Parc Astérix | Toutatis | Intamin Launch Coaster | 2023
- Thread starter Coaster Hipster
- Start date
HandsUpPantsDown
Roller Poster
Seems like there's a lot of POVs up on YT now but I find this ridercam especially good as it shows the forces quite well in the guy's hoodie strings:
Why are you feeling offended when I point out the poor quality due to no stabilizitation on somebodys handheld onride?
funtimearena
Roller Poster
Toutatis is amazing
SilverArrow
Certified Ride Geek
It's really good. Would recommend. Definitely up there with the best in Europe. Some people were saying it was a new number 1 or top 10 entry.
James F
Hyper Poster
It says it open and sporting a 45 min wait on the app
From what I've heard from friends who've been there during the first few opening days, it has some strong launches and features a good amount of airtime especially in the back but in terms of where it's ranked they all said in unison: well below Velocicoaster. It's good but not top 10 or anywhere near.
SilverArrow
Certified Ride Geek
Interesting. Some people I spoke to really loved it. I guess it just depends on your taste.
I personally have don't Velocicoaster so I can't give a comparison with that (and I have kind of given up with rankings) but Toutatis was better than I was expecting it to be. I prefer Ride to Happiness but I think Toutatis is more re-rideable than RTH because it doesn't have the spinning element to it. I think Toutatis will appeal to a wider audience. It seems like a great addition to the park.
HandsUpPantsDown
Roller Poster
Does anyone have any schematics/material/info etc on how the quick switch track system works? I thought it was a hydraulic system with pistons, but could it be a hydraulic motor and chain, or electric motor + chain? Would love to understand more
SilverArrow
Certified Ride Geek
I don't have any technical info but I have a video.
Here's the Toutatis switch track in action! | By Retro Rollercoasters | Facebook
Here's the Toutatis switch track in action!
fb.watch
I also made it to Parc Asterix and give Toutatis a try. As luck would have it, I hit the park on the only 2 rainy days...
Anyway, I managed to record the g-forced once the rain stopped for half an hour.
My opinion to the ride: It grew on me after multiple rides, 100% a front row ride.
Some airtime moments are insane, especially during the backwards launch. But, some elements just don't deliver for me, like the 2 outward banked bunny hops and the Stengel-Divisch element right after the Top-Hat.
Still made it into my top 10, and I might make it back for another try this year.
Anyway, I managed to record the g-forced once the rain stopped for half an hour.
My opinion to the ride: It grew on me after multiple rides, 100% a front row ride.
Some airtime moments are insane, especially during the backwards launch. But, some elements just don't deliver for me, like the 2 outward banked bunny hops and the Stengel-Divisch element right after the Top-Hat.
Still made it into my top 10, and I might make it back for another try this year.
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Crazycoaster
Giga Poster
I just got back from a Euro trip late last night having spent all day yesterday in Parc Asterix with unlimited fastpasses (lucky I had bought them a few weeks ago because I think every single french person decided to visit the park on the same day). I got quite a lot of rides in on Toutatis, including the day’s first guest train which was nice. Also in the week I rode Kondaa, Taron, Ride to Happiness and Star Trek, so it was up against fierce competition.
I’d been following this ride since they announced it in 2018 and have been looking forward to trying it since, Parc Asterix have a winner here.
The themed area is incredibly well done. All the bridges over the ride give great opportunities to view, and provide some great headchoppers. The station is very cool, and the lighting package looks awesome whenever a train launches and the strip lights pulse.
As for the actual ride experience, I’ll break it down here. First rolling launch out of the station is really improved by the fact it’s in a tunnel, they’ve clearly learned how awesome the tunnel launch on Taron is and replicated that here, however without the same speed or force. The ride post first launch is “okay”. It feels like it takes the elements too slowly. It crawls over the overbanks giving a big dose of hangtime, if you like that sort of thing, and then the two awkward hills don’t add too much of value, no airtime is really present so it just sort of throws your body from side to side.
