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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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/

 

[GrandpaD]

@Nicole the more I rattle my brain the more I tend to agree with you about Red Force. Yep, one-trick pony...but not something you'll find in BGW's market. Maybe they add a few twists and turns after the drop to give it more "firsts" that SEAS seems to be striving for lately.

 

[Zachary]

There's also a undertone in this discussion that seems to suggest that ridership = value of an attraction to a park. I don't think that's a fair perception.

Attractions of a certain type (typically, of a certain size) seem to elevate parks. Look at Carowinds. Before Fury existed, I never once heard anyone in Virginia talking about Caro. The year Fury 325 debuted, however, Carowinds was featured in multiple national papers and non-enthusiasts were suddenly aware of this relatively unremarkable, regional Cedar Fair park in the Carolinas.

Fury 325 could be towards the bottom of Caro's ridership numbers (I know it's not, but pretend for the sake of argument), but its impact on the park's reputation would still be immense.

 

[basseyfish]

The difference between red force, TTD and kingda ka is that red force is actually still a giga, the other 2 are not

 

[b.mac]

There's also a undertone in this discussion that seems to suggest that ridership = value of an attraction to a park. I don't think that's a fair perception.

Attractions of a certain type (typically, of a certain size) seem to elevate parks. Look at Carowinds. Before Fury existed, I never once heard anyone in Virginia talking about Caro. The year Fury 325 debuted, however, Carowinds was featured in multiple national papers and non-enthusiasts were suddenly aware of this relatively unremarkable, regional Cedar Fair park in the Carolinas.

Fury 325 could be towards the bottom of Caro's ridership numbers (I know it's not, but pretend for the sake of argument), but its impact on the park's reputation would still be immense.

I'm sorry if my posts came off as this sort of undertone but it's my understanding that BGW already has a national recognition for its extant rides and consistent annual results in park beauty. They may have strayed from it in recent years, but BGW already has national (and arguably some international) recognition whereas Carowinds was just Afterburn ERT until 2015.

Ridership, however, is an absolutely essential piece of value for an attraction in any park. Though the value of ridership differs based on the capacity and demand the ride receives while it is operating. Every park has a different idea of what that minimum value is, but BGW won't exactly see the same sort of attention that Carowinds did in terms of national coverage. BGW has always sort of focused on the aspects that Knoebels has, providing quality family experiences instead of building big ride after big ride like parks such as Great Adventure and Cedar Point have done.

 

[DJTLG]

I watched the recording of the meeting and one fact stood out to me that has not been highlighted or discussed here. One of the supervisors wanted to compare Madrid with 2021, seemingly in an effort to question why 2021 would be more objectionable than Madrid which was approved. He asked is Madrid would've had a wider visual scope than 2021. Suzy said yes it would have, but smiled as if that was more information than she wanted to release. That seems to indicate that Madrid would have been a coaster with more points above the tree line and 2021 has fewer high points or is not a coaster.

 

[Zachary]

BGW has always sort of focused on the aspects that Knoebels has, providing quality family experiences instead of building big ride after big ride

I have to disagree. Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist, and Apollo's Chariot were all top-of-the-line thrill rides worthy of serious national spotlight.

BGW has surrendered that perception to a more family-friendly image in the last two decades, but it's important to remember that BGW has legitimately tread that record-breaking coaster-wars-style path before.

 

[GrandpaD]

Or, @DJTLG , it could have been "wider in visual scope" because it included more than one thing.

No offensive to you, but I think people have to widen their focus beyond just coasters.

 

[b.mac]

I have to disagree. Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist, and Apollo's Chariot were all top-of-the-line thrill rides worthy of serious national spotlight.

BGW has surrendered that perception to a more family-friendly image in the last two decades, but it's important to remember that BGW has legitimately tread that record-breaking coaster-wars-style path before.

Yes but you also have to look at the gap in times when these types of rides were being added. Alpengeist and Apollo's are the outliers in terms of major additions from the park who typically went 6-7 years between adding major rides. They've never really been the type to add a major headlining coaster in even-odd numbered years ala Six Flags Great Adventure and Cedar Point. Even with their recent expansion prospects we've only seen small to mid-size attractions, line-up paddes / roster fillers / etc. MMXX is their first major headlining addition I'd argue since Verbolten.

 

[BGWnut]

I just want to jump in with one thought. People seem to be lumping the quality and popularity of all gigas together. I don't think that is really valid.

I don't think the Fury, i305, and Millennium Force (as an example) have much in common, beyond height. Whether or not people flock to i305 (and for the record, I have seen long lines), every time I've visited Caro and CP, Fury and MF have had huge wait times. Honestly, Fury is easily my favorite coaster, and I don't just see it as a collection of stats.

Anyway, my point is that I don't think people should be judging the potential value of a hypothetical giga, using the assumption that they are all unpopular or boring.

On another note, I'm not sure why y'all are excluding coasters like Red Force, etc from the category of "giga." I agree that they are boring, one-trick ponies, but they are taller than 300 feet.

That is the point I was trying to make. Thank you Nicole.

I watched the recording of the meeting and one fact stood out to me that has not been highlighted or discussed here. One of the supervisors wanted to compare Madrid with 2021, seemingly in an effort to question why 2021 would be more objectionable than Madrid which was approved. He asked is Madrid would've had a wider visual scope than 2021. Suzy said yes it would have, but smiled as if that was more information than she wanted to release. That seems to indicate that Madrid would have been a coaster with more points above the tree line and 2021 has fewer high points or is not a coaster.

Or, @DJTLG , it could have been "wider in visual scope" because it included more than one thing.

No offensive to you, but I think people have to widen their focus beyond just coasters.

