Steel Taipan - Reviews

[Dean Barnett]

7 minutes ago, Slick said:

Oh look! A themed launch!

And.... a launch that isn't completely bloody flat

 

 

[joz]

How much better would ST be if you put a top hat on the flat bit of track though

[Dean Barnett]

They chose to go with a coaster design from 13 years ago.  😕 

[Gazza]

But didn't they get this because a production slot for a BF clone opened up so they could get the ride sooner.

In my opinion its a great ride, the launch is average but the reverse spiral makes up for it because it's forceful.

Rest of the layout is great, good mix of elements, in particular the corkscrews and the roll at the end.

Even though DCR is still the best ride in Australia, this is a great multi looper and the best in that category here.

As for the age of the layout...I mean Batman clones are from 1992 and they still slap.

Anyway I'm not sure why the glasses things is relevant.

If glasses were allowed on DCR but banned on ST, that would be a mark against ST.

But since no rides let you have them here, it doesn't really factor into a comparison imo.

[Dean Barnett]

That point was in my follow up post 😕 

 

[Rivals]

y’all really acting like this ride is presented like Scream at SFMM😭

[Dean Barnett]

8 hours ago, Rivals said:

y’all really acting like this ride is presented like Scream at SFMM😭

Scream is a decent ride tho. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, Dean Barnett said:

Scream is a decent ride tho. 

I think, given the calibre for comparison locally, so is Taipan. 

They could (and should) definitely 'plus' it when they've got a bit left in the landscaping budget. I don't have an issue with the snakeprint on the outside fence. The ride is right there, visible from the carpark, and hiding it behind some sort of 'pretend there isn't a giant orange spike sticking up behind it' vertical garden isn't fooling anyone. 

Compared to what else we have here, and acknowledging that Australia is always a bit of a 'poor cousin' when it comes to coaster offerings, I think we're doing ok. Couple that with the fact that this thing nearly didn't get built due to money, and I'm prepared in the short term to cut some slack on presentation, provided they're operating according to manufacturer specs and keeping up the maintenance. 

They've been tidying up the park quite a bit lately - i'm hopeful they come back to give ST a little pizazz once the books balance out a bit better. (Or could they be keeping options open for another flat to go within the footprint somewhere like was once rumored for Superman?)

[Gazza]

1 hour ago, Dean Barnett said:

Scream is a decent ride tho. 

So is Steel Taipan 💁‍♂️

I dunno, when I rode it I never had the impression it was underwhelming or unexciting (And that's having visited the same parks you have), and anecdotally guests love it.

[New display name]

On 13/03/2022 at 6:17 AM, Dean Barnett said:

For reference - I've got around 180 credits

 

Coaster credits don't give a person street cred on who's review I should listen to or how much weight they carry....👍 ....  Because if that's the case I would have to throw your review in the bin and only ever read @Gazzareviews.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, New display name said:

Coaster credits don't give a person street cred on who's review I should listen to

I also thought referring to them as 'credits' went out of style a while ago.

A simple 'i've ridden 180 coasters' conveys the same message, whilst simultaneously allowing non-enthusiasts to understand you.

[Naazon]

https://www.reddit.com/r/rollercoasters/ still regularly uses the Credits term.

Along with people printing A4 signs off to celebrate their 100/200/300 coasters.

 

Wild times over there.

[Dean Barnett]

Sorry for offending people

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

13 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

Sorry for offending people

Mate - being honest, i don't think you've offended anyone. I personally find use of 'credit' a bit cringe, but horses for courses. 

I think the main controversy is that you've expressed an opinion that doesn't ring true to most folks here and they've taken you to task on it. You note the sunglasses rule while talking about how poor you felt Taipan was, without noting it applies to pretty much every park in the country.

You note the operations - but most folks here have been pretty vocal about Rivals being run pretty thin (and superman too) and i've timed all three running at above 5 minute cycles even with 4 operators. 

Just curious - when did you visit Dreamworld? It sounds like an off peak timeslot where even with two ops you can still fit everything in in a day... (and given you ended up at Movie World to observe the Rivals operations, it sounds like you did)

Further - what was closed at Movie World when you visited? In addition to Superman, it sounds like West would have been down - was anything else down? (maybe Green Lantern - it seems to be down every other day...)

With Superman and West down, it sounds like staffing Rivals efficiently was the least that they could do. How many other coasters were down at Dreamworld?

 

[Gazza]

For what its worth I totally get why someone says Rivals/Superman is better (The powerful launch and airtime on Superman might be preferable to inversions)

But I wouldn’t think that preferring those things makes Steel Taipan a bad ride.

I did think it was odd to bring up the glasses rule in a topic about a new coaster.

[New display name]

@Gazza Superman is still my fav ride in Australia.  (The pacing is on point).

 

On 13/03/2022 at 9:47 PM, Dean Barnett said:

They chose to go with a coaster design from 13 years ago.  😕 

And changed it up by adding a backward launch and spinning seat.  I've noticed you haven't talked about the spinning seat which seems strange considering you're more of a thrill junky.

