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Taron vs FLY; which Phantasialand launch coaster do you prefer?

Taron or FLY?


  • Total voters
    69

Matt N

CF Legend
Hi guys. Phantasialand in Germany now has two launch coasters; Taron and FLY. They're two very different rides; Taron's an Intamin Blitz Coaster, while FLY is a Vekoma Flying Coaster. However, they do share numerous similarities; both have two launches, both have twister layouts with lots of crossovers, and both are enveloped within immersive themed environments. I've also noticed that which one of the two coasters people prefer is dividing opinion more than you might expect, with some falling into Team FLY and others falling into Team Taron. So now that an increasing number of people have experienced FLY, I thought it was time to ask the question; which do you prefer?

I've never ridden either, so I can't comment. But which do you prefer; Taron or FLY?
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Taron...

I'm going to put myself in the firing line here and say I even prefer Klugheim to RB. RB is incredible, it really is, but I still get that magical feeling when I walk into Klugheim, like I just walked into an Elder Scrolls village.
 

Serena

Miss CoasterForce 2016
Staff member
Social Media Team
I still get that magical feeling when I walk into Klugheim, like I just walked into an Elder Scrolls village.

Klugheim really is like walking into an Elder Scrolls game! It gives me that same feeling of wonder / beauty that Skyrim does ❤

This is such an easy one for me. Taron is fantastic, so re-rideable and fun.

Whereas FLY is unrideable for me. The more I think about it, the more gutted I feel that Phantasialand wasted all that precious space on FLY.

It's just way too uncomfortable. The pressure on your chest combined with the claustrophobic restraints made me feel like I was having a panic attack when I rode it in December. It's really frustrating to walk off a big coaster and have to say "I don't think I can ever ride that again" :(

The ride is way too long to be in that flying position and it has those sickly Vekoma transitions.

So yeah, Taron all the way for me.
 
Rookburgh as an area is phenomenal. F.L.Y as a coaster... eh. The novelty of airtime on a flyer wore off pretty quickly and slamming chest-first into the restraint after every pop made for quite an uncomfortable ride.

Taron is the infintely superior experience. Especially at night 😍
 

Luca B

Mega Poster
Easily Taron as FLY is pretty boring and uncomfortable, but neither are particularly incredible outside of the theming
 

Nitefly

Hyper Poster
Fly is thereabouts equivalent to Abyssus in terms of ‘inducing queasiness’. I rode it once as my first ride of the day and was pretty much immediately wrecked. The only ‘good’ ride I had on it (out of 3) was in the final row, where I experienced increased airtime/positives and far less ‘to-and-fro bobbing’.

If it wasn’t for the queasiness, Taron would still be the clear winner. It’s a decent, fun ride with some of the best restraints I’ve had the pleasure of sitting in.

The Rookburgh area is nevertheless sensational in theme and concept. I prefer it to Klugheim, although I think the fab Hotel Charles Lindbergh is influencing me here.
 

Will

Strata Poster
I mean... neither are great, but at least I can ride Taron repeatedly without feeling gross - and I don't have to surrender/retrieve all my worldly possessions each time!

FLY is ARGUABLY better to look at though, which let's face it, is the main purpose of a Phantasialand coaster ;)
 

SilverArrow

Certified Ride Geek
Love both but Taron is my number one so definitely Taron.

I really like F.L.Y, I think it does what a flying coaster should do (which isn't everyone's cup of tea, much like RTH isn't everyone's cup of tea either). I prefer it to all of the B&M flyers I've done (and other Vekoma flyers but that's a given).
 

Sandman

Giga Poster
It's just way too uncomfortable. The pressure on your chest combined with the claustrophobic restraints made me feel like I was having a panic attack when I rode it in December. It's really frustrating to walk off a big coaster and have to say "I don't think I can ever ride that again" :(

Out of curiosity, how do you compare it to the B&M Flyers in terms of comfort?
 

Peet

Giga Poster
Both amazing coasters, but Taron is the clear winner. FLY takes the prize for most immersive theme though, it's just amazing.
 

Serena

Miss CoasterForce 2016
Staff member
Social Media Team
Out of curiosity, how do you compare it to the B&M Flyers in terms of comfort?

