Battle for Eire

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Connor said:
Does anyone think this ride will return next season? Or ever?

SEAS has now closed both Wild Arctic simulators in Orlando and San Diego, and the only other simulator in the chain at BGT has been closed for years and since removed entirely. This is the last operating simulator in the chain and in more recent years it's been a common tactic for the corporate overlords to shutter attractions that are hidden off the path and easy to hide. We've seen this with DarKastle in Williamsburg, Tidal Wave in Tampa, and most recently Antartica in Orlando. All suddenly closing without any rhyme or reason and then sitting vacant for an extended period of time.

With BfE being hidden behind the hamlet, and besides the ride sign and entry facade, the ride has no presence in the hamlet. If the chain is hurting financially, it would be a super easy move to shutter this archaic simulator, especially since the VR component is probably a major no-go with the pandemic going on. If Drachen Spire does happen, the park will also be losing another permanent haunted house location, and they could easily build a house in the ride building and queue of BfE and leave it up year round to open during HOS as a replacement for this new hole in the line up.

Alternatively, they could run the ride without the VR and just operate as a normal simulator, but it seems like based on past trends throughout the chain this ride may be on borrowed time. While I'm not the biggest fan of this ride, the storyline is painfully dull and the actual VR element is rather uninspired and bland, this is technically the only "dark ride" in the park ever since the unexpected DK departure, and it would be a shame to have essentially none in the park.
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I think it's possible that BfE could be closed next year but due to Covid-19 concerns not because the park wants to close it. The rides that you reference as closing are rides that closed for similar reason to DK. They were expensive to maintain and were on the old side for these attractions so more investment would be required. On top of low ridership it was time for them to go.

BfE, however just got a substantial investment just 2 years ago now. I think it's too recent of an investment for them to consider completely removing it.

Another reason is that most other parks have some form of indoor experiences (by that I mean outside of a theater or restaurant) that BGW would no longer have if BfE closed.
 
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BfE also always has long lines whenever I've seen it, much moreso than I ever remember EitA having. When I visited last year with my GP friends, BfE was one of the rides they insisted we re-ride, just because of how different it is. And while there are other factors (like capacity) at play, for what it's worth, BfE was by far our longest wait of the entire day.
 
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So assuming they don't abandon this attraction, does anyone think they may eventually upgrade the actual ride systems/vehicles at some point?

That also begs the question of what sort of things are out there that could do?
 
My idea:

The guy who wrote Rogue One, Gary Whitta, created a game called Space Rocks. Its been a while but I'll try to remember and explain the rules. The contestants all take a bunch of trucker speed and chug it down with a Monster or two. Then once the effect kick in, they go into a ditch, and throw rocks at each other.

Space Rocks!

Anyhow, I think BfE should be converted into a Space Rocks tournament center with hourly SR events.

The kids will love it.
 
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With the theming being something vaguely Irish, I presume?

Waiting to see if when a Notre Dame reference would appear...
 
Dombot said:
Immersive yet cost effective. BGW, hire this man!
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They know how to reach me - they choose to ignore the opportunity right in front of their noses. They're high on their own stash. Fucking million dollar Broadway show instead of a fucking ride. Destroying the Festhaus stage. Running out of hot chocolate during Jesus' birthday bash. Not installing a Zipper and instead putting in Tempesto... the list goes on and on.

Let's just say we know who's on the right side of history the last 7 or 8 years I've been posting on this forum.
 
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I vote that they gut the whole thing and install an indoor/enclosed Mack Wild Mouse Dark Ride. Could even have an outdoor section too. It's been long enough since they took away Wild Maus. Sticks with the family-friendly nature of the ride and takes away an outdated ride system that won't ever be a blockbuster attraction no matter how many times they change the movie.
 
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There just isn't space for that kind of ride there without making huge structural alterations to the building, cutting down lots of trees and/or terraforming, and possibly having to rebuild the power grid in that area (assuming they didn't already have to do that for FF).

Or they could possibly dig the floor out of DK to give more height to the building and stick it there if they were to go that direction.

To be honest, I really love having a simulator where BfE currently is and hope that the choice to use VR technology (even if it comes across as pixelated/old school video-gamey) is a sign for continued investment in upgrading the ride technologies.

If I had to guess, annual maintenance might include rebuilding much of the ride systems including the pieces that move the ride chassis, so I'm curious if that means as long as the team can still find parts the ride will continue to be reliable?
 
I don't know why this seems hot-take-y but; not every ride needs to be a coaster and not every ride needs to be "perfect". BfE is pretty clearly aimed at a younger demographic so some things that seem 'cheap' and 'cheesy' to us is cool to younger kids.
 
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warfelg said:
I don't know why this seems hot-take-y but; not every ride needs to be a coaster and not every ride needs to be "perfect". BfE is pretty clearly aimed at a younger demographic so some things that seem 'cheap' and 'cheesy' to us is cool to younger kids.
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I understand where you’re coming from, but BoE is really cheesy... I know not every ride can be perfect, but this one has too many problems in my opinion.
 
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