Curse of DarKastle
- Thread starter Zachary
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coasterFREAK said:
More colored in blocks on their calendar I would assume.
pandorazboxx said:
This guy knows what he's talking about.
Rode this yesterday. Preshow is still just a walk through, which I don't like. There was 'smoke' in the fireplace, but no heat. There should be heat, or at least a few heat lamps. Spinning after the fireplace was turned down. There was more water being sprayed at the end of the ride than in previous trips.
I have to say, I'm very, very disappointed with the changes to the ride programming. Especially as Transformers opens and Spider-Man is very publicly amped up, it's such a shame to see the massively incredible technology behind DarKastle used so poorly...
The only words to describe the ride this season as "gentle" and "rocking." I understand the point of keeping things accessible to the family, but Spider-Man spins, tosses, rolls, throws, and gallops with eight year olds cheering in glee. This season on DarKastle, the turns are toned down, the motion is barely there, and the most forceful element - the fireplace spinning - is literally gone.
I would almost rather chalk it up to the ride aging than to suggest that this might've been a conscious decision by the park. I live in Ohio and always drove the 9 hours to Busch Gardens with friends almost exclusively so show them how absolutely unbelievable DarKastle is. Now, I'm honestly a bit embarrassed... During the "fall," it literally just lightly taps and rocks a few inches forward. I'm not asking it to literally "slam" you, but Spider-Man and Transformers have perfectly synched, semi-agressive motion that really puts you into the fall. We know DarKastle is capable of it, so why not use it?
The off-season "refurbishment" really did little but add back the fireplace fog, add new LED's around the end of the fireplace, and reduce the motion throughout the ride. There's still a big wad of spitball residue on the screen where Ludwig turns into a werewolf, so how did that escape this "refurbishment?" I'm just sort of disappointed... If anything, I thought we might see the motion enhanced twofold. Instead, it was severely downgraded.
The only words to describe the ride this season as "gentle" and "rocking." I understand the point of keeping things accessible to the family, but Spider-Man spins, tosses, rolls, throws, and gallops with eight year olds cheering in glee. This season on DarKastle, the turns are toned down, the motion is barely there, and the most forceful element - the fireplace spinning - is literally gone.
I would almost rather chalk it up to the ride aging than to suggest that this might've been a conscious decision by the park. I live in Ohio and always drove the 9 hours to Busch Gardens with friends almost exclusively so show them how absolutely unbelievable DarKastle is. Now, I'm honestly a bit embarrassed... During the "fall," it literally just lightly taps and rocks a few inches forward. I'm not asking it to literally "slam" you, but Spider-Man and Transformers have perfectly synched, semi-agressive motion that really puts you into the fall. We know DarKastle is capable of it, so why not use it?
The off-season "refurbishment" really did little but add back the fireplace fog, add new LED's around the end of the fireplace, and reduce the motion throughout the ride. There's still a big wad of spitball residue on the screen where Ludwig turns into a werewolf, so how did that escape this "refurbishment?" I'm just sort of disappointed... If anything, I thought we might see the motion enhanced twofold. Instead, it was severely downgraded.
O, I actually have a bit of good news from yesterday: They have the waterfall on the front of the castle working again. I love small thematic elements like that. Its not something most people will notice, but it's awesome nonetheless.
The spitball was left due to the "silver dust" on the screens. It enhances the pic/something with the 3D. Youd notice it missing before you notice a spitball.
At least that much makes sense, then.
The motion is so disappointing, though. I'm seeing friends tweeting independently at the park remarking at the "neutering" of the ride, so maybe at some point someone will respond. I shot off an email last week when I visited just saying I was disappointed, but haven't heard back.
I wonder if it's the sort of thing they'd respond to at all, or if enough action would promote them to change it? As it is, I just dont' understand the reason. Again, I'd almost prefer if they said "the ride is aging and can't perform the same agile maneuvers anymore," because at least that would provide a reason. As it is, I'm almost forced to think that they purposefully did this to make the ride more "family friendly," which I don't think was called for...
The motion is so disappointing, though. I'm seeing friends tweeting independently at the park remarking at the "neutering" of the ride, so maybe at some point someone will respond. I shot off an email last week when I visited just saying I was disappointed, but haven't heard back.
I wonder if it's the sort of thing they'd respond to at all, or if enough action would promote them to change it? As it is, I just dont' understand the reason. Again, I'd almost prefer if they said "the ride is aging and can't perform the same agile maneuvers anymore," because at least that would provide a reason. As it is, I'm almost forced to think that they purposefully did this to make the ride more "family friendly," which I don't think was called for...
I'm quite curious about this. I'll be spending 4 days in Williamsburg this weekend for the sole purpose of going to Busch, staying at Kingsmill. Darkastle is one of my favorite rides. Is it really that bad? I was there last October and it wasn't awful, granted the fireplace scene wasnt working, but the rest of the ride didn't seem that bad. Maybe I have my "tourist goggles" on.
The park can't ever do anything positive.
That being said, I don't think the park is done with this ride, we did have another huge themed attraction open recently and I'm sure that took some resources away from the DK restoration.
That being said, I don't think the park is done with this ride, we did have another huge themed attraction open recently and I'm sure that took some resources away from the DK restoration.