The problem is that she could have been referring to the visual impact only when viewed from kingsmill. Madrid initially could have been planned to be wider when viewed from the kingsmill area than this project is. This could be from the direction of a lift hill.
An example would be Apollo. When viewed from the parking lot it is very wide. Yet when viewed from Pompeii it is narrow

 

[BGWnut]

I have to disagree. Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist, and Apollo's Chariot were all top-of-the-line thrill rides worthy of serious national spotlight.

BGW has surrendered that perception to a more family-friendly image in the last two decades, but it's important to remember that BGW has legitimately tread that record-breaking coaster-wars-style path before.

I would also include Griffon in that list.

 

[BGWnut]

Yes but you also have to look at the gap in times when these types of rides were being added. Alpengeist and Apollo's are the outliers in terms of major additions from the park who typically went 6-7 years between adding major rides. They've never really been the type to add a major headlining coaster in even-odd numbered years ala Six Flags Great Adventure and Cedar Point. Even with their recent expansion prospects we've only seen small to mid-size attractions, line-up paddes / roster fillers / etc. MMXX is their first major headlining addition I'd argue since Verbolten.

It would be an outlier for the past but like you said there is some precedent to it with Alpen and Apollo. I'm just not understanding why they couldn't do major attractions in back to back years? Given the current SEAS investment strategy it seems pretty likely that one of their 5 main parks will be getting a major attraction again in 2021 after they all are getting one in 2020.

Just saying they've never been the type doesn't mean that they can't do it.

 

[GrandpaD]

The problem is that she could have been referring to the visual impact only when viewed from kingsmill. Madrid initially could have been planned to be wider when viewed from the kingsmill area than this project is. This could be from the direction of a lift hill.
An example would be Apollo. When viewed from the parking lot it is very wide. Yet when viewed from Pompeii it is narrow

You don't know that any more than the man in the moon. You don't know what she meant, you don't know what the Madrid plans were. So the only "problem" is you making assumptions. I simply stated, because no one knows what Madrid was to be, we can't jump to conclusions that it is always a just coaster.

 

[b.mac]

It would be an outlier for the past but like you said there is some precedent to it with Alpen and Apollo. I'm just not understanding why they couldn't do major attractions in back to back years? Given the current SEAS investment strategy it seems pretty likely that one of their 5 main parks will be getting a major attraction again in 2021 after they all are getting one in 2020.

Just saying they've never been the type doesn't mean that they can't do it.

The reason why they haven't done that since is because with Alpengeist and Apollo's being built within 2 years of each other stunted the growth of the park in terms of attendance. SEAS investment strategy is focused on increasing attendance and spending within the parks and adding major rides like that back-to-back has been proven to not be a good investment strategy, not just in SEAS but within Cedar Fair and Six Flags as well.

 

[Zachary]

Question: What do you people think would bring in more guests overall...

1. One incredible coaster
2. Two great coasters over two years

I tend to think it is probably the second one.

 

[Nicole]

Not taking any sides, but I wonder how valid it is to assess current BGW decisions, based on historical patterns. We know that the company has gone through major leadership changes; has had to chart a path out of financial crisis; and has identified all new priorities. It is possible that their way forward is very different from their previous choices.

 

[b.mac]

Question: What do you people think would bring in more guests overall...

1. One incredible coaster
2. Two great coasters over two years

I tend to think it is probably the second one.

You would think it'd be the second option but like I have said, multiple companies have seen the results of that type of expansion and it wasn't as successful as they'd thought it would be.

Attendance actually dropped at Great Adventure after Kingda Ka, even though they added El Toro the very next year. Steel Vengeance did basically nothing for Cedar Point's attendance 2 years after Valravn.

 

[WDWRLD]

Two coasters over two years only because it would increase the ride count for coasters. As far as this ride.....even though ive heard its a coaster I feel like they are describing something like Hersheys Tripple Tower.

 

[Zachary]

You would think it'd be the second option but like I have said, multiple companies have seen the results of that type of expansion and it wasn't as successful as they'd thought it would be.

Attendance actually dropped at Great Adventure after Kingda Ka, even though they added El Toro the very next year. Steel Vengeance did basically nothing for Cedar Point's attendance 2 years after Valravn.

Well I'm not saying BGW is going to see a industry-landscape-altering spike in attendance, I'm just saying that maybe splitting Project Madrid, which seems like it was shaping up to be an incredibly expensive addition, into two attractions across two years made more sense than blowing the whole pile of cash at once.

I'd elaborate more, but I'm working on a front page post.

 

[warfelg]

Well I'm not saying BGW is going to see a industry-landscape-altering spike in attendance, I'm just saying that maybe splitting Project Madrid, which seems like it was shaping up to be an incredibly expensive addition, into two attractions across two years made more sense than blowing the whole pile of cash at once.

I'd elaborate more, but I'm working on a front page post.

Which makes sense. $35 million on 1 ride, when you can get 2 rides at $40mil (fake figures) that would include a few extra things along with it, go to two areas they can add attractions, food service, merchandise, and games. Maybe BGW doesn't see a massive spike, but if they can get 4-6 years of steady increases because of 2 big attractions and the filling out of the areas; that's worth it alone.

 

[BGWnut]

You don't know that any more than the man in the moon. You don't know what she meant, you don't know what the Madrid plans were. So the only "problem" is you making assumptions. I simply stated, because no one knows what Madrid was to be, we can't jump to conclusions that it is always a just coaster.

I didn't make any assumptions not did I present anything as fact. I simply pointed out that there are multiple ways to interpret what she said beyond what had been presented by you and DJTLG. My response was more directed to both of you which is why I quoted both of you.