Project 2021/Drachen Spire: Intamin Multi-Launch Shuttle Giga Coaster [Cancelled]

General Information:​

"Project Drachen Spire," is a community-generated identifier for the Intamin-made, multi-launch, shuttle giga coaster that was originally slated to open at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2021. The attraction is planned to utilize the currently-vacant land behind Verbolten, Festhaus Park—the former home of Drachen Fire.

The coaster's main layout—as leaked before the addition was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic—featured two launches, two spikes (one spiral, one vertical-ish), and a couple of banked turns. Drachen Spire was designed to run two trains by means of a pair of switch tracks connecting the primary, shuttle portion of the layout to the station platform.

Important Articles:​

• Most Up-To-Date Understanding of the Layout:
  
  

  Leaked Electrical Plan Depicts Busch Gardens Williamsburg's 2021 Roller Coaster in Detail – BGWFans

  If there’s a god, he’s up there laughing this afternoon. Why? Because BGWFans just had one of those classic sitcom moments. Yesterday, we published our painstakingly detailed analysis of the footer plan for what we believe is Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s 2021 roller coaster—seemingly a huge...

  bgwfans.com
• Most Recent Status Update:
  
  

  Drachen Spire Height Waiver Extension Details – BGWFans

  Just over a week ago, we reported on the renewal of the notorious 355 foot Festhaus Park height waiver that was originally requested for the controversial, Intamin-made, multi-launch, giga, shuttle coaster we’ve dubbed Drachen Spire. In last week’s article, we were very careful to leave the door...

  bgwfans.com

NoLimits Model of the Layout:​

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Direct Link to Embedded Media Source

Additional Coverage (Newest to Oldest):​

• https://bgwfans.com/2022/drachen-spire-height-waiver-extension-details/
• https://bgwfans.com/2022/drachen-spire-height-waiver-renewal/
• https://bgwfans.com/2021/drachen-spires-slumber/
• https://bgwfans.com/2020/leaked-ele...-williamsburgs-2021-roller-coaster-in-detail/
• https://bgwfans.com/2020/busch-gardens-williamsburg-2021-shuttle-giga-coaster/
• https://bgwfans.com/2019/germany-expansion-site-plans/
• https://bgwfans.com/2019/2021-rpa-impacts-plan/
• https://bgwfans.com/2019/newly-leaked-document-depicts-project-2021s-station/
• https://bgwfans.com/2019/project-2021-height-waiver-vote-happens-tomorrow/
• https://bgwfans.com/2019/born-from-the-ashes/
• https://bgwfans.com/2019/bgw-project-2021/

Previous Thread:​

https://parkfans.net/threads/january-2019-festhaus-park-height-survey.5696/

 

[Zachary]

I'm still editing the article but...

Germany Expansion Site Plans – BGWFans

After the resource protection area impacts map was filed earlier this month, we weren’t expecting to see any additional BGW Project 2021 information hit the James City County Planning Department till after the new year. Much to our surprise, that expectation seems to have been misguided. Today...

bgwfans.com

 

[bpeter4]

I think we are definitely being trolled by bgw

 

[matthewcsoup]

If it’s a shuttle coaster... then idk what to say

 

[James]

Well the Nationals won tonight so this won’t disappoint me until tomorrow.

 

[Gavin]

@Gavin is online.

That can only mean one thing. The article is on its way up and he's fixing all of Zachary's technical errors

No, just catching up on the forums before bed.

 

[Bigskinny]

This would be the ultimate troll by BGW if its a shuttle.

 

[Zachary]

If I didn't make it clear in the article... please come up with alternate layouts. I included a bunch of images in the post that work great as bases for layout drawings... please convince me this isn't a shuttle coaster.

 

[KDcoasterMAN]

Is this a shuttle coaster???

Oh shut the front door

 

[dude205]

I think you're pretty spot on with the layout, and it doesn't surprise me because of the new Intamin prototypes and BGW wanting to build them.

I can't say I'm not disappointed though. This would be the second coaster in the park with a spike, and the third that features a spike-like feature with a backwards section afterwards. If this is the layout and ride, it wouldn't add anything new/special to the park besides a very fast launch and taller spike. BGW would definitely use the spike height to brag and advertise tallest/fastest coaster in the southeast.

