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

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I hated that goofy ass font day 1 of seeing it. Now that I see the sign, I hate it even more.

Looks like the went to the same signage shop as the recent shitty HoS signage and whatnot. Figured a new ride would get 5 extra bucks for textured paint at least but I guess they only wanted to spend $2.99 on laminating paper and gluing it to plastic.

Idc if I am overreacting. This ride is literally my make or break on my membership. If this thing sucks, I'm out. And the forecast is bleak.
 
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madmax said:
wait, aren’t you the ones who want the cringy puns on the ride? And your concern is over a sign?
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To be fair, the difference between interior and exterior features is huge. The sign impacts the look and feel of the hamlet. What happens inside the building can be entirely disconnected from the tone and vibe of the larger village (see: Verbolten). Entering an attraction and walking through its queue should effectively transport guests from the Oktoberfest area to the destination.
 
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There's a real open question over whether or not BGW can actually use any "Curse of DarKastle" branding, scenic, media, dialog, iconography, identifiers, etc. This isn't new either. BGW hasn't been shy about merchandising popular defunct attractions, but they've never made anything at all for DarKastle. Even during its time at the park, DarKastle was notoriously very merch-lite (making DarKastle merch very rare).

By choosing not to contract Falcon's Treehouse for the scenic design of DarKoaster, they've likely lost the ability to reuse or adapt a lot of those old, seemingly-still-Falcon's-owned assets for DarKoaster. If true, this could explain the dramatic departure from the original story, the visual redesign (read: ruining) of Ludwig, the new logo and font, the new color scheme, etc.

BGW/Holovis really could be trying to skirt their way around a copyright dispute with Falcon's here. Yet another reason why not going with Falcon's Treehouse was likely a monumental mistake.
 
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madmax said:
wait, aren’t you the ones who want the cringy puns on the ride? And your concern is over a sign?
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If I was part of the target audience for this question, I just want to clearly state that I am not in favor of the park, nor anyone, really ever, actually using any of the cringeworthy puns I shared.
 
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Zachary said:
There's a real open question over whether or not BGW can actually use any "Curse of DarKastle" branding, scenic, media, dialog, iconography, identifiers, etc. This isn't new either. BGW hasn't been shy about merchandising popular defunct attractions, but they've never made anything at all for DarKastle. Even during its time at the park, DarKastle was notoriously very merch-lite (making DarKastle merch very rare).

By choosing not to contract Falcon's Treehouse for the scenic design of DarKoaster, they've likely lost the ability to reuse or adapt a lot of those old, seemingly-still-Falcon's-owned assets for DarKoaster. If true, this could explain the dramatic departure from the original story, the visual redesign (read: ruining) of Ludwig, the new logo and font, the new color scheme, etc.

BGW/Holovis really could be trying to skirt their way around a copyright dispute with Falcon's here. Yet another reason why not going with Falcon's Treehouse was likely a monumental mistake.
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Do we know that they haven’t worked out a deal with Falcon’s Treehouse at all? I feel like so many of the lines and characters were mentioned even in the signs and theming of the queue (see: the entire preshow narration on a plaque).
 
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CoasterFan2735 said:
Do we know that they haven’t worked out a deal with Falcon’s Treehouse at all? I feel like so many of the lines and characters were mentioned even in the signs and theming of the queue (see: the entire preshow narration on a plaque).
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I certainly haven't heard anything about that. Plus, Holovis and Falcon's Treehouse are pretty direct competitors as far as I know. It seems likely that both would have been offered the opportunity to bid on the DarKoaster project. Some sort of deal behind the scenes isn't impossible, but at the same time, it certainly strikes me as less likely than BGW simply taking a lower bid and working around the potential legal pitfalls (assuming they exist).

Also, I'd caution people from reading too much into the DarKastle-y props displayed in the Preview Center. I expect much less of that and much more of the ghost hunting type stuff in the final product. Hopefully I'm wrong though.
 
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I'm really hoping this somehow all comes together. But with everything that has happened, my expectations seriously aren't high.

I know I'm typically a bit of a pessimist, but this one was one I was really pulling for. DK literally got me into what I do now for work, was my first ride at BGW way back when and was my first intro into motion sim dark rides. This ride, even though super different at its core, serves as a spiritual replacement for people like me that have some attachment to what used to be in this building.

I honestly would've rather BGW just ignore what stood before and start from scratch than continuously acknowledge the desire to make a spiritual successor and be too lazy or cheap to do it properly with Falcon's and some level of care. It feels to me that the only reason they are acknowledging the DK theming is to score brownie points with the people still holding nostalgia while not having to dedicate resources into starting totally from scratch on theming. Not that someone truly cared for the story before and wanted to continue it in a new and exciting way. This feels like Disney making the sequel trilogy. Doing something we all wanted, but for the wrong reasons, and therefore the product doesn't fulfill that initial desire.
 
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