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

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How much theming do we actually think will go into this ride? Should we be expecting just a pitch black experience with a few lightning effects or do you think they’ll go all out with set pieces and projections? I haven’t seen or heard anything and I feel like that will be the deciding factor if this ride is worth it or not.
 
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zanderman72 said:
Does this mean bridge likely done by then?
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I don't believe the bridge is expected to be done by April 20th. I haven't heard an update on it in a while, but it's my impression that that's too early.

Rjohnston said:
How much theming do we actually think will go into this ride? Should we be expecting just a pitch black experience with a few lightning effects or do you think they’ll go all out with set pieces and projections? I haven’t seen or heard anything and I feel like that will be the deciding factor if this ride is worth it or not.
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There are a handful of physical pieces and some projected media. Verbolten is probably a good benchmark to use here. It is my impression that the thematic density within DarKoaster's show building will be sparcer than what Verbolten opened with in 2012. That said, it should be considerably more than what Verbolten is left with today.

There aren't any huge, building—sized skrims like Verbolten debuted with to separate the space. DarKoaster's stuff is smaller-scale. Probably a similar amount—most of it just won't feel as enveloping is my expectation.

That said, Verbolten utilized lighting, props, and skrims exclusively. DarKoaster's use of projections will be unique at BGW.
 
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Zachary said:
I don't believe the bridge is expected to be done by April 20th. I haven't heard an update on it in a while, but it's my impression that that's too early.



There are a handful of set pieces and a fair bit of projected media. Verbolten is probably a good benchmark to use here. It is my impression that the thematic density within DarKoaster's show building will likely be a little sparcer than what Verbolten opened with in 2012. That said, it should be considerably more than what Verbolten is left with today.

There aren't any huge, building—sized skrims like Verbolten debuted with to separate the space. DarKoaster's stuff is smaller-scale. Probably a similar amount—most of it just won't feel as enveloping is my expectation.

That said, Verbolten utilized lighting, props, and skrims exclusively. DarKoaster's use of projections will be unique at BGW.
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Sweet! Thank you. I’m trying to stay excited. Do we think the projections and theming elements will stay the same for lap 2?

Also…. If the 2nd launch doesn’t start with “ITS TIME TO HEAT THINGS UP” then I will cry
 
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Rjohnston said:
Sweet! Thank you. I’m trying to stay excited. Do we think the projections and theming elements will stay the same for lap 2?
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Laps 1 and 2 should have different lighting and projections from what I can gather.

Rjohnston said:
Also…. If the 2nd launch doesn’t start with “ITS TIME TO HEAT THINGS UP” then I will cry
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As discussed a few days ago, I would caution people from being too hopeful about hearing iconic lines or the like from the original DarKastle as the content rights involved seem to be complex at best and messy at worst.
 
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Zachary said:
As discussed a few days ago, I would caution people from being too hopeful about hearing iconic lines or the like from the original DarKastle as the content rights involved seem to be complex at best and messy at worst.
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I'm curious about this, why doesn't BGW own the rights? Usually, when parks hire outside design firms, the park holds the rights for the end product. For instance, Kings Island owns the rights to Phantom Theater, even though R&R Creative Amusement Designs did all the design work for it. Kings Island owns the rights to the characters, music, dialogue, etc. So why doesn't it work like that for BGW? Is it something to do with how DarKastle is more film-based?
 
Zachary said:
Laps 1 and 2 should have different lighting and projections from what I can gather.



As discussed a few days ago, I would caution people from being too hopeful about hearing iconic lines or the like from the original DarKastle as the content rights involved seem to be complex at best and messy at worst.
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Complicated business law issues are such a boring reason to not appeal to thoosie nostalgia!
 
Any idea if this will be a Finnigan style preview where it soft opens and then is open to all members or more like a Pantheon where we see an announced preview and hire level passes get first go?
 
warfelg said:
Honest question -

What do some of you think is the right amount of theme elements for a ride like this?
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It's such a unique setup that it's really tricky to get a feel for without riding IMHO.

Twice through the same layout requires dynamic theme elements so the second lap isn't immediately recognizable and stale. Indoor means tighter layout and that means sight lines may be "narrower". Too many and you'll overwhelm the environment and they'll bleed together. Too few (or in this case, too static) and you have a sub-par thematic experience, especially for a well-themed and nostalgic building. As @Zachary mentioned before, you also have to contend with the show/sound leakage into the station and queue as well.

Idk if I'd ever be able to suggest a hard number.
 
bwick29 said:
It's such a unique setup that it's really tricky to get a feel for without riding IMHO.

Twice through the same layout requires dynamic theme elements so the second lap isn't immediately recognizable and stale. Indoor means tighter layout and that means sight lines may be "narrower". Too many and you'll overwhelm the environment and they'll bleed together. Too few (or in this case, too static) and you have a sub-par thematic experience, especially for a well-themed and nostalgic building. As @Zachary mentioned before, you also have to contend with the show/sound leakage into the station and queue as well.

Idk if I'd ever be able to suggest a hard number.
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I’m not asking for a number of anything like that. More is there a point where on ride theme elements become too much.

Like Ladd Trai is over done IMO and it’s at about 10 things. There’s just so much going on. Those Europe’s. Coasters look great (like F.L.Y.) Judy it’s just so hard to do use on anything and really take in what you see.

Like the Mummy coaster came up - I’m perfectly fine with that level of theme elements.
 
I don't think you can really ever add too much, even when on-ride. You can, however, add too much low-tier "bolt-on" stuff and that's when it starts to go down hill.

Hagrid's, for example, is just insanely themed. Not even talking about the way the coaster plays into the show, but the theme work that covers every sight-line and makes the coaster it's own world inside the park. For a few other non-Universal/Disney examples, look at Tumbili and Wicker Man. The former is a mediocre coaster with almost no on-ride theme work (music aside), but has excellent ambient theme work (including the surrounding area) and that makes it perfectly fine in my eyes. The latter combines the on-ride with the ambient and ends up with a great thematic experience.

Or you can go the Pantheon/i305 route where you slap a top-tier coaster in a field, hang a few Roman or checkered flags around, beach an engine-less car nearby and call it themed. You can bolt as many cutouts and flags on those coasters and I don't think you'd ever get it up to thematic par, even though they're both great rides overall. The theme elements MUST be integrated into the experience, not just bolted on as an after thought.

For DarKoaster, I would love to see that they found a way to use the projector tech to cover the entire field of view at all times. Have the face be traveling along the wall/backdrop along with the coaster so it feels like a chase/race/battle. Make the whole room feel like an entirely different world. Do the best you can within the ride envelope limits to cover earlier/later track elements from the train's field of view. This would also make it "easy" to have multiple shows, seasonal shows, or just new ones over time. It would technically be an "infinite" amount of on-ride theme work and I can see it working quite well without breaking the bank on a Hagrid's.


TL;DR: It's not quantity, it's quality.
 
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I'm not sure about having a projector be the main component or having another chase storyline in Oktoberfest coasters, but the hope is the park actually upgrades and maintains any projection technology they use in this ride so it doesn't end up like it's predecessor in this building.
 
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To clarify, I wouldn't theme the whole thing as a chase, but that "flying alongside" mechanic (similar to the marketing picture) could be quite the cool visual effect.
 
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