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

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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:
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    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...
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  • Most Recent Status Update:
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    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...
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Jonesta6 said:
I'm curious in terms of local planning if something like a pandemic affecting pretty much all commerce everywhere would be a good argument to revisit building permits and height waivers for projects conceived but not built before the pandemic?

Obviously in this case I'd think it be compelling, but I'd be curious with any other project.
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In my experience most likely. When the Great Recession hit, many projects were changed last moment, and when neighbors came to us to complain we basically told them too bad.
 
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warfelg said:
Oh god can you imagine the outrage from Kingsmill if they yet again apply for a height waiver and don't use it all?
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They would probably be happy to be honest. If it's something the residents can't see or hear, I'm sure there wouldn't be an outrage.
 
AIR said:
They would probably be happy to be honest. If it's something the residents can't see or hear, I'm sure there wouldn't be an outrage.
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Part of the reason they were mad was the Project Madrid height waiver was applied for, not used to its full extent, then another height waiver came in.
 
BGWnut said:
Obviously I can't say much, but at this time I wouldn't expect to see Drachenspire as it was intended and we saw the plans for. However I would expect to see the next major attraction still go in Festhaus Park, but it will look very different from the plans we have for this ride.

SEAS had been paying for this ride before the pandemic for my understanding. However with the delay and them not knowing precisely when they will be able to begin this project, it seems they've gone back to the drawing board.
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So. Adding another launched spike to the layout?
 
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Too bad intamin doesn't do too many prefab woodies/cost so much.

Some cost friendly options I wouldn't mind seeing:
Family invert would be really unique to the area.
I know they've only done one but a vertical lift coaster would be really cool in that area.
Getting their first single rail hot racer model would be awesome.
 
FoozMuz said:
If this is of a different type of ride, the question is what is the goal of the attraction if not to go for those hyper-marketable size/speed features. Another question is if/how the budget is being renegotiated.
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1sts. Imagine saying the 1st and only launched single rail racing coaster in America
 
warfelg said:
Too bad intamin doesn't do too many prefab woodies/cost so much.

Some cost friendly options I wouldn't mind seeing:
Family invert would be really unique to the area.
I know they've only done one but a vertical lift coaster would be really cool in that area.
Getting their first single rail hot racer model would be awesome.
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They still have the vertical lift model around and a second one is built in China, although it’s taking a laughably long time to construct
 
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I don't have any data behind this, but there's something particularly seductive about the simple records. Biggest, tallest, fastest in [insert geo region].

And I kind of suspect that the biggest or fastest of something people are somewhat familiar with may be more marketable than the first of something they aren't really at all familiar with. A thing of which BGW has the first would have to be a pretty damned spectacular, novel, spellbinding thing to turn more heads than a mega-scaled existing thing.

I think.
 
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An Intamin Vertical Lift coaster would be great in Drachen Fire's original plot. My fanboy dreams for the layout would have it go up into a hill that's something like what Hulk does after the launched lift hill, except bent so it's more like Drachen Fire's wraparound corkscrew, and then Drachen Fire's original hill would be replaced with Fahrenheit's Norwegian loop. Work seven more inversions into that and set the American inversion record.
 
halfabee said:
I don't have any data behind this, but there's something particularly seductive about the simple records. Biggest, tallest, fastest in [insert geo region].

And I kind of suspect that the biggest or fastest of something people are somewhat familiar with may be more marketable than the first of something they aren't really at all familiar with. A thing of which BGW has the first would have to be a pretty damned spectacular, novel, spellbinding thing to turn more heads than a mega-scaled existing thing.

I think.
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Hmmm...I'd disagree here. I think, especially as we've seen from some of Orlando's more innovative coasters, that "world firsts" or "countries first" can be just as huge of a draw as "-est's" on coasters. Particularly because "biggest fastest launch coaster" has some hard records to beat. Unless they were to very specifically state "biggest tallest fastest LSM launched coaster on the east coast" (not sure it would even have the NA record with the Superman reverse freewill coasters).

But marketing an experience that you can not get anywhere else and it's a first of its kind? I think that's something that people would look to as they would have to go see. "North America's first and only launched single rail racing coaster." Now that's something you have to go do and see.

Shit I already had an idea for it to be themed for the famous Nurburgring race track. It's both historical (Nordschleife, Südschleife, Gesamtstrecke all built in 1927) and modern-is as well.
 
Yeah. I dunno. Maybe it’s that a launched single rail racing coaster is a combo of things people might already have heard of. But of course what new thing isn’t? And the first of its kind in [geo region] is also by definition the holder of every “-est.” For a minute anyway. All reasonable points.

Could be my bias against firsts, and what I see as expanding permissiveness in what gets that label. Times are weird, guest money hasn’t been coming in like it used to, and who knows what anyone will do.

I really hope that open FHP space gets well utilized by something with a lasting draw, even if it takes a while longer.
 
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