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

Register or Login to Hide This Ad for Free!
Status
The first entry in this thread is a WikiPost. As such, it can be edited by anyone with the appropriate permissions.
Not open for further replies.

Important Articles:​


Animated Pre-Creation:​

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Direct Link to Embedded Media Source

Major Updates:​

 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: Mr. Porkchop and chevyhd17
Click to expand...
Jonesta6 said:
I wonder if this also means they may finally invest in staffing/resources needed to maintain ride theming, considering they have the two highest themed coasters across the park from each other?
Click to expand...
Unless there's changes coming from the top (like say a CEO), then likely not. I'm willing to bet the savings of reusing the building was used for all the theme elements. Not having to clear land, terraform anything, and run in utilities was HUGE.

rswashdc said:
There are plenty of options beyond a Wild Mouse at that height range (e.g. Vekomas and Mack’s at Disney), though Intamin may not be able to make lower heights work in their vehicles.

Main issue is marketing a 48” coaster to families is a lot of families won’t meet the height requirement plus older guests may not be interested in what is a family coaster.
Click to expand...
Using the Disney Vekomas and Macks hit a little flat because often they might be the only place you see a certain design of something.

Like I said, It's a problem. But there aren't many great solutions out there. I think that something like Merlins Meyham would be great, but also have a very limited audience.
 
warfelg said:
Unless there's changes coming from the top (like say a CEO), then likely not. I'm willing to bet the savings of reusing the building was used for all the theme elements. Not having to clear land, terraform anything, and run in utilities was HUGE.


Using the Disney Vekomas and Macks hit a little flat because often they might be the only place you see a certain design of something.

Like I said, It's a problem. But there aren't many great solutions out there. I think that something like Merlins Meyham would be great, but also have a very limited audience.
Click to expand...
I don't know that the criticism of Verbolten is completely fair it's degraded in the then department for sure but it's also been an incredibly over used work horse for the last few years I think that we need to wait and see what happens winter of 2023 and see if BGW uses DarKoaster being open as an opportunity to close and refresh Bolt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DE_Creative, Alf33, DJTLG and 8 others
warfelg said:
Unless there's changes coming from the top (like say a CEO), then likely not. I'm willing to bet the savings of reusing the building was used for all the theme elements. Not having to clear land, terraform anything, and run in utilities was HUGE.
Click to expand...

True, I'd imagine the construction savings were good - not sure what that has to do with ongoing upkeep though?

Having literally one staffer whose job it is to ensure all show elements within both coasters are all up and running, and coordinate efforts to fix things when they break can't be that drastically expensive, can it?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tankb4real
horsesboy said:
I don't know that the criticism of Verbolten is completely fair it's degraded in the then department for sure but it's also been an incredibly over used work horse for the last few years I think that we need to wait and see what happens winter of 2023 and see if BGW uses DarKoaster being open as an opportunity to close and refresh Bolt.
Click to expand...

Oh for sure. Would be nice to see it alternate for upkeep too.

Jonesta6 said:
True, I'd imagine the construction savings were good - not sure what that has to do with ongoing upkeep though?

Having literally one staffer whose job it is to ensure all show elements within both coasters are all up and running, and coordinate efforts to fix things when they break can't be that drastically expensive, can it?
Click to expand...
It's going to take more than 1 person to do. But having the budget to do it means they (hopefully) have a plan for upkeep.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Coasternerd and Jonesta6
I was thinking something like - the regular maintenance crew doesn't need with theming because that's entertainment's domain and their service territories have them scrambling to get rides cleared for opening. Entertainment doesn't touch it because they don't have any staff dedicated to doing so, so it just generally doesn't get done.

Hiring literally one person to go around and inspect effects independent of the maintenance team would give them the attention they need. The part I wrote about coordinating repair efforts is if it requires something more substantial than changing a lightbulb (or if OSHA requirements state they need to have multiple people doing things for the repair job to occur).
 
Based on what @BGWnut has said a few times the issue isn’t having the people, rather it’s the argument of who’s budget it’s supposed to come from. Hence why Kevin(seemingly) not having the power and freedom to just go to Ent or Maint and say “this is your problem and here’s the money” really hurts the park.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BGWnut and Jonesta6
BGWnut said:
Also, just a note from what I'm seeing the Name of this ride is just DarKoaster. The "escape the storm" is just a marketing tagline that will be used during the initial campaign but isn't part of the official name.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. Seems very similar to how Verbolten was always originally marketed as "Verbolten: Brave the Black Forest."

1662506969283.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tankb4real, Coasternerd, RKRCC and 5 others
I have literally been waiting all day to respond to all of this, so here we go.

First off, my initial impression of the news was :
giphy-downsized-large.gif


Seriously, I couldn't stop laughing at how stupid this sounded. It still somewhat sounds like a joke to me.