I was just hoping that we would see something more unique to the park that would take advantage of one of the tallest height waivers we will most likely see get approved.

 

[CoasterMac]

If Pantheon wasn't being added at virtually the same time, I think I'd be significantly more hostile to a 'Speed The Ride 2.0'.

"Interesting" is probably the best word I have at the moment. Will wait it out for the eventual footer plans.

 

[FoozMuz]

Yes, this is the bonus ride in my mind, and a 100mph+ single or double LSM section through the field and valley is no joke. I think this could be a top 4 in the park for me as depicted.

 

[Zachary]

Yes, this is the bonus ride in my mind, and a 100mph+ single or double LSM section through the field and valley is no joke. I think this could be a top 4 in the park for me as depicted.

I agree. Plus, we shouldn't treat my "best guess" as gospel here. There are both major and minor adjustments that could make it a lot more interesting.

 

[PhantomJB93]

I’m trying to come up with an argument against it and I really can’t. The fenced-in straight section extending west past the station and the placement of the concrete pads are really hard to explain around in any fashion other than what you drew.

I will say the possibility definitely exists for it to still travel south from the high point between the two “non-cleared” areas, even with the drainage facilities passing through that clearing. But I wouldn’t say it’s likely to do that either.

 

[BGWnut]

While I hope that @Zachary is not correct with his guess, I still think that would be a fun ride. I would definitely ride it. I do think that there are a lot it other possibilities. I will work on drawing some up later.

 

[BGWnut]

Sorry for the double post. In looking at the plan and thinking about @Zachary's guess a statement from the park at the height waiver meeting bothers me. Kevin or Suzy (can't remember which) said that they had moved the highest point 3 times to get it further away from KM. I'm not really seeing how with this style coaster they could have done that without this ride becoming much more expensive with added track length. It just seems like a bad idea from a financial point of view to ok spending that much extra money and adding that much length in order to move the high point.

 

[halfabee]

Thank you, @Zachary, for sharing all of this with us -- both the facts and a detailed yet quick take on inferences.

I'm hoping this is more than a shuttle, but I can't say I see a way for much else to happen, given where the plan's depicted pieces lie. So, assuming for the moment that Zachary's layout deductions are generally correct...

I'm not entirely sold on the train departing backward from the station. If it leaves facing forward, then a shorter, medium-speed launch may enable a lower-elevation turn into a second launch in the straight section of the RPA area, just before the spike. This would allow the ride to approach 100mph (or at least 91, which is Intimidator 305+1mph), and then climb the spike to a height of perhaps 320 feet, considering that the CG of the train will actually reach a lower height than that. This could provide an explanation for the concrete pad next to the RPA zone's big foundation: an enclosure containing electrical infrastructure for the second launch.

Returning backward from the spike's reverse point, the ride could use mag brakes to bleed off some speed in the RPA zone and then complete the big turn in reverse at roughly the same speed as it reached during its forward trip through the turn. This is what Speed: The Ride did on a smaller (though still substantial) scale, and quite effectively. Then 2021's brake run can draw the train backward in the fenced area to the point where it is even with or behind the station, allowing the loaded train in the station to depart eastward into the launch track while the returning train is "out of the way." With the departing train shuttled out of the station, the returning train can then enter the station from west to east in a forward-facing direction.

Who knows.

Maybe someone can look at the radius of the big turn vs. speed of the train under the reverse-station-departure (aka single launch) configuration, in which the train presumably would get all the boost it's gonna get from the initial launch -- and see if the resulting G force on riders in the turn is reasonable. Maybe consider a couple of different elevations for the big turn, including a Mr. Freeze style high-elevation turn that possibly qualifies as an inversion (as it does on Mr. Freeze IMO). Seems like a job for either a bored engineer or NoLimits2.

 

[Zachary]

Wow! Great thinking @halfabee! I should have sent you my layout before I published—that's a far more elegant solution in my opinion.

 

[halfabee]

Well, mostly I'm just glad my idea wasn't immediately obviously stupid for reasons I missed.

Where's the "blush" reaction emoji?

 

[Zachary]

Map of @halfabee's idea as I understand it.

 

[Drachenwolf]