 

[joz]

I mean Superman is an older design than Blue Fire. Not entirely sure the age of a design has a single bit of relevance to how good something is.

 

FWIW, I dont disagree with some of the points of the review, but I don't really agree with the tone/conclusion. Is it possible to agree with a point but not the intensity of the point?

[Cactus_Matt]

1 hour ago, joz said:

Not entirely sure the age of a design has a single bit of relevance to how good something is.

For sure. If I had to pick my favourite roller coaster in the world it'd be Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland but then again I've only got a handful of "credits"  

[New display name]

22 minutes ago, Cactus_Matt said:

I've only got a handful of "credits"  

Quality over quantity is the way to go.

[Rivals]

(not really on topic but this is practically the only open ST thread right now)

i came across this video on youtube from when the ride was testing and i thought to share it just because it’s an angle none of us probably would’ve seen if it wasn’t for the video

https://youtube.com/shorts/-YiZbLF5Ntk?feature=share

(if link doesn't work, video was posted by myxy1970)

[Rivals]

I haven’t had the chance to ride ST since around February but just wanted to come note some things as they appear to have been different; 

- The Operator now counts you down to launch instead of when you dispatch which does add a new little touch which can be exciting.

- The ride is so smooth which after riding DCR you forget how smooth the ride actually is.

- I don’t know if this is true but it feels like they’ve sped up the acceleration or speed of the launches? They all felt a bit faster and more intense, the train went quite a bit higher during the first launch sequence then i remember. 

- I’m very happy and surprised at how well they’ve been able to maintain the rides dispatches, rapidly fast with only 2 staff (excluding op) in the station, the 3 train wait system in the station helps a lot.

-  The MCBR is a lot more noticeable now, doesn't take away from the pace of the 2nd half though.

This ride was definitely a great investment for the park and one of (or is) the best rides in Australia. I cant wait to see which ride ends up being better, Leviathan or ST. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

5 hours ago, Rivals said:

- I don’t know if this is true but it feels like they’ve sped up the acceleration or speed of the launches? They all felt a bit faster and more intense, the train went quite a bit higher during the first launch sequence then i remember. 

-  The MCBR is a lot more noticeable now, doesn't take away from the pace of the 2nd half though.

You may find these two are connected. Launch speeds take a lot of factors into account including the speed of the previous launch and even wind speed (there's an anemometer at the start of the brake run that wobbles like a bitch when the train hits the brakes). Cold wheels and tracks are slower so the end of the day is more likely to give a faster run. The MCBR is less likely to kick in if your speed is at the lower end, but will kick hard if the train is going too fast. 

The ride computer constantly adjusts the force applied to the launch based on many factors including prior launch times - so even a large variance in weight from one launch to the next can impact the speed\force applied at launch. 

[franky]

7 hours ago, Rivals said:

- The Operator now counts you down to launch instead of when you dispatch which does add a new little touch which can be exciting.

We last visited in the Easter break and even then it depended on the OP in the booth as to whether you got a countdown or just yeeted when it was ready.

7 hours ago, Rivals said:

- The ride is so smooth which after riding DCR you forget how smooth the ride actually is.

The only place I remember there being a rattle on ST was after the MCBR, more noticible in the back but nothing to complain about - the restraints on ST/DCR makes it a non issue for me (unlike Superman Escape where your ears cop a beating).

7 hours ago, Rivals said:

I’m very happy and surprised at how well they’ve been able to maintain the rides dispatches, rapidly fast with only 2 staff (excluding op) in the station, the 3 train wait system in the station helps a lot.

Just curious, how many trains were running? The first couple of days of our visit, ST was a station wait all day for the most part. At the end of the 2nd day however there were issues with the spinning seats and the train got parked in maintenance, it didn't return on the 3rd day and the wait times were quite a bit longer. Still better than DCR with single train ops however, but that's also due the ride time / popularity.

[Rivals]

5 hours ago, franky said:

Just curious, how many trains were running? The first couple of days of our visit, ST was a station wait all day for the most part. At the end of the 2nd day however there were issues with the spinning seats and the train got parked in maintenance, it didn't return on the 3rd day and the wait times were quite a bit longer. Still better than DCR with single train ops however, but that's also due the ride time / popularity.

The park was surprisingly busy so with the loading area full the line still was stretching down past where the beginning of the switchback part of the queue line (30mins all day) with one train running. Normally they have 2 trains (at-least from my experience) whenever it’s busy so i’m guessing there may actually be a problem with the spinning seat, dispatches were around say 1-2mins from when the gates opened to let the next batch of guests in. 

[Coasterjoe]

Finally got to DW to ride ST. No lines so lapped it enough times to try every row including tailwhip.

The backwards launch with the tail spike makes the ride, especially in the back carriages. 
 

other notable moments was a nice little pop of airtime off the midbrake run and zero G roll. I was impressed with how smooth the ride was overall. 
 

tailwhip was ok, but its a one and done kind of attraction at $25 the experience is not much more imo. 

Overall a good coaster, its not quite as good as Dc Rivals and the launch is no where bear as good as Supermans but overall its a solid top 3 on gold coast.