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/

 

[Dombot]

Let’s say 2020 is a wash, can’t open til August a wash. Don’t open Pantheon. But build P2021. Then at the start of 2021 advertise that you are opening TWO world class roller coasters in the same year. Not only has the never been done, but it gives people a reason to spend money to come see you.

This seems like it would be a really odd move. Why would you keep a fully built and (probably) fully functional coaster SBNO for a year? Doesn't make sense to me, not even from a marketing standpoint.

 

[VonDerrick]

Marketing two things at once is not unheard of. And to add to that, projects do not necessarily revolve around marketing ability, to an extent. It is marketings job to figure out how they are going to push the product to the customer, regardless of what that product may be. Therefore, building a fully complete and functional ride and letting it stand there for a year just for the sake of perfectly timed marketing is ridiculous.

 

[warfelg]

Ok let me clarify some things here:
~1 The post I was responding to talked about building P2021 and letting it go SBNO for a year, my proposal was if the season gets cut incredibly short to delay the opening of Pantheon and market the two together if they still proceed building P2021 anyways.
~2 If we hit July, and parks haven't opened, using @BGWnut 's timeline found here, there's a chance that the park wouldn't be ready to open until early/mid August. We don't know if Pantheon has completed anything more than pull through testing, how much other construction at the site has happened, or if site cleanup has happened. Let's say best case is they do that, Pantheon is going to open with the park. Worst case, due to the layoffs, they haven't done site cleanup or formal testing. How long would that take, 2-3 weeks? So now we're talking a September open.
~3 If we get an opening of Pantheon pushed back that far, we're looking at an opening happening during HOS. I'm not sure if that's something the park is going to want. There's a chance that Pantheon might not be able to operate during CT, so that means all the work was done to open up Pantheon for 2 months. And while I get some people will say some time is better than no time; from a potential gate turnout 2020 might end up not being a great year and Pantheon being open for 2 months might not change that significantly.
~4 There's a chance parks will barely open at all this year. And if it barely opens there might be some other regulations places like BGW would have to follow. Let's say queues become what grocery store lines have become. I'll give an example. Target has put up a barrier in front of checkout, and at the end of all the lanes is the entrance, someone is standing there, and there's stickers on the ground every 6 feet. So I was about the 10th person in line and standing back by cosmetics. Imagine the line for Pantheon if BGW were forced to ensure that groups waiting to go in were 6 feet apart. Might reach places they didn't imagine.

I ride these waives of pessimism and optimism of this pandemic that things will get better faster than anticipated (when we see days without big jumps) and when things are really going to be bad (when comments like the stockpile is ours not the states). So who knows what's going to happen. If 2020 for theme parks basically is a wash, I would prefer that P2021 gets indefinitely delayed or even shelved, open Pantheon in 2021, and do something else in 2022/2023 like Finnigans Flyer that is cost effective but still something new and excited. Let the market settle and come back.

Basically the longer this goes on the less confident I am in Pantheon being open this year, and if they get down to 1-2 operational months for Pantheon and insist on still doing P2021, there should be consideration to just waiting to open both together.

 

[bill s]

Imagine the line for Pantheon if BGW were forced to ensure that groups waiting to go in were 6 feet apart. Might reach places they didn't imagine.

And also can't have close switchbacks.

This makes me think maybe parks could go to all electronic queue system. Not that I advocate it, especially if there was a fee, but it's a possibility.

As to delaying an opening, if the desire was to limit crowds that would be a thing, but they might need a new ride to get anywhere near normal.

 

[Zachary]

This thread is quiet.... too quiet.

Lets just—for hypothetical purposes only, of course—assume for a moment that Busch Gardens Williamsburg's 2021 roller coaster will have some actual thematic integrity—closer to that of Alpengeist than Apollo. Furthermore, let's say—just for fun of course—that the thematic direction for the project will be a bit of a return to form for Busch Gardens Williamsburg—think mythical creatures, not viking invasions. Maybe there could even be a healthy dose of nostalgia involved...

I know this coaster isn't hugely popular here yet, but if all of that were true—theoretically of course—does that change anyone's outlook on the project...? I know it would change mine...

Anywho, I've probably said all I should for now...

 

[qdeathstar]

I’m pumped about the roller coaster either way, but a human devouring centipede themed coaster would be rare air and thusly I am for it.

 

[warfelg]

Hm. That’s a rather interesting question. For me it would depend on what it is and why it’s there. I think that’s why I love Nessie and Alp so much. And the why (not so much the execution) is why I love Invadr. (In these I mean disproportionately compared to what they are as coasters)

 

[Jahrules]

This thread is quiet.... too quiet.

Lets just—for hypothetical purposes only, of course—assume for a moment that Busch Gardens Williamsburg's 2021 roller coaster will have some actual thematic integrity—closer to that of Alpengeist than Apollo. Furthermore, let's say—just for fun of course—that the thematic direction for the project will be a bit of a return to form for Busch Gardens Williamsburg—think mythical creatures, not viking invasions. Maybe there could even be a healthy dose of nostalgia involved...

