Park Review
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Allentown, Pennsylvania July, 2001 Well, I'm back from Allentown and had a great time at Dorney Park. I was able to meet up with a friend of mine who lives there so I did not have to brave the park alone. Let me just say this: Talon is awesome!!!!! The park itself was pretty empty so we were able to get in ten rides in the limited time I had, as well as a few other rides. While it is a pretty short ride (under 50 seconds) it is pretty intense and very well engineered. It offers something I have only seen on one other invert (Fire Dragon): good air!!! And it is incredibly smooth - probably the smoothest B+M I've ridden. The first drop is okay, but Raptor's drop remains my favorite. In fact, the loop appears to be a carbon copy of Raptor's. From the loop, it's right into a zero-g roll - again, just like Raptor, but in the opposite direction and, it seems, much better quality. Then it's down into a trench, into the Immelman and, before you can catch your breath, it's into a 360-degree right helix high above the entrance to the line at an angle of over 90 degrees. It�s a nice turn, and it's fun to look down at the people as you spiral around them. Most of the G's come at the end of the helix, though it's not nearly as forceful as the turn after the first loop of Top Gun at Paramount�s Great America (which is almost too much!). From there, it�s a bit of straight track before the airtime drop under the lift. (smile!). After this is a nice piece of track banked to 90 degrees, another one of B&M's thoughtful little transitions that probably go unnoticed by most. Then it�s nto a corkscrew and around the left-hand ground-hugging final turn. Now comes the coolest part of the ride. The turn is taken banked around 90 degrees (you spend a lot of the ride on your side) and it enters into the final dip while returning from a 90-degree bank to level! So not only do you get decent air, but you're being leveled out as it happens. This dip is much like a reverse bunny hop (down and up) and then come the brakes. One concern: there is a trim brake in the trench before the Immelman, but it was not being used. I can't see why they would need it, as the ride was not that intense. Perhaps it was just easier to build it new than have to add it later; who knows? While Montu remains my favorite inverted coaster, Talon is now up there. I know that I like it more than Raptor now, as I'm not a fan of cobra rolls. It's just all the little extra touches of Talon that make the ride so great! It's not the longest, and only has four inversions, but sure does pack a punch! After all the talk of hypercoasters on this list, I stand by what I said last year - Steel Force is a decent ride. So here's a review: I took only two rides (wanted to concentrate on Talon), one in the very back and one in 2-1. In the back row, there�s an interesting phenomenon: there�s very little pullover from the crest, but about 40 feet down the track bends down and you are tossed from the seat, a nice surprise! Very good! The second hill, as stated by others, is kind of boring. The helix was very nice and fast, better than I remembered it from last year. The return bunny hops provide decent air, but not as good as from the front. In seat 2-1, theres absolutely nothing on the drop other than a good view. And again, nothing really until the helix. The bunny hops gave much more sustained air in the front so it's hard to choose, but I think I'll take the back for the awesome first drop. Overall, Steel Force is a good ride. It's what Magnum should have been (so similar, but at the same time, so much better). However, this is a first-generation hypercoaster and that shows in its design. I'll take a B&M or an Intamin (well, duh!!) any day, but I�d rather ride a grocery cart on Steel Force's track than ride on Magnum! AFLAC! -Brian F. (who is tired as hell after getting his butt kicked by those Swiss engineers)
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