I find B+M Flyers fine for comfort, my weight feels distributed evenly on a B+M flyer. Whereas the restraints and tilt angle of F.L.Y. make me feel like all the pressure is on my chest.
 

Joelpagett

Mega Poster
I'm a sucker for the entire experience of F.L.Y, and although Taron is a fantastic roller coaster, the first time I rode F.L.Y was spectacular as you didn't know what to expect (can't watch POV's etc). For me it's my number 1 as I love the whole experience from start to finish 😍
 

Chris Brown

Mr CoasterForce 2016
I prefer Taron as a ride but FLY as an experience. I was very surprised at FLY as just a ride though, wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it actually was.

Breaking it down.

Area. FLY > Taron
Queue. FLY > Taron
Experience. FLY > Taron
Theme. FLY > Taron
Ride hardware. FLY < Taron
Reridability. FLY < Taron (FLY’s queue is a proper mission and as cool as the lockers and stuff are it just takes a a long time)
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Sorry that this isn't directly related to the comparison itself, but I had an intriguing thought about FLY.

You know how people on here often describe Taron as a glorified Rita, as in Rita done gloriously? Well, I had a similar hypothesis about FLY; I reckon FLY is almost a glorified version of Galactica, another Alton Towers coaster.

That might sound like a strange hypothesis, but to me, it did make some sense. Neither ride has overly intense elements compared to the other flyers (supposedly), and both are rides with lots of drawn-out swooping turns and drawn-out rolls. From my perspective, they appear to have quite similarly styled layouts in terms of the types of elements on offer.

Come to think of it, Black Mamba could, through a certain lens, be considered a glorified Nemesis too (although that one's a touch more debatable, as Nemesis is more highly rated than Mamba by a fair few)... whether intentionally or not, Phantasia seems to have a thing for glorifying Alton Towers rides!

Do you guys think that's a vaguely rational hypothesis, or am I talking rubbish?
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Sorry that this isn't directly related to the comparison itself, but I had an intriguing thought about FLY.

You know how people on here often describe Taron as a glorified Rita, as in Rita done gloriously? Well, I had a similar hypothesis about FLY; I reckon FLY is almost a glorified version of Galactica, another Alton Towers coaster.

That might sound like a strange hypothesis, but to me, it did make some sense. Neither ride has overly intense elements compared to the other flyers (supposedly), and both are rides with lots of drawn-out swooping turns and drawn-out rolls. From my perspective, they appear to have quite similarly styled layouts in terms of the types of elements on offer.

Come to think of it, Black Mamba could, through a certain lens, be considered a glorified Nemesis too (although that one's a touch more debatable, as Nemesis is more highly rated than Mamba by a fair few)... whether intentionally or not, Phantasia seems to have a thing for glorifying Alton Towers rides!

Do you guys think that's a vaguely rational hypothesis, or am I talking rubbish?
Anybody who says ‘Taron is a glorified Rita’ is talking out of their @r$3… Coasters are only subjective in a sense of how much you enjoy them… In no way whatsoever, other than manufacturer, is Taron even similar to Rita…

Hydraulic vs LSM
Single vs Multi Launch
OTSR vs Lap
Short mundane layout vs extremely long, airtime filled layout.

I literally could go on and on, but honestly it’d just be feeding the trolls, so I’ll leave it there.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Anybody who says ‘Taron is a glorified Rita’ is talking out of their @r$3… Coasters are subjective in a sense of how much you enjoy them… In no way whatsoever, other than manufacturer, is Taron even similar to Rita…

Hydraulic vs LSM
Single vs Multi Launch
OTSR vs Lap
Short mundane layout vs extremely long, airtime filled layout.

I literally could go on and on, but honestly it’d just be feeding the trolls, so I’ll leave it there.
I think the way in which people on here always described Taron as "glorified Rita" was "Rita done gloriously". I seem to remember the person who started it saying that it's because they both have non-inverting layouts mostly comprising of twists, turns and the odd pop of airtime, but Taron manages to make a lot more of it.

Through that lens, I could also see Galactica and FLY having a similar relationship.
 
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