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Chengdu Wanda City | All Speeds | Taron Clone | 2021

The ride did indeed open on the 31st.

Now it isn't as well themed as the original (And what is really?) but in the context of China this is a brilliant ride to add to their rapidly expanding good coaster count.

The rides only major downfall i suppose is it will always be compared to Taron (understandably) but I feel thats being harsh on what is still probably one of the best rides in the country. If Taron had never happened and this ride got built i imagine a fair few more of us would be adding Chengdu to our travel bucket lists.

And hey if the themeing isn't up to the original standards, stick a crap load of LED lights on it.

NotTaron4.jpegNotTaron3.jpegNotTaron2.jpeg271200091_2732850943686953_2022619063404700673_n.jpg
 
If the people at Phantasialand aren't looking at that lighting package and thinking "Hmm... Wintertraum 2022...?" then they need their heads looking at.
 
I still can't really wrap my head around the concept of a "Taron clone". The type of coasters that used to be cloned are small, compact layouts that can fit on any reasonably flat, reasonably big lot in most parks out there. The Batman clones were about as big as clones came, and Blue Fire was another step up. Then suddenly, they are cloning this huge, custom coaster that set world records when it was designed. If Taron can be cloned, almost any coaster built on flat land could.
 
There is 10-Inverter around, which was build on the side of a hill. The result is, that half of the layout is elevated with large concrete pillars, which makes for a very unique look.

Taron itself is not as custom as most people tend to think. Don't get me wrong, the layout was designed to fit into the plot of land and to cater to Phantasialands demands. But, the plot of land itself is not that difficult to replicate, as most of the layout has supports on the same height. The only bigger modifications are the tunnel and the trench for the rides second launch.
From what I know, a park can pay the manufacturer to make that layout exclusive, but obviously, the Phantasialand did not go for it.

I don't expect this layout to be cloned a dozen of times, but it is not the only large scale layout that has been cloned. Just look at most of the new-gen Vekomas, those are being cloned all over china.
 
Trax said:
From what I know, a park can pay the manufacturer to make that layout exclusive, but obviously, the Phantasialand did not go for it.
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Pretty sure they did. But there are different levels of exclusivity. They obviously didn't go for the lifetime world-wide exclusive rights - or at least they're getting some money out of this clone, as well!
 
I know Chinese coasters tend to have shorter shelf lives for some reason, but for this to close after 4 years would be an insanely short lifespan for a major coaster!

This can’t be true, surely?
 
^ I reckon it's legit. Roller Coaster Dream is about as good of a source as you can get for happenings in China.

Frankly, in my books, it's more of a surprise that we haven't seen more big name Chinese coasters and parks go under. Some of them simply do not have the sustained local interest to support their existence.
 
Phantasialand haven't had a new coaster in a while...

Go on Phantasialand, you know you want to buy it off them and creating duelling Tarons.


PS: I know it's completely impossible and simply not feasible. But if any park in the world could make it happen (with lots of construction walls and no timeline pf course), it's Phantasialand.
 
JoshC. said:
Phantasialand haven't had a new coaster in a while...

Go on Phantasialand, you know you want to buy it off them and creating duelling Tarons.


PS: I know it's completely impossible and simply not feasible. But if any park in the world could make it happen (with lots of construction walls and no timeline pf course), it's Phantasialand.
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Duelling Tarons would go so hard!

I hope some other park can get this. I've heard it is inferior to the original but it's still a Taron clone.
 
OMG YES, I was literally going to joke that I hope the update to the thread was that it had collapsed or something. Taron deserves to be a standalone layout 🥳
 
How freaking weird. It's my layout you guys in the otherside of the world aren't allowed fun.

Shame it's closing but I hope it gets moved on somewhere it's a big ride but it's certainly doable.
 
I still don’t quite fathom how a big, elaborate coaster like this is closing after only 4 years of operation, even if it is a Taron clone.

Yes, Chinese coasters seemingly have a shorter shelf life, but this is wildly short even by those standards!

I really hope another park can get hold of it.
 
Matt N said:
I still don’t quite fathom how a big, elaborate coaster like this is closing after only 4 years of operation, even if it is a Taron clone.

Yes, Chinese coasters seemingly have a shorter shelf life, but this is wildly short even by those standards!

I really hope another park can get hold of it.
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I'm going to assume a lack of visitor numbers has something to do with it. I haven't been to the park, but the location seems massively inconvenient, way outside the city (about a 45-minute drive) and no metro station. Sure, a lot of Chinese parks run with low visitor numbers, but Sunac are quite new to the game, so might be being more realistic from a business perspective.

Most of the Sunac parks started as Wanda properties. My cynical take on Wanda building parks in the first place was to get around planning applications. They wanted to build huge apartment complexes and shopping malls, but added the amusement parks to sweeten the deal. Later, they sold the parks to Sunac, leaving themselves with the apartment complexes and shopping malls, the only things they really wanted to build in the first place.
 
Gavin said:
I'm going to assume a lack of visitor numbers has something to do with it. I haven't been to the park, but the location seems massively inconvenient, way outside the city (about a 45-minute drive) and no metro station. Sure, a lot of Chinese parks run with low visitor numbers, but Sunac are quite new to the game, so might be being more realistic from a business perspective.
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On paper it seems like a weird location for being a 'Chengdu' park, though I found it to still be quite a high traffic visitor area. Dujiangyan and it's railway station are like a tourist gateway to mountains and pandas tours and the park was relatively busy, for a Sunac, even in winter.

Hope it's just coaster specific issues.
 
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