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

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Griffonboy said:
Projector costs were one of the main reasons for the shut down of the original darkastle ride. One lightbulb was about $10k to replace. So I would assume they would not go the expensive projector route for the foreseeable future.
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However, projector technology has come a long way since 2005. Projectors are a lot more efficient and bulbs last longer now. I'm certain they bought new ones. Plus, 10k may seem a lot to us, but to a multi-billion dollar business, it's really not unless you have to replace them more than say once a year.
 
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Griffonboy said:
It was a lot for seaworld ( I was working in corporate at the time and it was a big deal ) they wanted to cut costs and they were replacing them entirely too much.
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Still, my point remains: projectors now > projectors 18 years ago. If they end up skipping projection on this ride, it will be a lot harder to convince riders they're not just doing 2 laps on the same ride.

Ps: who knew we had former SEAS corporate posting on the forums.
 
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Griffonboy said:
It was a lot for seaworld ( I was working in corporate at the time and it was a big deal ) they wanted to cut costs and they were replacing them entirely too much.
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If you were former corporate, I got you're able to disclose any interesting tidbit related to this park, including the decisions around DK.
 
Gift shop update.
 

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Griffonboy said:
It was a lot for seaworld ( I was working in corporate at the time and it was a big deal ) they wanted to cut costs and they were replacing them entirely too much.
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I wonder if this was why they killed Turtle Trek. They've also been limiting the use of the actual projection video on Manta at SWSD--most of the year it's replaced with just some flashing lights and seasonal music. I'm dreading the day that launch tunnel goes the way of all the other on-ride screens in the park and "Manta Recharged" becomes a year-round fixture.
 
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Yeah yeah I know somebody would have posted an update if we have one… April 20th is right around the corner, should I pull my request off from work?
 
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RollyCoaster said:
Yeah yeah I know somebody would have posted an update if we have one… April 20th is right around the corner, should I pull my request off from work?
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My tea leaves are suggesting something is up. BGW marketing scrapped their planned promo rollout this week. Probably a bad sign for that 20th date. Current promotions are now set to expire this Sunday. Next Monday could be interesting.
 
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Zachary said:
My tea leaves are suggesting something is up. BGW marketing scrapped their planned promo rollout this week. Probably a bad sign for that 20th date. Current promotions are now set to expire this Sunday. Next Monday could be interesting.
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I'll wager they will move it back 1 week. 20th is super soon and they still have a good bit of finishing touches it appears, right?
 
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The Food & Wine page very prominently advertises DarKoaster for the event and DarKoaster is on the Food & Wine map without its Spring disclaimer displayed.

Even ignoring the leaked, planned April 20th preview date (which, again, I have fairly recent-ish proof of), all signs I've seen point to the idea that BGW wants/wanted DarKoaster open for the start of Food & Wine.

From what I understand of the current state of the coaster, we can't rule out the 20th date for previews yet. It is certainly starting to come down to the wire though.

End of the month/start of Food & Wine is still easily fair game though right now in my assessment. Fingers crossed in hopes that we'll get news Monday.
 
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Never thought I’d advocate for BGW to remove trees, but I hope they get rid of those trees in front of the castle. They were planted there when DarKastle was closed and it was rebranded as Newkastle. Especially as they continue to grow, they ruin the forced perspective of the castle. It really diminishes the castle’s apparent sense of scale when the trees are more than half as tall as the structure.

In an ideal world, I’d love for them to bring the moat and water feature there back, but even just making it into a simple flower bed with short shrubs would keep the castle’s illusion of size intact.
 
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Just curious. Do we know how they came up with that name New Kastle? I remember them asking what they should call it on a Facebook post and I jokingly said "New Kastle," as I was living near New Castle, PA at the time. I highly doubt those events are related, but it is a thought. Anyways, back to the coaster...
 
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ControlsEE said:
Just curious. Do we know how they came up with that name New Kastle? I remember them asking what they should call it on a Facebook post and I jokingly said "New Kastle," as I was living near New Castle, PA at the time. I highly doubt those events are related, but it is a thought. Anyways, back to the coaster...
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Something something brown ale something...
 
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