Onto the main event, the swing launch. Such an impressive feature, it provides decent airtime on the initial trip over the middle hill. On the backwards trip, the boost gives two good bits of ejector, however the second bit is very jolty (when looking at the layout forward from the switch track, I’m talking about the first dip down into the launch). The airtime is very quick, coupled with the backwards movement of the train, I found that I had to brace my body, as it can (quite painfully if you’re not careful) slam you back into the seat because of the motion.
Following this, the backwards spike is amazing. Even at the front of the train, you still feel high enough off the ground, and get a decent amount of floating. It’s far better than Star Trek’s reverse spike, and I really like the fact that it’s not gimicky, it’s just a straight spike with you staring at the ground. I really hope TTD does something similar on a giant scale, cuz that could be awesome.
The top hat is interesting, the vertical turn gives a bit of whip on the rise, but the trim brakes spoil the descent significantly. You feel the train dramatically slow down and are pushed forward into your restraint for pretty much half of the drop before the ride picks up speed again. I think this is probably the one part of the ride that is beaten by Pantheon, as it seems such wasted potential.
The stall is fun, provides more hangtime compared to it’s RMC counterparts, followed by a short burst of airtime on the turn and a decent ejector hill (best airtime of the ride) followed by an S-hill with decent whip. The wall stall is far better than the one on Kondaa, it has significantly more airtime. The final inversion is good, and has a good theming headchopper, finally finishing up the ride with the double up.
I didn’t really rate the double up to be honest, for the same reason I don’t like the little hills on Kondaa. In my opinion, the airtime they provide is not significant enough for being slammed up and down. You end up just having to clench your body through it. I understand that they were really aiming for “most airtime moments”, but I think it came at a detriment to the ride as a whole, as more sustained airtime is far superior IMO.
As an overall package, the ride is top 10 material. My review might come across as overly critical but they were just a few things I noted. The ride delivers throughout, and it I love the fact it has a significantly longer layout compared to Pantheon post Top Hat. I’m not entirely sure if I prefer front row or back, both have their advantages and neither outweighed the other for me. The back spike is bliss at the rear of the train, and front row is always a winner.
I’d been following this ride since they announced it in 2018 and have been looking forward to trying it since, Parc Asterix have a winner here.
The themed area is incredibly well done. All the bridges over the ride give great opportunities to view, and provide some great headchoppers. The station is very cool, and the lighting package looks awesome whenever a train launches and the strip lights pulse.
As for the actual ride experience, I’ll break it down here. First rolling launch out of the station is really improved by the fact it’s in a tunnel, they’ve clearly learned how awesome the tunnel launch on Taron is and replicated that here, however without the same speed or force. The ride post first launch is “okay”. It feels like it takes the elements too slowly. It crawls over the overbanks giving a big dose of hangtime, if you like that sort of thing, and then the two awkward hills don’t add too much of value, no airtime is really present so it just sort of throws your body from side to side.
Onto the main event, the swing launch. Such an impressive feature, it provides decent airtime on the initial trip over the middle hill. On the backwards trip, the boost gives two good bits of ejector, however the second bit is very jolty (when looking at the layout forward from the switch track, I’m talking about the first dip down into the launch). The airtime is very quick, coupled with the backwards movement of the train, I found that I had to brace my body, as it can (quite painfully if you’re not careful) slam you back into the seat because of the motion.
Following this, the backwards spike is amazing. Even at the front of the train, you still feel high enough off the ground, and get a decent amount of floating. It’s far better than Star Trek’s reverse spike, and I really like the fact that it’s not gimicky, it’s just a straight spike with you staring at the ground. I really hope TTD does something similar on a giant scale, cuz that could be awesome.
The top hat is interesting, the vertical turn gives a bit of whip on the rise, but the trim brakes spoil the descent significantly. You feel the train dramatically slow down and are pushed forward into your restraint for pretty much half of the drop before the ride picks up speed again. I think this is probably the one part of the ride that is beaten by Pantheon, as it seems such wasted potential.
The stall is fun, provides more hangtime compared to it’s RMC counterparts, followed by a short burst of airtime on the turn and a decent ejector hill (best airtime of the ride) followed by an S-hill with decent whip. The wall stall is far better than the one on Kondaa, it has significantly more airtime. The final inversion is good, and has a good theming headchopper, finally finishing up the ride with the double up.
