, but the way, I felt lacked the Phantasialand magic - just too short/bland and lacking SFX) and the wider Klugheim theming. It obviously looks like more of a coaster than say, Black Mamba - which is better landscaped, but I do think Taron looks great. Upon entering the queueline, you snake your way around a well themed pathway. The less said about the Euro-Mir style cattle pen out the back the better, but forgetting that, it's not a bad queue. Perhaps some indoor elements could have enhanced it (i.e. Wodan, Novgorod, Die Vliegender Hollander) - but overall, not bad. And, on 4 trains, it moves reasonably quickly. Sadly, for the most part, there were serious technical issues and the queue didn't move very fast. The lightning dispatch speeds of Blue Fire this is not. However - getting to the station - which, by the way, I liked a lot - you board the train.
The first thing to note is that the trains are so much better than those Intamin have employed on coasters such as Skyrush. There's none of the 'pinned' feeling you get from Skyrush and there's plenty of manoeuvrability on offer. I really feel that all manufacturers have followed Mack's lead and started to properly consider comfort on every train. Just one comparison to Thorpe Park's Colossus and you can see how far Intamin have come in this regard! So, after the checks - it's off.
The first corner, the music is playing - the tension is palpable. Perhaps a little indoor/dark ride scene here would have been nice to build the atmosphere more, but we know Phantasialand tend to shy away from scenes of this nature - with Chiapas and Maus au Chocolat both lacking them. Anyway - onto the launch track with a brief pause before the ride really gets going.
The first launch is good, not mind-blowing, but it's fun. Following this, it's a banked turn into the first airtime hill, and at this point I was thinking - yes - bang on. Some nice airtime here and into dive to the left through a small tunnel and then a quick transition to the right, which is bags of fun. Those quick transitions really are an Intamin trademark. Then there's a steady sort of slalom section, with the train going right/left/right/left for around 20-25 seconds. This section is possibly the weakest part of the ride, with very little in terms of intensity or airtime offered. Then it's into the second launch - which is fantastic. It really pulls the train up and when compared to, say, the launches on Helix - it's another league of fun. Following the second launch and it's up to the left and into a neat little slalom and a section which just has a bit more pace and punch about it compared to the first half of the ride. You get pulled about quite a lot here, which is great (although I know some people felt ill-supported by the restraints - for me it was not really a problem). From here, it's into the final (airtime) hills. Sadly, what should be ejector moments from Intamin turn into something rather pants - with several sets of heavy trims installed just where you wouldn't want them. The ride really fails to deliver the final punch it should - and instead drops and meanders its way back to the final brakes. After ride one - I couldn't quite make out whether I was impressed or let down. The other person I rode with first time, Kaycee, was similarly flat at the end of the first go.
I think it was really a halfway house.
I think that Taron is a good rollercoaster - which has 3 or 4 great moments. Some nice airtime, great trains, a few quite intense cornering transitions and the second launch - all of these are super and demonstrate Intamin at their best. However - where those are high praise, there is equally a chunk of criticism. All coasters have a dead spot - at least, the majority. You can forgive it if the rest of the layout is non-stop action, one fantastic element to the next. However, I feel that Taron has got simply too many dead spots - where you are simply waiting for it to do something. Helix gets away with those slaloms near the end as the only real dead spot. Blue Fire gets away with the hump and corner before the final roll as the only real dead spot. Nemesis has the turn after the loop. Shambhala has the weak ending. EGF has that awkward middle section. But Taron simply has too many of these dead spots for me to really be able to say it's one of my absolute favourite coasters. I think of it similar to Balder. Certainly a good wooden coaster, but with each corner you are sort of awkwardly awaiting the next airtime hill. Where Intamin took Maverick and said - let's just go crazy, they took Taron and perhaps were more concerned about packing in a long coaster than actually making something that sent you into the brake run breathless for more. I didn't think it particularly warmed up either - although saying that - it does ride better on the front row.
So - all in all - good, but not the best. Not what I think it could have been. Saying that - this is Phantasialand. I can think of few parks I would rather spend a day or two at. Klugheim is a work of art - and that new Tavern. Well... get me a stein!
TARON
I think it's pretty safe to say that when Phantasialand, of all parks, revealed they were installing a Blitz coaster from Intamin - the hype wheel started turning pretty quickly. And, whilst there's usually alarm bells with the hype wheel for me - in this case, I think it was fair cop. We were talking about one of the greatest 'themed' parks on Earth adding one of the greatest ride systems on Earth. Having ridden Maverick and iSpeed, I knew what this system was capable of and, with the right design, it had potential to be one of the best - if not THE best - rides ever built. Of course, it had potential to go down the Cheetah Hunt route and be a tamer, more family friendly experience, or perhaps lie somewhere between. Clearly, I - and I know others - hoped for something more at the Maverick end of the scale which, for me, remains firmly in my top 3 coasters.
