Wölfsturm sounds cool if it’s pronounced properly. I’m afraid the park is going to conduct a poll without giving proper pronunciations and people are going to vote for something cheap like “Wolfsregin.”
In “Wölfsturm” the W is pronounced as a V and the UR is pronounced like the word “ore.”
these are all absolutely terrible. Genuine question, @Zachary, how much time to they put into naming attractions? I recognize their critical importance to the park’s success, but without knowing how big or well-resourced they are, how do they actually make their time worthwhile?
these are all absolutely terrible. Genuine question, @Zachary, how much time to they put into naming attractions? I recognize their critical importance to the park’s success, but without knowing how big or well-resourced they are, how do they actually make their time worthwhile?
They've been considering names for at least as long as we have (read: probably about nine to twelve months). That said, if they were doing this properly, a decision should have been made months ago to prepare branding, marketing materials, attraction signage, etc. Plus, frankly, some of the folks involved in that decision read this thread regularly—so they've been exposed to the brainstorming 'round here too.
Have they actually been using all the time available to them to pitch and workshop branding, survey the market, etc? Almost certainly not, but that's on them.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Facebook page posted their usual teaser yesterday, but at the end, it closed the book with a date on the back cover: 24/9/13/ (2024, Sept. 13). And since they usually post them around 4 or so, it's only a matter of time.
By a process of elimination, I have come to the conclusion that I would hate GeisterWolf the least. To be clear, I am not saying I prefer it to be named that, just that want the other two even less. I wish I could say that I am surprised that we are likely facing three terrible options. I guess at least they tried to use some German and didn’t go with Revenge of the Wolf or Son of Wolf or whatever.
I understand that GeisterWolf sounds stupid and is redundant with Alpengeist: They already have a “spirit” themed coaster one hamlet away. But I, personally find that less disqualifying than my objections to the other two options.
WolfSturm initially feels like something from Nazi Germany. Upon a second look, that impression is validated. Given that the “w” is pronounced as a “v,” it is essentially one letter removed from this Nazi initiative:
The Volkssturm was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944… The Volkssturm comprised one of the final components of the total war promulgated by Propaganda MinisterJoseph Goebbels, part of a Nazi endeavor to overcome their enemies' military strength through force of will... On several occasions, its members participated in atrocities, accompanied by German civilians and the Hitler Youth, which were overseen by members of the SS or Gaue leaders.
So, it is very reasonable for people to associate “volfstrum” with “volksstrum.” Moreover, Hitler’s Brownshirts were called “The Sturmabteilung” (Storm Troopers), further correlating “sturm” with Nazi Germany.
While not really an issue on its own, Hitler’s personal association with wolves further ties this name to Nazi Germany, making it too close for my comfort:
Germany’s lycanthropic predilections rose to new popularity under Hitler’s Nazi regime, with Third Reich officials recalling images of the Germanic wolf in propaganda and commonly associating the term with their leading para-military groups, including the famed Organisation Werewolf. Hitler’s name is itself a derivation of the animal, meaning “father wolf” – a mammalian title he wore proudly, citing himself as a wolf on many public occasions throughout the war.
In fact, It seems that I was not the only one to make this correlation:
So, what about WolfsReign? Honestly, it feels entirely non-kinetic and doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The Big Bad Wolf is an outside threat to our home and hearth, not an evil overlord. The idea of a persistent, internal threat is antithetical to the long-standing notion of the wolf as a wild danger that attacks from the dark. Moreover, the homophone “rein” implies human control over a beast, which makes no sense if the wolf is supposed to be a threat. So, the name introduces implicit contradictions.
Additionally, coasters are about movement and forces and speed. A “reign” has none of those connotations. It is the time during which a single person is in control, so it is intrinsically about stability, not change, which seems like an odd choice for a name. Moreover, considering that Hitler called himself The Wolf, this also has some concerning Nazi connotations. Hitler did reign over the Third Reich.
I am also told that a popular anime series was called “Wolf’s Rain.” I question the choice to associate a German coaster at BGW with a Japanese IP.
Rule number one in logo design is don’t make it look anything like a swastika. That should cary over to naming a German themed ride, especially one that involves recruiting the population of a village to fight…