Anyways, at least they are putting in something themed, right? [More concerned] Right???

First off, the name "DarKoaster" is 10000000% dumber than InvadR. Literally says nothing about the ride except its a coaster.... and its dark.... I get the wanting to pay homage/tie in the story to DarKastle, but seriously, Snowmobile Coaster 1 is almost as good of a name as DarKoaster. If the park literally pulled the name from this site, I would like to congratulate Zachary on one of the largest trolls of all times. Like seriously, almost as big as this:

giphy.gif

"There is a time and a place for subtlety, but that time was before Scary Movie" - Troy

I'll get to my suggested names/stories later for what this ride could have been if they had given a damn, but next, lets talk about these snowmobiles.

WTF

What do snowmobiles have to do with anything??? Would have made more sense in New France (aka Canada)! Are they trying to pull some sort of Midwest meets abandoned explorer vibe for this thing? How are they relevant to the story??? It is so obvious that they got to save some engineering and design $$$ by only slightly modifying the SeaWorld trains. Would it have been that hard to just put a different shell on the thing? It could have been so unique, but NOOOOO WE MUST SAVE MONEEEEEEYYYYYYY AND NOT DO MORE WORK!!!! THEY WONT NOTICE THE WIERD THEMEING IF ITS DARK......

Lastly, before I get to what should have been (IMO), I do really hope there are wolves on jet ski- I mean snowmobiles. That would be hilarious!

Alright. You've red far enough, here is what I would have done to the story to make it more interesting. Firstly, ditch the snowmobiles (shocker). Lets make those bad boys horses. Next, lets ditch the name (shocker again). We'll say DarkRyder, or DarkRider, or DarKnight... wait.... skip that last one. Anyways, something other than [flatly] DarKoaster. Now, to the story. You have just escaped Ludwig's wrath (no returning to DarKastle and finding strange weather patterns... ugh). Literally pick up right where riders left off when the left DarKastle 5 (really 5 already ???) years ago. You find yourself in a snow storm (sure BGW, you can keep the storm) and need to get back to town to warn the others about Ludwig. You are weak and don't have enough energy to make it on your own. You find a horse, lost it the woods. It's one of Ludwig's horses from one of the golden sleighs! You climb on board and have to find your way back to town. The only problem is that Ludwig's horse only knows to go back to the castle. This is where we tie in the fact that you will traverse the loop twice. You ride around and end up back where you started! Through some, we'll say magical, spell, you trick the horse to leave Ludwig's and finally make it safe to town where you can get help for yourself and the others... unless you don't make it back in time.


All in all, an 8 year old may find the DarKoaster story entertaining, but I am left sorrowly disappointed, but not surprised. Busch Gardens is officially, in the toilet themed attractions wise.
 
  • Dislike
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: rswashdc, DrunkenCronuts, Icer and 4 others
I mean, the previous ride vehicle was supposed to be a goofy floating sled powered by ghosts.

Yes, it was unique from a hardware system standpoint. (So unique that nobody else ever bought one. But that's a different matter.)

The first B&M in the park was themed to a snowy and thoroughly modern "ski lift gone wild" looming over the time-and-place architecture, clockwork, and statuesque nudity of old fashioned Rhinefeld. And that was by far the biggest attraction in the park when it went in.

I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong here. But our reaction to a mid-sized ride like this is so powerfully dictated by what we choose to focus on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sereniv, DE_Creative, Nicole and 9 others
I 100% disagree with @ControlsEE on just about everything. They didn’t spill the whole story, but based on the CBS news interview posted somewhere above here I am hopeful on the theme.

Let’s not forget the castle was once “frozen in time” and perhaps this is the era we are going to be visiting on DarKoaster. A much darker time where there very well could have been storms reigned down from Ludwig while we try to escape a frozen era. That’s how I see it as of now and I’m sure they will do a better job with the story assuming the pre show makes a return.

I adore the name. It could have been so much worse, and with just the right amount of time put into the attraction I think the theme is going to come together very well. The track is complete and it is Sept 6th. If the ride isn’t opening until next year there is so much time for theming even if done in small increments.

I’m really looking forward to this project. More ever than Pantheon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ludmarco, Nicole, Tankb4real and 5 others
ControlsEE said:
I have literally been waiting all day to respond to all of this, so here we go.

First off, my initial impression of the news was :
giphy-downsized-large.gif


Seriously, I couldn't stop laughing at how stupid this sounded. It still somewhat sounds like a joke to me.

Anyways, at least they are putting in something themed, right? [More concerned] Right???