So, with all the above in mind, I don't think it would be unfair to say that the more that appeared of the ride, the hype dissipated somewhat. Not entirely, but I don't think come opening day, anybody expected it to be Maverick. But I think it was still a much anticipated rollercoaster - and it promised a lot. The theming and design work that Phantasialand put in, as always, being some of the best in the business.
So - the experience. Walking towards the ride is impressive. It's a mangled mess of track which intertwines with the kiddie coaster (which, but the way, I felt lacked the Phantasialand magic - just too short/bland and lacking SFX) and the wider Klugheim theming. It obviously looks like more of a coaster than say, Black Mamba - which is better landscaped, but I do think Taron looks great. Upon entering the queueline, you snake your way around a well themed pathway. The less said about the Euro-Mir style cattle pen out the back the better, but forgetting that, it's not a bad queue. Perhaps some indoor elements could have enhanced it (i.e. Wodan, Novgorod, Die Vliegender Hollander) - but overall, not bad. And, on 4 trains, it moves reasonably quickly. Sadly, for the most part, there were serious technical issues and the queue didn't move very fast. The lightning dispatch speeds of Blue Fire this is not. However - getting to the station - which, by the way, I liked a lot - you board the train.
The first thing to note is that the trains are so much better than those Intamin have employed on coasters such as Skyrush. There's none of the 'pinned' feeling you get from Skyrush and there's plenty of manoeuvrability on offer. I really feel that all manufacturers have followed Mack's lead and started to properly consider comfort on every train. Just one comparison to Thorpe Park's Colossus and you can see how far Intamin have come in this regard! So, after the checks - it's off.
The first corner, the music is playing - the tension is palpable. Perhaps a little indoor/dark ride scene here would have been nice to build the atmosphere more, but we know Phantasialand tend to shy away from scenes of this nature - with Chiapas and Maus au Chocolat both lacking them. Anyway - onto the launch track with a brief pause before the ride really gets going.
The first launch is good, not mind-blowing, but it's fun. Following this, it's a banked turn into the first airtime hill, and at this point I was thinking - yes - bang on. Some nice airtime here and into dive to the left through a small tunnel and then a quick transition to the right, which is bags of fun. Those quick transitions really are an Intamin trademark. Then there's a steady sort of slalom section, with the train going right/left/right/left for around 20-25 seconds. This section is possibly the weakest part of the ride, with very little in terms of intensity or airtime offered. Then it's into the second launch - which is fantastic. It really pulls the train up and when compared to, say, the launches on Helix - it's another league of fun. Following the second launch and it's up to the left and into a neat little slalom and a section which just has a bit more pace and punch about it compared to the first half of the ride. You get pulled about quite a lot here, which is great (although I know some people felt ill-supported by the restraints - for me it was not really a problem). From here, it's into the final (airtime) hills. Sadly, what should be ejector moments from Intamin turn into something rather pants - with several sets of heavy trims installed just where you wouldn't want them. The ride really fails to deliver the final punch it should - and instead drops and meanders its way back to the final brakes. After ride one - I couldn't quite make out whether I was impressed or let down. The other person I rode with first time, Kaycee, was similarly flat at the end of the first go.
I think it was really a halfway house.
I think that Taron is a good rollercoaster - which has 3 or 4 great moments. Some nice airtime, great trains, a few quite intense cornering transitions and the second launch - all of these are super and demonstrate Intamin at their best. However - where those are high praise, there is equally a chunk of criticism. All coasters have a dead spot - at least, the majority. You can forgive it if the rest of the layout is non-stop action, one fantastic element to the next. However, I feel that Taron has got simply too many dead spots - where you are simply waiting for it to do something. Helix gets away with those slaloms near the end as the only real dead spot. Blue Fire gets away with the hump and corner before the final roll as the only real dead spot. Nemesis has the turn after the loop. Shambhala has the weak ending. EGF has that awkward middle section. But Taron simply has too many of these dead spots for me to really be able to say it's one of my absolute favourite coasters. I think of it similar to Balder. Certainly a good wooden coaster, but with each corner you are sort of awkwardly awaiting the next airtime hill. Where Intamin took Maverick and said - let's just go crazy, they took Taron and perhaps were more concerned about packing in a long coaster than actually making something that sent you into the brake run breathless for more. I didn't think it particularly warmed up either - although saying that - it does ride better on the front row.
So - all in all - good, but not the best. Not what I think it could have been. Saying that - this is Phantasialand. I can think of few parks I would rather spend a day or two at. Klugheim is a work of art - and that new Tavern. Well... get me a stein!
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