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

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BGWfan said:
😂 With around 400-500 riders per hour, this is a premium opportunity to drive ancillary sales of queue bypass options.
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“Unlike our competition with its reliable, high capacity models that shorten lines, this ride will drive the revenue numbers you are looking for, with slow queues and inevitable random breakdowns built in the high tech design.”
 
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So on the technical side with the bypass track:

What happens if there's a fault on the 2nd of the two switch tracks leading back onto the course?

Would there be retractable fin brakes and drive motors on the bypass to account for the necessary e-stop, or do we think the ride computer will prematurely terminate the ride course and send the train back to the station after riders are evac'd off the 'final' brake run?
 
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Jonesta6 said:
So on the technical side with the bypass track:

What happens if there's a fault on the 2nd of the two switch tracks leading back onto the course?

Would there be retractable fin brakes and drive motors on the bypass to account for the necessary e-stop, or do we think the ride computer will prematurely terminate the ride course and send the train back to the station after riders are evac'd off the 'final' brake run?
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That section of track will probably have a stopping mechanism of some kind and treat it as a safety block. Probably drive tires. Mag fins can't fully stop a train.
 
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I would guess that the train would stop on the brake run at the end of ride if either of the track switches fail. There is no reason for the train to be on the bypass circuit if the other track switch isn't in the correct position. I don't see any reason for the bypass track to need any sort of brakes/ drive tires because the train can stop on the final brake run. I don't think they would program the ride to automatically go back to the station- at that point something is wrong and all trains need to be stopped while the system is checked over by maintenance.

I just hope that if 10 years down the road if they have issues with either switch track - they don't simply disable the switches and make it a single lap ride. But otherwise I am very thrilled with how this is looking to be!
 
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I305Evan said:
I would guess that the train would stop on the brake run at the end of ride if either of the track switches fail. There is no reason for the train to be on the bypass circuit if the other track switch isn't in the correct position. I don't see any reason for the bypass track to need any sort of brakes/ drive tires because the train can stop on the final brake run. I don't think they would program the ride to automatically go back to the station- at that point something is wrong and all trains need to be stopped while the system is checked over by maintenance.

I just hope that if 10 years down the road if they have issues with either switch track - they don't simply disable the switches and make it a single lap ride. But otherwise I am very thrilled with how this is looking to be!
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With the short bypass length I'd imagine an e-stop on the final brake run as you seem to be suggesting; would there ever be a scenario that the first would lead a train onto the bypass before the second is fully locked in place thus leading to the fault I hypothesized about earlier?
 
I think this ride will be defined by the theming. It BGW themes this thing extremely well, it could be a very very cool ride, and a great Darkastle replacement.

If they don't take the time to theme it, it'll be extremely weak.
 
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Jonesta6 said:
With the short bypass length I'd imagine an e-stop on the final brake run as you seem to be suggesting; would there ever be a scenario that the first would lead a train onto the bypass before the second is fully locked in place thus leading to the fault I hypothesized about earlier?
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I would imagine that switch #1 would move over as soon as the train crests the hill following launch 1. So if it were to fail, then the fault would be triggered when the train is on or leaving launch #2 (depending how fast the switch takes). Which would lead the train stopping on the end brake run. As for the track switch at the end, I would imagine that switch would move to the bypass position as soon as a train parks on the brake run immediately behind the station. Also, I would take a wild guess that they would move switch 2 back the station line once the train hits launch 3 (Launch 1 on the 2nd lap). So if switch 2 would fail- a fault would trigger again anywhere between launch 1 and the final brakes.

Really there is many scenarios that they could program for safe places to switch the tracks, but I don't see a scenario where the train is on the bypass section and both switches are not in the correct position.
 
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Can I just say that I DESPERATELY hope that this project involves Falcon's Treehouse? DarKastle seems to mean so much to them as a company and they did such great work on the scenic and preshows for Battle for Eire. It would honestly feel unjust for Falcon's Treehouse not to be involved in DarKastle's successor.

Plus, selfishly, if Falcon's is involved here, I feel like that massively ups the chances of the theme/story of this coaster looping in with the lore of Curse of DarKastle. Imagine some of those iconic CoDK lines reused for lines on this coaster via onboard or off-board audio.... The dream.
 
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What would be the purpose of this coaster when they already have Verbolten? BG needs more all-family attractions. The space should be used for a dark ride. This company seems to want to go into the Six Flags/Cedar Faur gutter of only appealing to thrill seekers
 
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super7 said:
hat would be the purpose of this coaster when they already have Verbolten?
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An all-indoor coaster will be an absolute gamechanger for BGW from an operations standpoint. BGW is currently a year-round park without a single year-round coaster in their lineup. I'd say that something like this was not only inevitable, but basically required ASAP.
 
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