Busch Gardens Williamsburg Project 2024: Loch Ness Monster Renovation
- Thread starter Zachary
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Looks like CNN has picked up ParkFans search for Lochness Monster track!
My understanding is that work crews were on site pre open today and will likely be on site early morning for the next few days. I am growing more and more convinced that it will be closed by Howl-O-Scream. I imagine last rides on the original track will be a thing for many people hope BGW makes a. official announcement soon to allow people to plan them.
This may have been mentioned but has lochness monster always not been listed on the quick que?/ HOS quick que
I expect Loch Ness to be closed for Howl-o-Scream but I do believe that Loch Ness has never had quick queue
It may have at some point, but hasn't for at least a year.
They tried it for QQ at one point but pulled it from the list years ago. The station platform is setup so the only way to do it is to have QQ riders go up the exit ramp which was just to narrand cramped and it slowed unload times down quite a bit and caused problems.
Apparently, there was footage (relevant to the repairs) showing why the inside of the mountain needs to be repaired, I assume BGW has assessed the safety, but it was said that concrete is chipping and falling when the coaster goes through due to the vibration and wear over time. If a large enough piece were to become dislodged and hit someone it could do a lot of damage and potentially be fatal. Knowing this I actually still rode it a few days ago but I am certainly glad that it will be being worked on soon! That is all I know about this project really but I am sure there are more repairs and hopefully updates and renovations as well. Feel free to take this with a grain of salt as I have no way of showing you this footage or proving it, and I truly do believe that BGW would not operate the ride if they didn't feel that it was safe, I am only sharing this because I think knowing more details about the renovation could be interesting to some.
I have not personally seen the footage and there is no way that I can share it with anyone. For all intents and purposes this could go in the "rumors" section too I guess on the forum. I definitely want to be clear that this is not something that I have personally seen and I can't confirm it. There is always that chance that the source exaggerated the need for repairs. Again, I can't imagine that if there was constant falling concrete that the ride would be operating daily still. But this should shed some light on what they are actually doing atleast to that portion of the ride.
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For context; and yes, that is the original soundtrack for the ride:
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
Also one thing worth noting as as your go down the cave, you can see little spots where concrete has previously chipped, and now lets light infiltrate into the cave.
The spots the light comes in are just areas the ride supports enter the building and the flashing has separated. That is planning on getting repaired.
The mountain is created with gunite, a variation of concrete meant to be applied as a spray. This is the same material the mountain at Kings Dominion was created from. The entire structure is a steel frame and mesh with gunite quite literally sprayed on. Falling gunite has been something to look out for on Loch Ness since the ride was built. When a chip was found, it was knocked from the ceiling before the ride could run.
Modifications and repairs to the mountain have been done for years and years. But, I believe something new will come to the mountain related to falling gunite, so that it will be something that will not have to be worried about again.
Not sure if this was posted yet, but you can see the track from the left seat on Alpengeist. Back part of the employee lot!
They are visible from Griffon's drop as well.
It's technically possible but I would still anticipate a policy of 2 train ops to allow for one to be in tear down at all times so not likely in my opinion.
Also, while not technically "ride" related, I'd like to see them extend the path to have it go past the side of the station and then on a gentle slope meet up with the path by the entrance to Ireland. It would be a nice alternative for people who have difficulty with the steps in Scotland.
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