Nitro12345
Roller Poster
First off, let me say that I'm biased when it comes to this coaster. I first rode Talon nearly 15 years ago at the age of ten, and was my first looping coaster, and I have ridden it more than any coaster. I would estimate somewhere around 1500 rides. Recently I have started traveling around and riding other B&M Inverts, and it's only until after doing so, I began to realize the brilliance of Talon's layout, as well as the way this coaster balances gracefulness with intensity, along with incredible pacing. This Invert has a few elements that you may miss if you only ride it once or twice on a trip. This is my review of Talon.
The lift and pre-drop are not any different from any other invert. The first part of the drop is unique, but not as unique as the rest of the ride, because I found Alpengeist to have the same feel for the first couple seconds. I find the drop on Talon to be swoopier than other inverts, as you bank more abruptly than say Batman The Ride, or Great Bear. This reminds me very much of watching hawks at the Delaware Water Gap swooping around before diving down to the river to catch a fish. I find inverts to be built for a different purpose than most other coaster types. Inverts are supposed to be about aerobatic areal maneuvers that simulate the feel of flight. They are not thrill or airtime machines. As such, I think a lot of coaster enthusiasts either overlook them, or feel that they are inferior to other coaster types.
After a satisfying swoopey first drop, which dives very low to the ground, Talon goes into it's vertical loop, which provides some whip in the back, but doesn't hold you up too much if you are sitting in the front row. The bottom of this loop also sees riders being brought low to the ground over the rocks and mulch that provides a base for the landscaping. The vertical loop is satisfying, but once again, it's not the most unique part of the ride. After the loop, riders shoot up into the zero g roll, which, if you are on the left side of the train, provides good whip. On the right side, its a very graceful feeling, as you rapidly roll 360 degreees, while feeling very few forces. Both sides have their pros and cons, but both deliver something worthwhile.
After the roll, the train dives down into a trench before rising into the air and into an Immelmann. This is by far my favorite Immelmann that I have encountered so far. I find that Immelmanns are much better suited to inverted coasters than other types, as the flight like maneuver can truly be appreciated. While Alpengeist's Immelmann is taken with a lot of speed, Talon moves through this element a bit slower, which gives almost a pause at the top, which to me, gives off this sense of birdlike gracefulness that I haven't experienced on another invert so far. Alpengeist's Immelmann actually reminds me of Stormrunner's Cobra Loop, as it takes it with so much speed. While Talon's definitely focuses on gracefulness. After the Immelmann, you go into one of the signature elements of Talon, an 80 degree inclined loop which serves as a fly by over the front entrance, and a place where riders can interact with those standing below. While serving this purpose, it also cements the graceful flight like feel that Talon has to offer. After this, the train wanders over the brake run, then dives down back close to the ground under the lift hill before banking out very sharply around a tight corner. This corner is my favorite part of the ride. If you are sitting in the front left, the rapid banking makes you feel like you are jumping up, kicking the trees, then coming back down. This is best appreciated in the front for the visibility, and also on the left side, because the movement is exaggerated, as you lift off further from the ground. The best way to describe this element is liberating. It's such an awesome and free feeling. I never get tired of this element. It's an element that i suspect the vast majority of people miss, as I did for many years.
After this, Talon goes into its last inversion. A corkscrew. Unlike other corkscrews, I don't feel like it is the main element of this part of the ride. Instead i see it as a transition from the highly banked right hand turn to the highly banked left and turn after the corkscrew. This is the most dynamic part of the ride, and in my opinion really exemplifies the masterful layout that B&M designed into Talon. The flow of this ride from element to element is what makes Talon so great. The left hand turn is taken extremely low to the ground and is often considered the signature element of Talon. This is best experienced on the left side of the train, as you are lowest to the ground, and feel like you could touch the mulch. After this. you go through an oddly banked hill, dip and turn into the final break run, which serves to hop over the track just traversed, but offers something fun to end the ride. It's light years above what many other inverts use to end the ride. ( Such as semi straight track with a hard jerk into the brake run). With this the ride is over.
In my opinion, Talon's layout is masterly designed and executed. It doesn't have any dull moments, it's always doing something worthwhile , there's no mid course to ruin the fun, and it's setting provides so much interaction with the terrain, track and supports around it. On a more superficial level, I think Talon's color scheme is absolutely stunning. The trains are also well painted. An while the color scheme is different, the way the trains are painted remind me a lot of Raptor at Cedar Point. Oh, and did I mention it's SMOOTH! Incredibly smooth. Also worth mentioning is the sound dampening. As much as I love the classic B&M Roar, I feel that Talon is better off without it as this is a very graceful coaster. And whipping around the layout with just the sound of the wind and the spinning of the wheels is just surreal. As you can probably tell, I love this coaster. I wanted to offer my perspective in this review, as someone who has been riding Talon since a few years after it opened, and has grown up with this coaster. As much as I appreciate other inverts for their intensity and crazy whippy and fun elements, Talon will always be the most special coaster to me. And I am so glad I had the chance to experience other inverts to give me some perspective on Talon's uniqueness. There are so many other inverts that I look forward to riding, and I sure hope that there is one out there that does what Talon does, but better. That would be awesome!
