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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My dream would be a B&M wing. I think it's been too long since I could ride a freshly smooth B&M at BGW and one more to cap off their lineup would be fantastic.
 
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I'm not talking about making the lineup well rounded or anything, nor was I intending to start a discussion about that, so apologies for wording my post poorly.

I was just saying all I personally want is a B&M wing. I'll take anything, but if I had to choose based solely on what I want, I want a B&M wing. That's what I want. Don't see it happening though.
 
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If MMXX is going to be intense they might go with a more "family" type ride to keep GP happy. If they don't use the full height waiver, maybe a spinning coaster? I don't see two intamins going in back to back, so I expect a different manufacturer.
 
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The GP love Fury 325, I havent ridden it but it sounds like it hits a nice balance of intensity. My non enthusiast friends went to Carowinds and loved it, so I still think if 2021 is a giga it would work well for the park.
 
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Don’t understand why anyone thinks more family coasters are necessary. There are plenty of family attractions at BGW already and Grover and Invadr are more than enough as far as mild coasters go. You don’t need to keep a 50/50 ratio of family to intense coasters. Those aren’t the money-makers.
 
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PhantomJB93 said:
Don’t understand why anyone thinks more family coasters are necessary. There are plenty of family attractions at BGW already and Grover and Invadr are more than enough as far as mild coasters go. You don’t need to keep a 50/50 ratio of family to intense coasters. Those aren’t the money-makers.
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Tell that to Hersheypark. 7 of their 13 operating coasters are considered family oriented and they've been doing quite nicely over the pas few years. BGW's primary focus isn't thrill seekers, they're still heavily focused on the "young family of 4" category and it's perfectly natural for them to try to attract that market over a group of people who are likely going to come to ride MMXX anyways if they haven't been able to experience it in 2020.

This is the only park in the chain that has any sort of info on projects beyond 2020 and based on what else is going on within the chain. Does SEAS even have the money to add something of that scale and continuing with their investment strategy? So far all of their projects, rumored and confirmed, are coming in on the smaller end of the investment spectrum compared to a $29+ million giga coaster (i305's cost adjusted for inflation), I don't think SEAS is willing to take that risk compared to a park like Cedar Fair who has been continuously doing it since the economy recovered and only has 2 successful years to show for it.
 
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Zachary said:
Also, if "Project 2021" is a coaster and if it is coming to the Oktoberfest-area of the park, doesn't a high-thrill coaster make more sense than a family attraction with Verbolten right there already?
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I'm not denying that, I just have questions of SEAS investment strategy and dropping 20% of their annual capex on a single ride when they have 5 other dry parks and 5 water parks to worry about. I can see a high thrill coaster happening but not one on the scale of a Giga coaster.

I'd personally be fine with a moderately large coaster like what @lce has brought up along with a few flat rides to flesh out the Festhaus Park area.
 
Even though we'd be losing prime haunted house space and storage space, I'd love for the DF queue houses to be utilized and restored.

And if this is a traditional chain lift coaster, I'd love to see some sort of a tribute to DF. That's where the wing coaster starts to look even better.
 
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Jahrules said:
Seas has already committed $150m a year for the next three years. Money is no issue.
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Money is always an issue. Remember, that plan was under the leadership of Reilly. While the new CEO said he'd "stay the course", some things may have changed...notably the relationship with the Chinese. Plus, "the new guy" always like to make his mark on things. A balloon up in the air guarantees absolutely zip.
 
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I know a lot of you really want a another big coaster, but I believe the improvements to the Festhaus Park area will be much more extensive. I am basing this upon the report located on page 153 of the original Madrid Thread that showed significant improvements to the south side of the Rhine. BG is proposing adding a forebay/permanent basin for stormwater management. One usually doesn't incorporate those kinds of measures without some significant changes to the upstream areas. I believe they will be adding some significant pavement/impervious areas. The MMXX side did not have stormwater control features of this magnitude.

Here is part of that report showing the forebay:

halfabee said:
Some additional detail, stitched together from pages of the application...

View attachment 13648
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This is a big stormwater management feature. I saw this back in December and noticed that it could be an indicator of big things coming to the south side of the Rhine. Possibly another hamlet?
 
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The GP doesn't see park expansion as a big motivator to make a trip. An expansion with a coaster on the other hand is a money maker and something the GP would want to eat up.
 
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