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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.

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Not to take away from Zachary's sharp wit, but though this was pretty interesting..

I was looking back at the FAA evaluation of the height of the project (relative to nearby air traffic) and the permit expires exactly a month from today on 3/18. Why does this matter? Because if they don't start construction before the permit expires (or file for an extension up to 15 days prior), BGW will have to file a new permit with the FAA if they plan to move forward with a project of this magnitude. I'm not sure what exactly constitutes "construction," but I'm pretty confident that they can't pass as being underway when the land disturbance permits filed with JCC to begin breaking ground have been on hold for almost a year now.

All of this could be great for us though, as they will have to file a new permit with the FAA (unless there's something going on behind the scenes with the FAA and BGW that isn't public knowledge, or the project has been significantly reduced in height) - meaning we should see exactly where and how tall the highest point is going to be. For comparison, the current permit set to expire has the GPS coordinates of the highest point almost exactly where it is shown on the plans previously filed with JCC. If the park files for an extension, we should be able to assume that the original plans are moving forward as originally designed, however I see that as unlikely at this point. If they don't file for an extension and instead file for a new permit, we should be able to know a lot more about how the project is shaping up.

FAA filing attached for reference.
FAA.PNG
 
@Adam I'd be willing to bet that the FAA might be willing to grant an extension to start of construction due to COVID. I do know of a few projects in other areas that got extensions for these reasons.
That's also a possibility I should have considered. Either way if the location and/or height of the highest point changes, I presume they'll have to file for a new determination.
 
That's also a possibility I should have considered. Either way if the location and/or height of the highest point changes, I presume they'll have to file for a new determination.

Depends. Usually you are given a small leeway on the location part. This will be taller than Mäch Tower, but I believe it already has a red light on it, which should (from the FAA perspective) give BGW to move a little bit in any direction and still be good if they stay at or under the current application height.

EDIT:
Not saying it's gonna happen here or even likely, just a possibility.
 
i think if we’re looking at a traditional giga, 1 of 2 things are gonna have to happen; more soil testing to allow more room for a larger layout and room for a 300+ ft chain lift, or if not that, ditch the drachen fire station and put it in a location to allow a more comfortable fit for a chain lift
There was already a large amount of soil testing performed so they might not need to do much.
 
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Not to take away from Zachary's sharp wit, but though this was pretty interesting..

I was looking back at the FAA evaluation of the height of the project (relative to nearby air traffic) and the permit expires exactly a month from today on 3/18. Why does this matter? Because if they don't start construction before the permit expires (or file for an extension up to 15 days prior), BGW will have to file a new permit with the FAA if they plan to move forward with a project of this magnitude. I'm not sure what exactly constitutes "construction," but I'm pretty confident that they can't pass as being underway when the land disturbance permits filed with JCC to begin breaking ground have been on hold for almost a year now.

All of this could be great for us though, as they will have to file a new permit with the FAA (unless there's something going on behind the scenes with the FAA and BGW that isn't public knowledge, or the project has been significantly reduced in height) - meaning we should see exactly where and how tall the highest point is going to be. For comparison, the current permit set to expire has the GPS coordinates of the highest point almost exactly where it is shown on the plans previously filed with JCC. If the park files for an extension, we should be able to assume that the original plans are moving forward as originally designed, however I see that as unlikely at this point. If they don't file for an extension and instead file for a new permit, we should be able to know a lot more about how the project is shaping up.

FAA filing attached for reference.
View attachment 22107
That's also a possibility I should have considered. Either way if the location and/or height of the highest point changes, I presume they'll have to file for a new determination.
Depends. Usually you are given a small leeway on the location part. This will be taller than Mäch Tower, but I believe it already has a red light on it, which should (from the FAA perspective) give BGW to move a little bit in any direction and still be good if they stay at or under the current application height.

EDIT:
Not saying it's gonna happen here or even likely, just a possibility.


I would expect the park to file for an extension of the original one. This would later be amended when it's necessary. But my guess is at this stage it's just easier to extend. It's also possible that FAA had just automatically extended these waivers due to Covid.

If they move it significantly it would require a new height waiver from the county. Either way I don't expect the location to change much. So even if it doesn't change, it wrong indicate much. We won't really have a good indication until the park files plans with the County.
 
