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@Zachary briefly mentioned this in the article, but I hope there isn’t an attempt to tie this in to Da Vinci’s Garden of Inventions. Da Vinci’s Garden has a classical Italian theme that’s set in the Renaissance era, not the early 20th century with the advent of auto racing. I would prefer that they set apart the car ride thematically, using the bridge to transition the time period. It would be its own thematic sub-area like Pompeii, which is set in a completely different time period from the rest of San Marco.

I would be okay with them going either direction, but I hope they fully commit to one or the other.

Da Vinci invented a spring-powered "car" so if BGW wanted to theme this ride to Da Vinci's early vehicle designs and the age of invention broadly to fully integrate it into Da Vinci's Garden of Invention, they totally could.

On the other hand, this new ride area is so far away from Da Vinci's Garden because of that bridge that I do think they could do an early 1900s theme a la Le Mans using Italy's rich racing heritage. If they go this route, I'd like them to run a path under Pompeii to this new ride's plaza too since Pompeii is set around this same period.

And, though I would prefer either of those more opinionated solutions, I will concede this: If BGW wanted to do a "soft" retheme of the area, they could remove the Da Vinci from Da Vinci's Garden of Invention and make it simply "Giardino de Invenzioni." Instead of a microscope on the Renaissance, the theme of the area could zoom out to become an Italian formal garden displaying the full history of Italian invention and innovation. Get some decorative signage up outlining the histories of the inventions displayed in the gardens and whatnot and it could work.
 
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Definitely an interesting solution to the puzzle! Don't know if a large water trough at ground level like that would be permitted above the pipeline easement or not. My guess is would be no, but I guess it's not impossible? Hard to say. I'd be pretty surprised if they went that route, but 🤷‍♂️

Very clever thinking though! My mind hadn't gone there.

I will say this though: that detail @AIR noted re: Nessie having a support column in the middle of the theoretical ride path has really piqued my interest. I definitely see it in the plan too and, assuming we're reading all of this correctly and that support is stayin', I agree with @AIR that it almost confirms whatever this is is either dual tracked or, I guess, some sort of pathway or roadway where guests/vehicles can maneuver around it uninhibited. I can't imagine a single-tracked, tracked ride explanation that would retain that Nessie footer.
Just speaking from experience with easement construction, generally only things that can be easily removed and reconstructed are “allowed.” Driveways, sidewalks, landscaping are usually fine, buildings and more permanent structures are a big no.

A rapids trough is…kind of in between? It’s for sure more complicated than an asphalt or concrete cartway for an auto-ride, but not quite as prohibitive as an actual building either. My guess is the pipeline would say no to it initially but if BGW really wanted to fight hard for it and develop some kind of maintenance agreement for it, they could let it slide.

There’s also the obvious issue of how deep the pipeline itself is if the attraction would be crossing it - I imagine there would be a likely conflict if a rapids ride were being built into the ground and not at ground level with raised walls.
 
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My only hope is this doesn’t affect the secluded feel of Nessie’s second half. As much as I’d like to see a full Verbolten/Pantheon refurb or the Killarney flying theater come to fruition first, I certainly won’t complain about BGW bringing back another classic (assuming it’s done well).

Most importantly, I think this would be a third straight hit for the park and give them more leeway with corporate to go all in on some of the more ambitious beautification/renovation projects
 
The optimist in me (silly, I know) wants to think this is a revitalization of the DaVinci’s garden area and package with flat rides. I’m not saying that the ride will be “cheap”, being able to advertise three rides in one year would be nice.
 
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Something akin to Le Mans would be amazing; I love Griffon, but I really miss Le Mans, too. As far as park enhancements in general go, though, when are they going to figure out a way to make Grimm’s Landing/Rhine River Cruise more accessible?! When I first saw that bridge in the article, I was hopeful, but it looks like none of this makes it all the way to the “river” (lake).
 
No man, it's going to be a dual tracked racing Da Vinci's Dirigibles, they modified Zach original idea and ran with it.

 
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This would be a great addition if they leave as many trees as possible and landscape it correctly.

If this happens, it will move Busch further ahead of KD in being able to attract a more diverse crowd more than coaster riders and little kids.
 
This is another project where I'm just glad they're doing something with the area. Le Mans closed around the same time as BBW and I had never heard of it until around last year. If they brand it properly it doesn't have to be an exact remake, and it's a fun way in general to use Da Vinci's Garden more fully. I'm also just really happy that they might be doing a project next year that's not just another roller coaster.
 
For anyone else out there who may be trying to figure out a ride type/manufacturer/etc, here's a potentially useful detail from the RPA doc. The proposed impervious area near the Rhine is around 23 to 24 feet wide. For context, the paved service road behind Pantheon's maintenance area is about 14 feet wide. The width of the Roman Rapids trough is like 14 to 16 feet wide. The BGW railroad's track bed is like 15-ish feet wide. In other words, there is some considerable width involved here. Meanwhile, the dual-track segment of, say, Kings Island's new-ish antique cars ride is about 20 feet wide. Makes you think!
 
In my opinion, this we be a great addition to the park. I too didn't know about the previous Le mans existence until a few years back. I was sad to find out that I had missed the ride since I didn't move to the area until after it was removed. When recently visiting KD, the cars were a welcome calm experience (reminder of childhood tracked car rides at other parks) that I could share with my wife who is afraid of all roller coasters. She nearly had a panic attack riding the groover coaster! So I am all for this as speculated and I hope it comes to fruition.
 
I was pre-coaster age when LeMans closed and was very upset about it then. By the time Griffon was opening, I was enjoying coasters and wasn't upset about it anymore, but now, 20 years after it closed, I would be thrilled to see a car ride return to the park, especially after how much has changed in the last 5-10 years.
 
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