when the exact opposite was said when it was announced
[Citation Needed]
At the media event, BGW basically told us that they didn’t think people really cared if it was themed. They told us basically the same about Finnegan’s Flyer too.
I expect an entry sign, a handful of ride signs, and maybe a couple props. That doesn’t change the fact that the big ride plaza was canned or that the themed bridge was cut. That doesn’t change the fact that the extended queue building and queue shelters were all cancelled. That doesn’t change the fact that guests are going to be walking across two service roads and spending a lot of time standing around boring, painted, wooden privacy fences. The station will still be a generic metal and plywood structure in a field. The maintenance bay will still be a fully exposed metal frame hovering up in the air.
I’m not saying everyone should hate this coaster because it isn’t themed to the quality of Verbolten, InvadR, Alpengeist, Loch Ness Monster, Griffon, etc. Apollo’s Chariot is plenty of people’s current favorite BGW coaster—mine included—but lets not pretend it is well themed or that Pantheon will come out any nicer than it did.
Theming is one aspect of an attraction that people can and should reasonably critique. You can love a coaster and detest the theming (see: InvadR). We know
plenty enough about the plans for Pantheon to criticize the lack of focus on and investment in the appearance of this project in my opinion.