I didn’t really rate the double up to be honest, for the same reason I don’t like the little hills on Kondaa. In my opinion, the airtime they provide is not significant enough for being slammed up and down. You end up just having to clench your body through it. I understand that they were really aiming for “most airtime moments”, but I think it came at a detriment to the ride as a whole, as more sustained airtime is far superior IMO.
As an overall package, the ride is top 10 material. My review might come across as overly critical but they were just a few things I noted. The ride delivers throughout, and it I love the fact it has a significantly longer layout compared to Pantheon post Top Hat. I’m not entirely sure if I prefer front row or back, both have their advantages and neither outweighed the other for me. The back spike is bliss at the rear of the train, and front row is always a winner.
KoastinThruLife
Roller Poster
I visited the park the last two days and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Toutatis was amazing.
I’m not going to go into as much detail about my thoughts like the brilliant post above but let’s just say I absolutely love the ride. I actually like the trim on the top hat for some weird reason. It doesn’t take away from the ride at all for me as it traverses the rest of the layout with great speed. Other than that top hat moment, I loved the pre swing launch section with its odd banking and of course the actual launches were amazing. The little pops of airtime you get over the little hills are fantastic and especially going backwards. The spike is something I enjoy a lot also because I love staring down at the ground and giving people a wave for some reason. The rest of the layout for me is awesome as there are so many elements that I love in a roller coaster. The stall, airtime hill, twists and turns and the little hills at the end were all highlights.
Let’s just say that if a ride makes me smile and clap like Toutatis did then it is one of my favourites. It is a clear sign that I think a ride is world class.
I’m sorry about not paragraphing my thoughts but my written English isn’t great even for an Englishman.
I’m not going to go into as much detail about my thoughts like the brilliant post above but let’s just say I absolutely love the ride. I actually like the trim on the top hat for some weird reason. It doesn’t take away from the ride at all for me as it traverses the rest of the layout with great speed. Other than that top hat moment, I loved the pre swing launch section with its odd banking and of course the actual launches were amazing. The little pops of airtime you get over the little hills are fantastic and especially going backwards. The spike is something I enjoy a lot also because I love staring down at the ground and giving people a wave for some reason. The rest of the layout for me is awesome as there are so many elements that I love in a roller coaster. The stall, airtime hill, twists and turns and the little hills at the end were all highlights.
Let’s just say that if a ride makes me smile and clap like Toutatis did then it is one of my favourites. It is a clear sign that I think a ride is world class.
I’m sorry about not paragraphing my thoughts but my written English isn’t great even for an Englishman.
toofpikk
Hyper Poster
Adding my 2 cents here.
Themed pieces are superb throughout the area. Neolithic stuff is such a strong concept and it’s really cute being executed in the asterix aesthetic. But the queue line is dry, especially when compared to other recent installations. Hopefully when the greenery grows it’ll add some magic but for now the sparse themed pieces and the unthemed coverage leading up to the hugely impressive station is such a weird contrast and feels slightly unfinished. Also for having such a huge new installation I think it’s a shame there’s not more viewing areas for close track interaction with spectators.
The ride is mega good. Coming from an operational background I’ve never been a fan of the concept of swing launches, but this absolutely makes use of it and the park runs the thing so well regardless, it hauls both as a ride experience and throughput wise. So forceful and a ton of fun. Definitely a back row ride for me, the hills feel a lot punchier at the back.
Themed pieces are superb throughout the area. Neolithic stuff is such a strong concept and it’s really cute being executed in the asterix aesthetic. But the queue line is dry, especially when compared to other recent installations. Hopefully when the greenery grows it’ll add some magic but for now the sparse themed pieces and the unthemed coverage leading up to the hugely impressive station is such a weird contrast and feels slightly unfinished. Also for having such a huge new installation I think it’s a shame there’s not more viewing areas for close track interaction with spectators.
The ride is mega good. Coming from an operational background I’ve never been a fan of the concept of swing launches, but this absolutely makes use of it and the park runs the thing so well regardless, it hauls both as a ride experience and throughput wise. So forceful and a ton of fun. Definitely a back row ride for me, the hills feel a lot punchier at the back.