The lift and pre-drop are not any different from any other invert. The first part of the drop is unique, but not as unique as the rest of the ride, because I found Alpengeist to have the same feel for the first couple seconds. I find the drop on Talon to be swoopier than other inverts, as you bank more abruptly than say Batman The Ride, or Great Bear. This reminds me very much of watching hawks at the Delaware Water Gap swooping around before diving down to the river to catch a fish. I find inverts to be built for a different purpose than most other coaster types. Inverts are supposed to be about aerobatic areal maneuvers that simulate the feel of flight. They are not thrill or airtime machines. As such, I think a lot of coaster enthusiasts either overlook them, or feel that they are inferior to other coaster types.
After a satisfying swoopey first drop, which dives very low to the ground, Talon goes into it's vertical loop, which provides some whip in the back, but doesn't hold you up too much if you are sitting in the front row. The bottom of this loop also sees riders being brought low to the ground over the rocks and mulch that provides a base for the landscaping. The vertical loop is satisfying, but once again, it's not the most unique part of the ride. After the loop, riders shoot up into the zero g roll, which, if you are on the left side of the train, provides good whip. On the right side, its a very graceful feeling, as you rapidly roll 360 degreees, while feeling very few forces. Both sides have their pros and cons, but both deliver something worthwhile.
After the roll, the train dives down into a trench before rising into the air and into an Immelmann. This is by far my favorite Immelmann that I have encountered so far. I find that Immelmanns are much better suited to inverted coasters than other types, as the flight like maneuver can truly be appreciated. While Alpengeist's Immelmann is taken with a lot of speed, Talon moves through this element a bit slower, which gives almost a pause at the top, which to me, gives off this sense of birdlike gracefulness that I haven't experienced on another invert so far. Alpengeist's Immelmann actually reminds me of Stormrunner's Cobra Loop, as it takes it with so much speed. While Talon's definitely focuses on gracefulness. After the Immelmann, you go into one of the signature elements of Talon, an 80 degree inclined loop which serves as a fly by over the front entrance, and a place where riders can interact with those standing below. While serving this purpose, it also cements the graceful flight like feel that Talon has to offer. After this, the train wanders over the brake run, then dives down back close to the ground under the lift hill before banking out very sharply around a tight corner. This corner is my favorite part of the ride. If you are sitting in the front left, the rapid banking makes you feel like you are jumping up, kicking the trees, then coming back down. This is best appreciated in the front for the visibility, and also on the left side, because the movement is exaggerated, as you lift off further from the ground. The best way to describe this element is liberating. It's such an awesome and free feeling. I never get tired of this element. It's an element that i suspect the vast majority of people miss, as I did for many years.
After this, Talon goes into its last inversion. A corkscrew. Unlike other corkscrews, I don't feel like it is the main element of this part of the ride. Instead i see it as a transition from the highly banked right hand turn to the highly banked left and turn after the corkscrew. This is the most dynamic part of the ride, and in my opinion really exemplifies the masterful layout that B&M designed into Talon. The flow of this ride from element to element is what makes Talon so great. The left hand turn is taken extremely low to the ground and is often considered the signature element of Talon. This is best experienced on the left side of the train, as you are lowest to the ground, and feel like you could touch the mulch. After this. you go through an oddly banked hill, dip and turn into the final break run, which serves to hop over the track just traversed, but offers something fun to end the ride. It's light years above what many other inverts use to end the ride. ( Such as semi straight track with a hard jerk into the brake run). With this the ride is over.
In my opinion, Talon's layout is masterly designed and executed. It doesn't have any dull moments, it's always doing something worthwhile , there's no mid course to ruin the fun, and it's setting provides so much interaction with the terrain, track and supports around it. On a more superficial level, I think Talon's color scheme is absolutely stunning. The trains are also well painted. An while the color scheme is different, the way the trains are painted remind me a lot of Raptor at Cedar Point. Oh, and did I mention it's SMOOTH! Incredibly smooth. Also worth mentioning is the sound dampening. As much as I love the classic B&M Roar, I feel that Talon is better off without it as this is a very graceful coaster. And whipping around the layout with just the sound of the wind and the spinning of the wheels is just surreal. As you can probably tell, I love this coaster. I wanted to offer my perspective in this review, as someone who has been riding Talon since a few years after it opened, and has grown up with this coaster. As much as I appreciate other inverts for their intensity and crazy whippy and fun elements, Talon will always be the most special coaster to me. And I am so glad I had the chance to experience other inverts to give me some perspective on Talon's uniqueness. There are so many other inverts that I look forward to riding, and I sure hope that there is one out there that does what Talon does, but better. That would be awesome!
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