BigBadDrachenKastle: where all your bullshit nostalgia for rides that probably weren't that good to begin with careen into one mega shitty experience. An indoor, suspended coaster with a 400ft drop, including all the dark ride elements you could ever ask for in stunning 4k, all of which may or may not leave you brain damaged after completing a full circuit. Coming Summer 202X!!!

Don't worry. Chances are it won't hurt you because it'll always be broke dick and then be SBNO for a year or two before they rip it out.
 
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People keep saying that KD did nothing for several years. While it is true that they didn’t install big, new coasters, they did do more than refurb the park. They added Delirium, several new water slides, and expanded Planet Snoopy. They have also experimented with a variety of special events and focused a lot on their culinary department.

In the context of their apparent push to be a “family thrill park,” those investments make some sense. There are good cases to be made for parents to take their kids to KD over BGW, and honestly, their children’s events often appear better than BGW’s. Moreover, while their food is improving, BGW’s is (at best) stagnating, in my opinion.

Was the Planet Snoopy expansion especially frustrating? Of course. Are people on this Forum particularly more interested in hearing about a massive thrill ride? Sure. Would they probably have gotten more coasters and fewer water slides, if they were in Ohio or if Caro hadn’t won the crown? Yup. But that doesn’t make their additions nonexistent.

All of that said, we are way off topic here. There is even hateful little thread specifically about comparing the two parks, if that is what people want to do.

I find it fascinating to look at the development of the two parks over the last 15 years. Up until the AB-InBev hostile takeover, the two parks were certainly on diverging paths, but in the last decade, the parks' trajectories seemed *almost* convergent, with Kings Dominion upgrading the facility outside of flashy additions, and Busch Gardens complementing a small but exclusively world-class selection of thrill rides with smaller footprinted offerings. It would be funny to see Busch Gardens go and build a a traditional full circuit giga as a competitive point to score against KD.

Really interested to see what happens next with this project.
 
Assuming this stays an Intamin project, I think it would be interesting to see "wing" style trains like on Skyrush / Flying Aces. This would differentiate it further from Pantheon and a marketing claim could be made for "first giga wing coaster." Also, it would improve capacity to have 4 abreast trains. That said, due to the increased weight of those trains, it would probably become a chain / cable lift instead of launch. I don't see a launch as a critical feature for a new BGW coaster though as they will already have three launch coasters.
 
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Assuming the knife-like profile they mentioned, if it doesn't spiral like was interpreted from planning documents then maybe the knife is a beyond vertical drop. Problem is that would mean this track would likely end up interacting with or paralleling VB by the water, which unless they can use the existing footers for VB for this (highly doubt) I'd say is highly unlikely.
 
I wouldn’t rush to judgement on what they can and can’t do.

1 - there’s a lot more space depending on how they exit the DF station to lift and drop well before the river.

2 - Using supports like Skyrush and I305 could still give it a very “knife like” look especially based on how that lattice work structure would have looked like.

3 - They can drop and turn in the direction the original DS plans showed if they choose without going beyond vertical with a turn later on the first drop.

4 - Despite DS’s tip being 355’ I doubt it would be going much over 310-320’. Based on the topography they can achieve the same drop with a 270’ lift (give or take) meaning it really only needs maybe 200’ worth of drop before turning.

For this think of Phantoms Revenge second drop. Part of the “drop” is the turn back in the valley.

5 - RPA buffers are something I would keep an eye on. If they want a high airtime hill without making something visually too shocking from the Kingsmill side of things, having the airtime hill continue along the River hillside up a 100-175 feet and landing on top of the plateau to kill off some speed that might be the best way.
 
Assuming this stays an Intamin project, I think it would be interesting to see "wing" style trains like on Skyrush / Flying Aces. This would differentiate it further from Pantheon and a marketing claim could be made for "first giga wing coaster." Also, it would improve capacity to have 4 abreast trains. That said, due to the increased weight of those trains, it would probably become a chain / cable lift instead of launch. I don't see a launch as a critical feature for a new BGW coaster though as they will already have three launch coasters.

Much as I like Skyrush, a giga Skyrush is not high on my want list. Ouch.
 
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If Intamin is retained, can they literally name it Megakondaa?
If it's Premier, Flug der Angst?
Or if Togo rises from its grave to build wood coasters, Ultra Twisted Timbers?

Just make it as confusing as possible with Kings Dominion please.
 
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