First off, the name "DarKoaster" is 10000000% dumber than InvadR. Literally says nothing about the ride except its a coaster.... and its dark.... I get the wanting to pay homage/tie in the story to DarKastle, but seriously, Snowmobile Coaster 1 is almost as good of a name as DarKoaster. If the park literally pulled the name from this site, I would like to congratulate Zachary on one of the largest trolls of all times. Like seriously, almost as big as this:

giphy.gif

"There is a time and a place for subtlety, but that time was before Scary Movie" - Troy

I'll get to my suggested names/stories later for what this ride could have been if they had given a damn, but next, lets talk about these snowmobiles.

WTF

What do snowmobiles have to do with anything??? Would have made more sense in New France (aka Canada)! Are they trying to pull some sort of Midwest meets abandoned explorer vibe for this thing? How are they relevant to the story??? It is so obvious that they got to save some engineering and design $$$ by only slightly modifying the SeaWorld trains. Would it have been that hard to just put a different shell on the thing? It could have been so unique, but NOOOOO WE MUST SAVE MONEEEEEEYYYYYYY AND NOT DO MORE WORK!!!! THEY WONT NOTICE THE WIERD THEMEING IF ITS DARK......

Lastly, before I get to what should have been (IMO), I do really hope there are wolves on jet ski- I mean snowmobiles. That would be hilarious!

Alright. You've red far enough, here is what I would have done to the story to make it more interesting. Firstly, ditch the snowmobiles (shocker). Lets make those bad boys horses. Next, lets ditch the name (shocker again). We'll say DarkRyder, or DarkRider, or DarKnight... wait.... skip that last one. Anyways, something other than [flatly] DarKoaster. Now, to the story. You have just escaped Ludwig's wrath (no returning to DarKastle and finding strange weather patterns... ugh). Literally pick up right where riders left off when the left DarKastle 5 (really 5 already ???) years ago. You find yourself in a snow storm (sure BGW, you can keep the storm) and need to get back to town to warn the others about Ludwig. You are weak and don't have enough energy to make it on your own. You find a horse, lost it the woods. It's one of Ludwig's horses from one of the golden sleighs! You climb on board and have to find your way back to town. The only problem is that Ludwig's horse only knows to go back to the castle. This is where we tie in the fact that you will traverse the loop twice. You ride around and end up back where you started! Through some, we'll say magical, spell, you trick the horse to leave Ludwig's and finally make it safe to town where you can get help for yourself and the others... unless you don't make it back in time.


All in all, an 8 year old may find the DarKoaster story entertaining, but I am left sorrowly disappointed, but not surprised. Busch Gardens is officially, in the toilet themed attractions wise.
Click to expand...
I’m tempted to respond to every piece of this, but I’ll focus on two: your story and names are just so so so bad. I can’t believe you genuinely think what you came up with is better than anything the park shared today.
 
  • Like
  • Dislike
Reactions: xyz476, Tankb4real, MIKEYT67 and 5 others
That's because it was based on Neuschwanstein and the real life story of Mad King Ludwig.

Screenshot_20220906-223325.png
There is definitely a resemblance to him.

This is what made DK so amazing though, it was a story that was rooted in some truth and they just added some flourish.

Here's a bio of him. It's an interesting read.

Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung | Neuschwanstein Castle | King Ludwig II | Biography

Official website of Neuschwanstein Castle
www.neuschwanstein.de www.neuschwanstein.de
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: Katelynplusbaymax, ludmarco, Nicole and 11 others
Having been at SeaWorld San Antonio this weekend, Wave Breaker once again had the longest queue in the park, and I think a big part of that is the design of the cars, the time it takes riders to board/unboard, and the unnatural rider positioning, where the instinct is to lean forward only to be told to sit upright. I hope the bypass track helps with throughput issue, but I think folks should be prepared for disappointing throughput on DarKoaster, with the result being fewer riders per hour than Iron Gwazi.
 
  • Like
  • Sad
Reactions: Tankb4real, DrunkenCronuts, Mwe BGW and 2 others
I64 Trekker said:
Having been at SeaWorld San Antonio this weekend, Wave Breaker once again had the longest queue in the park, and I think a big part of that is the design of the cars, the time it takes riders to board/unboard, and the unnatural rider positioning, where the instinct is to lean forward only to be told to sit upright. I hope the bypass track helps with throughput issue, but I think folks should be prepared for disappointing throughput on DarKoaster, with the result being fewer riders per hour than Iron Gwazi.
Click to expand...
And that's one thing I didn't think of yet... this is the 3rd coaster in a row that BGW has built with only 2 trains. (4th if you count Tempesto as equivalent to the others) Capacity is probably going to be bad.


Also to quell the apparent fire I set, I never said it was going to be a bad ride, just that the theme and story leave something to be desired.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Coasternerd and Mwe BGW
Status
The first entry in this thread is a WikiPost. As such, it can be edited by anyone with the appropriate permissions.
Not open for further replies.
Consider Donating to Hide This Ad