I know this coaster isn't hugely popular here yet, but if all of that were true—theoretically of course—does that change anyone's outlook on the project...? I know it would change mine...

Anywho, I've probably said all I should for now...

Methinks me smells a parkfans article in some distant future...

 

[Mushroom]

I know this coaster isn't hugely popular here yet, but if all of that were true—theoretically of course—does that change anyone's outlook on the project...? I know it would change mine...

Absolutely. The promise of a solid theme actually gets me excited for this project in a way that the actual coaster hasn't.

This may seem silly, but when I think of BGW, I still conjure the same mental imagery as I did when I was a kid. I don't think of riding metal machines - I imagine riding on the back of sea serpents, flying on the wings of griffins, careening through the clutches of an Alpine monster. The park's latest coasters, with their wordly and somewhat tenuous themes, don't evoke those emotions. The mere thought of a return to the mythical theming, though, stirs up that same sense of wonder and fantasy of when I viewed BGW through the eyes of a child. That's exciting.

Likewise, I've long viewed this coaster as an unnecessary addition to the park. It doesn't really add anything new. Launch coasters? We've already got three of 'em. Forward-backwards coasters? We already have two of them, too. The only thing this ride brings to the table is its height, which we enthusiasts know isn't a particularly important element in and of itself. But with a mythological theme, there is something new this project brings to the park: a new character - a new element to the lore of the park. The idea of mythical beasts populating the hamlets of BGW gives the park a mysterious, larger-than-life aura that bicycle stuntmen and feisty Canadians don't. I'm excited that this project might add to the mythology that makes BGW so special.

 

[rswashdc]

My hunch is if this project goes forward given the current conditions, the theming budget is going to be tiny - Six Flagsish at best. Being that the ride is out of the main paths, that may not be too big a deal if done decently.

 

[ControlsEE]

This thread is quiet.... too quiet.

Lets just—for hypothetical purposes only, of course—assume for a moment that Busch Gardens Williamsburg's 2021 roller coaster will have some actual thematic integrity—closer to that of Alpengeist than Apollo. Furthermore, let's say—just for fun of course—that the thematic direction for the project will be a bit of a return to form for Busch Gardens Williamsburg—think mythical creatures, not viking invasions. Maybe there could even be a healthy dose of nostalgia involved...

I know this coaster isn't hugely popular here yet, but if all of that were true—theoretically of course—does that change anyone's outlook on the project...? I know it would change mine...

Anywho, I've probably said all I should for now...

In my opinion, the only way to make like this popular long term is to give it a solid theme. Otherwise, it seems like something that a lot of park guests will get over quickly and the park would end up removing sooner than other rides due to popularity. I'm afraid that if they do not theme it well, it will end up like Hypersonic. Real flashy, but eventually won't be worth operating due to a lower theoretical capacity and not enough draw to counter potential downtime and other operational costs. I know there was a lot more to the removal of HXLC, but I think you should still get my point.

 

[Jonesta6]

It wouldn't be themed to dragons, now would it?

 

[Nicole]

This thread is quiet.... too quiet.

Lets just—for hypothetical purposes only, of course—assume for a moment that Busch Gardens Williamsburg's 2021 roller coaster will have some actual thematic integrity—closer to that of Alpengeist than Apollo. Furthermore, let's say—just for fun of course—that the thematic direction for the project will be a bit of a return to form for Busch Gardens Williamsburg—think mythical creatures, not viking invasions. Maybe there could even be a healthy dose of nostalgia involved...

I know this coaster isn't hugely popular here yet, but if all of that were true—theoretically of course—does that change anyone's outlook on the project...? I know it would change mine...

Anywho, I've probably said all I should for now...

No

 

[Thomas]

Yeah... it’s still gonna be the worst giga.

 

[Brambo]

I'm really hoping for a gigantic Giga dark ride with a paper-mache esque dragon enveloping the whole thing. It really would fit decently... Head being the initial spike with the body being the first launch, tail being the huge spike.

 

[Dombot]

I'm really hoping for a gigantic Giga dark ride with a paper-mache esque dragon enveloping the whole thing. It really would fit decently... Head being the initial spike with the body being the first launch, tail being the huge spike.

View attachment 20269

That would be terrible but also great but also terrible. But also great!

 

[----------------------]

I hope they theme it to pbs’ dragon tales.

 

[Drachenwolf]

This is no 'giga'.

 

[Mushroom]

I hope they theme it to pbs’ dragon tales.

Shittt this just brought back a DEEP memory. When my brother and I were very young we’d watch that show on a DVD player in the car every time we drove to BGW. We’d pretend it took place in LotD, where we were headed.

 

[Jahrules]

This is no 'giga'.

Your made up definitions don't mean anything.