Busch Gardens Williamsburg Project 2023: DarKoaster (Multi-Lap Intamin Straddle Coaster)

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Howl-O-Scream Fanatic said:
Any guesses which month this opens? I'm hoping it's available for Winter Weekends because I'm planning my first ever trip to BGW around that time and DarKoaster is currently the ride I'm looking forward to the most.
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I'd like to think it would be a hurry up and open when the weather is cold
 
I do think earlier than normal is VERY likely. Obviously not saying it will happen, but I would not be the least bit surprised to see member previews during Winter Weekends.

I know the building hides a lot, but especially for such a small coaster, progress on this thing has been blazing fast so far. It's April on a tiny coaster that doesn't have to prep for possible winter weather delays and we have foundation work already well underway from what I understand.
 
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Like Zachary said I believe the biggest reason this could open earlier than normal additions is that weather is not a factor along with park operations not getting in the way either.
 
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mtpelepele said:
You really think they'll open it during any time they don't feel they can get the most attendance boost? After Pantheon just sat there?
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Boost is the key word. The Winter weekends have been really hit or miss in attendance. Open the new rids and give people an event worth coming to and they could see a huge bump which might trigger more in park spending and actually have a bigger impact then sitting on it till spring
 
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horsesboy said:
Boost is the key word. The Winter weekends have been really hit or miss in attendance. Open the new rids and give people an event worth coming to and they could see a huge bump which might trigger more in park spending and actually have a bigger impact then sitting on it till spring
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Yeah. This exactly. Give people a reason to come out in the cold for an indoor coaster that will get them out of the cold.
 
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Zachary said:
Honestly there's no reason they couldn't extend the length of the preview period dramatically too. Even if previews started during Winter Weekends they could easily push an official opening well into March.
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Is it fair to say I would be concerned over two openings in less than 1 year?
 
warfelg said:
Is it fair to say I would be concerned over two openings in less than 1 year?
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I mean, I sorta agree that they're risking diminishing returns on each investment they make with a schedule this aggressive. That said, this is an enormous improvement over the original plan of Pantheon and Spire back to back. At least DarKoaster has a totally different target audience, you know?
 
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Zachary said:
I mean, I sorta agree that they're risking diminishing returns on each investment they make with a schedule this aggressive. That said, this is an enormous improvement over the original plan of Pantheon and Spire back to back. At least DarKoaster has a totally different target audience, you know?
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I think it's more different functions than it is different audience. Opening a new ride that solves a big problem for winter in the winter actually makes a ton of sense -- especially since you generally don't have people traveling long distances to visit a park during the winter months. You essentially have a drive for the locals in winter which is automatically followed by the distance visitors when that time of the year arrives.
 
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I think another fact in an earlier open is that while I have hope for a nice heavily themed ride that will be enjoyable. But based on the footprint this ride likely will be on the lower end of new rides for much of the GP. So why not open it during a period where there likely won't be many other new attractions opening and try and get as much PR hype out of a period where there is little else to compete with you.
 
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Zachary said:
I mean, I sorta agree that they're risking diminishing returns on each investment they make with a schedule this aggressive. That said, this is an enormous improvement over the original plan of Pantheon and Spire back to back. At least DarKoaster has a totally different target audience, you know?
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I agree about diminishing returns with an aggressive schedule but I think this is an outlier in normal situations. Coming out of the pandemic a huge amout of curtomers are getting back to taking vacations (much more than an average year). If you can entice these families to visit now with an aggressive push with new rides it creates a situation to increase your customer base much more than the average year. This is one of the reasons I think Pantheon was delayed as long as it was.
 
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Zachary said:
I mean, I sorta agree that they're risking diminishing returns on each investment they make with a schedule this aggressive. That said, this is an enormous improvement over the original plan of Pantheon and Spire back to back. At least DarKoaster has a totally different target audience, you know?
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I’m scared to if it works. SEAS has been getting more aggressive about additions, so does two successful openings in one year make them think they should do more. (I know the whole Pantheon thing is unuique)
 
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warfelg said:
I’m scared to if it works. SEAS has been getting more aggressive about additions, so does two successful openings in one year make them think they should do more. (I know the whole Pantheon thing is unuique)
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I think the whole situation is so unique I mean how often are you going to have a park transitioning to a year round calendar that doesn't currently have an all weather ride and desperately needs one? I also think we are being a little picky in saying it's two with on 1 year I mean it's 2 in basically 10 to 10.5 months so yes that is two within a year technically but I think that for most people they are going to look at it as 2 in 2 years.
 
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Were I operating a theme park coming out of the covid epoch, I would be thinking about all of the families whose stalwart annual trip traditions were just upended for two years. Bringing back families who go/went to BGW at least once every year would be an obvious priority, but I might pay equal or greater attention to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to steal a ton of additional families away from their other now-interrupted traditions, via an avalanche of highly marketable new BGW attractions. Make BGW their tradition instead.

Between that and an apparent ongoing commitment to year-round operation, the potential business growth from guests both local and far-flung is remarkable. Bring on the attraction investments.

...One major concern of mine, though, would be what people will find overall once they get to the park. At the risk of greatly oversimplifying: advertising and marketing might bring people through the gates the first time and entice a return visit too, but the park experience itself is the best way to convince them to come back again and again over the next 2, 5, or 10 years. Will slipping food quality, degraded visual state of the park & new attractions, and ongoing staff shortages kneecap my entire offering to new and returning guests? Or will people accept it in its new, more pedestrian state and come back for more?

There is so much to say about what this could mean for actual overall return on corporate spending choices, guest mix, long term reputation, and more.

I bet locals remember what the inside of DarKastle looked like before.
 
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halfabee said:
...One major concern of mine, though, would be what people will find overall once they get to the park. At the risk of greatly oversimplifying: advertising and marketing might bring people through the gates the first time and entice a return visit too, but the park experience itself is the best way to convince them to come back again and again over the next 2, 5, or 10 years. Will slipping food quality, degraded visual state of the park & new attractions, and ongoing staff shortages kneecap my entire offering to new and returning guests? Or will people accept it in its new, more pedestrian state and come back for more?
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See also Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.... Easily the worst experience I ever had in a park. Marketing did such an amazing job and the investments in new rides was unreal -- and I never went back (until it reverted back to Geauga Lake) nor did I visit another Six Flags park for nearly two decades.
 
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When would advertising for this start do you think? The conclusion of Summer nights? October?
 
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